Africa Photography

I thought Nick Brandt's work was amazing. From his interview, it sounds as if he puts a lot of time and effort into capturing the photos. He doesn't just take pictures of zebras from 100 feet away-he takes pictures of animals' souls and their uninterrupted life.

This is my favorite photo because I love the way the giraffes are accented against the background. The angle from which the photograph was taken is perfect because you see the entire scenery, the giraffes are perfectly seen, and there are no distractions in the picture (avoiding mergers woo!) and the main subject (front giraffe) is off centered, following the rule of thirds.

Brandt uses a Pentax 67II with only two fixed lenses. He doesn't use a telephoto lens because he believes that being close to the subject better captures the animal's essence and personality.

Brandt takes the photos because he wants to show the animals in their state of being, not posed or in action. He wants to photograph the animal in their natural habitat, going about their daily life, before they disappear forever.

He hopes to not only raise awareness for the conservation of Africa's wildlife and ecosystems, but to also capture African animals before they are forever destroyed by man.

Funny Captions

Maria and Marvin O'Neal enjoy a nice day at the beach. They spent a fantastic afternoon dipping their toes in the cool water, sipping whiskey, and wondering why no one at the beach had swimsuits on.  

Mr. Edward, an algebra teacher at the local middle school, celebrates his 70th birthday. Mr. Edward hadn't smiled in 12 years, but that didn't stop him from enjoying the beautiful birthday cake his students prepared for him.  

Mr. and Mrs. Smite proudly show off their legendary Thanksgiving aprons. Last year, the happy couple's aprons were so popular that they got requests to make them for their entire block! 

Mural Project

1. What theme could we do a series of panels to place around the school?
A mural showing the diversity among Bowie (students, classrooms, teachers, etc) would be really cool
2. Should we use phones, or should we open it up to regular cameras?
I think we should do both, because people who don't have a camera phone can use a regular camera and it will provide for differently styled pictures.
3. Where would you want to put a mural on campus?
Having one in between hallways would make it so everyone could see it (because some kids don't have classrooms in certain hallways). We could also put one in the cafeteria.

Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO

f/2.8

f/16

1. Aperture is related to the eye. The iris expands and shrinks depending on the amount of light, controlling the size of the pupil. A large pupil (more light let in) is like a large aperture, and a small pupil is like a small aperture. 

2. The smaller the aperture, the more focused the picture will be (background and foreground). The higher the aperture, the more focused only the foreground will be. 

3. When the aperture is smaller, the depth of focus is greater, while having a larger aperture isolates the depth of focus to only the foreground. 

1/4000 

4 seconds

1. With sun and good light

a. A booth in the middle of the courtyard: average shutter speed

b. Food booth: slightly slower, maybe to create a small blur of people moving around the booth

c. Dance performance: fast shutter speed, to capture the dancers' movements

d. People dancing in the courtyard: A little faster than average

e. People streaming in: slower would be cool if used to create a blur

f. basetball booth: fast shutter speed, because you want to capture the basketball 

Without sun and good light

a. Probably a faster shutter speed 

b. Also a slow one 

c. Fast shutter speed (lighting doesn't change because it's in the gym) 

d. Also a fast shutter speed 

e. Slower shutter speed

f. Faster

2. AV: Aperture priority makes it so you can choose the aperture, and the camera controls the shutter speed. 

TV: Shutter priority makes it so you can choose the the shutter speed, and the camera controls the aperture. 

M: Manual makes it so you can manually set aperture and shutter speed. 

ISO 200 

ISO 4000 

1. Having a higher ISO at sporting events allows for more light to be registered in an otherwise dark picture.

2. When you use a low ISO in a dark environment you should have it mounted on a tripod to capture a steady image. 

3. You should use a high ISO in fast action shots, or while shooting indoors without a flash. 

1. Aperture settings: f/2.8 to f/22

2. Shutter speed settings; 1 sec to 1/4000 sec

3. ISO settings: 100 to 256000 

Avoiding Mergers

This photo avoids mergers because rather than the street and the chaos that was probably occurring being included in the shot, the photographer chose to capture the photo from a different angle, avoiding distraction.

Framing

This photo demonstrates framing. Through the broken wall, the attention is drawn to the firefighter.

Balance

This photo uses geometric shapes to aid in composition. The angle of the photo made it possible for many different shapes to be seen in the picture.

Lines

This photo demonstrates use of lines in composition. The stripes of the flag draw the attention to the face of the man, which is the focus of the picture.

Rule of Thirds

This photo demonstrates the rule of thirds. The firefighter is placed off center, which makes the picture more appealing and interesting to look at.

Simplicity

This photo demonstrates simplicity. The photo is focused on the man, and the background does not distract from the subject.

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