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“I Hope to go to a good university, to graduate from that university without struggling and go on and get a job make a good income and possibly a wife and maybe some kids. I don’t want to die before 70, preferably 80.” - a Junior 

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“He's very easy to talk to and likes to prove he is right most of the time, I have known him since I was in 6 grades. Yeah, we are pretty good friends, we are types of friends that will keep in touch for years. He runs his finger down his face likes he is crying, and he keeps doing it because he knows it annoying” - Melanie Black 

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“ Schools good, workloads not too bad surprisingly I'm not too nervous about exams I feel a lot better than last semester hopefully I'm more ready. It been great, been working every muscle. You can’t have a flat chest and bulging biceps. You got to have all of it.” - Max 

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“I was devastated, the day he left last year I did not leave my room for 2 months.I was so upset.” 

“ Yes I am, I speak to him around twice a week,  He is doing well in Bangkok and he prefers it way more than here because he didn't like the students here. I’m joking, he left for certain reasons and he really missed the students here at ISB” - Keith Jarman Middle school PE teacher 

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“It's my tiring face” - Chris Shen 

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The thing I enjoy most about taking portraits is just seeing people be very honest. They aren't putting on a mask just because of a photographer taking a photo, but they are showing their true nature, and their true nature is what I enjoy so much about them. Not only that but with portraits, I feel closer to the person I am taking photos of. I see them in multiple perspectives, different emotions and it really makes portraits that much more fun. 

What helped me with taking my best portraits were just to keep on taking them. By taking more photos I gain more practice. By doing different types of photos I learn my style, so what really helped me out was just taking many many photos in order to try out different things and find the most successful ones out of all of them. 

The challenging thing about taking photos of people is that people are constantly on the move, doing what they want to do. Of course, you can ask them to wait and pose, but to truly get a person to act like they would, you can not tell them what to do. Another very challenging part about taking portraits is that it becomes difficult to find new ways to implement the portrait rules. In order to take something new, authentic and appealing to the eye, you also have to start discovering new ways to take photos and I think that is very hard to do in portraits. 

The advice I would give to a beginner portrait photographer is to just practice practice practice. The reason for that is because, when you practice, you use all the different types of methods to take a portrait and soon you will slowly see that your portraits become better and better. In the process, patience is most definitely needed. Therefore, as the photographer practices his or her portraits, they will start to see progress in their photos. 

Both of the photos were set when we went to the kindergarten playground and classrooms to take photos of cute little kids (they were very fun to play with I am not KIDding). The close of the girl (the first photo), really showed her great smile. This girl was always smiling, and always really really cheerful. Thus, when I took a photo of her, I did a close-up zooming in onto her face, making people focus on her features, whether it is her bright eyes or wide smile. I believe that the mood that this photo shows is just plain happiness when we see other people smile, we tend to smile as well. Therefore with this photo it brings smiles to everyones faces. The bottom photo was a girl named Olivia, and in this portrait, I believe it conveys this mood of happiness and nostalgia, seeing her on the monkey bars, smiling and putting up that peace sign, it brings us back to when we were young and happy. In this photo, i used the compositional guideline of the rule of thirds, this allowed the focal point to be set onto the girl's body. The great thing about this photo is that I never asked her to pose and smile at the camera, but she did it anyway and that's how she was like, and I think I really brought her character out through this portrait. 

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We went to the Gu Lou district near nan luo gu xiang to take some photos. Throughout this journey, I met new people, seeing new scenery and allow myself to try new food (the very exquisite cheese dumplings). We had to take street photos of anything we thought was interesting and tried to fulfill the different techniques of photography. This experience was very special, I never went on these trips and this allowed me to try new things in photography, try my social skills and make sure I explore my interests in photography. 

I enjoyed the chance to take new types of photos with interesting backgrounds, people, and items.  The new techniques explained and told are a way for me to explore my interests in photography. The practice in these new skills with hone my skills and make me a much better photographer. 

 As I put my camera onto the intersection of the ground to the wall to have the background ready and wait for the shot. That way a leading line is created and it helps with creating a new type of frame, a new background, and most of all, a new type of photo. I also was able to take close-ups of other strangers, by talking to them, asking them if it's possible to take photos of them. What I had to keep in mind for both types of the technique is patience. I had to be patient and wait for the people to come into the shot the right way. If I was not patient, I would not be able to get a good photo with the set background. Therefore by being patient, I was able to allow myself to take the best photo. By being patient with the strangers, I got to know them. By knowing them it helped me take better photos and really get to know them more. This really helped with my photography because I feel like it gives my photos more meaning and emotion. 

Through this photo walk, I explored what it was like to be taking photos with everything moving so quickly. People moving around all the time, the conflicts between people and the timing of a good photo. Throughout this photo walk, I met with a lot of different types of people. Some people were nice and heart warming, allowing me to take photos of them, interact with them and laugh with them. However there were always some other people who would antagonize us, yet I cannot blame them for this, they have their own right to stay away from the camera lens. I learned to cope with these people, always being polite, making them happy, making them laugh. It helped me a lot with taking photos i desired to take. 

What I found challenging was the ability to take good photos quickly. As people moved eccentrically without caring if you are ready to take the photo or not, it was hard for me to get a good photo quickly. I needed to be able to find good photos that would not move. Therefore I found it difficult when all my subjects and backgrounds were moving so quickly. This is what I found difficult. 

I want to try to talk to some more locals and ask them if they could help me with their photos, practicing my close-ups, and really bring out their character. A type of photo I would like to try is the type of photo that makes a single person stand out in the crowd. These types of photos may seem very difficult to take, yet I want to try these photos out. I also want to be able to capture shadows better, because on this photo walk, I never really captured it in a way to make it look pleasing. Therefore I want to experiment with all these things again and really make the photos more beautiful.

The biggest thing I took away from this field trip is how difficult street photography is. As people keep moving, and you have very little power of everything that goes around, its hard to find a good photo to take of. However, this does not mean it's a time to give up but more of a place to persevere and try your hardest to find the best photo you can. Of course, the photo may come out as average or bad, but it's the ability to keep going and keep on trying hard to find a perfect photo. To be honest, I wanted to have a better photo than the ones I took during this trip. So, I will continue my passion for photography and make my photos even better. 

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1. Photoshop is an application that allows people to edit their photos in many different ways. This helps with editors to create the effect they want in their photos. 

2. The reason why post process in photoshop is important is because it really makes the photo stand out. Seeing it before it before it is edited and after, it helps with allowing ourselves to see what we changed and if we got our effect in or not. By doing so, it will benefit us by seeing the entire process and what we need to do and what we have got. It helps a lot with seeing through different perspectives. 

3. Now I know post-processing in photoshop, I am able to create very cool photos and edit my previous ones as well. By doing so, it will help me a lot to develop further as a photographer because I don't need to only rely on a camera but also photoshop. I can use photoshop to create completely new photos!!

4. I believe that all the different techniques that I learned during photoshop all will help me in future classes because of that way, I know how to blur backgrounds, align photos, make things disappear, etc. It will help me a lot because using these tools, I can exceed in different standards and can use them to develop my photography more. I do not rely on just the camera but photoshop as well. 

5. The first photo is a double exposure. Where we basically took two photos and merged them into one. This was my favorite photo because I always saw these types of photos on the web and I always wanted to try them. Now I learned how to do it and it is really fun to make a photo merge with another portrait. I learned how to create two different exposures and the ability to refine the edges of the photo and create brushes. I paid attention to where the sun is to create a glowing effect as well as place it in the rule of thirds that way it will be the focal point of the photo. The second photo is a multiplicity. I learned how to create copies of myself in one photo. Through this type of photo, I learned how to erase and edit photos in order to merge them together. This would help me as I find new tricks to erase parts in a photo. I create a very focused photo by making “me” very enlarged and focused into a part of the photo. Not only that but by creating a sense of balance within a photo by the amount of ppl, the photo is much more pleasing to look at. 

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In your own words, what is a diptych or a triptych? What is the purpose of placing images side by side or together?  

 A triptych or diptych is just 3 to 2 pictures that are combined to create a bigger picture that looks visually nice and has a deeper meaning. The reason for putting these images together is because they can create a visual connection that helps with a deeper meaning or just show a series of events that help with showing a story.  

-What advice would you give someone who is making a diptych or triptych for the first time?  What should they pay special attention to?

 When creating a triptych or a diptych, they should make sure to pay attention to make it obvious how different pictures connect with each other.  This is because if these pictures do not connect with each other well, they do not look nice with each other and does not have any meaning. -What did you enjoy about making diptychs/triptychs?

I really enjoy matching photos together and seeing how they fit. It makes one simple picture become much more complex and therefore look much nicer than before.  

-What is challenging about making diptychs/triptychs? 

 What is challenging about making these diptychs and triptychs to look nice, is the picture you need to take. The picture may not be what you want it to be therefore making it harder for you to actually create the triptych or diptych that is what you wanted.  

This triptych is uses a time lapse. The main compositional element used was the rule of thirds, making it even more catchy.  Therefore, showing a clearer change in the pear itself. Elements of Art would be color because of such a warm color it really pops out and the whole photo is well balanced because the shadow helps  balance the whole picture out.

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David Griffin said, “You need to know how to create a visual narrative,  You need to know how to tell a story.”  This quote is something that is very important in photography because this really changes an average photo from a great one. A story allows the photo to have a much deeper meaning, and allow it to help people understand something new, and learn something that they haven’t known before. Photography isn’t just about taking pictures of something pretty but to address things that we believe are necessary. Stories allow the photo to be much closer to us, because we are not looking at a photo, but understanding a story.  

 Empathy is important for a story because it makes it much closer to ourselves. Therefore, the story in the photo will be much more touching and intriguing to a person. This then allows the photography to be much more deep, sensational and emotional. Empathy plays a big role in how we act and by having empathy in a story, more people will understand the stories meaning.  

This is a story of a polar bear swimming in the ocean. However, because there is not a lot of ice in the water anymore it becomes harder for them to do so. Thus this photo helps represent and capture the outcome of global warming how it is destroying animal’s homes and becoming more problematic

 The main element used in this photo is color. The contrast between the white and the blue help make the polar bears stand out from the dark ocean. This then helps convey a sad emotion of loneliness and makes us feel more empathetic to this polar bear and it’s story.  The main principle used in this photo is emphasis as the color helps with this. The surround negative space around the polar bear is dark and the polar bear is white, allowing the polar bear to have more emphasis on it.

 The main compositional guidelines that are used in this photo are main rule of thirds, and give space to moving objects.  The rule of thirds applies even more emphasis onto the polar bear. This then causes the audience to really think about the polar bear, its surroundings and the problems it faces. With the space for the object to move, the audience doesn’t feel so suffocated and has more space to breath. This allows them to think more calmly and really wonder about this photograph and the story behind it.

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OWhat aperture does is help create a focus on a certain object. This can be shown how with a higher aperture (lower number) you are able to get a very blurry background or foreground and vice versa. What happens is that the camera’s lens grows wider, allowing a more blurred background, and smaller for a less blurry photo.  Allowing you to create a better focus. However, by doing so the exposure of the photo will change. Thus by changing the aperture,  the photo’s brightness will change. Shutter speed, aperture, and ISO are all a part of exposure triangle as well change the brightness of the photo. 

Taking portraits of a person is a time when you should use a lower aperture number. This makes the background blurry and allows a lot of the focus to be on the person. We would use a higher aperture number when we want a clearer picture, background, and foreground. Therefore when taking landscapes we would use a higher aperture number. 

If the aperture is too high, then everything would be in focus, not allowing a clear focal point in the photo unless it is taken correctly. Therefore, in order to create a good focal point, you must use the compositional guidelines, which can help create focus and unity. If the aperture is too low, then there will be areas which will be blurry and if the blurriness actually takes the focal point away from the actual intended focal point it destroys the picture. Therefore you have to use the compositional guidelines to help you. 

By knowing more about aperture it helps with understanding when to use it, why you are using it, what it achieves as well. Allowing me to enhance my portraits with a more blurred background. 

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The Exposure triangle is the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. These three points help us create a photo that has good lighting. ISO is how sensitive your camera’s sensor is to light. By making it more sensitive the photo will be brighter. By making it less it will be darker.  In the triangle, the ISO should be changed last due to the grain it causes. However, it helps with the brightness of the photo in the triangle.

When using high ISO, it causes grain or visual noise. This basically means that the photo becomes more pixelated and less defined.

With the understanding of ISO, it will be easier for me to know what lighting should be used. Therefore allowing me to take better photos.

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Paragraphs talk about the photos in respective order. 

Robert/ Bob Holmes:

 Bob Holmes is one of the most successful and well known travel photographers in the world.  From Greenock, United Kingdom Bob Holmes was educated in Dundee Art college to become a photographer. Throughout his 35-year career, he has won the “Travel Photographer of the Year” award 5 times. In his career, Bob Holmes has worked for National Geographic, Geo, Saveur, Wine Inspector, Life, Time and other magazines.  Bob Holmes enjoys taking photos of food, wine, and travel; therefore, he was able to gain skill from it.  What I really like about Bob Holmes, is his patients and knowledge. As he is able to wait for hours in order to take a photo, Bob Holmes is also able to utilize his knowledge of photography in order to create photos that look superb! Therefore, this inspires me to strive for that knowledge. That way, when I need to take a good photo I am able to think through all the photos I have taken and will take and see what I need to do to improve.  

  In this first photo, we can see that Bob Holmes took a portrait photo of this man. The lines of the side of the frame help create a frame within a frame. Allowing us to focus more on the man itself. Since the lighting is coming from the right side of the picture, it allows the face to be lit up allowing a sense of value to be created. Using balance, the photo is very well balanced, no side has more visual weight then the other. This photo is a simple photo which captures the essence of the man. Allowing him to standout the most. This photo tells the story of an old man who is dressed up and posing for this picture. There may not be a very specific story behind this, however it is clear that Bob holmes created a simple photo using the elements of art, compositional arts and principles of design.

 in this photo, Bob Holmes create a focal point on the dog in the center of the picture. With the color contrast between the bleak background and the black dog really helps bring out the focus. The way that this photo is framed creates the diagonal line from the hill that leads our eyes down and to the dog. Therefore, creating overall unity with everything else. Bob Holmes gives very clear figure to ground separation as well. Since we can see how the trees in the back are the background and the foreground contains the dog and the grass. Using these photos, Holmes creates a splendid photograph. I feel like this photo shows a story about this dog, all alone in this bleak forest, where he has no where to go. Abandoned. Lonely. Scared.  

  This photo has a pattern with the yellow flowers in the back, where it is being very repetitive. Then in the foreground where the tree stands out from the yellow. This helps with a focal point, as well as because the tree is in one of the hotspots of the rule of thirds. The sun is coming from the top right corner, giving a shadow over the objects.  All of these elements come together to form unity and variety as the colors and forms call come together and give us the essence of nature. Therefore in this photo, I believe the story is to show the serendipity of nature and the beauty of it. We see the peace and harmony within it.

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This project was to use one object and take 30 different photos with it. These photos also have to use certain guidelines that we were taught. For example, Shadows, the rule of thirds and the rule of odds. 

The reason that we learned these compositional guidelines are because they are the foundation of photography. Until we learn how to compose a photograph, then we are able to move on to the next part of photography.  Not only that, but these compositional guidelines will help with the creative juices to get going. Whether it is to break the guidelines or to use them in cool ways. They help make photography much better. 

The most challenging part of this assignment is how we have to use one figurine in all the photos. Therefore, thinking about different compositions using the guidelines, 30 times using one figurine makes it much harder to find ways to create good and standard photos. However, this adds to creative ideas into the album of the photos. 

The big takeaway for this assignment is how I should mix up different guidelines to make better photos. By using different guidelines, I will be able to create different photos that look aesthetically good as well have a great composition and meaning to it.  This will greatly benefit my photography as it will be more stylistic and wide spread. 

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The principles of design are categorized into 7 different sections, pattern, contrast, emphasis, rhythm, unity, movement, balance. Balance can use be understood as symmetry. This is because Balance is basically how well balanced the whole photo is, therefore symmetry and asymmetrical symmetry all help with creating balance in a photo. The pattern is a loop of a certain shape or object and is repeated throughout the photo. Some photos have a pattern and the photographer takes it so there is a break in the pattern, that helps with the focus on the picture.   Contrast is when there are two elements that do not come together well and therefore they are opposites, this helps with one of the elements to stand out and allow the photos to have a very good focal point. Emphasis is when part of the photos clearly catches the viewers attention. This could happen through contrasting different elements. Movement is when the photo takes the viewers eyes on a path and makes them move. This can be created through lines, shapes and even color when we desire movement. Rhythm is when there is an organized movement that is repeated in the photo. This rhythm also helps create a mood. Unity is when all elements of the picture are harmonious and allows the picture just to look pleasing the eye.

The principles of design are very essential to critiquing a photo, this is because they define different types of photos and create the basic standard that we use to talk about a photo. All photos all have a principle of design in them, and so with the principles of design we can define these photos and help us see how we could improve or add different principles of design.    

What I learned from this activity is a more in-depth and clear definition of the principle of design. this will help with future photography as I will know different principles of designs that I can follower. By doing so I will be able to make a better photo. Knowing that these principles of design make up photos, I can start to experiment with different principles and combinations as this will help with my photography.

This photo that I chose was taken on the top of a water tank. Since there was a bubble at the top of the tank, it creates this refraction of light which causes it to pop out from the rest of the water. Therefore this photo shows emphasis by using a sudden refraction and a sudden blurry area in a clear photo. This photo was also something that I have never done before, as I used bubbles to create emphasis in the picture.

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The Elements of Art

The elements of art are different elements, which we can see in art and photography. With these elements, we are able to define different parts of a photograph and distinguish whether or not it is a good photograph. The 7 elements of art are line, shape, form, color, value, space and texture.  These 7 elements allow us to understand different aspects of the photo that we could not before.  Lines are a mark that can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and many different forms. Shape’s can be either geometric or organic shape. For example, geometric shapes are those shapes that we learn in math class like the squares, circles etc. Organic shapes are shapes that cannot be defined as a geometric shape. So the shape of a tree, a flower, etc.  The form is just three-dimensional shapes that show length, width, and volume. Form can also have both geometric and organic form too. Space is just the area around the object. There could be positive space and negative space. The color is just the light that is reflected off of the things you have photographed.  Color has three characteristics, hue, value, and intensity.  The texture is how the surface of something feels. However, since it is a photo it could be how the look makes a person feel. Value and tone are just how light or dark the photo is.

The reason the elements of art are good is because they allow us to critique and analyze photo much easier. Since each element of art is defined in a certain way, we can look through that certain angle and see if the photo contains those aspects, and whether or not those aspects were good or not. These elements of art help us define certain aspects which we could not before and now we can.

Through this activity, I understand the different ways I can improve my photography. Those elements of art all me to see different perspectives next time I take a photo. I will be able to see from different angles and decide how I want to shoot things.  

My favorite photo is the popcorn can. This photo shows value as it has different shades of black and white. It not only looks really pleasing to me by the way that it is cropped, however, it is definitely able to fulfill the requirements to be a valued picture as well. The light on top also makes the popcorn the focal point of the photo, as the rest of the area is all black and its as if there is only that one light to illuminate the photo. The shadow from the popcorn is also has a big contrast to the area around it as it is the only black area there.  Since there are many different shades of black, it clearly represents value. This photo just overall has a really nice tone to it, and that makes me really like it.