Final Critique

1.EDIT-1666.jpg  by Katie Purgay 

    

   The long exposure of this photo allows the water to have continuous movement, making it appear very soft. This is highlighted by the focused detail of the ice on top of the moving water. The ice stands out because of its clarity, and appears as if it is floating and separate from the fog like water beneath it. I think making this photo black and white was a wise choice because it added an additional contrast between the ice and water, while highlighting the details of the ice. 

1. IMG_4201.jpg  by Shelby Jurewicz

This photo is very compelling to me. I find the dark figures of the bison to draw my eye, while their formation of their straight line moves me from the left side of the frame across to the right. This horizontal movement is highlighted by the strong horizon line that is established. I think it is also a nice touch that the falling snow has been captured, making the moment seem more natural. I also like this photo because it is black and white, which makes the bison stand out and become the focus of the photo. 

1. YNP-5350.jpg by Nancy Robinson 

I think this photo is a strong piece because the highest peak of the mountain is placed well within the frame with consideration of the rule of thirds. The photo is very clear and shows a good depth of field. I think this photo is also unique because the crisp reflection is broken up by the ice, which is not a very common photo. I also like that she chose to leave the branches in the foreground which contributes to developing the 7 layers of the photo. The water is also about 2 shades darker than the sky as it should be. 

1. edit-0679.jpg by Kris Musser 

This photo leads the viewer’s eye into the frame with the rocks on the lower right hand side and the distinct lines created by the snow. The framing of the scene also shows a knowledge of the rule of thirds. The bright blue hues in the photo are very attention grabbing and the whole photo appears to have an appropriate depth of field. I like how the fog helps to define the horizon line. 

1. sun+set.jpg by Noah Kirui

  I really like the subtle pink hues throughout the photo and how they contrast with the green. I wish that an adjustment was made to the aperture to show a greater depth of field. I like the leading lines created by the clear blades of grass in the foreground. The repetition of colors allows for the different layers to to transition smoothly, and a strong horizon line is established. I really enjoy the lines created by the reflection in the water as well. 

1. EDIT-1580.jpg by Katie Purgay 

I was quite amazed by this photo when I first saw it. I was immediately both impressed by its originality and quality. She was able to keep the large feature in focus while capturing the vibrance of the night sky. I also enjoy the strong horizon line created by the dark silhouette of the trees. I also find the glowing green colors in the midground to be very intriguing. 

1. 208.JPG by Stina Foiles 

I really like that the single spiral is the only thing left in focus. The colors are also very vibrant and appealing to the viewer. I think that her settings were spot on to achieve this macro photo. The details of this unique part of nature keep my eye moving about the frame even though it is not all in focus. The branches in the foreground help to establish leading lines.

1. IMG_2752.jpg 

I like the eerie yet calm feeling this photo gives me. I think it is very impressive that they were able to capture the variations in brightness created by the moon and the the clouds. The moon is quite in focus which i also find impressive. I wish I could be more sure of what settings were used for this photo as I haven’t had much luck when trying to take pictures of the moon myself. 

1. IMG_2515.jpg by Michael Eggen 

I like how abstract this photo is. The blurriness creates a lot of interesting and appealing lines. This is emphasized by the various bright colors. I find the strong and more in focus mountains the be the attention of the photo, as it establishes a strong horizon line. 

1. IMG_20131026_081210_654.jpg by Michael Eggen 

I like the large expanse of sky in this photo. I find the mountains of in the distance to be a nice surprise that really draws the eye through the depth of the frame. There is a lot of nice contrast with the dark and stones in the foreground and the bright sky. 

Art Show Submission

Exposure Time: 1 / 200
Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode
FNumber: 5.6
Focal Length: 55
ISO Speed Ratings: 200

Final Presentation

All photos were taken with an Olympus E-620 and either a 14-42mm or 40-150mm lens.

1. Exposure Time: 1 / 3999

Flash: Flash did not fire

FNumber: 4.4

Focal Length: 61

ISO Speed Ratings: 800

2.Exposure Time: 1 / 3999

Flash: Flash did not fire

FNumber: 4.7

Focal Length: 79

ISO Speed Ratings: 800

3.Exposure Time: 1 / 1999

Flash: Flash did not fire

FNumber: 5.6

Focal Length: 150

ISO Speed Ratings: 1000

4. Exposure Time: 1 / 640

Flash: Flash did not fire

FNumber: 4.5

Focal Length: 40

ISO Speed Ratings: 640

5. Exposure Time: 1 / 249

Flash: Flash did not fire

FNumber: 5.6

Focal Length: 150

ISO Speed Ratings: 1250

6. Exposure Time: 1 / 6

Flash: Flash did not fire

FNumber: 5.4

Focal Length: 132

ISO Speed Ratings: 800

7. Exposure Time: 1 / 10

Flash: Flash did not fire

FNumber: 11

Focal Length: 86

ISO Speed Ratings: 250

8. Exposure Time: 1 / 10

Flash: Flash did not fire

FNumber: 20

Focal Length: 40

ISO Speed Ratings: 160

9. Exposure Time: 1 / 10

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 22

Focal Length: 40

ISO Speed Ratings: 100

10.Exposure Time: 1 / 1000

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 5

Focal Length: 98

ISO Speed Ratings: 200

11.Exposure Time: 1 / 3999

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 4

Focal Length: 40

ISO Speed Ratings: 1000

12. Exposure Time: 1 / 1999

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 4.9

Focal Length: 90

ISO Speed Ratings: 250

13. Exposure Time: 1 / 3999

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 4.5

Focal Length: 64

ISO Speed Ratings: 250

14. Exposure Time: 1 / 25

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 13

Focal Length: 150

ISO Speed Ratings: 100

15. Exposure Time: 1 / 1999

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 7.1

Focal Length: 137

ISO Speed Ratings: 1600

16. Exposure Time: 1 / 1999

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 7.1

Focal Length: 114

ISO Speed Ratings: 1000

17. Exposure Time: 1 / 1250

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 5.6

Focal Length: 150

ISO Speed Ratings: 320

18. Exposure Time: 1 / 400

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 7.1

Focal Length: 70

ISO Speed Ratings: 200

19.Exposure Time: 1 / 249

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 6.3

Focal Length: 150

ISO Speed Ratings: 200

20. Exposure Time: 1 / 249

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 6.3

Focal Length: 150

ISO Speed Ratings: 200

21. Exposure Time: 1 / 40

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 13

Focal Length: 90

ISO Speed Ratings: 100

22. Exposure Time: 1 / 100

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 5.5

Focal Length: 137

ISO Speed Ratings: 320

23. Exposure Time: 1 / 125

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 5.6

Focal Length: 150

ISO Speed Ratings: 400

24. Exposure Time: 1 / 40

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 13

Focal Length: 55

ISO Speed Ratings: 800

25. Exposure Time: 1 / 800

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 5.2

Focal Length: 110

ISO Speed Ratings: 640

26.Exposure Time: 1 / 3999

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 4

Focal Length: 40

ISO Speed Ratings: 1000

27.Exposure Time: 1 / 3200

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 7.1

Focal Length: 40

ISO Speed Ratings: 1000

28.Exposure Time: 1 / 60

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 7.1

Focal Length: 137

ISO Speed Ratings: 800

29.Exposure Time: 1 / 200

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 7.1

Focal Length: 142

ISO Speed Ratings: 500

30. Exposure Time: 1 / 200

Flash: Flash did not fire, auto mode

FNumber: 5.6

Focal Length: 70

ISO Speed Ratings: 500

Photography and Psychology

I came across a very interesting article today about the relationship of photography and psychology. The article delves into the fundamental relationship between the photographer and the viewer, and establishes that a "successful" image is about communication.

The author, Ming Thein, describes the importance of this communication : "At its core, a successful image is about communication: it must tell the viewer the photographers' intended story, through an entirely and solely visual means of communication. Forget captions and titles, they inevitably get orphaned from their parent images, and thus an image must be strong enough to stand on its own and clear enough to tell the intended story without the support of text. Even more importantly, the visual portion has much more immediate impact than the text -- simply because text requires conscious processing; images don't." 

Thein explores the elements of a photo that make this communication with the viewer possible as well as what the different elements can do. 

I look forward to the second part of this article being released.

As slopes are starting to open up and it dawned on me that I haven't been snowboarding in over a year, I thought it would be interesting to find some photos of skiers and snowboarders.

I came across Grant Gunderson's website and was struck by many of his images.

I was almost surprised by these images, as they make you want to stand back and say "Wow". I found them to be very creative - it opened up a whole new view of nature photography for me. To me, they also show just how beautiful it can be when human and nature collide. 

Twitter Photographs

I came across an article on The Guardian about a case concerning photographs acquired from Twitter. 

The case is one of the first to address how images shared publicly on social media by individuals can by used by third parties for commercial puposes.

A US jury ruled in favor of freelance photographer Daniel Morel who took pictures of the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and later uploaded them to Twitter. The jury ordered Agence France-Presse and Getty Images to pay a total of $1.2 million dollars for republishing the photos without Morel's permission.

This decision could become a very important to how these copyright issues caused by social media will be handled in the future. 

As an artist, this decision is comforting. I have often been told not to share my works online for fear of people claiming it as their own. 

Photo Critique

1. I enjoy this photograph although I find the odd angle of the ridgeline to be distracting from the main focus of the photograph - it leads my eye away from the rolling fog instead of towards it. The small building in the middle of the frame is also distracting. The colors in the photo are also distracting, as there is red in the foreground and pale blue in background with a vibrant blue in between.

2. I do not find much wrong with the photo. The squirrel's face and hands are in focus, as that is the main subject of the photo and the most important part. I think it's position in the air makes it a unique shot, as well as a humorous one. The log in the middle of the frame that is out of focus is a little distracting. I would either prefer for some of it to be in focus, or perhaps for it not to be included at all.

3. While this photo has very nice and vibrant colors, I find it to be far too blurry. The artist was able to establish a focal point on the large rocks, but the blurred clouds in the background and the shaky rocks in the foreground take away from that. This photo may be better if cropped such that the smaller, blurry rocks in the foreground were not included. The large rock on the left side would then lead the viewer's eye into the frame.

GL Woods

Photographer GL Woods began shooting fashion seven years ago. Interestingly, his goal is not to land higher profile clients but to gain the trust of clients who will let him create the graphic, mixed-media work he has enjoyed since he studied art.

He says, "The whole point is to get your voice out there and not be a hired gun." His unique collages, cutouts and manipulated images were not immediately accepted as suitable for high fashion, but by paying careful attention to how he presented his work, he was able to begin to win over editors.

His fashion clients now include Vogue Mexico/Latin America,  Elle Mexico, W, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Agent Provocateur, Converse and other brands.

Graphic design has always inspired his work, along with photographer like Jean-Paul Goude. This is evident in his creative images shown below

 

 

 

 

I found Woods's story and work to be particularly interesting because of my combined interests in photography, graphic design and fashion.



Photojournalism

I came across this set of moving journalism photos from the month of October and found the following pictures most influential to me.

A vending machine, brought inland by a tsunami, is seen in a abandoned rice field inside the exclusion zone at the coastal area near Minamisoma in Fukushima prefecture. Photographed by Damir Sagolj

Olympic skeleton racer John Daly poses for a portrait during the 2013 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summit in Park City, Utah. Photographed by Lucas Jackson

An unknown individual rides their bike along the river Spree in Berlin, Germany. Photographed by Markus Schreiber

Russ Rowland

I came across an interview with photographer Russ Rowland on photography-news.com

I found it very interesting that Rowland considers himself to be a "diverse" and "eclectic" photographer. He considers this to be his style because he photographs a wide range of subjects. For example, he likes taking pictures of theatre, portraits, landscapes, and street scenes.

He says that the paintings of artists such as Van Gogh, Pollock, and Hopper are the major influences behind his works. Interestingly, he often refers to photographs as "paintings".

His current projects include a book of subways abstracts, a series of landscapes and abstracts entitled "Postcards from NYC", and street portraits.

All of these projects, in addition to others, can be found on his website. 

Some of Russ Rowland's works that I enjoyed are shown below

Photography and the First Amendment

I found an interesting article regarding photography on Photo District News  regarding an artist who photographed his neighbors through their windows and then displayed this photos in a gallery.

To my surprise, the artist won the invasion of privacy lawsuit filed against him.

Arne Svenson, the artist, entitled the collection, "The Neighbors" and presented it at the Julie Saul Gallery last spring. The Foster family was the main source of controversy, as Svenson presented an unauthorized photo of their child's face.

The judge dismissed the case on the protections given by the First Amendment, despite the fact that New York state law it is illegal to use a person's likeness for commercial purposes without written consent.

I find this encouraging as an artist because I have the freedom to express myself. However, it is slightly disturbing that someone could sell photographs of me without my consent.

Planning for Ireland

As I continued to research for our midterm project, I have found a national park in Ireland that seems like it may be a good place to work into our trip.

Glenveagh National Park is located in the Northwest of Co. Donegal, right in the heart of the Derryveagh Mountains. It is home to the Glenveagh castle and species such as the Golden Eagle and spotted flycatcher.

Below are some pictures that I have found of the park

Photo Critique

#1

 

This photo shows great detail. I like how the jumping fish leads the viewer into the shot from one direction. The viewer is brought from the fish to the bear and back to the water which falls off to the right making the photo interesting. The entire frame is in focus, while the water is stopped quite well.

 

http://www.smugmug.com/community/NaturePhotographers/popular/all#!i=427709767&k=ga2To&lb=1&s=A

Canon 5D 400mm f/5.6 ISO250 1/2000s Av Priority -1/3EV

#2

 

I find the bright yellows in this photo to be very captivating. The log in the foreground connects the bright yellow leaves to the blurred water (created by the slow shutter speed). However, I find some of the darker trees and logs in the midground to be distracting.

http://www.smugmug.com/community/NaturePhotographers/popular/all#!i=313575481&k=iSaoJ&lb=1&s=A

Canon 5D 17mm f/22 ISO100 1.6s Av Priority -1/3EV

#3

 

This photo appears to be a little unrealistic, but I appreciate its creativity. I think the use of black and white aided in this artistic approach. I like how there is a line of rock that lead the viewers eye away while the smooth water lines lead in the opposite direction.

http://www.smugmug.com/community/NaturePhotographers/popular/all#!i=1095723618&k=5WsmsRF&lb=1&s=A

Canon 5DII 17mm f/11 ISO200 1.3s Manual

#4

 

This photo is so clear and perfect that it seems fake. The photographer was able to maintain the blue of the sky while also capture the brightness of the stars, and a very bright mountain in the foreground. Because the photographer was able to have the perfect exposure for each plane, I am curious to know if it a composite rather than an original, single image.

http://www.smugmug.com/community/NaturePhotographers/popular/all#!i=1831531763&k=4Kf7Mcw&lb=1&s=A

Canon 5DII 85mm f/1.8 10s ISO100 Manual

#5

There is a lot a bright blue colors repeated throughout the photo. This helps the viewer travel throughout the frame and connect the planes within it.

http://bumpitup.smugmug.com/popular/732133725_MzzZX#!i=519762850&k=mNuWM&lb=1&s=A

Canon 1DIII 28mm f/13 ISO200 HDR 

#6 

The bird in this photo is in focus as is the twig it sits on. This makes for a very interesting picture however, I would like to see more variation in color in the background.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rlw/5743158761/in/photostream

Canon 1DIV 840mm f/5.6 ISO400 1/800

#7

The composition of this photo is very well done, however, I would prefer that the fish and bear's face were more in focus.
Because they are not, I am easily distracted by the rocks that are in focus.

http://www.pbase.com/jleom/image/145185197

Canon 7D 500mm f/4.5 ISO1600 1/320

#8

The variations of color in this photo help distinguish the various planes. Also, because the light comes mainly from the left side of the frame, it creates a leading line to the moose. This is especially appealing because of the use of red.

http://www.mangelsen.com/store/util/enlarge_popup?Args=&imgsrc=3083.jpg

Nikon D4 

#9

I find it impressive that the photographer was able to capture the entire animal in such a tight frame and visually interesting pose. The face of the bird is in focus, as is a majority of the body. The water droplets help connect the planes, and the bright green in the background is appealing.

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6548455

Canon 1DII 500mm f/8.0 1/500

#10

This photo establishes a very good horizon line. Lines made by the ice connect the main polar bear in the foreground to the one in the background. Light blues and white are repeated throughout.

http://500px.com/photo/842621

Nikon D2x 12mm f/6.3 ISO200 1/400   

As I look for information and ideas for our project, I came across the website of a Dublin photographer Mike Louw. Below are some of my favorites from his site that I found inspirational for my project.

Glen Etive, Scotland