FInal Exam and last Meeting

NO WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS CLASS SESSION
Tuesday December 11
10:15-12:15

Here is the final exam/quiz that everyone must complete. Once there, select File > Download As > Word.

Here is the make up Quiz on Exposure. You only have to do this if you aren't happy with your original grade. I will replace your original grade with whatever you get on this quiz.

Staged/Directorial/Cinematographic Photography - Jeff Wall and Gregory Crewdsom; two of the best contemporary photographers

Gregory Crewdson

Excellent Aperture web feature on Gregory Crewdson. His work is amazing. Sometimes, I think my process of shooting my Three Minute Series is complex, but his process makes me feel inadequate.

Great video about Gregory Crewdson and his beginnings.

Smithsonian article about Crewdson.





Great interview with Gregory Crewdson talking about his work and Normal Rockwell's work. PDN article about Normal Rockwell's use of photographs for source material.

New York Magazine Article about Gregory Crewdson.

Great collection of Gregory Crewdson photos.

Jeff Wall

Excellent resource on Jeff Wall and his work.





Long panel discussion featuring Jeff Wall. It starts out in French, but it is in English after the introduction.

Remember....little baby assignemts

You have a Star Trails assignment that I gave out several weeks ago.

A flash assignment from several weeks ago. 

Also, I want you to add the flash with night sky assignment to the mix.

More to come...

What's going down?

-->

ART 2030 - Photography

Project #4: Directing and Photographing People: What's going down?

First round of images brought in for editing by Monday November 26th

Final Critique: Final Exam Day Tuesday, December 11 10:15-12:15

For this assignment, you will work in a directorial/staged/cinematic mode (you set up the photographs) to create portraits and/ or narratives using people as subjects. This assignment will require some planning. Start thinking about it now. Don't wait until the last minute!

Open ended narrative photographs containing people:

Shoot any subject(s) concentrating on the idea of a suggested but open ended narrative. Make photographs in which a single image tells a story or implies a narrative. The most interesting narratives are ones in which the story is open ended- those which leave the viewer filling in holes or trying to complete the story. Aim for this type of narrative! I want all your narratives to be vague. Experiment! Have fun! Get crazy!

Think about what distinguishes a fine photograph from a snapshot and take responsibility for everything in the frame. This includes (but is not limited to) distance from subject, background, pose, expression, figure ground relationships/ depth of field, mood, lighting, composition, and other formal considerations. Decide what you want the photograph to communicate and make it happen.

Hint: We all know the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" but an image that "tells it all" is generally less interesting than one which leaves the viewer looking for more. Keep this in mind when shooting and try to create images that will intrigue the viewer; create open ended images that will involve the viewer in the narrative and inspire the viewer to interpret your narrative. Don't give away the ending! Think of each image as its own narrative that occurs in the same ‘universe’ as the other images.

Requirements: Shoot a variety of photographs with a digital camera. I would expect you to shoot a least 60+ images over several hours over several days. Place all of the images on Flickr, then using ACR, edit the 10 that you feel are strongest and put them in their own set.

Criteria for Grading:

The emphasis of your grade will be based on your creativity and ability to communicate the objectives above; however, technical proficiency is expected and poor technique will have an adverse effect on your grade.

Class is cancelled for Monday, November 19th

Hello all, 

I am canceling class on Monday, November 19th so that I can attend my uncle's funeral. So, you don't have to come to class. The next time we will meet is Monday, November 26. Keep shooting for the Get Out of the House assignment until you feel you have at least 10 strong images. They can be from multiple excursions. 

Also, you have to do a 'fun' little holiday assignment. Assignment is below. Happy Thanksgiving. 

'Fun' holiday mini assignment

You only have to do one of these:

If you are going home for Thanksgiving:
Make and exhibit of the art in your parents home

If you aren't going home for Thanksgiving:
Make field guide to your yard

For either assignment, you need a minimum of 5 shots. Post them to Flickr. Make a Set for them. You have to put in captions for the Art at Parents Home assignment, but not the other one.

Should take you about 15 minutes to shoot either of these assignments. It isn't due until after you get back from Thanksgiving vacation. You don't have to edit them.

Next class, we will spend most, if not all of class, editing.

upcoming flash at night mini assignment

We will discuss this on Wednesday.

Collection of gelled flash images incorporating the night sky.

Get Out of the House assignment

For this assignment, you are to go somewhere that you have never been before. Take compelling photographs of the experience/location/activity/travel, etc. I want photos that speak to your take on the experience. Photos that only you can take because only you see it/feel about it that way. They should demonstrate your understanding of photography as an artistic medium. I want no less than 30 unique images.

DO NOT EDIT THEM. We will spend Wednesday editing the images in class. You all need more practice editing your images. I want to see you edit your images so that I can assist you in the process. 

Your trip doesn't have to be grandiose. It could be a trip to a small town that you have never been to eat at a greasy spoon diner. Stop along the way and photograph anything that interests you.
Or a road trip to anywhere new. A store. Cabellas? Frankenmuth Christmas village? A silly roadside attraction like worlds largest pie. A state or metro park that you haven't been to before. Take a trip on a public bus. Take photos of the entire bus experience. Any type of new place or experience. 
Look up work by Stephen Shore, Alec Soth, Robert Franks, William Eggleston.  Good photos can be made of anything.

Hope that helps.

Get out of the house

Stephen Shore - street photographer?




a shorter version with better video quality. Video of Stephen Shore's photographs with his own narration

Flash! Savior of the Universe!

Flash, Flash, I love you!

The Strobist website/blog is a great place to start learning about using flash. There is a ton of information available from there. The video immediately below if from there.

Large format lenses use leaf shutters which allow you to use flash at all shutter speeds. This allows you to use fill flash even when it is very bright outside and you need/want to use a fast shutter speed.


Nikon AS-15 PC to hotshoe adaptor

Various Nikon off camera TTL cables

Composition

Wednesday/Thursday, we will discuss the effective use of focal length to control the apparent space between objects. We will also disucuss composition. To follow up on that, I would like you to read the following over the weekend.

The Art of Black and White Photography: Techniques for Creating Superb Images in a Digital Workflow, read Part III: Rules of Composition. The whole thing.

http://www.utoledo.edu/library/

Go to the Quick Links section and hit Search

Or go directly to

http://utmost.cl.utoledo.edu/search

Once you find the book, you click on the read online link or something like that. If you connected to the internet via a UT connection, you will not have to sign in. If you are at home, then you will have to sign in using your name and R number.

A really great Kodak presentation on photo composition made in the late 1970s. I love this presentation. I have it on slide and audio cassette; easier to show this way.

Kodak Guidelines for Better Photographic Composition - this is an old Kodak guide to photo composition that someone scanned and transcribed. The images still hold up. It is a newer version of the other presentation.

Kodak Guide to Better Pictures: Composition - simplistic, but there is still some good information and images here.

Homework for Wednesday

Take a star trail photo. At least a 5 minute exposure. Use your remote to trigger the opening and closing of the shutter. Don't pace near the tripod when the shutter is open. Avoid brightly lit area such as near a street lamp. Use Long Exposure Noise Reduction.
You don't need to bring your cameras to class on Wednesday as I will be presenting a lecture on composition. Be sure to bring your memory card though so that you can upload them to Flickr.

**MONDAY WE WILL BE MEETING AT THE PLANETARIUM**

Hello guys, 
Monday we are going to meet at 9:30 am at the Ritter Planetarium on main campus. It is the littler building with the dome on it. Just meet in the hallway. You will see Faux Space photos there in the display cases. 
We will learn how to use a telescope to take astrophotography and  watch a movie in the planetarium about the same. 
Please email me to let me know that you got this message: seder.burns@utoledo.edu
Thanks, 
Seder

Faux Space, Your Next Frontier

In the Fall of 2012, University of Toledo Physics department unveiled a new fancy projector in the Ritter Planetarium. As part of their grand opening ceremony, they invited us to put up work in conjunction with the opening. It went really well. Students enjoyed the project and produced really great images. So the Physics department asked us to do it again.

Your class will be the third class to produce prints on this theme for display at the Planetarium. Next time you are on campus, be sure to stop by Ritter Auditorium on main campus to see the prints on display from the previous class. They play full dome films in their planetarium which are fun to see. You should check one out.

So, your second Project is going to be about Space. This may seem difficult with photo, but I assure you there is much that you can do. Start by checking out this excellent series of photos of the topic.



The film The Fountain made use of close up photography of viscus fluids for much of the special effects. Here is a short write up about it. Here is a link to the guys that made the visual effects with some additional similar examples.










A Photogallery honoring the first chimp in space. InPraise of Ham the Astrochimp.
-->

Air and Space magazine have a collection of photos and articles titled 50 Years of Space Flight. 

Americans Dream of Space. A great video about the nation's excitement and fascination with space during the 1950s-1980s. Excellent gallery of early space program photos.

Did you know that there is a museum dedicated to space named The Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio? Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, was born in Wapakoneta. The museum chronicles Ohio's contributions to the history of space flight.

You can make an inexpensive balloon camera outfit and launch it. Similar article in PopScience. Yet another similar project.

Be sure to check out NASA's extensive resources. Much of the imagery that comes to mind when we think of Space is included in NASA's Great Images in NASA collection.

Here are the Flickr Astro Photographers of the Year for 2012

-->

Additional food for thought: There are some people who don't think we ever really landed on the moon.

Bannedin America: Proof of Fake Moonlanding is a film on the topic. It is interesting as they explain the methods which they believe were used to fake everything. You could use these techniques to fake your own trip to the moon. If you want more information on the supposed conspiracy, just do an internet search on ‘Moon Hoax’.

Think aliens...think early space exploration…think current space exploration….think space tourism…watch some bad science fiction for inspiration…think War of the Worlds….read up on private space exploration such as Space X. Most people believe it is where the future of space exploration lies.

Nice collection of water based photos.

The only limitation is that any editing that occurs to your image must take place in Adobe Camera Raw. This isn’t an exercise to see how good you are at image editing. This is to say, you are supposed to the work for this assignment with your camera, not on the computer. It’s about how creative you can be. Millions of excellent photographs were taken prior to the invention of the computer. You are allowed to perform local edits in ACR.

Below is a slideshow made from the students work from Fall 2012. You can see the images as a Set on Flickr.




Here is a little video about getting into Astrophotography




Created with flickr slideshow.

Lomography Student Discounts

FYI: Students can get 35% off Lomography photo products.

Photograph a Significant Outfit

There is an artist by the name of Miranda July whose work I adore. She is an author, performance artist, conceptual artist, actor, director, and all around amazing. She has a website, Learning to Love You More, which provided 'assignments' for the public to complete. People would then submit their completed work for possible inclusion on the website. No longer active, it is still a fantastic site. I am asking you to complete Assignment #55: Photograph a Significant Outfit. There are lots of examples there. This is due on Monday as a RAW file. You will have time to edit it and post it to Flickr at the beginning of class. You must include the significance of the outfit as a caption on Flickr. I suggest that you write that ahead of time.

This assignment serves to introduce you to the powerful combination of text and image. Additionally, I want you to explore photography in a different context. Not all images have to look good to be good.

If you want to read a really excellent collection of short, quirky stories, then I encourage you to read Miranda July's book No One Belongs Here More Than You. She has also written and directed two films.

Previous Students' Faux Space images

<

color spaces and Flickr

It is important to keep your files in the sRGB color space for use on Flickr (or for any screen use for that matter). If you upload images in Adobe RGB color space, they will experience a very noticeable color shift.
Below is a screen grab from Flickr showing an identical image except for the color space assigned. It isn't supposed to be purple.
When preparing an image for print, use the Adobe RGB color space which works with a larger range of color.

Focal Length experiments - due Wednesday

Two sets of photos:
1. Take a set of photos of three objects. A foreground, middle ground, and background. Set the camera up on tripod. Take an image at your longest, shortest, and middle of the road focal lengths. Don't move the camera at all between the shots. Use the same exposure for all the shots.
This image illustrates the idea of what you are trying to do.   
Another example. 

2. Select a subject. Take an image at your longest, shortest, and middle of the road focal lengths. Move the camera as necessary to keep the foreground subject the same size. A friend works well as a subject. Note how the apparent distance between foreground and background elements seems to change.Use the same exposure for all the shots.
Here is a nice example of what you are trying to do. 
Here is another nice example of what you are trying to do. 
Here is yet another example. 

Other links you might find useful/interesting:
Effect of focal length and DoF
Illustration of the effect of changed perspective in combination with change in focal length
Series of portraits taken using different focal lengths and perspectives.

Artists' work viewed in class

Ruud Van Empel

Loretta Lux