Time Lapse

In the spirit of exam time, I decided to make my time lapse of a high schooler studying, and the process of this journey for him. My time lapse tells a little story and goes through the time of his studying, which starts with him finding the perfect spot to get buried in his work to his complete lack of concentration as he sleeps on a rock. My subject slowly goes from being very involved with his study's to finding a rock as a not so comfortable bed. I enjoyed doing this project, it was difficult working with my light meter so I had to do still photos but I think it worked out nicely. The photoshop process was tedious but definitely paid off, and overall this was something that wasn't very complicated but looks good and interesting.

Mentor Project

History Created By Robert Capa

Dillon Breen

           Not all history is written in thick books or carved in ancient caves. Some history isn't told verbally or by hand. There is a unique way of keeping the past in mind, a way that we can capture a split second of it and actually see what was going on. This method is called photography. Many of the worlds past times are kept relevant through pictures, these taken by some people that devote their lives to one passion that they have. Robert Capa, a Hungarian photographer born in October 1913, spent much of his life taking pictures of the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War. During this time he captured real life moments of things that few have caught and represents what these wars were like even today after they're long gone. Through his tendency to display the raw brutality of war, the obeying of the rules of photography and classic black and white photography, Capa demonstrates his talent and professionalism as he does in the three photos above.

         The picture to the upper right is one of Capa's many unique and famous photos. It was taken in the town of Chartres at the time of the liberation of France. The woman with the shaved head is being punished for having loved, or having at least given comfort to, a German; an enemy of her fellow Frenchmen. Like all of Capa's photos, it is black and white. It's nice how the black and white actually ties into the picture in this case however, as one might notice that the soldiers and their guns are rather dark while the woman and her flower is white and light grey. It demonstrates the violence and peace going on and clashing. This certainly makes this picture special. Capa also obeys the basic rules of photography by creating balance by making the gap between the woman and the soldiers in the centre of the photo. Finally, Capa successfully captures the brutality of war by showing the unfair treatment to innocent people and the robbing of being able to even comfort someone who is not from your country. These men are pointing their guns to not only an innocent women but one of their own people. Because of these reasons this picture is one of the three chosen ones, it is one of his finest.

          Up top and to the left is another one of Capa's many famous war photos. This particular photo was taken near Troina, Sicily, August 4, 1943. It was a reconnaissance mission. This picture is special because without even seeing the soldiers face one can tell that he has been through hell. The black and white only enhances this photo; the background just appears as an empty abyss and the soldier is a lost, injured animal trying to find it's way home. It's not difficult to determine that the soldier is not having a good time, Capa captures the destruction war causes on not only an environment but the soldiers them selves. It's likely this man once had many troops by his side and is now all alone to go home and tell the stories of how he watched his friends die. He appears weak, exhausted and hungry as he walks through the ruins of war. Although this photo, like many, is one of Capa's famous documentary-like pictures, he manages to do a perfect job in getting the soldier in rule of thirds as well as having a simple background. Once again, one of the greatest things about this photo is just how well Capa was able to grab the brutality of war without even showing the soldiers face, he manages to do this by working well with is only option of black and white, displaying the terrors of war in this empty abyss, and using basic rules of photography despite the subject being unaware of being photographed.

         The final photograph is much different than the others. This photo is war in action, soldiers approaching a beach to fight. When the soldiers of the 16^th Regiment of the 1^st Infantry Division landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, Robert Capa, the employee of Life magazine was among them. The black and white makes these soldiers look like frantic fish in a blank sea of white water and in front of them is the smokey unknown future of what is to come. And past this wall of what smoke lies hectic and disturbing war. Capa's point of view is great, he's able to show what really life war is like, reaching the shore and preparing for battle. It really is awful and Capa shows that and tells the story of twenty or so men stuffed together in a tiny metal boat (which is more like a raft) who will then jump out and into waste high freezing cold water. From there they must fight for their lives, Capa does a great job at showing this through his photography and once again takes the shot from a great angle. The sides and bottom of the boat act as borders, creating a focus on the scrambling, terrified soldiers. The wall of smoke in the back also creates simplicity in the photo. Another one of Capa's finest photos, as stated, he does a great job at working with black and white by creating unique imagery as well as a story that tells the course of a soldier and the horror's they will see, and finally, despite being in the fray is able to make beautiful art that obeys the rules of photography.

          Robert Capa is a unique photographer that somehow was able to focus on creating great photography even though he was literally put through not one war, but five as he went along with the chaotic mess that man made. His passion for art carried him through his journeys and he risked his life every day just as the soldiers did while he worked with his environment's to take these photos for the rest of the world. By using the only option he had, black and white, and still being able to tell his stories of his work through it, grasping and emphasizing the reality of just what these soldiers that fought for their countries went though, and somehow being able to go through war, not being able to freeze time and have people pose, Capa took the rules of photography and used them in his amazing art. Robert Capa created history and helped remember the these significant past times and mankind and for that he in himself will be a historical photographer and remembered.

This is my photograph impressing Capa's style. Like Robert Capa, I ensured my photo was in black and white making it look more rigid, I also put my focus in rule of thirds to follow photography rules just as Capa did, and I tried to display the brutality of war by having my subject take cover in ruins while he fights in war. I really enjoyed copying Capa's style and am satisfyed with the final outcome. If I were to change anything I would make it so that my subject is a little more clear and that the photo looks a little more naturally taken as if I was Capa following real action.

Alternate Processes

 

 

 

 Photogram:
This process probably required the most experimenting personally. It took many different tries. I was trying to get objects that would reflect some light, I believe I was decently successful. I got as many plastic peices as possible, this including a plastic bag, goggles, and a thumb tack case. I wanted to show some disorganization and things all over the place as photography can be a little bit like that for me. I made sure the photo had some balance by putting my headphone down in the gap. I'm satisfied with the final outcome, it took many tries to get some contrast instead of black in white but in the end I think it looks ok and get's the message I wanted across. Seven seconds of exposure.

 Double Exposure:
This was by far the most frustrating and least successful process for me. Getting to pictures with the same light exposure was hard enough but then lining them up and making it work was thrown on top. I purposely took pictures of two tunnels and then a picture of Harry with his arms out. I wanted to blend these photo's to represent not knowing what path to go down. I think it relates well to high schoolers especially, as well as the rest of the world since we've all had hard decisions to make in our lifetime. Altough the picture isn't beautiful, I think the message is decent. A: 18 for both photo's as well as 1000 shutter speed due to the fact that it was a sunny day. Thirteen seconds of exposure.

Solarization:
This was my favourite of the three processes, it took some experimenting but I found it fun, not frustrating. I chose this photo simply due to the fact that it look nice and contrasty because it was taken at Wedgewood. I was happy to get a picture of Harry in mid-air jumping the river and thought it looked cool so I took it. I was hoping for all sorts of shades once solarized which I got to an extent. The tree's look cool in this photo, it would have been nice to get a cool water effect but that didn't happen. But I thought that solarizing this picture would almost give Harry a sort of 'superhero' look with the effect which is why I chose this picture. After many trials, the final outcome was paper that was exposed for six seconds and then flashed for about two and a half seconds under light after being slightly developed. I used an A of 18 and a 1000 shutter speed once again not only because of the bright sun but so that I could catch Harry with no blur.

Breaking the Rules

No Balance f 18A 125 SS

Lack of Balance and Rule of Thirds f 22A 500 SS

Subject is off to the right f 22A 250 SS

This is my Breaking the Rules assignment. I thought this was going to be more difficult than it was once I discovered that I could really take any sort of picture, it didn't have to make sense. The pictures I chose to use for my three did make more sense then the rest of the photos I took while breaking rules. All three of these pictures maintain subjects but they are breaking some of the main rules of photography. To take pictures that could be considered good while at the same time making them look different then normal pictures one might take following the basic rules was a little bit of a task but I don't mind what I came up with.





Here are the other 20:

Modern Renaissance

 

Renaissance Write Up

Jacopo Tintoretto (real name Jacopo Comin) was an Italian painter known for his famous Renaissance pictures. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed II Furioso. His work is characterized by its muscular figures, dramatic gestures, and bold use of perspective in the Mannerist style. Tintoretto was born in Venice in 1518 as the eldest of 21 children! His father was a dyer, or tintore; hence the nickname of Tintoretto, little dyer. Only a child, Jacopo would draw on his fathers walls. One day his father took him to the studio of Titian where he practised drawing. Titian told Jacopo that he would never be able to be a painter, so Jacopo stopped going. However, he continued to paint on walls and was eventually painting on the walls and ceilings for churches, becoming better known. Tintoretto also did portrait paintings, quickly getting a reputation for his darker lit, formal portraits. Tintoretto has many famous, well known paintings to date, including his version of The Last Supper, which was painted with oil paint on canvas as were the majority of his paintings. Oil was newly discovered and made it so that it was not a big deal if mistakes were made, it also gave a different texture and effect, Tintoretto strived with this. He died in 1594, living a very long life (during that time) of 75 years.

The painting I chose is one of Tintoretto's earlier work, it has a simple title of "Portrait of a man". Like many of Tintoretto's portraits, this is dark with a serious looking man as the focus. It looks as though this was painted with oil paint, again like many of Tintoretto's portraits.

The main characteristics of the renaissance were painting and sculpting and the elements of paintings were colour, shape, space, texture, tone and value. On a side note, some of the key inventions during the renaissance time include the golf ball (a very popular game during the time), muzzle loaded rifles, the first known copyright granted, dry-point engravings, the first parachute, created by Leonardo DaVinci as well as the theory of flying machines, bell chimes, and the first map globe. Many key things that we still use today were thought up and invented during the renaissance time and it obviously changed painting forever.

Studio Lighting

        The three photographs above are all those of the studio lighting assignment. I had to chose a subject as a model and take three portraits of him using different lighting techniques. Going into this I was not looking forward to it. I didn't think the experimental portion would be very much fun. Not to say that I ended up loving taking these photos, but it wasn't so bad either. I liked experimenting with the different lighting techniques and seeing how many different results I could get from very minor changes. I think the pictures turned out decently and I was able to cover some main lighting techniques. And taking these photos took not but 20 minuted which is always nice. I ran into no problems doing studio lighting, I think it is difficult to run into problems with this specific assignment as all of the lighting is experimental, there is no right or wrong. The picture to the top left is one where I took one studio light, lowered it, and aimed it straight up at my subject, lighting him up along with a nice circle of light on the background. It also created a cool shadow of my subject. The picture to the top right included moving my subject forward, lowering a studio light and aiming it at the basckground without hitting my subject. This caused my subject to be dark and my background to be light. The photo at the bottom is simply a studio light at medium height aiming at my subject from the side. I also decided to use the disc to reflect a gold-ish light to the side of my subject's face. I like how my subject's face is split right down the middle, half light and half dark. The shadow effect is nice too. Overall I underestimated the fact that doing studio can be fun and I ran into no problems and am very happy with the results.

Painting with Light

 

The photos above are ones of the painting with light assignment. These have been my favourite pictures to shoot thus far as I can be very experimental and it's really exciting seeing how they turn out. I ran into a block when my original pictures got deleted, but these ones are better in my opinion so it worked out fine. Through trial and error I was able to come up with some results that I'm happy with and enjoyed trying out new things. I used an f22 aperture and a shutter speed of 15 seconds.

Mixing Light

The three photographs above are those which include a subject with natural light and placed light. All three pictures were taken in the school theatre as it has some cool lights that you can control and it was not in use at the time. It only took me one period to take these picture. They were fun to take for I was able to experiment and try something I've never done before. I used a flashlight on my subjects face due to the fact that a flash light is nice and mobile as well as all of the portable studio lights were being used at the time. I like the top picture the best, the light in the background reflects on to the walls and my subject is nice and centered giving a cool effect. I enjoyed taking these photos and trying out new things to see the different outcomes. The pictures below are what I was supposed to do, whoops. These picutres include the mixing of sunlight and a flashlight. I interpreted natural light as in lights within the school so I re-shot and took a couple of the proper ones. These were tricky as the camera hardly picked up the flashlight with the strong sun, however after some camera adjusting I was able to make it work a little better and am happy with the outcome. My subject is in rather dark areas with some sunlight creeping in a flashlight to illuminate his face.

Name Banner

I found this to be a doable, yet challenging project. Probably because I screwed up multiple times, but that's ok. This particular project consisted of searching for letters of inaminate objects throughout the school and attempting to spell out your name after some editing on photoshop. Going into it I thought we were allowed to take pictures of actual letters throughout the school, after looking around I discovered that that would be just too easy (but kind of nice). Letters actually do show up within the school which was cool to discover becasue it's not like you're actually looking out for those things even though they're right in front of your eyes every day. I probably ended up moving the photos onto my computer three of four times, each time realizing I was missing some letters and had to do some more shooting. Perhaps I would have benifited with some better organization. Once I finally got all my pictures taken I started making my banner on photoshop, only I thought we actually needed to make three banners, not just one. It turned out we just needed three options for each letter, not three banners. My bad. But I am finally done and despite all my self-inflicted errors, I was able to complete this project and appreciate looking at the school in a different way and exercising my creative eyes.

Nicholas Samaras

One of my favorite photographers is Nicholas Samaras. I'm able to appreciate his photography because the majority of it is taken underwater - not exactly an easy thing to do. There are few famous photographers who do underwater photography because it's not an easy thing to do. He's diving deep into oceans regularly taking pictures of creatures that the majority of the world has never seen, which is what I really like about him, it's rare to see a picture of something that you have never even seen before. Frankly, underwater creature kind of scare the crap out of me, but I think that might make me like his pictures more. Some of the fish look like creepy glow in the dark aliens, but they're cool and they're unique and probably takes a pretty special camera to be able to dive that deep and take such cool pictures like his. Here is one of the many cool pictures Samaras has shot:

Samaras Photography

Overall, I just like how much work Samaras puts into his photography considering that for him to take pictures he has to have some sort of special camera, take a boat out to the middle of the sea, have diving gear and/or a sub, dive deep underwater, and finally have to wait around for some interesting creature to come along and take a picture of it. He has no control of his subject, can't instruct it on what to do, in fact, he has to search or wait for it. I just think his photography takes a lot of effort and it comes out worth it because we as veiwer's get to see some pretty cool photography that we otherwise would never be able to see.