Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Propaganda Poster

I wish I had written "about bills" and "about change" instead of "of", but that's just me being nit-picky. Some pieces look too photoshopped because I didn't make the shadows, and that bothers me. Also, I am never going to chew that much gum ever again.

B&W and Color Spider Web @ Night


Monday, July 26, 2010

Flash Experiments



Here we have Margo without flash, Margo with a modified flash (the lint sheet cover) and Margo with a regular flash.
But I have yet to figure out how to keep images rotated using photoshop! Any ideas?

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

House in a Thunderstorm


When I was walking home from the barn the other day, it was thundering directly overhead, but the sun was setting in the distance, so the ambience was ridiculous. This is just a picture of the back of my house from the back field, but the light was so cool, and I love the contrast, so I thought I'd share.

Messing with Angles





My friend, Lauren, and I went up to the fire tower on Blue Job the other day to take some pictures and eat some blueberries on the way down. I had a lot of fun messing around with the different angles, and some pictures I am really excited about, mainly the one of the broken wire. It came out better than I expected.

Experimenting with Color




Here we have an overly saturated Lauren resting at the top of Mt. Major, although I actually really like the saturation. We got distracted on the way down the mountain when we found a field of blueberry bushes, as the b&w photo makes obvious. I was worried about that one because the sun was directly behind Lauren so I wasn't sure if it would work out as I hoped, but it seems ok. I also really like her reflection in the puddle.

Flaneur 2

These are the other three of the series, all of which (I realize now, after adding them) were taken in Portsmouth on rainy days. I don't like this at all because they all have the same type of light, which makes them look more similar and less interesting. compositionally, I am not 100% sure I actually really like any of them. For example, the one taken of Prescott Park is very symmetrical, which I like, but I think it could have been cropped to make it more visually appealing- I just wasn't sure where to crop it.
As for the fire escapes. I love spiral staircases. When I have a house of my own, all of the staircases will be spiral. Well, maybe. But that was the real reason I decided to take this picture, that, and I liked the contrast of the brick and the black metal. I am not sure I really like the angles yet though.
The trash picture is pretty self-explanitory, but I really like how the arrow on the ground is pointing to the trash pile. I didn't actually notice that until I was looking at the photo on the computer.


Flaneur 1


My apologies for the long delay! For these six images I am splitting up between two posts just to make them a little more organized. The black and white photo here was taken in Providence, RI on a sunny day. Walking past this alley, the steam seeping up through the ground (or building...) caught my eye. Purely as an experiment, I decided to see if I would be able to captureit, and to my surprise it came out relatively well. I'm terrible with angles though, and to me it seems like there is too much road, but I'm not sure.
The next photo of the mercedes driving past a dumpster I just thought was funny, because there are two very different situations right next to each other. I also like the color contrast between the foreground and background. The last of these three was taken at around 8:30 PM outside a fair in Hanover, NH. After noticing the facial expression on the balloon, there was no way I could not take a picture. I especially like this one because it looks like the balloon is looking out from behind the tent, which gives it personality.


Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Time of Day/Type of Light



This city scape photo is one I took in Providence, RI at around noon. Rules were made to be broken, right? Despite the sun being directly overhead, I really like the contrast in this photo, and I think the reflections in the water really add to it as well as all the shadows around the bridge and buildings.
As for the residential, this was taken at around four in the afternoon on a miserable rainy day in Portsmouth. The light on the fence is pretty uniform, and there aren't many highlights because there is no direct sunlight. Regardless, I like the color contrast of the trees, the fence, and the sidewalk, and the angle helps.
Lastly, I am disappointed that I was not able to fully capture the color of the sky in this "natural" photo. The lighting was completely ridiculous, because it was eight at night during a thunderstorm. So basically the sky was a sunset through thunderheads and it was amazing. The photo was taken in the field behind my house, and I really like the way the light is reflecting off the machinery, and almost making them glow. Probably not the best idea to be walking around in a field at that time, but it was worth it!

Scanner as Camera

After posting this I realized showing an open lighter could probably give the wrong impression... but in all honesty I am simply admitting my pyromania. And plus, zippos are really fun to play with. The other things are pretty self-explanitory, just symbolic of some of my interests. Compositionally, I really like how the red bandana pops out, and the darker red rose brings it back, but dumbs it down a bit. I think the bronze of the horse head/shoe and the mouth piece bring balance to the piece, and the sheet of music behind everything keeps it all together.

Kiddie Beauty Pageants

Little Miss Sunshine is the only Beauty Pageant I would ever go to. And I just made this picture way too busy.

Rythmical

Did I even spell that right?

Dinosaur

I don't know about you guys, but Ke$ha definitely taught me how to spell Dinosaur...

Nest

Curved Figures

Playing with Filters

Cacophony

Uncomfortable

Exquisite Corpse

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Seven Deadly Sins


Some very eager subjects

Visit to DeCordova 2



There were a few sculptures at the museum that I loved, and included is the stream with the stone arched fountains. They were almost regal, the way they we placed there, and elegant in a very rough sort of way. So I really liked those. One thing I did not like was the 1936 Crysler Air Stream sculpture. I am a freak when it comes to old cars, which I blame my father for, but the car just seemed so fake to me that it took away from the point of the piece of art. I also did not really understand the whole video sound system bit- there didn't seem to be much point to it.

Vist To DeCordova 1



On July 8th we took a field trip to the DeCordova museum and sculpture park to see a photography exhibit by Barbara Norfleet, titled Landscapes of War. I thought the exhibit was well put together, and I found her subject very interesting- before this I didn't even know there were high-security Cold War military sites in the south west. In a way I liked how she softened the striking appearance of the military sites with the flower pictures on the side, but I also think that almost takes away from the seriousness of the subject, and that her images themselves are enough to comprehend. These first two pieces are my favorite of hers, so I decided to copy them from the DeCordova website. The one of the giant spools of metal cord (I forget what it's called exactly) seems to me to not only exemplify the vastness of the area by deliberately making everything seem so spread out, but it also shows that the military sees no reason for containing themselves or their equipment which also exemplifies the selfishness of the country in a sense. The second image could also serve the same purpose, in that they built this building just to abandon it. I'm almost glad they did though, because the way the light filters through it creates an unbelievable image that tricks my mind every time I look at it. I love it.

Durham in B&W Contact

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Cone and Cow Barn


UNH cow barns

Honey Bee and Milk Weed

With these photos I started experimenting with photoshop. I've never used the program before, and colors entertain me in general, so I had a lot of fun messing around with the curves, and changing the color patterns and saturation levels. It's amazing to see what small changes can alter a picture so drastically!

PCAC

Horse statue in PCAC