#tgp3m

[artsycherry]

Culminating Activities - Part 5 - Reflection - The Skills I Wish to Further Develop

If I have learned anything over the course of this class it is that there is always room for improvement. Therefore, I know that I have some weak points when it comes to my photography, and it is these weaker skills that I wish to develop further.

In the future I wish to first gain an even greater understanding and ability to apply the elements and principles of design as I beeive thm to be essential to not just photography, but all forms of visual art. Second, I intend to experiment more with black and white photography as I really enjoyed Ansel Adams' and Yousuf Karsh's capabilities with it, and wish to be just as capable in that medium in the future. Third, I want to further practice planning, setting-up, and taking portrait photographs as I realize that I have little experience in that area of photography, and wish to rectify this. Finally, I intend to keep practicing and experimenting with Photoshop in order to improve my current level of ability, and my confidence with the program.

[artsycherry]

Culminating Activities - Part 5 - Reflection - Most Challenging Aspect of the Course

I believe the aspect of the course that I found most challenging was the Photoshop portion of the course.

I rarely use Photoshop, because I try to take my photographs the way I want them to be in the end. Therefore the most I've used Photoshop on my photos in the past was usually when I needed to do a minor cropping to one of my photos. Other than that, my experience with Photoshop going into this course was pretty much nil. Therefore, when we began the Photoshop portion of the course, I was quite apprehensive. I was uncomfortable with the program as I had used it so little, and the many tools that were available to use really confused me. Fortunately, we began with some instruction on the basic tools for had we not I would've been lost. It was through much trial and error (with emphasis on the error), that I learned how to use Photoshop.

Having now overcome the challenge of learning the basics of Photoshop, and applying it to my work, I feel more comfortable with the idea of using Photoshop in the future. I also believe that this knowledge will be very useful to me for any future photographic endeavors. I only hope that I will one day have less dependency on the undo button.

[artsycherry]

Culminating Activities - Part 5 - Reflection - My Two Best Photographs

I believe that my two best photos are Portrait #1, and By the Light of the Moon.

Portrait #1 was my first submission for the portrait assignment, Assignment 7. It depicts my younger brother, Joseph, in profile view, looking out over the water. The best aspect of this photograph is the lighting, as my brother in back-lit by the sun, and side-lit from the sunlight reflecting off the water before him. The bright back-lighting gives my brother an almost unearthly glow, whilst the softer side-lighting lights-up my brother's face and prevents the photograph from being a silhouette shot. This unusual lighting scheme amplifies the photo's use of contrast by giving my brother a bright, and defined outline. This outline makes the photo appear almost unreal, and yet it was not edited in any way. Overall, I believe this photo to be one of my best photos, and probably my very best portrait shot.

By the Light of the Moon was one of my submissions for the shape and form assignment. It depicts a moon partially blocked by some clouds, and framed by the silhouette of some branches. This photograph is a great example of the element of shape, as the silhouetted branches appear two-dimensional due to them being back-lit by the light of the moon. The photo is also somewhat symmetrical, and it makes good use of the principles of contrast and value. There is a great deal of contrast between the branches, moonlight, and moon, which makes the image rather eye-catching and engaging. There is also a great deal of value in the various grays of the clouds between the bright moon and dark branches. This value helps to soften the image preventing the contrast between the branches and moon from being overwhelming. It also helps to add interest to the sky region of the photograph by ensuring that the sky is not simply one flat, boring, shade of gray, but many. One of my best, most difficult to take, and most popular photos, By the Light of the Moon is a photo I shall continue to be proud of for years to come.

[artsycherry]

Culminating Activities - Part 5 - Reflection - Three Things I Learned in this Course

There are many things I learned throughout this photography course that are of great value to me as a photographer. However, I feel that the most important were about the elements and principles of design, portrait photography, and how to use Photoshop.

Before the start of this course I had had a basic knowledge of the elements and principles of design, and was used to using this knowledge to critique other artists' work. I did not, however, have much practice with applying said elements and principles to my own work. This course changed that. By having assignments on each element of design in which I had to actually take photos that made good use of the element, I feel that I had good practice in applying these elements to my work, and gained a better understanding of each individual element. For any artist, such knowledge is invaluable.

I also appreciate the knowledge I gained in this course when researching a portrait photographer (Yousuf Karsh). I belief that portrait photography is one of my weak points in photography seeing as I rarely take portrait photographs, and plan them out even less. I believe that the greater understanding I gained of portrait photography through my study of Karsh, along with the practice I received while working on my 6 portraits (assignment 7) has made me a stronger portrait photographer. I no longer find the idea of planning and taking these pictures to be as difficult as I did originally. Clearly, a little practice goes a long way.

The final thing I learned in this course that I felt was of great use to me was the knowledge of how to use Photoshop. I'm not a master with this program or anything, but the knowledge I gained by way of the introductory assignments, as well as the effort I put in my later assignments in applying said knowledge has made me more capable and confidant with Photoshop. For example, I no longer look at the magic wand tool and think "what on earth is that supposed to do?" Seeing as I had little experience in Photoshop prior to this course, I believe this knowledge has made me much stronger as both a photographer, and as an artist.

[artsycherry]

Photo of: Joseph Photo by: Me (Cheryll)

Assignment #7 - Portrait #6

This photograph was taken at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). When we were in the medieval armor and weaponry exhibit, I noticed the similarity in height of the suit of armor on display and my little brother. I got the idea in my head that would spawn this photo, and asked my brother to stand in a specific spot and bow slightly to the suit of armor. Once I was pleased with the symmetry of between the armor and my brother, I took this photograph.

The photograph portrays the principle of symmetry very well. not only is there a symmetry between my brother and the armor, but the photo itself is divided in half by the glass boundary of the display-case.

The photo also makes good use of colour. The complementary colours of blue and orange are represented by the blue tiles in the armor display-case, and the orange background of another display-case.

When taking this photo I couldn't help but think that the young men of today (like my brother) come to see armor like this in museums, and yet once upon a time boys their age were wearing it. This thought kind of scared me.

Other than a minor cropping in order to center the divide between my two subjects, this photo is unaltered.

[artsycherry]

Photo of: Joseph Photo by: Me (Cheryll)

Assignment #7 - Portrait #5

This portrait of my little brother was also taken on Halloween. Like my self-portrait, this photo makes use of the light from my pumpkin in order to light-up the subject's face. Overall, it is a good composition that makes good use of the elements of contrast, value, and colour.

This photograph also makes good use of the element of line. This use can be seen in the natural, vertical lines on the pumpkin, the varying lines formed by my carving of the pumpkin, and the angled lines that make-up the outline of my brother's face.

I love the effect that the light from the pumpkin has on a person's face, and will therefore be sure to further experiment with this concept next Halloween.

This photograph is unaltered.

[artsycherry]

Photo of: Me (Cheryll) Photo by: Me (Cheryll)

Assignment #7 - Portrait #4 - Self Portrait

The above self-portrait was taken on Halloween (hence the pumpkin and the elf ears). Whilst handing out candy to little monsters, I realized that it would be a good idea to take a photo of my pumpkin seeing as I put a few hour's worth of my time into it. So, later in the evening, once the street was silent, I got my camera and took a few shots of my pumpkin. I then got my uncle to take this photo of me and my pumpkin. I was hoping that the light from the pumpkin would light-up my face in an interesting way, and I was not disappointed.

I really like the near-symmetry of this photo as it appears balanced, and yet not enough to be unrealistic or predictable. My sightly crooked elf ears add to this effect, and better the composition by taking up some of the space on either side of my head. This space would normally lack anything but background, so this change from the norm adds interest whilst providing the eye a new path to follow.

I also really like the contrast provided by the lighting in this image. The contrast between the dark pumpkin and the light from the carved regions, between my light face and dark hair, and between my dark eyes and the lighter skin around them is striking.

Originally, I had planned to change the background of this photograph. However, I really liked the way the horizontal lines of the blinds in the background were intersected by the angled lines of my elf ears. The use of line in the background also worked well with the lines formed by my pumpkin carvings.The problem was that the blinds seen in the background only went from the left-side of the image to about halfway on the right-side. The rest of the background on the right-side was formed by the dark bricks that surrounded the window. To combat this, I used the clone stamp tool to make the blinds cover the whole of the background instead of just a part of it.

[artsycherry]

Photo of: Joseph Photo by: Me (Cheryll)

Assignment #7 - Portrait #3

The portrait of my younger brother seen above was taken at Christmas. I set it up so that the tree was lit-up and visible in the background, and my brother was facing the camera over the back of the couch. I included the upper portion of the couch in the composition because I thought it added to the image, and looked suitably festive.

I really like the calm, natural colours depicted in this photograph. The greens, beige, creams, and browns all go very well together. Also, the small amount of red in the couch is set off nicely by it's complementary colour, green.

I did a major editing job on this photo by using the clone stamp tool to rid my brother of his acne (and one of his fingers because it was annoying me). This turned out to be a more ambitious undertaking then I had first assumed, as it was really difficult to get an even skin tone whilst ensuring that my subject's face had the proper amount of shading on his cheeks (given the angle of the lighting). It took a lot of effort, and more use of the undo button then I am normally used to, but I believe that the final product turned out rather well.

I included the original image with the altered one for comparison.