Color Emphasis

Manifestly, green and red are the two prominent colors in both photos. I had to change Sam's shirt in both photos to be more vibrant using the selection tool, but it worked out swell.

Forced Perspective

In the first imaga, Michaela is supposed to look giant-like, while I look quite small. It worked okay after much effort. Although, we should have has Michaela rotate her body inward, leftish, to make it look more like she was looking at me. In the second photo, Ian is actually laying down on some lockers; after rotating the image and clone stamping, Ian looks like he's standing upright and leaning against the lockers. It looks well also.

High Pass

I used the high pass tool on this photo. The photo's focal becomes much more defined, while the image as a whole becomes clearer. I'll probably use this tool frequently in the future.

Gradient Tool

I blended four photos using the gradient tool. The first photo is of a glass of mango lassi and an Indian rug thing. I blended them because they are both the most memorable things from our family's restaraunt for me since I was a child: the appearance of the restaraunt and my favorite beverage. The second photo is made up of two images from outside my house. The lamp that hangs in front of my door, and a couple houses from across the street.

Solarization

The first photo, I used a purple and black gradient map and brightened the photo a bit.
The second photo, I used a "sea colors" gradient map, and brightened the image.

Solarization

These three photos have been solarized! The first photo is negative, while the second and the third are positive. The colors were tempered with after fixing the curves, and these photos are the result.

French Lovin'

1. Hi, Contrast.
Higher contrast, more vibrance, a little bit of lens flare, changes in the color curves, more exposure, and some other things.
2. Welcome to the now, Vintage.
Adjustment to the color curves, a sepia photo filter, and some other things.
3. Brighten up, Pictorialism.
Darkened, vignette, earasered, and a higher contrast.

Text, Sharpening, and a little bit of Lily, Amarita, and Roscoe

The theme of love is manifestly present in each of these photos. Both photos display the love of siblings, a platonic, familial love. The first photo is of my sister, Amarita. I sharpened this photo and added lyrics from Stevie Wonder's, "I Just Called." Then I changed the color tones of the photo to almost black and white by desaturating it. The touch of color emphasises the warmth that family tends to bring. The second photo is of two family friends, Lily and her little brother Roscoe. I sharpened the photo and added lyrics from Jackson 5's, "I'll Be There." The lyrics sum up the relationship between the siblings. I also changed the color tones to warmer, yellowish-brown ones. Both photos appropriately represent the platonic emotions of love.

Portrait Photographer Questions

David Bailey's: Brassai

1. David Bailey is the photographer; chosen because he takes natural and silly, real photos of awesome celebrities.

2. Brassai is the focus of the photo, standing on a balcony in southern France.

3. There is an amazing, breathtaking view of southern France to the right of Brassai. But it's low enough and out of focus enough to have the attention still be directed towards the man.

4. Because the man is rather old, he's hunched over a bit facing the camera. His torso onward is visible, and his hand is gripping the railing of the balcony. As stated, his frontal body is directed towards the camera.

5. The perspective is nothing special. No worm's eye, no giant's eye. Just a simple photo of a little old man named Brassai.

6. He looks quite serious. But at the same time, he looks like he's comfortable where he is. Unfortunately, Brassai doesn't seem like a very approachable fellow.

7. The lighting doesn't seem natural. The shadow behind Brassai is too strong. The light seems to be artificial, shining directly on him, just above him. The sunlight isn't strong enough, and the picture is too dark to have been taken during the sun's peak in the day.

8. A sense of achievement, dignity, and contentedness. Brassai has lived his life, he has accomplished a great deal, enough to allow him to be settling down in some apartment in southern France graced with a balcony. He appears to be content where he is, and not everyone gets that.

9. Brassai looks like he's serious business; the man had to have been for him to be comfortably living in such a place. He looks like this time in his life is for unwinding and relaxing. Or simply being comfortable. It's as if he's saying, "Here I am. Now, what do you want?" He appears to be dignified and--to be honest--like any other old fisherman would.

Simply Rosie's: The Accordianist

1. Simply Rosie is the photographer of this image of a little boy watching an accordian player make music.

2. The little blonde, pleasantly entertained looking boy.

3. Well, in the back view, there are a group of people watching the accordian player perform. However, the only thing in focus is the little boy, despite it being apparent that there is an accordian being played in the room.

4. In one photo, the boy is propping up his head with his left arm with his arm resting on the table, his body is leaning slightly on/towards the table. He is cupping his face with his left hand. His eyes are bright, and he's simpering. In the other photo, he's sitting on the table, his back is towards the audience, and his right arm is placed straight on the table, his body is leaning against that little arm. He's on the left side of the frame.

5. The first photo is from a simple frontal perspective, while the other is from a posterior/over the shoulder perspective. The idea is, he's being photographed watching the musician.

6. He's pleasantly entertained and content.

7. It looks as if the lighting is natural; it's coming through from a window in the room.

8. I get this feeling of, "Awwww!" The photo emits a warm, content feeling.

9. He's a curious, happy, adorable little boy, just like any other little boy.

Ethics

1. What does Credibility mean to you as a photographer?

Credibility is a vital and dire aspect of being a photographer or a photojournalist. Photography is an individual's window in to a frozen reality. If that reality is altered in any way, it's no longer a reality. It becomes a tempered abstract. Photographers lose credibility everyday when they Photoshop and edit pictures until they reach a point of absolute falsehood. Models, actors/actresses, even political media temper with the true state of things. It's quite frustrating. What's the point of putting Scarlett Johansen on the cover of Rolling Stone for her beauty if someone is going to slim her waist, perfect her skin, and make her hair look shinier than it is if the editor himself hardly finds her attractive? It's as if she really isn't as beautiful as we all thought. Photographers everywhere have lost credibility: "Is this real? Or did they edit it?" Such a thing is regularly heard

2. Time Magazine alteration: how was it changed and how did it affect the meaning?

The shot of OJ Simpson originally proved to be lighter, clean, and not frightening; while the edited, Time Magazine's photo displayed a more sinister, barbaric, startling looking man. Along with that, they darkened his skin color, which is quite offensive.

The meaning was prevalently affected between the real photo and the other. As it said in the article, Time had already decided that the man in the mugshot was guilty, so they made darn sure he looked that way. Time wasn't telling a true story, it told a twisted story that Time wanted to hear, losing much credibility from its ex-audience.

3. Difference between Ethics and Taste:

Ethics is referred to as the issues of lying and duplicity, while taste regards issues of sex, blood, and violence and things like that. As written in the article, damages or betrayal of ethics results as the bruising of a photographer's credibility.

4. How does one decide to publish/post a photo?

A photographer posts/publishes a photo if he finds that the community should know about this information. The old saying "Seeing is believing" is an accurate statement. Visual information is generally more powerful to a public than solely words. To have a photo represent literary information is emotionally powerful. This is why photographers tend to be very selective in which pictures they post/publish. More often than not, it is essential for the public to certain things--we think and act collectively in the U.S.

5. What principle does the writer base his decision on in regards to whether or not to take or publish a photo?

As the writer explicates, photographers often face a difficult conflict of whether or not to practice humanity, or to be an artist. The decision of course is hard, because in a way the photographer is helping, he's raising an awareness that wasn't quite lit yet. On the other hand, it is more immediately demanding to help right then and there, every human being is almost obligated. The author's principle is to do the latter. He says that it is his obligation as a human being, as an individual, to put down his camera and help with the situation. He says that it isn't what most photographers would agree with, but he can't do otherwise.

6. Context of a photo:

A magazine or newspaper loses its credibility if what they're trying to sell is pretty much a huge lie. The photo is hardly real--it's downright photoshopped up to her neck--the piece itself is a lie. The writer exemplified, that if the New York Times utilized the same photo that say, Weekly World News did, the NYT would lose credibility. The context of a photo really comes down to who is credible and who is not; or rather, who is going to lie, and who is going to tell us the truth.

It's almost like deciding whether or not a movie is good. If I go to Fried Green Tomatoes, I'll get the facts. If I go watch the MTV Movie Awards, I may not be getting very good information.

7. When is it okay to change a photo?

Personally, I am in agreement with the writer of the article. He describes the difference between an accidental change and an essential change, which is merely the difference between a meaningful and highly notable change, and on that is really, quite small.

As I've previously stated, a photograph is supposed to be a moment in time that is unchanged and untouched. Any sort of alteration of the photo would almost ruin that memory. It could be even as small as removing someone's zit. That zit was there when the photo was taken, so keep it there. However, I'm not as fervent about the photo being a lie. It's okay to very slightly touch up the photo if wanted. But if it were me, I'd feel like a fraud, it's just not what I truly look like. It's what people wish I look like.

8. Give an example of photo manipulation, and why did it happen?

Photos have been manipulated since programs like Photoshop came in to existence. The pressure to continue to manipulate has been increasing as the media continues to sell the idea of everyone caring about image and perfection; not just in fashion, the idea is present in every aspects of our lives. The Coke can being removed from a Pulitzer Prize winner is an example. Why does it matter that he was drinking Coke? Because it makes him look unprofessional perhaps. But if the man won a Pulitzer Prize, an achievement that is based on intelligence and talent, wouldn't you think that the general public is aware of that? The Coke can apparently ruined the shot. But if it did, take a different one. The public doesn't deserve to be lied to.

9. How do these ethics apply to my photography and myself?

These principles, it seems, don't exactly apply to me. I understand entirely what he says about credibility, context, and the real state of things; I especially understand what he's saying about our history, and how we owe it to our future selves to not alter our reality. However, no one is looking at my artwork. I am simply in a digital photo class, with no credibility to talk about. Or rather, the general public neither knows about nor cares about my credibility.

However, in regards to myself, I plan to take photography a little more seriously as an audience member. It's important to know whether or not something is real.

10. Altering photos' affect on society and our perception of reality:

It's quite obvious how our perceptions of reality are; they're almost nonexistent. Most people don't really know what reality is. Society, or the media, is the reason that people's perceptions are so screwed. Girls take hundreds of pictures in one setting, and delete 75% of them because they don't look good enough in them, when in reality, that's what they look like 75% of the time. Realizing such a thing would bring on some heavy desolation, because their reference is the cover of Glamour. And the cover of Glamour has no credibility whatsoever, because even those women that we find oh so beautiful are in fact edited just as much as we edit our own photos. The act of editing is incredibly accessible now; now everyone edits their photos, or deletes their "bad ones" before uploading them to Facebook.

We have no perception of reality. And society is the reason for that.

Artist Statement

YOUR IDEAS:

1. Why do you create art and what does it mean to you?

Creating art is rewarding in a way; capturing things from different perspectives is intriguing and opens my eyes to an entirely new world. Also, photos are timeless. Freezing time is effortless through photography, and it's priceless. One is not usually able stop time, but a photographer is. My pictures may not be professional or special in any way, but taking pictures makes me happy.

2. What inspires you? How are your inspirations expressed in your work?

Inspirations come frequently throughout the day, everyday. It's impossible to pinpoint specific inspirations, because anything can inspire and trigger an influential thought. Nature can inspire, a house can inspire, even a simple glass of water can inspire. My pictures are everyday objects and ordinary people taken from different angles to convey different perspectives.

3. What type of work have you made so far? What type of work would you like to make during this semester?

I've simply taken pictures of what ever I've felt like taking pictures of: people, objects, scenery, athletic events, or anything really. I'd like to make work that I feel proud of; work that I know I've invested time and effort in.

ARTIST ANALYSIS: Steve McCurry

1. What are the artist's photos about?

The artist conveys the realities and controversies of the world through his photos. Generally, he captures foreign countries, rarely does he capture those of the United States. His pictures are so real, raw. And yet, even though they are taken so far away, his photography is so personal.

2. What tools are being used to create the digital images? Do they combine digital photo techniques with any others?

He uses no extra techniques; McCurry possibly photoshops for clarity and improvement of contrast, but he never adds or takes away from the photo. He keeps it real. The reality of his photos are undoubtedly enough.

3. What do you think about the artist's choices of materials and artistic process?

His "materials" are simply his camera. He goes through Hell to to simply capture the reality of the world--being a National Geographic Photographer challenges survival.

4. The photo above:

The photo above depicts a child soldier at the early age of three. It shows a little girl in the jungles of Cambodia, being given her very first gun. Just like his other photos, McCurry has captured something raw that most people in America have never experienced. The picture is so foreign and simple, yet incredibly personal.

Check it out here.