The Dispatch

Please review the Bowie Dispatch website http://thedispatchonline.net and write about 2 stories that you found interesting, 3-5 sentences per story.

Composition Part II

Rules of Photography Part II

Earlier this year you learned the 6 basic composition rules of photography. Those included:

Rule of Thirds
Balance/Balancing Elements
Lines/Leading Lines
Simplicity/Background
Framing
Avoiding Mergers

Today we are going to add 4 more rules for you to think about as you continue to shoot for this class. They are:

Symmetry and Patterns (repetition)
Viewpoint
Create Depth
Cropping

We are also more clearly defining the first six rules, so their names are changing slightly, be aware of those changes.

Check out the new rules here, you can ignore the one at the end called Experiment and sub in Avoiding Mergers:

http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/10-top-photography-composition-rules

Please pick a theme, I don't care what theme you choose: football, guitars, Justin Beiber, whatever.
Then use google search and find photos relating to your theme.

Find photos that show good examples of the following photo composition rules. Show me that you understand these rules. Make sure to tell me which photo = which rule, i.e. label your photos with the proper rule title.

Here are the rules again, in case you forgot in the last 2 minutes:
1. Rule of thirds
2. Balancing Elements
3. Leading Lines
4. Symmetry and Patterns (repetition)
5. Viewpoint
6. Background
7. Create depth
8. Framing
9. Cropping
10. Mergers and avoiding them - here I want you to find me a COOL merger photo. EXPLAIN how it did not avoid merger.

Funny Captions!

I am sorry I am out again today, I will be able to check out camera equipment starting on Monday.

Funny Captions - the right way!!

I call this assignment: FUNNY CAPTIONS. Make sure you follow the rules at the bottom, and get in the habit of doing this because from now on you will be asked to write a captions on photos you take and post on your blog, where appropriate. I expect you to learn how to do it correctly and following the rules listed below.

Go to the following site and find the three funniest photos that capture some kind of action or emotion.

http://www.you-can-be-funny.com/Funny-Old-People.html

Save your three favorite photos in your folder on the server, and upload them to your blog. Under each photo write a funny, two sentence, caption that follows these rules:

Caption Rules:

1. First sentence includes major information about the photo (who, what, where, when, why, how). You may make up the information for this assignment.

2. First sentence should be written in present tense as if the action of the photo is still happening.

3. Second sentence should be past tense, and should include background information.

4. Information in the second sentence should not be obvious by looking at the photo.

5. If there are three or fewer recognizable people in the photo, you must give all of their names (you can make them up for this assignment).

6. Use strong action verbs whenever possible.

7. Make these funny.

This will likely not take you the entire class to finish. Please work quietly on something for another class when you are done. Thanks!!

Africa and Abandoned Theme Parks - meeting with mural teams today

Africa

Visit the following website.

 http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nick-brandt-a-shadow-falls-african-wildlife-photography

 Make sure that you click on the slide show link:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=nick-brandt-a-shadow-falls-african-wildlife-photography

1. On your blog post your reactions to what you read and what you saw. How about 3-4 sentences.

2. Do a google image search for Nick Brandt, find your favorite photo and post it on your blog.

3. Describe it and tell me why its your favorite.

4. What rules of photography are evident in the photos you selected, be sure to explain the rule to me?

Do a google/wikipedia search for Nick Brandt

5. What kind of camera and lens does he use and why is this important?

6. What is his reason for taking these photos?

7. What is his hope by taking these type of photos?

8. Find something he has to say about Africa, and post the quote on your blog. 


Abandoned Theme Parks

Go check out these two websites and look at the Abandoned Theme Parks around the world that some photographers think are potential places to take interesting photos.

http://www.therichest.com/expensive-lifestyle/entertainment/10-of-the-creepiest-abandoned-amusement-parks/

and

http://www.latimes.com/travel/themeparks/la-trb-21-creepiest-abandoned-amusement-parks-20140225-htmlstory.html

On your blog - please complete the following:

1. Tell me which amusement park featured in the two articles that you would like to visit and take your camera along and what about that park made you want to go there. Write at least a paragraph.

2. Post one photo from that park. You may use the photos from the link, or you can google an entirely new photo. I would prefer to see a photo of the park in disrepair and not a photo of it when it was still operating.

3. Think of at least FIVE other unusual places you think would be of interest to photographers. List them.

4. Use google or another search engine to research ONE of your five places and see if anyone has already started documenting that place. If you find that someone has already started - post at least one photo of their work.

5. Write a paragraph about why you think that it would be fun to document that location. Tell me what interests you about that place and what kind of photos you could expect to take there.

6. Tell me what it would take for you to go and take photos at your location. What would you need as far as equipment goes, travel plans, expenses you might encounter and what laws you would have to take into consideration to take photos at your spot.

Warm Up & Mural Project Planning

Warm-Up (10-12 minutes)

Please look at this website:

http://www.upworthy.com/a-husband-took-these-photos-of-his-wife-and-captured-love-and-loss-beautifully?g=2&c=upw1

Please answer the following questions:

1. What emotions did you feel as you worked your way through these images?

2. The photographer said this: "These photographs do not define us, but they are us." What do you think about this comment now that you have looked at the photos?

3. Do you think you could shoot photos like this if you were in this situation?

4. If you could write Angelo a letter, what would you say to him?

FINALLY (till end of class)

Today, you will be with your group for about 30-45 minutes to start planning your mural project, which you can start shooting beginning today. I will go over the camera check-out procedures with you at some point today in class. This will be the first day to plan your project. I expect a detailed plan from you on your blogs. I need your team theme and team names on your blogs. I also need to see details of every photo that will appear on your mural and who will be taking those photos on your blog. Please make sure your plans also include how you are going to get team members names and the name of your project on the mural itself. This is due today.

When you are done planning, make sure everyone knows their part in the process.

Here are the deadlines:

All photos must be turned in to me to be printed BEFORE Wednesday, Nov. 1.
The Mural itself must be completed by Friday, Nov. 10.

You will have in-class time to work on the actual mural itself (3 full class days) - but we will also have other things to do in-between so be aware of this. All photos MUST be color managed in Photoshop (levels) and you will crop the images 8.5 inches by 11 inches for tall photos, or 11 inches by 8.5 inches for wide photos.

When you have your images ready to print, ask me for a thumb drive, put your images on the drive and I will have Mr. Reeves print them and have them to you by the next class.

There will be multiple grades for this assignment:

A self-grade - grading your own efforts
A group grade -grading the efforts of the rest of your team
A deadline grade - achieving the multiple deadlines associated with this project
A completed task grade - your final grade, I will use a rubric for this and you will have it in advance

A peer review grade - you grading another teams project - you will actually grade 3 other projects and you will get a grade for accomplishing this on time

GROUPS

1. Jonathan, Blake, Hope and Darby
2. Michael, Tyler B., Elise and Kylie
3. Gavin, Andres, Logan, Tyler VH
4. Almalleli, Kevin, Athena and Zachary
5. Weston, Roman, Zoe, Ellen and Nuria

1. Alyssa, Erin, Thomas, Riley and Abigail
2. Ashley, Cameron, Eric, Conner and Ethan
3. Henry, Vadim, Conrad and Elijah
4. Reagan, JoEdward, Haley and Jackson

Mural Project Preview Assignment & Great Black and White Photographers part III

Mural Project Preview

Go to the following website - read the story and look at the photos:

http://www.geekadelphia.com/2011/11/18/instagram-meets-the-street-mike-smith-casey-catellis-nomnow-wheatpaste-art/

I know many of you are very familiar with instagram and some of you use it regularly. But this was a collaboration project that you read about. We will be doing the same thing in class.

On your blog please answer the following questions:

1. Think of at least three ideas you have about what your team could take photos of, that are in the same theme? Be creative, but be realistic. You will be shooting OFF campus, and every member of your team will need to be able to take similar photos or whatever you decide to do as a group.

2. You will be using the school cameras or your own similar camera. You will need to shoot in Manual. What are three things you will have to think about when you are out shooting?

3. Although we have always done this assignment as a paper/printed product. I am interested in being able to show off these images/creations/murals online. What are some ideas you have on how to get these pieces onto the internet? List three ideas and how you would suggest to your team this second product gets created.

Our next assignments will be to get into groups and start planning this project. I will be assigning the groups. Your group will meet to talk about theme and plan the project - each group will have its own and we will print them here in this room. We will use butcher paper to mount the photos on. You will take all the photos and I will help print them here in class. Then we will hang the murals around campus. Below are a couple of examples from last year.

Great Black and White Photographers PART 3

Today's Assignment - blog title 

Great Black and White Photographers part 3:

I want to know more about your selection for your favorite Black and White Photographer. Read the following directions CAREFULLY!!! For those people that did not do the previous assignments, they are still on the blog and you can go back and complete them for credit on this assignment.

Do NOT sit and do nothing today. Everyone should complete some sort of Great Black and White Photographer assignment today.

On your blog please create a post with the following information:

1.) What first caught your eye while looking at your photographers photos? Is there something in particular about their photos that made you want to choose them? Post the images with your writing.

2.) Look at those 2 photos you posted last time in the assignment Great Black and White Photographers Part 2. Use your five senses to tell me more about those photos. Answer them on your blog.

I see
I smell
I hear
I taste
I feel

You can do this in 2 ways. You can either put yourself in the photo and pretend your standing next to the subjects in the photo. I know smell and taste are hard but you can do it.

Or, you can pretend you were the photographer and use those same senses.

On the one titled - I feel - you may either touch things in your photo (imagination please!!) or you can tell me what you (yes, you in the real world) feel or felt the first time you saw the photo, or how it makes you feel when you look at it now.

BE REFLECTIVE HERE - try to be descriptive, try to write more than you think you can. One sentence per prompt is NOT ENOUGH, write at LEAST 3 sentences per!!! Write more, if you think its enough, its NOT.

3.) Finally, what would you like to create to show the world your great photographer. Ideas include, posters, power points, a blog, etc. You tell me what you would like to create so we can come up with a plan to share your thoughts and ideas about your photographer with your classmates and with the rest of the school.

Open Prompt Assignment

Now that you know how to shoot in manual mode, lets put it to good use!  I want you to go out and shoot today, you will be turning in 5 photos that you shot in manual AND edited! I am not giving you any prompts for these, so have fun and get creative! Obviously still be school appropriate!

Camera SIM Practice

Time to learn how to shoot in the Manual setting.

First head to this SimCam and play around for a bit:

http://www.canonoutsideofauto.ca/play/

Now that you have had a chance to play for a few minutes, now go to this website and wait for instructions.

http://camerasim.com/camera-simulator/

Please Tell me your ISO, focal length and what the picture looked like for each of the settings. I also want you to take 2 creative pictures using the SIM and tell me what the picture looked like (bonus if you want to post a screen shot of the final product) the Shutter speed, ISO, F stop and focal length.

1/15 sec	F8.0
1/30 sec	F8.0
1/60 sec	F8.0
1/125 sec	F8.0
1/250 sec	F8.0
1/500 sec	F8.0
1/1000 sec	F8.0
1/15 sec	F13
1/30 sec	F13
1/60 sec	F13
1/125 sec	F13
1/250 sec	F13
1/500 sec	F13
1/1000 sec	F13

Str spd	F-stop
1/15 sec	F4.5
1/30 sec	F4.5
1/60 sec	F4.5
1/125 sec	F4.5
1/250 sec	F4.5
1/500 sec	F4.5
1/1000 sec	F4.5
1/15 sec	F5.6
1/30 sec	F5.6
1/60 sec	F5.6
1/125 sec	F5.6
1/250 sec	F5.6
1/500 sec	F5.6
1/1000 sec	F5.6