Extra Credit

1. Ki Suk Han was killed when he was run over by a subway train in New York Subway station. Han was apparently pushed onto the tracks by some unknown person and was trying to climb out when the train came. Umar Abbasi, the man who took the photos, was trying to get the train driver's attention with the flashes of his camera. The driver couldn't stop in time, and so Han was sadly run over and died.

2. Umar Abbasi said that he took the photo so that the driver would see the flashes. Then when the driver saw the flashes, he would try to stop the train in time so that Han wasn't hurt.

3. I do not think the photographer should have taken the photos. Instead I think he should have at least tried to help the man up. Yes, there was very little time, but Han has one arm up on the side of the tracks. So it seems as if with one helping hand, Han could have been pulled out with maybe only getting hurt, not getting killed.

4. I do not think that the photographer did the best thing, taking photos. I'll give him the credit of trying, but I would think he thought the time the driver would have registered seeing the flashes, realizing something was wrong, then stopping the train, it would have been too late.

5. I disagree with the decision to run the photo in the paper, because it makes the photographer look like a bad person. At first glance, or first read, it looks as if the photographer had planned it and was responsible for Han's death. Even if that isn't true, it is what the photo portrays.

6. I think stopping bad things from happening is a lot more important than capturing the perfect photo at the perfect time. You could get other photos, but I don't think the photo is worth loosing a life. Just think how Han's family and friends are reacting to the news. More than likely, in a year nobody is going to car about the photos he took at the perfect time. His family and friends however will always wish that he was still here.

7. I think it is ethically acceptable for the photographer to involve themselves in the situation they are photographing if it is a self portrait or a picture reflecting something about themselves. If it isn't really a picture having to do with you, then why would you involve yourself in it? I think photography should be honest, and if you aren't involved in the situation involved in the photograph, don't put yourself in it.

8. I think photographers should influence what is happening if it is what they want to happen in the photo, and it doesn't arm anything or anyone. If for instance you are trying to get a picture of a dog panting or something like that, and you play fetch with it to get it a little tired, that is fine. But if you are trying to get a photo of something, and you have to hurt something or someone, that is not okay in my opinion. Even though there was little time, I think the photographer should have tried to save Han, in a way that wasn't taking pictures, using the flash to alert the driver.

9. It seems that the photographers that responded to this story are in favor depending on the photographers instincts. Many of them said that due to little time, you would have to follow your instincts and just do the first thing that came to mind. Wether or not that is take pictures, or rush and try to help the man out, depends on who was there and what their first instinct was.

Lytro Warm-up and Fashion Photography

Lytro Warm-Up...

1) When you click the photo, it focuses on that spot and the rest of the picture gets blurred out and unfocused. If you clicked on a different part of the picture, the focus would change to where you clicked it. So every time you clicked somewhere else, the focal point moved to where you had clicked it.

2) When you take a picture with this camera, it captures all of the light in the whole scene, putting everything into equal focus. This allows you to later look at the photo, and change the focal point to any where in the photo you want.

3) I think the photographer would not have to know much before using this camera, because it seems like a pretty simple tool. Since it takes the photos with all of the light, I don't think there is a need to adjust the lighting or anything like that. The photographer will have to know about shutter speed and which they like the most as well as ISO. But from reading the description it doesn't seem like they need to know much more to take photos with this camera.

4) I'm not sure that this camera is worth the money. I do think it is really cool, but with some time to learn you could use a regular DSLR or point and shoot camera and get a bunch of photos of the same thing with different focal points. So I would have to look into this more before considering buying one, but i don't think it is worth the money.


Fashion...

1) After they put makeup and false eyelashes on the model, they then edited her photo on the computer. When they did this they elongated her neck, changed her left shoulder, darkened and lengthened her eyebrows, and they made her eyes bigger

2) In my opinion, it is not okay to change somebody's appearance like that. It is okay to put makeup on them to enhance their natural beauty, but when you upload the picture onto the  internet and the change the physical features of their face and body, you are creating a whole new person. A person who doesn't really, and never will because the person in the photo is flawless. I actually find it in a way, insulting when company's change women's and men's appearances like that. It sends a message that nobody is good enough, so they just pick somebody and change what they really look like.

3) I think no matter what situation, changing somebody's body porportions and facial features is totally wrong and not okay.

4) Putting make up on the model is okay, when you still have some natural beauty shinning through. I think it is on the edge of okay and not okay when they pile a bunch of foundation and bronzer and blush onto the model's face. What isn't okay at all is when, like I said before, they literally change the shape of the model's eyes, mouth, the length of the neck, anything like that. This is just making the person in the picture not really who it originally was and it is degrading them.

5) A lot of the time, fashion photography involves lots of makeup and editing of the person like there was in the video. They edit the models so that the clothes look good on them. There is a lot of false images in fashion photography. In photojournalism however, I think that the pictures and the people and objects in the photo are more natural. They are not digitally edited from what it originally was.

6) Fashion photography has, in my opinion, a fake relationship with reality. This is because they change so much about the original picture that it just is not good and honest. This is also bad when the company claims that the photo is natural and the models have "cleaner skin" when really they just piled a bunch of foundation on to make their skin look better. Photojournalism has a closer relationship with reality, but in some ways they are "arguing" like friends do. Sometimes photographers will change little things about photos, like the lighting or the focal point, but those changed are small and don't change the physical aspects of what is actually in the photo.

Rules of Photography Part II

Balance...

Simplicity...

Lines...

Framing...

Rule of Thirds...

Cropping...

Depth...

Symmetry...

Viewpoint...

American Soldier Slide Show and Captions (review)

Part 1...

A) I think the most powerful pictures are the ones of when he is leaving home for the first time go to to training. Saying goodbye the first time, is always the hardest. These pictures show a lot of emotion with Ian's friends and family.

B) Set #1. At home in Denver - images 1-8
     Set #2. At Basic Training - images 9-30
     Set #3 In Iraq - 51-70
     Set #4 Back in Denver - 71-83

I think the second set of pictures were the most powerful, because it was during Ian's training. Ian went through second thoughts, a breakup, first time injuries, and a lot of emotions while he was in training. The photos show that emotion and doubt he feels.

C) The images are put in the order in which they happened, showing you a timeline of the events that happened along with a caption. Putting them in this order shows a story, Ian's story, of what he went through day by day and his emotions. It's a if you are looking at a picture book.


Part 2...

A) The captions are usually written in present tense. This is because pictures are freezing time, and so the captions are written as if you froze time, not as if time passed and it's in the past.

B) The captions give extra background information that tell you what Ian is thinking, or what he is going through. For example, with image 56 Ian is tearing up something. Without the caption, it looks like he is just tearing up a random piece of paper, which doesn't really seem important. The caption tells us that Ian is actually tearing up a picture of his girlfriend, Kirsten, because he had found out she had another boyfriend back home while he was in Iraq.


Part 3...

Image #27 - Ian is put to the test in a nearby forest area, to be tested on the skills he has recently learned in 3 months since arriving at training at Fort Benning. 

Image #59 -  It nears Christmas as Carlos (left) and Ian (right) put up some festive lights in their platoon's bunker, to add some spirit to their lives, creating a home away from home.  

Image #76 - Ian's father holds a sign while waiting with the rest of the family and Ian's friends, for Ian to walk in with the rest of the troops, home after being gone for almost 5 months.

Part 4...

A) The videos enhance the photos by adding comments and what Ian and his family had to say about the situation. They videos add more emotion to the photos and also give more background information that wouldn't fit into a caption. 

B) Videos are sometimes better than photographs because they can show more pictures in a slide show fashion, and they can add snip-its of what the family and Ian's friends had to say. Videos also allow music to be played in the background to set the mood of the experience better. For example, the video about Ian going through basic training gave a lot more information about what he was going through. It added parts with Ian talking about how hard and crazy it was, which helped people to connect and imagine the experience better than reading about it in a news article. 

C) Photos can also sometimes be better than videos. Photos can sum up information with a short caption, so that you don't have to watch an hour worth of videos to learn about whatever it is you are learning about. For example, in the "Army Blues" set of pictures it shows many pictures with emotion and they give hints and tell you how Ian is feeling is short little parts. 

Self Portrait and Portraits Part II

Tip #1- I think one of the good tips when it comes to taking portraits, is to approach the person you want to photograph with your camera put away first, and talk to them some. It makes sense, because if you talk to them first and get to know them a little bit have have them know you it will make them more comfortable with you taking their picture. If you go right up to them, camera out and ready right then and there, it can seem a little pushy and abrasive. The last thing you want to do is make the person uncomfortable around you.

Tip #2- When taking portraits of people different from you, research their culture first. I like this tip because you don't want to not know anything about them at all, and then accidentally say something that offends them. Plus, if you know a little bit about their culture, it helps to be able to connect with them a little bit more to make the photo taking process a lot less awkward.


Environmental Portraits by Gene Smirnov...

 I really liked this picture because of the depth the lockers and the floor add. I also like how simple and relaxed the basketball player looks, and how he is in his "natural element" you could say. I also like the lighting and how he looking right at the camera, but it looks like he is thinking about something, maybe his next basketball game. 

I like this picture because it's very simple. It's just a group of guy laying down right by the water. I like how the water is above them; the ripples add to the photo and in a way, guide your attention to the bottom of the photo where the friends are just hanging out.

Self Portrait Photography by Brendon Burton... 

I like the timing of simplicity in this picture. I like how the background is blurred enough to see where he is, but also to focus on him and the letters falling. The envelopes in the photo are all turned differently, so that adds to the interest of the photo. 

Like the photo above, this picture is perfectly timed. I also like this picture because it is weird, witty, and different. Iv'e never seen a picture like this before and it makes me smile. I also like the photos that people take when they jump, so it looks like they are flying and that plays well with the balloons that are floating above his shoulders. This photo sort of seems like something from Alice In Wonderland.

Casual Portraits...

This photo is by Dean Kalyan. I like the blurry background, because it puts the focus on the man on the right. It looks as if he is thinking about something, and he looks content with his life. I like how to photographer used the rule of thirds in this, and I also think this picture is very balanced. 

This group of pictures were taken by Ursula Page. I like the color in this picture, and I love how the little girl looks like she is just having fun. These pictures are very simple, which I also like. I especially like the third picture because of the look on the little girl's face. She looks hypnotized by the balloons and it is really cute. 

My idea for the portrait assignment would involve me taking pictures at my house, or at lunch with the people I know well. I would take pictures of my parents, my brother, maybe one or two of my dogs, and then of my friends. I would try to take the pictures where there isn't a bunch of people around, so that I could focus on the picture, without having people come up to me. My idea is to have the person lay down on the ground or the floor, depending on who it is, and sort of spread their hair out crazily. I would then get objects that show one of their interests and place them around their head and have them either smile or make a funny face, maybe fidgeting with one of the objects around their head.