This week is the first of November (How the heck is it already NOVEMBER?) and classes are progressing at their normal break-neck pace. It's now starting to get to that time in the semester when we really have to start those big semester-long research projects and spend a bit more time studying for midterms. Not to mention daylight savings that just happened so now when I get out of cross country practice it's pitch dark outside. November is the time when things get real, there are only a couple weeks until Thanksgiving break and then after that the semester is basically over if we survive finals. Instead of making myself even more stressed out, let me instead talk to you about my favorite assignment so far this semester.
I'm taking Photography 1 this semester, my first ever experience with taking photos besides the basic point-and-shoot method. I've learned a lot about what it takes to create a successful photograph and all the planning and forethought that goes into an image. Before this class, I never thought about a picture and then created it, all my photos are of situations I did not create. Photography is about more than just documenting, it's also about imagining and planning and creating. For our third assignment of the semester we get to explore portraiture. We're supposed to use friends, family, acquaintences to portray a message and a story. Whether it's contextualized with a background or props or whether it's simply a shot of a face or single body part, the person in the photo is the most important subject matter. I have a few photographs of my housemates and a series of photographs of my friend, Pete. Each snap of the shutter was a new experience and a new way of looking at my close friends. Viewing them through a tiny rectangle puts them into a different frame, so to speak. The second half of the assignment requires us to ask strangers if we can take their picture. That part is intimidating for me but I think I will be an interesting experience and a way for me to PRETEND that I'm a real photographer.
Here's one of my photos from the last assignment...
I'm taking Photography 1 this semester, my first ever experience with taking photos besides the basic point-and-shoot method. I've learned a lot about what it takes to create a successful photograph and all the planning and forethought that goes into an image. Before this class, I never thought about a picture and then created it, all my photos are of situations I did not create. Photography is about more than just documenting, it's also about imagining and planning and creating. For our third assignment of the semester we get to explore portraiture. We're supposed to use friends, family, acquaintences to portray a message and a story. Whether it's contextualized with a background or props or whether it's simply a shot of a face or single body part, the person in the photo is the most important subject matter. I have a few photographs of my housemates and a series of photographs of my friend, Pete. Each snap of the shutter was a new experience and a new way of looking at my close friends. Viewing them through a tiny rectangle puts them into a different frame, so to speak. The second half of the assignment requires us to ask strangers if we can take their picture. That part is intimidating for me but I think I will be an interesting experience and a way for me to PRETEND that I'm a real photographer.
Here's one of my photos from the last assignment...
