National Geographic videos

In watching the videos on the National Geographic website I learned a lot about shooting photos.  While watching the video about movement I liked how he showed ways to take pictures moving with the object and also taking pictures while letting the object move into the frame.  I personally liked it better when he let the object move into the frame, but both ways can be very helpful.  

Also the clip on lighting I found to be very helpful.  It was interesting to me that it might be helpful to shoot later in the day rather than earlier. It would make sense though, because it would reduce the amount of glare you would have on your photos.  I will take this advice into consideration when i shoot landscape photography.

I also watched the one on composition and I really enjoyed how he took the photos of the water with the building in the background.  When you take a closer look at things it can make your picture so much better, and more unique.  It can give more definition to a big or busy setting.  It is a good idea on how to get a wider range of shots and to give more detail to the surroundings.

The tip about action shooting will be very helpful for our next assignment.  Giving time for your shutter can help you capture the exact moment you want to.  It is helpful to know this so that you dont take a picture to late.  

All these videos were very helpful for photography and i hope they are as easy to learn as they look.

blog # 3: RMC videos

For this weeks blog I looked at all of the pictures on the websites.  On Dave Shumway's website
www.DaveShumway.com, I found a lot of pictures that I thought were breath taking.  the one that really stuck out to me though was the one of the  yellow flower with purple flowers in the background.  Something about the colors and the detail really draws me to it. I liked the intimate portfolio a lot, but i enjoyed the others as well.                

This picture is from the historic 1940's album on the www.Photos.Rocky.edu website.  I like this photo because it just stands out in my mind.  The contrast of the bus agains the white snow really makes it pop.  I also liked a lot of the sports photos, but this one just left a good first impression on me.  I also really like the 1940's era and the style of things back then and this bus just seemed to fit this era perfectly.  

I found this image on the www.Rocky.edu website under the faculty and staff tab.  It immediately caught my eye because i love pictures of lightning storms.  The mixtures of the colors really sparks my interest too. I also like the shading color the trees give.  It creates a sense of mystery that really draws my attention.  The photos on the Rocky website were very interesting but I chose one without any people in it because I was drawn to this one.

All the websites had amazing pictures  and i enjoyed looking at all of them!

Alain Briot- photography info.

Here are the links for the articles:
http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles1110/ab1110-1.html

http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles1210/ab1210-1.html

http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles0910/ab0910-1.html

http://www.naturephotographers.net/articles1010/ab1010-1.html

These articles were written by Alain Briot, he is a famous photographer and his articles gave me a good insight on how to take good photos.  In these four articles he talks about composition and what a snap shot really is.  Three of the articles were on composition, which there are a few different types of.  The photographs that were used as examples were very helpful, and made it easy to understand what all the different types of composition he was talking about looked like and how to do them properly.

The traditional rules of composition were split up into two different articles.  The first half of the article dealt with the position of objects in the photograph.  It gave rules for certain ways of setting up your picture.  Some examples of these are the S-curve, framing, and the rule of thirds.  I find it interesting that there are that many different types of placement composition.  The second part of the article had to do with light, color, and repetition.  It talked about how your light source can put an emphasis on certain things and really make the picture pop.  The colors in your picture can really enhance the image, but in some cases composing with black and white can make the picture memorable too.  The article also talked about repetition and how that can be used as an interesting composition rule.  This information really helped me to understand how to achieve different types of composition, as well as show me beautiful examples.  I liked how he said you have to fully understand the rules before you can break them.

The article labeled "fine art composition: top 15", had a lot of helpful tips as well as.  For starters the picture on the page is absolutely AMAZING, and all the tips were interesting.  I liked when he said that it is not about redoing  what someone else has already done.  It made me think about how many different things you can capture on camera and that you don't need to take a picture someone else has already taken when you can use your imagination and take a different one.  His other tips were helpful also, that is just the one that sticks out in my mind the most.

The last article i read about "what is a snapshot?" made it more clear as to what it is.  I like how it talks about all the things that make it a snapshot.  Like printing and the meaning and who your audience is.  I liked how he compared the snapshot to a machine and talked about how the machines job is not to work properly, but to recored and event or moment.  His picture of the may snowstorm is pretty cool, i like the work with the foreground and the background. 

Overall these articles really helped me to understand what makes a good photo, and how there are really no limits on what you can do with a camera.

blog #1: Marilyn Monroe

I have always been fascinated with Marilyn Monroe.  She is someone i find to be one of the most influential people. My fascination with her started by when i saw photos of her and thought to myself, she doesn't even look like she has to try to be pretty or appealing.  This photo i think shows that.  She may not look like the Marilyn that we are used to, with the blonde hair and red lips, but in my opinion she is still drop dead gorgeous.  The photo was taken by Andre de Dienes in 1945, when Marilyn was only 19 years old.  Soon after these photos her career took off.  I found this picture on Marilyn's official website.  I am drawn toward this picture for the reason that it's so simple, yet so intriguing to me at the same time.  This is just one of the photos that i found of Marilyn that caught my attention, and the kind of photography that interests me.