Megan Brockett, Photo #1 REDO, Employee Softball

A tight shot of a softball on a campus field Wednesday at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.

Reflection: This is my redo of a tight shot, which I took after Tuesday's class with a much better understanding of what that means. I got down on the ground to get the right angle for this shot, and I tried to keep the rule of thirds in mind as I was shooting. I also tried to shoot from a direction that would capture both the grass and the dirt behind it, and I think having the dirt in the background works well to break up the shot. I adjusted the levels slightly in Photoshop, but didn't have to edit the photo much otherwise. 

Two University of Maryland employees pretend to sign autographs during a break from their intramural softball practice Wednesday on the campus field across from Glenn L. Martin Hall in College Park, Md.

Reflection: This shot happened right after I approached the man in the blue shirt asking if it would be OK if I photographed his team's practice for one of my classes. It was a bit of a "beyond my comfort zone" experience because I was unsure of how the man and the other players would react. But the players seemed to welcome the idea. As a joke, the man in the white shirt ran up to the man in the blue and started to pretend to sign his autograph. My initial thought was that the photo would be unusable, because, in a way, it was posed. But I thought that it did a great job of capturing the light-hearted, laid-back nature of the practice, as well as the humor of the players. I thought that if that caption explained this, the photo could be used.

A University of Maryland employee takes batting practice during his intramural softball practice Wednesday on the campus field across from Glenn L. Martin Hall in College Park, Md.

Reflection: This shot was one of my last of the day. I had been shooting from the other side of the field and from behind the backstop for most of the time — mainly because all of the batters were right-handed and these angles allowed me to capture their front side. But at the last second I decided to snap a few shots from the third base side just to get another angle. I ended up really liking almost all of the shots I took from this side. I liked how they captured so much of the sky and gave me a little bit more of a background than I was getting from the first base side. The experience taught me the value in moving your feet and continuing to try different angles. 

Ethan Barton, Photo #1, Gas Outing

Getting gas in Bethesda, Maryland, May 29th, 2013.

     In this shot, I tried to focus on the gas pump, while still including most of my car.  I had to get to a lower angle in order to line up the camera with the tank.  Additionally, I tried to use the rule of thirds to center the nozzle near a crosshairs.

Stuck in traffic in Bethesda, Maryland, May 29th, 2013.

     This picture proved to be kind of difficult, as I was the driver.  I definitely got some funny looks from the nearby cars.  This was taken over the steering wheel, which made it difficult to exclude streaks from my filthy windshield, the hood, and the wheel itself, while still paying attention to any movement in traffic.  I only used the auto features in photoshop, which I think made the color a little bit too vibrant.

Listening to D.C. 101.1 en route to a gas station in Bethesda, Maryland, May 29th, 2013.

     Don't worry, this one was taken while the car was stopped, with no other vehicles nearby.  This one was tricky to get the angle right (it's still a bit crooked, even after cropping).  It was also hard to photoshop it well, as the sun made the glare pretty nasty, which wasn't present to the naked eye.  Overall, I spent the most time on this picture editing and re-editing, and still ended up being pretty displeased with it.

     Overall, I really enjoyed the experience.  As a perfectionist with little artistic ability, I'm pleased with my first outing.  The editing was definitely the trickiest part for me.  Additionally, I found myself taken dozens and dozens of pictures of the same shot, trying different angles and functions.  I tried to meticulously focus on the rule of thirds.  The most difficult parts were taking the shots in the community I'm staying in and at the gas station.  The community is fairly well to-do, and I'm a complete stranger, so I felt a little uncomfortable snapping pictures in front of this house.  The gas station was slightly crowded, so I felt like I was intruding and wasting other customers' time.

Hyon-Young Kim, Photo #1, Afternoon

                                         

Woman sitting at a table outside of Costco at Westfield Wheaton Shopping Mall. May 29, 2013.

The arrangement of the columns and tables reminded me of the leading lines theme discussed in class. I wanted to direct the viewer's eyes from the lower left corner to the upper right corner, following the columns and tables. I thought it might be interesting to photograph the woman from behind, since her dark clothing stands out in the brightness of the sunlight. I trimmed the edges of the photograph to position the woman according to the rule of thirds. 

Water fountain outside Congressional Village Apartments. May 29, 2013. 

I recorded audio of water pouring out of this fountain and decided to go ahead and take a photograph of it. I took a variety of shots, even risking holding the camera above my head and taking photos blindly, but I thought the movement of water flowing out over the edges of the bowl was compelling and should be seen. As a result, I chose this particular photo. I definitely could have taken this photo a lot better than I did here; I believe that this photo would be much improved if I bring the fountain into sharper focus and blur the background. 

Chess table and chairs in the park at Congressional Tower Apartments. May 29, 2013.

I had initially planned to photograph the boys playing basketball in the background, but I changed my mind when I noticed this table and its chairs. I focused (manual) the camera onto the table and chairs and tried to blur the background so the eyes are drawn first and primarily to the foreground. Since the basketball court was on a higher elevation than the ground to which the table was affixed, I lowered my stance a little to get this shot. I thought it was interesting to direct the eyes of the viewer to an inanimate object rather than to people.

Overall, after taking my camera with me while I did groceries and walked around my neighborhood, I realized that taking photographs is much more difficult than I had imagined. I am still not very competent in controlling the focus settings of the camera, but this assignment proved to be a great opportunity for me to explore different angles and to step out of my comfort zone by taking pictures in public settings. 

Justine McDaniel, Photo #1, On Campus

Clouds move in above Shriver Laboratory at the University of Maryland, College Park on Wednesday, May 29, 2013.

I was trying to capture the leading line of the road in this wide shot, and I experimented with a vertical shot. I like how the spire extends above everything else in the right-hand third of the shot and the corner of the building hits the left-hand third. Many of my wider shots turned out to be out of focus, so I know I need to pay more attention to that next time.

Flowers bloom in a field in College Park, Md. on Wednesday, May 29, 2013.

I really like this tight shot because the flowers stand out against the field in the background, and I like the dimension it creates. The sun went behind some clouds as I was shooting in the field, so I was trying to pay extra attention to the lighting.

A construction worker surveys the scene at the University of Maryland in College Park on Wednesday, May 29, 2013.

This is my favorite shot. I made sure to show the construction worker in the background, although I should have rotated a little to include the tractor better. I like the story this shot tells as well as the composition; I was lucky to catch this worker when he was on a very quick break. In general, I enjoyed the opportunity to experiment with the camera and I learned a bit about what works and what doesn’t. It was also good practice for interacting with people while shooting. I asked the construction workers’ permission to take the photos, and I had a few interactions with other people who saw me shooting.

Amanda Salvucci, Photo 1, Farm

The farm on the UMD campus. May 29, 2013.

The reason that I chose the long shot of the farm was because it helps establish the setting of the piece. I took several different overall shots of the location, from different areas around the farm and from different perspectives. I liked this one the best because the foreground of the field goes along with the setting of the farm. I also played around with having the fence in focus in some of the shots, while the background was blurred, and having the fence out of focus and the barn in focus, like in this shot. In Photoshop, I sharpened the image, increased the brightness, and decreased the saturation just a little bit.

 A cow at the UMD farm peeks out from its corral. May 29, 2013. 

This medium close up was my favorite shot out the the batch. The cow was lying down, staring at me as I was taking photographs. I got down to the cow's level and moved in as close as I could to the shot. I like the peek-a-boo factor of the photo, as well as the fact that the fence serves as a frame for the subject. For post-processing, I sharpened the image and increased the brightness.

A horse on the UMD campus farm. May 29, 2013.

My final shot is a close up of one of the horses. The horse fills most of the frame, and I got as close as I could to take this photo. I also used a wide aperture so that the subject, the horse, would be in focus while the background would be blurred. I think that the focal point of this photo is the horse's eyes, because that is where the viewer ultimately gets drown to. In Photoshop, I increased the brightness and sharpness as well as played around with some of the shadows and highlights of the photo. 

Overall, I thought that it was a good assignment. It forced me to go out of my comfort zone a little bit to get permission to walk around there and take photographs. It was also a great introduction for me to get to learn how to use a Nikon as well as Photoshop. I've always wanted to learn how to use Photoshop, but I usually end up using simpler software the I'm more comfortable with. This gave me the opportunity to play around a little bit in Photoshop and learn how to use the software better. 

Mike Kettelberger - Photo 1 - Oregon Ridge

Handmade One Way directional sign at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, MD. 

I purposely set this picture up so that you could not see where the road went or ended. It was inspired by the "leading lines" photo example shown on the first day of class. 

Sun setting through trees at Oregon Ridge Park.

This photo was also inspired by one of the example photos shown on the first day of class. I used the trees and the two rocks in the foreground to naturally frame the sunset. This picture also turned out to be a great one to practice using some of the Photoshop adjustments. The original picture came out very dark, due to the overwhelming light. Nothing in the foreground could be seen. I was able to use both the brightness/contrast and levels adjustment to lighten up the photo and show more of it. 

Tight shot of a Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy can on a picnic table at Oregon Ridge Park.

For this shot, I got up close to the can, zoomed in, and used manual focus to bring out as much detail in the can as I could. The brightness/contrast effect applied to this photo in Photoshop really made the colors of the can pop and also enhanced the background color. 

Reflection

Overall, I took a variety of pictures with a variety of subjects. I experimented with both horizontal and vertical shots, and used both automatic and manual focus. Using the manual focus I took several shots where I focused on an object close to me in the foreground, while blurring the background. I also took several shots where I focused on something in the background and blurred the foreground. Overall, I had a lot of fun experimenting with different types of shots, angles, and focus. Editing the photos in Photoshop with just simple modifications showed the power of the program and its ability to take good photos and make them even better. 

Lyle Kendrick, Photo #1, Bike Ride

A rogue cigar butt on a neighborhood curb in College Park, M.D., on May 30, 2013.

I redid this one after looking at my pictures from yesterday and realizing they were taken in manual focus. While this isn't perfect, it was encouraging to see something of an improvement.

Post office next to a Metro station in College Park, M.D., on May 30, 2013.

I've been mainly aiming to make sure I'm getting something in all of corners and abiding by the rule of three. Focus and taking clearer pictures is going to be a new goal.

The Metro station before rush hour in College Park, M.D., on May 30, 2013.

After today's class and some reflection, I'm going to try and take something that moves like a train and convey that in another picture. Movement amidst a stagnant setting is a goal for the next time I take the 3100 out.

Tamieka Briscoe, Photo 1, Trash, Sliced Strawberries and Truck in Motion (Re-shoot included)

Fresh Strawberries from the Market on June 10, 2013

 Reflection: I re-shot the strawberry photo as instructed, this time I got to the table level and zoomed in and used the focus to capture the front strawberry while the remaining strawberries are out of focus.

Properly discarding trash helps to keep the campus clean.


Reflection: With this photo, I learned how to use the focus function on the camera to capture the object I wish to be in the foreground and that when doing so it will blur the background objects. I have seen photos like this in the past and was unsure if there was a special function on the camera or if the objects became blurred in the editing process. It was interesting to discover how simple this process is.

Sliced strawberries are a delicious and refreshing snack during the summer months.

Reflection: I used the techniques discussed in class to capture this image. Using no flash, and manual focus, zooming out with the camera and zooming in by feet, I was able to get several good shots from various angles. I originally had another favorite prepared, but this is a much better picture because it shows my improvement from earlier in the week.

A delivery truck slowly makes its way across the parking lot.

Reflection: I attempted a wide, medium and tight shot of this vehicle. I did so attempting to zoom with my feet. I also see how much the camera picks up. I see the letters on the building in the distance. I was impressed by the capabilities of the camera, and will take that into account in future shoots.

Nicole Jones, Photo #1, Nature

Grass at Patapso Valley State Park in Ellicott City, MD on May 29, 2013.

For this close-up photo I was trying to establish a foreground/background shot.  This was definitely a challenge when it came to zooming in and focusing on the white object in the front.  In Photoshop I used the vibrance and auto tool in the levels.

Sunlight hitting a cut-down tree trunk at Patapsco Valley State Park in Ellicott City, MD on May 29, 2013. 

 This was one of my favorite photos I took, I really liked the way the sun highlighted the tree trunk in the middle of the picture.  I thought that since trees are vertical I would take the photo vertically.  For this photo I used the brightness/contrast tool to bring out the sunlight and green trees more.

Rock Trail at Patapsco Valley State Park in Ellicott City, MD on May 29, 2013.

This last photo is a wide-shot of the trail in the park.  I could have done a better job of capturing more of the trail and used the leading lines technique we learned in class.  I used the dodge and burning tool to darken and lighten the photo in some areas.

This assignment really helped me learn how to start using the camera to capture compelling photos.  I learned that I need to pay more attention to detail, and I need to remember the composition elements we learned in class when shooting.  The assignment also took me out of my comfort zone because I was a little hesitant to take pictures in front of people sometimes.

Lindsay Simpson, Photo #1, Car leaving for work EDIT

View from the side mirrors as the car backs out of the driveway in College Park on May 29, 2013.

 I was impressed at the clarity of detail my camera could detect through the side mirrors.  I was also trying to use the idea of natural framing by taking advantage of the boundaries made by the mirror itself.  After seeing this picture on screen, it could be better if there was actually an object in my side mirror (a trashcan, mailbox, my roommate's car, etc).  In general, I like this shot, but I would like it better with an actual subject and not just the side of my house!

The passenger's view as the car leaves College Park on May 29, 2013

I was trying to capture different angles and views of my car while also remembering to take a few shots from a portrait setting.  I am struggling to get the settings on my camera sorted out so that there is enough lighting, etc.  However, my favorite manipulation is to focus on one area of the shot while the background (or foreground) remains out of focus.  I also wish I had been able to grab this without the side of the steering wheel in the shot.

Recording the sounds of the car leaving in the morning in College Park on May 29, 2013

This was my second attempt at a wide shot.  Again, I like to manipulate the focus to blur the background and show depth.  This wide shot is a better representation of my soundscape car project.  After reading multiple tutorials online I was finally able to adjust the settings on my camera and am very pleased with the second round of shots I was able to take.