Looking Up

Since my friend, Lauren, and I are alternating who gets to select the rule of the day for assignments, today it was her choice.  She opted for the following rule:  Shoot anything that is above your head while in a standing position.  The following image is the favorite of both of us.  No filter was used to create the star-shaped flare effect--it happened naturally from the light coming through the leaves--I just had to slowly move my camera around a bit to find that "sweet spot".  Next assignment parameters will be to shoot any objects/scenes that are metallic.  Until then!

Reverse "Bokeh"

As many photo junkies can tell you, the term bokeh refers to focusing only on the desired subject in a composition, using a large aperture (a shallow depth of field) to render the background out of focus.  My suggestion for our second expedition was that we reverse the technique from the usual foreground subject in focus to the actual background.  For example, I chose to set up my camera where something was obstructing my view of the desired background.  By purposely focusing on the background, the closer that the foreground object was to my camera, the more out of focus (and transparent) it became.  Here are the two images that we selected.  My friend chose the lantern image taken through a wood and glass coffee table as her favorite, but I actually like the second image better.  It is the image of the rosebush (the same one used in the first assignment) as seen through a wicker patio chair.  What I like most about it is that although the wicker is actually pretty solid, the background can be seen fairly clearly through it as if it were merely a screen or a scrim (something used to stop down amounts of light).  In fact, because the chair stops it down so much that it is slightly underexposed, the saturation of color is increased.  Very cool effect, especially since I normally would have moved the chair or my camera to a different position prior to shooting to avoid obstruction!

Life at 1/30th of a second

So, for the first assignment, my friend suggested that we ONLY shoot images with a shutter speed of 1/30 second.  Because it is often difficult for me to shoot images that are in focus with longer shutter speeds and no tripod, I decided to go the complete opposite direction with it and move my camera as quickly as possible while pressing the shutter.  This actually resulted in a LOT of visually interesting images; however, since I have to adhere to my own rules, I will only post my favorite.  This is simply a large rose bush against a blue sky, blurred by my intentional camera movement.  Hope you enjoy, and remember that when there are no rules, doing the opposite of what you are expected will often produce much more interesting and creative results!

First Blog of My Life

As a student at Brooks Institute of Photography, one is taught the technical aspects of professional photography to produce high-quality, professional images; however, at times I have felt less inspired by the stagnation of my personal creativity when the majority of my focus is to ensure that the work I do is technically correct.  In response to this, a good friend and colleague whom I greatly respect suggested that we become the photographic equivalent of workout partners at the gym.  Instead of motivating each other to physical fitness, our aim is to present challenges and critiques to each other throughout the course of this experiment.  The rules of this "Photographic Pep Rally" are as follows:

1.  We must each shoot 5 images for each "assignment" that have nothing to do with our coursework.

2.  Because this is an artistic endeavor, the need to be technically correct with focus, exposure, composition, etc. is not required.

3.  The sole limitation will be a single parameter established the day prior by myself or my colleague.  For example, Monday's images must all be shot at a shutter speed of 1/30 second, Tuesday's images must be shot with the camera at ground level, etc.

4.  At the end of the day, the 5 best images selected by the photographer are to be emailed to the other participant.  After reviewing the images, recommendations for improvement and/or praise for the images will be written in a reply email.

This is a truly experimental process, as to which I am sure will evolve as time passes, but the final outcome will remain the same:  Inspiration and self-discovery.  I will be updating this blog once a week with my selection of the best image from each day.  If her choice of a favorite is different than mine, I will post that one as well.  I hope that this blog will not only help me and my colleague develop our original creative styles but also inspire my readers as well!  Off we go!