Originally I was going to use this picture to show that this picture was NOT like Alex's. However, once I experimented with it, making it black and white, I realized how it could be transformed. The background picture was of the Drew courtyard and the lines were chalk writing. Although Alex may not have chosen to use a picture with such a busy and unordinary background, but I'm sure she could make it look good. Also, I like how the light in the background seems to be faded, and it's almost like you can't distinguish which objects are in which pictures. The white dots throughout the picture match with the gleam in her eyes, which I thought made it even better. There are many lines in the picture, and lines are used many times throughout Alex's series. 

Benji likes to edit his pictures, and whenever someone else would stop and leave the picture, he would take it a step farther and edit it even more. I added flames to his face rather than the background just to change things up, and used bright unrealistic colors as he would. Also, he doesn't usually use rule of thirds and the subject takes up the entire frame. 

Frankie likes nature in her pictures, and softens the background to make the colors different. I chose this because she looks natural, and her hair is being blown by the wind. She doesn't do many portraits simple with someone's face and them standing there, and it's more of an action shot. 

I chose this of Sebastian because he uses nature in the background, with bright colors. Also, since the background is blurry, it creates a feeling of detachment, almost like the face is on its own. Sebastian's picture's usually have depth to them, with layers that distinguish certain parts from others. 

I chose this of veronica because she takes macro pictures with the use of one major color. Also, she highlights one part of the picture using natural techniques. I highlighted her eyes by putting a filter on. Veronica's pictures are almost always focused and use rule of thirds. 

Ben takes many of his pictures from an angle. They often time aren't focused, which I think provides a unique style. He makes pictures black and white, puts a colored filter on, or doesn't use a filter. The portraits Ben takes are close up, and focused on a face that seems to be in motion. Almost none of the pictures are in the center, and most use rule of thirds (the third being on an unusual part of the picture). 

Frankie:
-not too close
-using nature
-from distinct angles; front, directly above, diagonal
-likes using color and white, not much black and white
-doesn't like dark pictures,
-uses shadows
-sharp, not movement or blurry, focused

Benji:
-uses photo editing
-takes pictures of simplistic things, every day life
-color and black and white
-close up pictures, from close to far, focusing on one part of the picture
-rule of thirds

Veronica:
-Macro
-blurry background
-color sceme
-Rule of thirds
-unusual angles

Sydney:
-blending of two pictures
-rule of thirds
-detail oriented
-repetition
-focused on different things

All of my favorite pictures from this semester were black and white pictures, because I really liked focusing on positive and negative space. I like the simplicity of this picture, and how it's almost lopsided. 

My favorite part of this picture are the shadows that are on the candle. It makes the top of the candle stand out from the rest, and makes it look as if it continues down forever. 

I like this picture of an apple, because it is as though the apple is being swallowed by the darkness. The detail on the apple especially stands out since the rest of the picture is so simple. 

I chose this because I like the shadow seen on Benji's face. What I didn't like is that his shirt blends in too much with the background, and the white in it takes away from his face. 

I like the shadows again in this picture. I can especially see the wrinkles in this person's hands and how their bones stick out in certain points. 

I like the emotion that is found in Grace's face. It is different from my others, because there is a detailed background. This could take away from her face, however I like the detail in the bricks. 

I chose this picture because I like how through the flowers, you can see the plants behind. For me, this adds a different layer, and the leaves in the background pop out. 

I like the vibrance of this flower, and how you can see in detail the layers of the petals. Within the flower, you can see many shapes and shadows which I think gives it depth and character. 

I like how there are basically three different colors in this picture; white, black, and green. I think the lack of bright reds or oranges make the white even more noticable. 

I like how this picture is darker than usual, and than my other pictures. Yet the top flower, one can almost see through. I was able to focus the camera so that the flower is the only part of the picture in focus, which I think compliments the dark composure. 

In the background, there are similar flowers to those in the foreground. This makes one think that I chose a random flower and shows how ordinary it is. I also like how one can see the center of the flower. 

I like how the red inside the flower is a different color as outside, yet still similar to that color. I think the flower from the side shows off the leave's shapes. 

I like this color of purple. 

I like the simplicity of this picture, and how the color of the leaves at the bottom are more distinguished because of the simplicity of the rest. 

These leaves seem even more bright in the picture than they did as I saw them. I like how you can really see the different colors of green, especially with the black background. 

This is different from the other pictures because the background really stands out to me. The different colors and shapes of the stones makes the subject need to be colorful. The one part of the leaf is folded over, which I wouldn't usually like, but I found it to be surprisingly well matched. 

I like how bright this picture is. This entire series is different from my usual because it is colorful, yet similar because there is more times than not, one subject. 

For this week, I will continue having one part of the picture that is colorful. This will make that specific part where your eye automatically is drawn to. I will do diptychs, single pictures, and might do a few combination pictures or collages. Hopefully, the rest of the picture will be simple enough that it will help to leave all focus on the one object. 

This was originally two almost identical pictures of Sadie. The slight difference was her eyes were open in one and closed in the other. I combined them to make it look like one face. 

This was the same picture, although I changed it to mirror itself. This allowed me to combine them and make it seem as if there wee two of them. 

I originally was going to have this picture of a bowl from two different angles, from the front and side. However, I tried taking two almost identical pictures and only using half of each one. I used a collage editor to put the two together, and lined them up to try and make it seem  like it was one picture. 

These are old pictures I had from when I did a series in the Richard Avedon style. I chose to put them together for this series, and the simplicity of the pictures makes the detail in their faces stand out. 

This was taken as somebody walked up the stairs. I like the motion in the first two pictures, and without it, it would seem like the person was just standing on the steps. 

I originally wanted this picture to be one of his entire face and one of half his face, but they didn't fit together. So instead, I flipped the picture so one is backwards. I like how you can't tell that one is the original and the other is the duplicate. 

For my next two pictures, I faded one picture into the other. The first picture was of the sky and trees, and the blended picture was of words from a newspaper. I like this because they're opposites, the cramped writing and the nature. 

I took used three pictures of Sebastian's hand and faded them on top of each other for this picture. First I faded the two together, and then saved it as one and faded the third on top. I like it because the hand almost looks as though it's in motion. 

I took a picture of this olive oil bottle from two different angles. I like it because the stripes go in opposite ways, yet their presence allows you to know the two pictures are of the same thing. 

For this week, my series will be in black and white. I was inspired by my shoe series to work with the shades of grey that are such a huge part of taking good black and white pictures. I also wanted to try and work on combing pictures like I did before, as I really enjoyed finding ways to edit them together.

Series

In all of the pictures, I made everything except for the shoes black and white. I thought that this made the shoes stand out more than they usually would. 

My favorite part of this picture is the shoe laces, as they show how the picture was taken while in the middle of a jump. I also like the shadow in the back, because it makes it seem like she's being suspended in the air rather than jumping. 

I chose this picture because it actually looks like she's about to step down. Also, it's just such an ordinary picture, and usually nobody would notice their shoes. 

I like how the bricks on the steps show repetition. This makes my eye automatically go straight to the shoe, as it's the break in the pattern. 

I like how the feet are uneven, and one is raised higher than the other. This contrasts the similarities between all of the other bricks. 

I like this because at first, your eyes are drawn to Drew. Then, out of the corner of your eye, you notice that there's something in the upper right corner that sticks out; the shoes. 

I chose this because the stones show all the shades of grey that make black and white so interesting. The picture is very uneven, as the square with the stones is not in the middle, but the shoes make up for it. It's like the stones are weighing one side of the picture, and the feet are holding down the other side, making them equal. 

I chose this because I really liked how the first foot is blurry, yet the second one is focused. This too is a  very simple, ordinary picture, which is why I think it's interesting. 

My favorite part of this picture is the shadow. In the bottom right corner, there is another shadow that draws your eye in. It's almost like the shadows are in their own world. 

I took this picture right as Frankie was jumping onto the tree. I like it because the picture is all grey, and very similar shades. Therefore, the shoes subtly jump out. 

Ideas for Assignment

1. A series of black and white pictures that would focus on showing the different shades that make black and white pictures different. Also, the contrast between the white and black.
2. A series of combination pictures, where either the pictures are combined into one picture, or are cloned to make a sequence. It would show relation and similarities between objects, or the process of an event such as somebody jumping.
3. A series of objects that are very simple with basic color backgrounds. It would be one object in the picture, or two objects that went together in some sense.

I darkened this picture so that the sky was completely black, however in the process, the buildings became dark as well. This makes it look very shadowed and dark, even though in reality it was taken on a very bright and sunny day. 

I chose this because in a way, the tree is more the negative space, but at the same time, the sky could be. When I first look at the picture, my eye automatically focuses on the background, and gradually moves to looking at the branches. 

I took this picture while looking through the eye of a mask in the student lounge. I like it because it's different from the usual round cut out, and it's like you're looking at the building through a telescope. 

I took this picture while looking into the camera so that the buildings were dark. How it is right now, the buildings look like more of a silhouette and the sky pops out. This makes the buildings the negative space, although usually they would be the subject. It's the opposite of my other picture of buildings. 

This picture was taken through a circle I made with my hands. I chose to make it black and white because the tree matched he color of my hands around the side, and made the grey pop. I like the hands in the picture because they're not a perfect circle which I think almost gives it texture. 

I chose to edit this picture of Frankie differently than the way I usually would approach it. It's colorful and unrealistic, which is not usually my style, however I like how the color pops out from the white space. Also, how the black hair and the white background give the picture simplicity, allowing the patches of color to look even brighter. 

For this assignment, I was focusing on combining two pictures into one. The two flowers in this picture are taken of the same picture, from two different angles. I think this shows how any object is so different depending on what angle you observe it from. I like it because at first, i t seems like they're one picture, because the backgrounds are so similar. 

This was at first meant to show a journey of the life of a tree. In every picture, there are leaves, which though aren't the focus, have a strong relation to trees. 

I chose this picture because I thought they went together in the way that the sky was a similar color, and the tree branches in the pictures looked almost identical. Also, the top is focused on the same tree, just in more detail and focused on one leaf rather than on the entire tree. 

I chose this picture because I don't usually leave pictures with their original coloring, I usually put a filter of either sepia or black and white on. I chose to put them together, because the top picture was zoomed in on a specific object, and the bottom was of the same flower in its natural habitat. 

  

I chose to clone this picture, so that it would show the stages of Frankie's jumping. They are faded in order to show their impermanence, and how they're all just phases in the jump itself. 

I combined two portraits, one of Benji and one of Seb. When I first put the pictures on top of each other, I didn't like it, because the faces didn't exactly go together. However, I decided to fade Benji's face to show. It could be symbolic in the way that somebody can have a mask that is obscuring half of themselves. The confusion of which face belongs could symbolize a real confusion about who they are.