Semester 1 Exam

1st Semester Reflection

Part I



1. Quality of Work
I have been sure to use focal point in my compositions, whether it has been through a contrasting color of a subject, rule of thirds, or the subject being placed closer in the foreground. This was accomplished with the balance when more visual weight was placed within a subject. For some projects, the balance was off, so I had to adjust the positioning of a subject by rotating and/ or enlarging it. I also was sure to use the proper amount of contrast by showing white and black somewhere in the image while not overpowering it as a whole. I make sure to use the correct format and resolution required for each assignment. Each assignment is also turned in on time. Though there a few compositions I think went very well, overall I need to push myself more to be more unique and creative.

2. Effort
For my compositions I tend to shoot much more than what is required.
Though subject/ location may be convenient, it is a product of the idea I went with. There were definitely some projects in which I took photos at home and some where I have driven somewhere else. I usually take a long time planning and deciding what to do for my compositions, as I want to make sure the image is pleasing to the eye and also has deeper meaning behind it. Generally I do not take major risks and going into the next semester that is something I need to try more, as my ideas would be more interesting. I do have a positive attitude toward other student’s work, appreciating their different ideas and executions of the assignments. I also have a positive attitude toward my own work, however I am honest with myself if I think something could have turned out better.

3. Participation
I am always on time to class and rarely miss school. I stay on task and use my time to work on assignments throughout the period. I work independently with my own ideas while receiving some feedback for minor details from my peers. Overall, I make sure to participate every class.

4. Improvement
The technical aspects of my composition come more naturally to me now. For personal style, I haven’t quite figured it out yet, however I plan to, or at least come closer, next quarter. Since I didn’t begin using photoshop since this school year, I was confused at first, and now am much more confident with using it. Different elements such as contrast, focal point, color and more have also sunk in more for using them to create more compelling photos. I think from the beginning of the year my concepts have gotten stronger, but I plan to push them further.

5. Adjustment
In the second semester I am going to use my time more wisely so that I can plan out more creative ideas. This way, I will not hold myself back as much with different concepts due to not giving myself as much time as I could have had. I also plan to take more risks, visually and conceptually, opening up new doors to the photos I am striving to create. I also plan to do this to further individualize and perfect my own style.


Part II
An assignment that I think would be interesting is something related to decades of the twentieth century. When looking at older photographs the year can be usually estimated based off of staple visual aspects of the time. This could include hair style, clothing, cars, the way the photo is colored, and more. So, for the assignment photographs would be taken of a person or location and the image would incorporate staple elements of the time period. These could be added in with photoshop or props could be used. Then, the image would be tinted/ colored correspondingly.

Gottfried Helnwein image cont.

Seeing the image zoomed out I now understand that it is not photoshopped. Instead of the man being tiny, the image of the girl is enlarged and hanging on the side of a building, which the man is actually climbing up. The image is actually documentary as it is a realistic picture of what was going on, rather than being artistically edited. The image of the girl does not include the man climbing over it, changing the meaning. Instead, the girl's face is the image. Knowing that the name of it is "The Last Girl" the image is actually about isolation and possibly hope for the future, as the girl appears to be quite young. Comparing the scale of the real man and the size of the building with the picture of the girl it is clear that it was very enlarged and takes up a lot of space. What is even more lonely is that there don't seem to be other pictures put up in the location. As for the actual image that is hung up, I think it is made of a strong but thin canvas due to the ripples in the material, which can be found closer to the top. Vertical lines can be seen which separate parts of the image, meaning that it was put up with multiple pieces of the material. The image is placed in an industrial setting, so many people walking in the area would be able to see it. Her expression includes wonder of the future and a melancholy look. Acting as "The Last Girl", these moods that she displays make sense for her situation.

Spacey Transfiguration (with computer mouse)

Work by Gottfried Helnwein

The image is of a small man (barely the height of an eye) rock climbing up a girl's face, particularly her nose up to her right eyebrow. The image is cropped to include her right eye, eyebrow, her nose, and the top half of her top lip. It is an artistic image and not a documentary one. It is artistic in its placement of an unproportional man onto a close-up of a girl's face, as this pure creativity and is very unrealistic (not representing a real life event). The image is definitely photoshopped when it comes to the man rock climbing being cut out and pasted onto the girl's face, as this cannot occur in reality. I feel that the meaning of this image is that the man is "walking all over" the girl. The scale between the two adds to this, because the man is so tiny that the girl could just flick him off her face, but she does not. This makes me think that the girl might be allowing the man to be there bothering her even though she could easily get rid of him if she wanted to.