American Soldier

A. I would say the most powerful picture is the one labeled "Breaking Down." It shows how hard Ian struggles in the Army with his problems. It shows how being in the Army is not easy and takes a lot of mental work, to not run away and stay fighting.

B. The images work together to tell a story because they show the order of the story, like when he first joins the army, and then it shows him at school one week before leaving. The photos also show his emotions and how his emotions change in each picture.

C. The captions enhance the photographs because they help explain what is happening if you can't already tell. They also tell his emotions if you can't tell from the picture. They also tell extra information that we should know.

D. Ian Fisher is a 17 year-old who enlisted in the army, he receives a phone call to confirm his enlistment, he is officially in the army. With only a week until he has to leave, he has a goodbye party, says bye to his best friends, his family, and his girlfriend. His drill sergeant, David Vance, starts 14 weeks of basic training, and sees which recruits are already going to quit. When the recruits finally earned their weapons, Fisher was very excited, he made machine gun sounds while being playful. These guns didn't help them when it came to the first simulation of a real war, David Vance said half the recruits would be dead by now. Weeks later he departs for Iraq and joins the rest of the army their. He sees Iraq and discovers new things, he learns you have to be aggressive when out in Iraq. Before he knows it he is sent home to his family and friends again, he has been waiting for the moment for so long. When he gets home he marries his high school girlfriend. Life is good again for him.

E. The captions with Ian in them are usually written in present tense.

F.  1. Three
     2. They tell what he is doing
     3. They say what he does that you can't tell from just looking at the picture.
     4. It usually includes a quote.
     5. Yes, most of them do.
     6. Yes some of them have 4 sentences.
G. You can tell a whole story from pictures and captions because the captions can tell information and basically tell the story. The pictures provide the emotions he is having, and also the order of events.

H. Writing a story can also help instead of just putting pictures and captions because it can tell more information then just a little bit, like a caption does. It can also provide background information, like where Ian is from where his family is from and things like that. Also i think some people would rather read a story instead of just look pictures and read captions.

Composition Part 2

Rule of Thirds

 Leading Lines
 Simplicity
 Framing
 Mergers
 Balance
 Viewpoint
 Depth
 Symmetry and Patterns
 Cropping

Funny Captions

 Grandma Nanny lights up on her 100th birthday. She was just taking her mid-day nap when her kids surprised her with balloons and presents.


 Senior citizen Bobby Roberts goes for a joyride in his birthday suit. His friends bet him $50 he wouldn't do it, he showed them wrong!



 Betty Johnson goes hunting for fun with a light machine gun. Her ideal birthday party came true when her friends bought her her favorite gun.

Mural Project Preview

1. A few ideas I have for taking the mural project is we could take pictures of orange, black, red, yellow (fall colors), and we could put them in the shape of a leaf. A second idea is we take pictures of things with fall colors or that represent fall, and then we could put them in the shape of a pumpkin. A third idea i have is we could take pictures of nature and that could be our theme and then maybe we could put it into the shape of a tree.

2. When shooting in manual, we are gonna have to think about our aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. We're gonna have to adjust them so that we get good exposure and better looking photos.

3. One idea for getting the murals on the internet, is we could put them into a slide show. Either picture by picture, or mural by mural. Another thing we could do is we could put the pictures on a word document. A third idea for getting the murals online is we could take pictures of the finished murals and then upload those pictures on the computer and post them online.

Abandoned Theme Parks

1. I would like to go to Six Flags in New Orleans. That seems like the most creepy place to be, and at the same time the most exciting. It is also in the U.S. which is easier than going all the way to Hungary, Ukraine, South Korea, or Japan. Another reason i would like to go to this park is because i have been to a six flags, so seeing one abandoned would be scary. Most of all i would go to this place because it is the creepiest, and i like seeing scary things.
2. 

3. An unusual place i would like to go to would be an abandoned museum, an abandoned school, an old jail, an old house in the woods somewhere, and lastly a and abandoned old town.

4. Will Ellis visited an abandoned prison and took photographs there 

5. This would be a fun place to document because its very interesting. It seems like it would have many cool things to take pictures of. Also, I like scary things so visiting a creepy prison like this would be fun. Taking pictures of the jail cells would give me chills, so this is something i would definitely enjoy doing. Then again the only way i would go here is if it was day time, not night time.

6.  For me to go there I would need at least three other people going with me. I would also need flashlights in case there is a dark place, my camera, a tripod, and I would need some money but just enough for food and gas. That seems like all the stuff I would need, unless this place is far,  then I would need money for a plane. Other then those few things I don't think there is anything else I would need.
   

Africa

1. I read about a photographer named Nick Brandt who took pictures of animals in East Africa. He is very concerned about the animals because when he went 13 years after his first visit he saw not a single animal within a 4 hour drive. He took some very good pictures, I really liked looking at them. The animals looked very cool and I found it interesting how close up he got to them and they were fine with it.
3.This is my favorite photo because it just looks really cool and so magnificent. The lion is roaring which describes the lion perfectly, and the gray background makes the photo look even better.
4. In this photo one of the rules of composition he uses is simplicity, which is using a simple background so we can tell what the main object is.

2.

5. Nick Brandt uses a Pentax 67 camera and a modified lens, which creates a soft focus. He says this is important because it creates the type of image he likes. For example, he said using a telephoto lens is not the same because it doesn't give the same effect.

6. His reason for taking these photos, is because he has always been interested in animals, and when he got older he decided he wanted to take pictures of them. 

7. he hopes by taking these photos that people will see how magnificent animals are, and he can share his interest with anyone.

8. When asked what  inspired him to take pictures in Africa, he said "Simply, I find myself indescribably moved every time I go to these places and see these animals in these settings.

Prompt Shoot #2

Electricity

Purple

Purple

Electricity

Cold

Cold

Warm Up

1. I felt very sad when looking at the photos.

2. I think that that comment means that the photos don't tell who you are, but what you have been through, so that it is a part of you.

3. I do not think I could shoot photos like this if I was in this situation. I would be way too sad to be thinking about taking photos.

4. I would say to him that he is very brave and through all that was happening still found a way to find happiness. Based off of his photos it looks like he found a way to stay positive, and that's really inspiring.

I Taste

I taste the sand from the ground come up to my mouth. It causes me to spit, I taste the nasty dirt stuck in my mouth. I taste the dryness of my mouth, I need water. I taste the last grain of sand as it leaves my mouth. 

 I taste a snowflake as it lands on my tongue, it dissolves instantly and another appears. I taste the ice from the lake and it makes me hungry, I taste the warm food I brought for myself. I taste the last drop of my water and decide to try another snowflake.

I Hear

I hear the leaves drop to the hot desert ground after being alive for too long. I hear the last branch crack and hold on for a little longer, it hopes it won't fall. I hear the wind speed up and push my hat off of my head, it finally comes to a stop and I hear it go to sleep.

 I hear the ice forming at the top of the lake, it's done for the year. I hear the snow from the mountain drop from the sky and land softly on the top of the mountain. I hear a tiny snowflake land on my head, I don't touch it. I hear the cold air speed up and try it's hardest to freeze me.

I Smell

I smell the desert air come across my nose. I smell the heat coming from the burning sun, it doesn't get much hotter than this. I smell the food I brought with me but I know I won't eat until I make this perfect, I smell the hot, uncomfortable air rise to my nose.

I smell the cold air run through my nose and make my lips dry. I smell the snow from the mountain, it freezes at the tip of my mouth and makes me thirsty. I smell the reward I will get once I create this photo, I smell the 14 degrees pass all around me. 

I See

 I see the shadow of the deformed tree on the rocks. I see the tree try its hardest to stay up, but I know it will fall someday. I see the branches of the tree  fall off one at a time, I take the picture as soon as i can too keep the tree alive.

I see the magnificent mountain in the distance, along with the still water that reflects the mountain. I see the journey it would take to climb up that huge landform. I see how small the lake looks compared to the mountain, it isn't even close to the same size.

I Feel

I feel troubled when looking at this photo, like something is not right. I think it is because the way the tree looks, it makes me feel worried like something bad just happened. Looking at this photo I feel like I'm worried about something but can't put my finger on what it is so it drives me crazy.

 I feel the cold air touch my face as I move the camera to the angle I want. It's freezing cold and i feel my warm breath leave my mouth, I breath into my hands to keep them warm. Once I take the photo I can't feel the cold anymore, I only feel the success and excitement because I had just taken an amazing picture.

Great Black and White Photographers PART 3

 I was very interested in this photo when I saw it. One thing that caught my eye was when I looked at the water I could see what looks like a reflection of the mountain. I thought that was really cool because it meant the water was incredibly still, thats something I would really want to see in person.



I liked this photo because it looks like the tree is swaying due to a strong wind, and it makes the picture look very interesting. Also, the black and white really makes the picture look much more interesting and sophisticated.