Surrealism

In this picture I combined five different elements of five different photos into one. I used the gaussian tool to blend a couple of the photos together and then clicked on the layer mask. For the other 3 I outlined the objects I wanted to bring into the photo with the eliptical marquee tool. Then clicked on the layer mask.

I really like how it turned out. It symbolizes all the things unique to Seattle, Wa. I would consider it a surrealism dream picture. If I could change anything I would want to blend in the tulip picture a little better into the sky above it.

Filter Sampler

This assignment was to use the filter to adjust only one part of the picture. I used the solarize filter to edit the sky. First I outlined the sky with the magnetic lasso, then clicked on my background layer, then went to the filter options and picked solarized.
I think changing the sky altered the whole feel of the picture. It turns a bright sunny day into a dark scary sky. The sky gives off an omninous glow. I don't like how at the boarder of the sky and the rest of the picture it is white. I would like it better if it was all filled in better.

Text + Image

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to pray in and play in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul". -John Muir

For this assignment we incorporated text into our image. I looked through quoutes on google that went along well with my picture of the flower. I first opened up my picture into photoshop to edit it, and then moved it over to illustrator to add the text. I used the pen tool and created the lines around the flower for my text and then I clicked on the type tool for typing on a path.

The text follows around the boarder of the flower. The font is elegant, and flowers are a symbol or elegance too. I think this picture turned out well.

Composites

This picture is two photos blended into one. I set up two screens so both photos were being displayed and then I dragged the tulip picture over onto the other one. I lined them up so they were a little bit of then I used the eraser tool to blend the blue sky into the other picture. I then made a layer mask and used the gradient tool. After that I played around with the different blending modes to see which one I liked the best.

I think this photo turned out very well. I made sure that the blending of the too photos made it look like the sky was from one picture. It was frusterating to try to find two different photos that I thought would look cool to blend togerher. I would not change anything.

The history tool brush-A pretty tulip in rainy Seattle, WA

For this photo I used the history brush tool. I first turned the picture to black and white by turning the hue/saturation all the way down. Then I flattened the layers, clicked on the history brush tool in the tools on the left hand side, tuned the hardeness of the brush to 90% then just colored in the flower. It creates a focal point having just one of the flowers colored in. It lets you new the previous state of the image to create new effects.

The strength of this photo is that the flower is carefully colored in so that is was not going out of the lines. If I could go back I might play around with coloring in the different flowers and see which one creates the most emphasize. Overall I would not change anything.

Pop Art Portrait

Nicole was the subect in this pop art assignment. Pop art, is classified as having the characteristics of vivid colors, graphic novel/ comic book feel, and also un-natutral or exaggerated colors. Each individual photo inside the photo as a whole represents a different color scheme. The top left is analogus colors, meaning colors that are next to eachother on the color wheel. So I used orange and red-orange. The top right is a monochromatic scale. Meaning different colors of the same hue, in this case I chose purple. The bottom left is complimentary colors, colors that are opposite to eachother on the color wheel. I chose red and green. Lastly is triadic, colors that are evenly spaced on the color wheel, red, blue, and yellow is what I picked. I first outlined the subject with the lasso tool so I could delete out the background. Then changed the photo to black and white and posterized it. After that I colored each section with a different color, ei: the face, skin, and hair. Then I used the layers effect to change the look of the colored sections. After that, all that was done was filling in each section in the paint bucket and dragging all four photos together!

I really liked how this project turned out! Of course, there are some things that I would change to it. In the top left picture there is a little purple showing on the earring, which does not go with the analogus scale im using. Also, in the botton right, the blue shadow of the skin of the neck is going into the red of the hair. It was hard to color in precisly each section with the paint brush tool so it would not go out of the lines. Besides those things I think this project went quite well!

A New Way of Seeing-apples and bananas!

The theme I choose was "out and about". It is a very broad subject. I took pictures in all different kinds on public places. I want to capture what people see when they go out into the public eye. This picture was taken at Pike's Market Place in Seattle, Washington. I got really close to the main subject, being the apple right up close to the camera. There is emphasis on the certain apple because it appears to look bigger than all the other fruit. If you look at the other fruit a little further down, there is a big difference in size. I used saturation in photoshop to brighten the colors even a little more and used levels to change the contrast.

I really enjoy this picture. The colors of the fruit are so vibrant. I also think it is really cool how you see the fruit ascending down into the pictures and how there is a blurry sign hanging up out in the distance. I don't think I would do anything else to change this photo. I' am happy how it turned out!

Portraits and Lighting

Our assignment was to play with different lighting situations. For this picture, Anna Arbisi is the model. We went into the commons in the school so we could get natural light. It was a cloudy day so we did the best we could with our conditions. This photo is backlight, where the subject stands infront the the light source. This makes the subject look dark and creates a sillhouette. We also did not use a reflector for this one.

I would say that the only weekness of the photo was just the lighting conditions. It was too dark outside so we could not get that good of results. I really like how Anna is sillhouetted though, it looks really cool!





This picture was taken in the studio versus natural light as the picture above is. We used a hand held light and aimed it only to one side of Laurens face so we could get side lighting. We did not put a sheet over the light source but rather had it being direct light than diffused. To get the look of this photo we also used a sheet of poster paper should we could reflect the light directly onto Laurens face.

I would of preffered it if the white background was the only thing showing in the picture. Unfonturnatley the stool was not tall enough so we got some of the space below the white background showing in the photo. Also I think the left side of Laurens face is too dark. We probably could of held the light source closer to her face to brighten it up.

A day in the Life

I went into the scenes selections on my camera and choose kids&pets. I altered my photo by adding a black boarder and feathering it so that the edging looks warm and smooth. The feathering makes the boarder look like it is coming into the picture. I also altered the exposure to make a little darker than it already was.

The assignment was a day in the life. I choose myself and took pictures of things I do and see everyday. One thing I see everyday would be my cat Saul! I got down to eye level like a always do him with him and snapped a picture. He is looking dead on into the camera, something he usually never does. I'm not too satisfied with this picture because I could of added a lot more alterations in photoshop. There are not any significant changes to the photo. The overall look of the picture is bright and I would want to go back in and warm it up a little.

Artistic Statement

Art has always been something that I have been interested in. Since I was little my dad took me to museums all the time. Two of which including, The Walker Art Center and The Minneapolis Institute of Arts. I developed an interest in photography as I got older. I wouldn’t exactly say I was good, but I liked taking pictures all the time and still do. I also really enjoy drawing. Overall I just think photography and drawing are things that are really fun. Both are something that you can put your creativity in and express your feelings through artwork. It is fun to see how far you can advance in your art and see the different pieces of artwork you are capable of producing.

My friend Katie Workinger really inspires me to create beautiful, meaningful pictures. She took photography classes at Edina and has gotten advanced with her skills ever since. She can take a simple object of anything and make it absolutely amazing. Seeing how far she has come with her photography makes me want to stick with it and see how much I can learn about photography. Through my inspirations I have become open with my work and have not just focused on one subject matter but rather expanded. It has taught me to keep my eye open for great picture taking opportunities.


I have made a lot of art. In ceramics I made many objects ranging from bowls to a turtle. I have also done a still life charcoal drawing, pastel drawing, pen and ink portrait, a still life painting, and a surrealism drawing with two of my dreams incorporated into it. I have taken a bunch of photos in my life. I really enjoy landscapes, flowers, and people.

During this semester I want to be able to take beautiful pictures. I want to learn everything I can about my camera to be able to produce creative and unique works of art. Also to be able to spot a good picture.