Photoshop Technique

In the coming weeks, we have been tasked with learning a photoshop technique and creating educational materials for the class. I plan on teaching a trick in which one can add reflections to glasses, thereby making it seem like the individual is looking at whatever is desired. I plan on using this website as my guide:
http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/sunglasses/

"Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?"

It's a question that has plagued the masses for ages. We have all these great artists: Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Rembrandt, Picasso, Warhol, etc., but why are none of them women? Some may argue that women simply are not as talented as men, and there is something about the difference in femininity and masculinity that allows men to naturally be more suited towards creating art.

However, the article, Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? by Linda Nochlin, puts a different argument into place. "The fault lies not in our stars, our hormones, our menstrual cycles, or our empty internal spaces, but in our institutions and education-education understood to include everything that happens to us from the moment we enter this world of meaningful symbols, signs, and signals."This is an argument that I think is overlooked in a great deal of discussions on inequality. People tend to argue that, women have the same opportunities as men to go into any field, and that any differences in employment, or other types of thinking, are due solely to differences in gender. That may work for something like bodybuilding, where the strongest woman still will not be as strong as the average man, due to physiology and anatomical differences, but that does not mean that both are not extremely qualified for the job. When it comes to other practices, that do not require physical strength, the playing field should be more even, but it is not. People tend to ignore that things are stacked in favor of men, and while not discrediting their success, it is set up in a way that many women can never succeed.

In Believing is Seeing, by Mary Anne Staniszewski, she makes the claim that, "the ability to do something- the power to achieve, rule, invent, and create- is founded upon on individual's belief that he or she has the right to do it. An individual must have faith in his or her ability, and then, most important, there must be access to the arenas of achievement and power."(pg. 128) In the beginning of the Western Art scene, many women did not have access to this arena, as they were instead expected to be homemaker and rear children, which is not conducive to really any other sort of activity. Things have become better recently, as there are many distinguished women artists, but they still have not achieved the status that their male counterparts have. 

Old School Arcade

As promised, here is the stop motion animation that I worked on with a few of my classmates. Everyone really brought their A-game to this work, and I think it shows! A few things are different than in the description, but what will not be different is how much you enjoy it.

Old School Arcade is the story of a few classic arcade games, Pacman, Tetris, and Snake, who find themselves a bit wonky after a stick figure inserts a bit of mischief into the games.

What is Art?

This week, we were to read the first chapter of Believing is Seeing, by Mary Anne Staniszewski, in which we were faced with the dilemma, what exactly is art? It's simple, the idea of art is something  that is created with the sole purpose of evoking some sense of emotion. It is important to note that it is created by the artist, not due to purpose or decree,  but due to the artist finding the need to create this piece of art. That is the distinction between historical pieces of "art", that were not necessarily art back when they were created.

Which causes this to not be art, as it was commissioned:

http://webneel.com/daily/sites/default/files/images/daily/02-2013/13-pavel-stroganov-old-painting.jpg


But this is, as it was created for expression:

http://feedurn.com/web/upload/1427428899-michael-jackson-art-hd-wallpapers-231r1lx.jpg



Similarly, this is not considered art, as it is meant to reflect God's magnificence, and had religious intentions

http://dreamatico.com/data_images/jesus/jesus-5.jpg





But this is, as though it is religious, there is no outward forces otherwise causing it to be created, other than the act of expression.

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/jesus-art--cloud-colored-christ-come-ashleigh-moore.jpg

Portfolio

After many weeks of work, I am proud to present my digital photography portfolio for this class! It was challenging, but I do think I got a great deal out of it.

Project Synopsis

I am very excited to give a brief overview of my group's idea for a stop-motion film. The working title is, Old School Arcade, and it follows the basic plotline of the viewer being an individual playing various arcade games, namely Pac-man, Tetris, and Snake. Everything will be made out of skittles, and it will transition from game to game. However, at various points in each game, a stick figure, drawn on slips of paper, will interrupt the game, and ruin it somehow. Whether he causes Pac-man to be unable to escape the ghost, ruins the flow of the tetris blocks, or wrangles the snake. However, at the end, all three games get their revenge, and all is well.

Stop Motion 2

Again, we were tasked with finding another stop motion video. This one, is very similar to my group's idea, as it uses candy pieces to create the design.

Text and Type

Tic Toc

This week for class, we were assigned to find an example of a stop motion animation to share with the class. My friend showed me this a while back, and it's stuck with me ever since. The fluidity of the motion is incredible, but also, I always think about the poor little robot trying to have more time.

Lighting

This week, I was tasked with photographing the same subject 20 times in different lighting(thanks Nick for being such a willing subject!), and some of my favorites are below.

Overall, I really enjoyed this week's assignment. I liked playing around with different light sources, and finding different angles and ways of looking at the interplay between lighting and the subject. I found that I especially appreciated the use of windows to create various lighting patterns, that would then partially obscure the subject. I also tended to like using direct light, as it would create a much steeper contrast, which is naturally appealing to myself. Lastly, I like the difference in lighting changing the feeling, as with the last picture, which is pretty creepy, compared to the picture with blue lighting,which gives a more magical feel.

Before and After

Image Copyrights

          This week we were tasked with finding an article that related to some issue of imaging copyrighting or ethics in digital imaging. I found this interesting article, on the concept of using copyright laws to censor various historical images, using the famous example of the tank man at Tiananmen Square. The issue at stake being the idea that the group that owns the rights to this photo, Visual China Group, could use the standards set in the US Digital Millenium Copyright Act(DMCA), to force anyone or any institution to take down the photo or be sued.

This rightfully would be an issue, as the ramifications are great. This photo is of extreme historical significance, and to not be able to learn from it, simply because the copyright owner does not want it spread, is ridiculous. It could be spared due to the concept of fair use, but even that is not a definitive protective factor. 

The US is very interested in protecting their own intellectual property, but when it could lead to censorship such as this, is that truly right?

Finding Motion

This week we were tasked with capturing motion, which I found to be slightly difficult. Mainly as I was unsure of what direction I wanted to go in. Especially since I was somewhat limited in my ability to control shutter speed, having to play around with different settings to find options that would produce blurs and sharp focuses. In the end, I was able to find some interesting perspectives, mostly getting something to blur while the background mainly stayed the same. If I could attempt more, I would want to try the panning follow, to get that nice look. 

Favorite Photos

I really enjoyed this experiment, as it caused me to view things from a different perspective. I tried to look at things in relation to other objects, and where there were natural borders. I really wanted to try to take a picture with nothing in the center, but I was unable to complete that task. However, I did like taking pictures of the same object from different distances, and that lead to me taking one of my favorites, the flagpole picture. I also really liked working with corners, and thought that that gave me a very interesting experience.

Photo Collage

For class this week we were charged to create a collage that showcased who we were. I decided to choose my photos based on my loves for: nature and exploring, family, service, scouting, drama, and fun. 

The largest photo in the collage is simply meant to represent my personality, as someone who enjoys being goofy, and dressing up in silly costumes. 

From left to right below it, there is a photo of me, my younger brother, and my neighbor(essentially my second younger brother), preparing for a week at scout camp. I have attended camp since I was in fifth grade, first as a scout and now as a leader, and it has provided me with many great experiences and memories. I also chose this photo to illustrate important relationships.

The next photo is a still of me and some of my cast mates in the Menaechmus Twins, which we performed here at  Saint Michael's in the spring of 2015. I chose this picture to emphasize my love of the dramatic arts, and that I spend a great deal of time working on various theater related activities.

After that is a picture of me and my mother at a recognition dinner for Eagle scouts, which I chose to again show the impact scouting has had on my life, but also to again show the importance of family to me. 

The last photo in this row is of me and two other girls that helped run Vacation Bible School at my home parish in Massachusetts. VBS has been very important to me since I started in sixth grade as a counselor,as it combines my faith and joy in working with children together.

Starting from the second column and going down, is a photo of me and a friend watching the sun set on a frozen Lake Champlain. I chose this photo as it was a spontaneous trip, and I really enjoy going on any sort of adventure, especially to appreciate the beauty in life. 

Under that is a group of my friends playing a camp game during a drama club cook-out.  This photo is to show that I love to play games, and that I like being able to take time to appreciate the little things, like quality time spent with friends. 

Similar to the first photo in the column, this photo is meant to demonstrate my love of adventure, and also my enjoyment of aesthetics.

Underneath is a picture of me and some of the children I met on my service trip to Immokalee Florida with MOVE. This photo, like the one from VBS, is to show my love of service and connecting with people,

Next is a photo of my family on a white water rafting trip, again emphasizing my love for adventure, but also nature, as inbetween these rapids, we spent tranquil time floating down the river and taking in the scenery. It's also to show my family as a cohesive unit, as we try to go on fun trips like these together, to be able to spend quality time together and have great experiences. 

My last photo goes with that theme, and it is of my extended family on my mother's side after having gone on a walk on Mother's Day. My family loves getting out into nature, and also spending time together, so we tend to experience this a lot.

There you have, a small snapshot of who I am!