Black & White Intro (Ansel Adams)

We are finally getting into Black and White photography. Some might say that this form is one of the rawest forms of artistic expression because the artist is subtracting all influence of color and using the literal view of an image to display an emotion. Black and White photos can be so powerful and descriptive, even if they are of the simplest subjects.

Here is your intro assignment.

You must read and learn about Ansel Adams. Most people regard him as the most famous photographer of all time (Easily the most famous American photographer). He worked most notably in black and white and he has a very distinct style. Click on his name above and you will find a link to his biography. You are to write (not copy and paste) information that you learned while reading about him, and post one photo of his to your blog in one post. *Please take note of how the contrast is used in his work (if you don't know what that means, google it). The writing must include:

• What was his education before attending private school?
• Talk about his other profession beside being a photographer?
• When was his first fully visualized photograph, monolith, the Face of Half Dome created?
• At least 3 other facts that I have not mentioned already.
• Why you chose the picture you did.

* As you read I would recommend you google the images that are mentioned so you can see his work as you read about it.

*Also remember the found faces story... I will grade how much effort you put into this piece.


I hope you enjoy the work of this brilliant photographer. Feel free to talk to others in class about Mr. Adams and good luck.

Black & White Photo

We are exploring the world of black and white photography. In this genre, contrast is key. Your goal will be to compose your image to be as visually appealing as possible while containing bright whites, thick blacks and every shade in between.











you will be required to take 20 photos in total. 5Landscapes (inside or out), 5 Portraits, 5Textures, and 5 Abstract images. You will have to push yourself to be creative in this assignment and alter the way you perceive things around you.



















Your grade will be broken down like this:

30 pts. Ansel Adams post

60 pts. file with your photos on the server titled last nameper.?B&W

20 pts. post at least 2 of each category. (you may post more if you want to show off)

Remember, you are photographers now some make something BEAUTIFUL.

Camera Settings (Aperture & Shutter-Speed)

Aperture (f-stop):

*Controls the depth of focus field. The lower the f-stop the shallower the field of focus is. The higher the f-stop, the deeper the field of focus.
the aperture is literally how wide the lens of the camera is open.
If the aperture is large and in turn the lens is allowing a large amount of light in, there will be much finer detail on the image being focused and less detail on its surroundings.

If the aperture is small and in turn the lens is allowing a smaller amount of light in, there will be detail in the entire image, foreground and background.


Shutter speed:

The shutter speed is how long the lens is open.

The higher your shutter speed number (100, 200, 2000), the faster the lens will open and close. If the lens is exposing fast the image you are trying to capture will be frozen in time, showing no movement. this setting is used mainly in sports action photography, wildlife shooting or anything else that you need to get a good, still image of something in motion.
















The lower your shutter speed, the longer your "film" will be exposed and more movement will be collected. Also remember that if the lens is open a long time there will be a large amount of light allowed to come in which may over-saturate your photo.


















1. You will need 15 photos:

5 with a close focal length
5 with a high shutter speed (Quick exposure)
5 with a low shutter speed (Long exposure)

Save them in a 5x8 contact sheet and name the file "LastNameCameraSettings". Turnit into the "Camera Settings" folder on the server.

2. Post 2 of each on your blog.

Panorama

Panoramic pictures are used to capture more aspects of the photographers surroundings. In traditional photography, photographers used to overlap negatives and then print them onto photo paper. We have it a little easier and will be letting our new cameras do the work for us. These are going to be your requirements.

• One blog post- Two panoramic pictures you have found online with a description of why you enjoy them.

• You will need to take 12 panoramic pictures:
- Three outside (Landscapes)
- Three inside
- Three portraits
- Three creative
*Your photos will need to be named after one of the previously listed panoramic pictures categories and then add to the "panoramic" file on the server in a MAXIMUM SIZE contact sheet named "last name panorama".

• Finally you will need to Post your favorite one of each to another blog post(4 in total)

Found Panoramic Post (20 pts.)  Panoramic Post (20 pts.) Panoramic photos (60 pts.)

Found Faces (Creative Composition)

Now that you have some composition tools in your tool box, you are going to add some creativity into the mix.

Your Mission: Found Faces story

Your objective: You need to find ten faces around campus that are made by inanimate objects. You can use buildings, plants, cracks in the ground.... anything around campus that you FIND *You may NOT set up the faces (arrange three things to make a face) or take pictures of existing faces. Once you have your faces, you need to make two posts:
Post 1= five of the faces that you found around campus.
Post 2= Post your favorite face and write a creative story about this new character that you found. Your story can be as creative as you would like (as long as it is appropriate). Have fun with it. *Write your story directly under the photo.

Your writing will be graded on the following three requirements
• Your story must include your characters name, family, occupation (job), favorite pass-times and hidden talent.
• Your writing does matter. Make sure you capitalize the correct letters, your sentences flow and you do NOT use text speak or slang (unless it is in conversation). If you make any of the previous mistakes you will be graded down.
• The length, creativity and depth of your story will also determine your grade on this assignment. The less you write, the less I will grade you.

Have fun with this and be creative.

Need to turn in: Ten photos to me in a folder titled "last name found faces" [30 points], 5 faces posted [10 points]. Final picture with your story [50 points]

Creating a Contact Sheet (Video)

   

Composition

These are links to some of the concepts we were talking about. The website is called "Digital Photography School" and has some awesome tips. the eight that we mentioned are:

Rule of Thirds

Using lines in Photography : Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal, and Converging lines.

Framing & Filling the frame

Capturing an image from Different Angles

(All these tips and more.)

After we explore these concepts you need to complete the following assignment to prove to me you are ready to take some quality pictures.

*ASSIGNMENT*

Find an Example of each of the following compositional effects and include them ALL in ONE post.

Rule of thirds, Horizontal, vertical, diagonal and converging lines, framing, filling the frame and  different POV (Point of view). (8 in total)

*You may find the pictures wherever you would like as long as the image and the site are school appropriate. Remember they MUST be PHOTOGRAPHS and please label each picture the name of the composition effect. (You do no have to comment on other peoples images)