Final Exam

This picture was my transformative photo because when I was shooting and editing it, I realized how much fun photography could be. I also realized that photography had the power to capture and share beauty. Before this photo, I merely completed assignments; after this, I actively sought out new photo subjects. Like Mr. Towell in the New York Times Lens Blog article about Magnum photographers, I realized that good photography does not have to be of unique and wondrous sights, but also "what is common with all people: everyday things, the small things". Discovering this led me to choose sunsets as my prompt for one of my three final projects, as sunsets are so ubiquitous and appear every day, but have so much simple beauty that everyone can appreciate.

The difference between shape and form is that shape is two-dimensional, while form is three-dimensional. For example, in my pictures that define Shape, I chose an angle that would show only the front sides of the leaves and petals, thus showing only a flat organic form. However, in my picture that defined Form, I chose an angle that would show the multiple dimensions of the petals and the flower as a whole, therefore expressing length, width, and depth.

The difference between pattern and repetition are that while pattern repeats a symbol or object, repetition incorporates this pattern to add movement and unity to the photograph. For example, in my picture that defines Pattern, I captured a pattern of eight identical rectangles arranged in a square. In my picture of Repetition, however, I chose an angle that would highlight the repetition of the shape of the flower petals while adding an element of motion that comes from the eye following the pattern around, as well as an element of unity that comes from the clumps of the petals' pattern.

My weebly about page is here. The Cook Phodography blog has inspired me, and their about page can be found here.

The most recent project I completed was about cafes. Prior to that, I had a Spring Expo gallery about sunsets. Before that, I had my first commercial shoot advertising for Northface products. I believe that my Spring Expo gallery about sunsets was the best out of these three projects, for multiple reasons. This gallery included my transformative picture that I talked about before, and helped me to appreciate some of the simple yet majestic beauty of an everyday natural occurrence. This project helped me expand my usage of editing tools and included some of the pictures I was the most proud of this year. As I said previously, this project helped me to appreciate some of the everyday, commonplace occurrences as much as I would a unique, momentous sight.

Final Project - Aesthetic

Student Website Reviews

Period 1 - Vina Kong
Best Photo: I believe that this photo is Vina's best picture because the dog is framed well and she displays an interesting contrast between the dog's white fur and the colors of the toy and the green carpet.

Period 2 - Jiayi Zheng
Best Photo: I believe that this picture is Jiayi's best picture because the colors of the flower fade perfectly from a vivid pink to a softer white-pink hue. The other colors of the background do not detract from the vibrancy of the flowers.

Period 3 - Hugh Smith
Best Photo: I believe that this is Hugh's best photograph because of the combination of the rich purple color, the warm bright sunlight, and the interesting angle.

Spring Expo Gallery

http://azhaomsjphotography.weebly.com/photography.html

Spring Expo Group Project

We will shoot on the Mission San Jose High School field, at sunset on Friday and Saturday night. We will shoot multiple photos as the sunset progresses, to include the "second sunset" that normally occurs 25 or so minutes after the initial sunset.
We will only shoot on days that are not heavily clouded, and we can always come to Mission to shoot on extra days. The weather forecast for Friday and Saturday night is slightly cloudy and 55 degrees.

Our camera is a Nikon D5300, so the files will be large enough to print. An estimate for our shutter speed is 1/60, but if we wanted to evoke different effects in our photos, we might change it.

First Commercial Shoot

Photo by Jacob Walter; this is the printable one

Photo by Alyssa Zhao

Photo by Jacob Walter

Photo by Jacob Walter

Photo by Elliot Suh

Our project was the North Face brand.

Triptych

Original

Camera Raw edit

Photoshop edit

Five Photography Blogs

1. A Camera and a Dream
2. Ded Pxl
3. Photography Concentrate
4. Ground Glass
5. Psychology for Photographers

My Best Picture

Photo Story MCW

1. Mr. Hui warming up and practicing before the big show
2. Official performance begins,
3. Mr. Hui brandishes his sword to the left of the stage.
4. He now advances towards the right.
5. He strikes an interesting pose
6. Bow at the end! Great job, Mr. Hui!

Yellow

I am wearing yellow to correspond to the color set by the Multicultural Week committee, who deemed that yellow was to be worn on Wednesday to represent the Americas. 

MSJMCW Story

Multicultural Week - Blank Plates (Blank Space parody)

Nice to meet you, where you been?
I could show you incredible things
Milk tea, madness, chicken, sin
Saw them there and I thought
Oh my God, look at that plate
You look like my next mistake
Food's a game, wanna play?

New money, food and pie
I can read you like a new menu
Ain't it funny, rumors fly
And I know I've heard about you
So hey, let's not waste
I'm dying to see how this one tastes
Grab your tickets and my hand
I can make the bad fries good till the weekend

So the line's gonna take forever
Or it's gonna lure us to another bait
You can tell me when it's over
If the food was worth the wait 
Got a long list of food to try
They'll tell you I'm insane
'Cause you know I love the fries
And you love the cake

'Cause we're young and we're hungry
We'll take this way too far
It'll leave you out of money
Or with a nasty scar
Got a long list of food to try
They'll tell you I'm insane
But I've got a blank plate, baby
And I have no shame.

Shutter Speed and Everything After

My name is Alyssa Zhao, and I paired with Elliot Suh.

1. This picture was taken with a fast shutter speed because the trucks are probably moving at high speeds but nothing was blurred. 
2. This shows my rule of depth, as the road extends past the primary subjects of the two trucks. Another rule of composition is balancing elements, as the photo uses the rails and trucks to create a balanced effect for both sides of the roads.
3. An element of art that applies to this photograph is form, as the trucks exhibit length, width, and depth.
4. A principle of design that applies to this photograph is pattern, as arrangement of the steel railings repeats itself into the distance.

1/60

Principles of Design - Variety

We chose Photo #6 as demonstrating the most variety because there is an abundance of containers in the picture, each filled with different items. There are also miscellaneous artifacts such as tree branches, cardboard boxes, and screens.

Unity

i cropped it to center the cracks.
 this shows unity because there is harmony between the four sides, as well as the colors.

Variety

I cropped it to incorporate the shadows, the rhythm, and the patterns. these rhythms and patterns guide the viewer's eyes, showing the picture's variety.

Rhythm

I just cropped it. This shows rhythm because it highlights the repeating movement of the bricks' pattern.

Proportion

i added saturation, sharpened the image, and heightened the colors.
this photo shows proportion because the parts of the tree, the stones, and the hills work together to create a sense of unity.

Gordon Parks, parts 3 and 4

1. What is your definition of successful? My definition of success is financial security and happiness.
2. What have you given up to become successful? I have given up leisure time and social time. 
3. What did Parks give up to become successful? Parks gave up his personal and social lives, as well as his relationships with his wives and children. 
4. Who was Gloria Vanderbilt's father? Gloria's father was Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt, and he was a millionaire equestrian descended from the Vanderbilt railroad empire.
5. How much was Parks advanced to write his first book (and eventual best-selling autobiography)? Parks was given $10,000.
6. How much money did Elijah Muhammad offer Parks to do a story on The Nation of Islam? Parks was offered $500,000. 
7. Why did Parks refuse the money? He did not agree with Muhammad's principles and philosophies.
8. What was significant about the movie The Learning Tree? The Learning Tree was significant because Gordon Parks became Hollywood's first major black director. It is considered a classic. 
9. What was significant about the character Shaft? Shaft was the first black superhero, and so young kids had a her to represent them and to look up to. 
10. What was Gordon Parks' choice of weapons? His choice of weapon was his camera. 
11. What reason did Genevieve Young give for the divorce? She said that life with Gordon was too hectic, confused, and unpredictable. 
12. In 1984, Parks directed Solomon Northrup's Odyssey. What recent feature film told the same story? Twelve Years a Slave tells the same story.
13. Who was Gordon Parks, jr? Gordon Parks, jr is Gordon Park's oldest son. He was also a director, best known for the film Super Fly.  
14. What is your favorite Gordon Parks photo? My favorite Gordon Parks photo is American Gothic, Washington, D.C.
15. What will you remember about Gordon Parks in ten years? I will remember his talent, passion, and dedication.

Repetition

I cropped it and added saturation to make the colors brighter.
This picture shows repetition because there is a pattern in the flower petals that makes the picture more active.

Principles of Design - Pattern

i cropped it to center it
This shows pattern because the symbol of the bricks is repeated throughout the photograph.

Principles of Design - Movement

i cropped it to make the picture look more continuous
this picture shows motion because the viewer's eye follows the path around the picture.

Principles of Design - Emphasis

i adjusted the brightness to emphasize the shadow line of the rail on the ground
this shows emphasis because the contrast between the light and dark catches the viewer's attention

Principles of Design - Balance

i just cropped it to center it
this shows balance because there is an even distribution between the sky and the bell tower.

Plant Picture - Texture

i just cropped it to bring it to the center

Plant Picture - Color

i saturated it to make the colors brighter

Plant Picture - Space

i cropped it and adjusted the shadows to emphasize the space between the petal/leaves.

Plant Picture - Form

i just cropped it

Half Past Autumn - Gordon Parks pt 1 and pt 2

1. On the day Gordon Parks was born, how did the doctor save Gordon's life? - He was almost stillborn, but the doctor plunged his body into a tub of icy water and revived him.
2. Where was Gordon born? (what state?) - Kansas
3. What did Gordon's class adviser, Ms. McClintock, tell him about college? - She told him, and other African-Americans, not to go to college because they would be wasting their parents' money only to inevitably end up as porters or maids, regardless of their educational level.
4. How old was Gordon when his mother died? - Gordon Parks was fourteen years old when his mother died.
5. Where did Gordon move after his mother died? - After his mother died, he was sent to live with his relatives. 
6. Did Gordon graduate from college? - No, Gordon did not graduate from college. 
7. How did Gordon begin his fashion photography career? - When he bought his first camera, the clerks were impressed by his talent and urged him to seek a fashion assignment at a woman's clothing store in Mississippi that was owned by Frank Murphy. These pictures caught the attention of Marva Louis, the wife of a boxing champion, who encouraged Parks to move to Chicago and photograph society women. 
8. What is a "double exposure?" - Double exposure is the repeated exposure of a photographic plate or film to light, often producing ghost images. 
9. Who was boxer Joe Louis? - Joe Louis was the husband of Marva Louis, the woman who convinced Parks to move to Chicago and helped him begin his fashion photography career.
10. What instrument did Gordon play? - Gordon played piano.
11. What was the purpose of the Farm Security Administration? - The Farm Security Administration attempted to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression. 
12. When Roy Stryker hired Gordon for the FSA, what was Stryker's first assignment for Gordon in Washington, D.C.? - Stryker's first assignment for Gordon was to document discrimination in Washington, D.C.
13. Who was Ella Watson? - Ella Watson was a cleaning woman in the FSA's offices whose father had been killed by a lynch mob. She was the subject of one of his pictures.
14. What was the inspiration for Grant Wood's American Gothic? - The inspiration for Grant Wood's American Gothic was a building now known as the American Gothic house, and his decision to paint the house along with the people who he imagined would live in the house. 
15. What did Gordon learn from Stryker about photography? - He "learned how to fight the evil of poverty -  along with the evil of racism with a camera."
16. When did the FSA shut down? - The Farm Security Administration shut down in 1943.
17. After Gordon moved to New York, what magazine did he shoot for? - After Gordon moved to New York, he shot for the Life magazine. 
18. Who was the picture editor of Life Magazine when Gordon walked into the Life Magazine office? - Wilson Hicks was the picture editor of Life Magazine when Gordon walked into the Life Magazine office. 
19. What was the first major story Parks covered for Life Magazine? - The "Harlem Gang Leader" was his first major story. It was on crime about Red Jackson and his gang.
20. Who were some of the artists that Gordon Parks mentioned influenced his work after he moved to the Paris Life Magazine bureau?  Some of the artists  that influenced Gordon's work after he moved to the Parks Life Magazine bureau were Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Emile Bernard.
21. How did Parks shoot fashion when he lived in France? Gordon asked the model to move, moved with the model, and shot at a slow speed.
22. Where was Parks' concerto performed? His concerto was performed in Venice.
23. Who was Parks' second wife? (Who was her father? What did she do?) Park's second wife was called Elizabeth Campbell Rollins. Her father was Ecents Campbell. She wanted to go into modeling.
24. How old was Flavio de Silva when Parks met him? Flavio de Silva was 12 years old when Parks first met him.
25. When did Parks meet Flavio?  Parks met Flavio in Rio de Janerio in 1961 when Flavio was carrying a tin of water on his head.
26. Where did Flavio live when Parks first met Flavio and his family? Flavio lived in Rio de Janerio in the rotting catacumba favela when Parks first met Flavio and his family.
27. Who is Gloria Vanderbilt? Who is her famous son? Who are her ancestors? Gloria Vanderbilt is a painter, designed, and close friend of Gordon Parks. Gloria and Gordon often wrote poetry to each other. Gordon could have married Gloria. Her son is Anderson Cooper, who is a famous CNN anchor. She is a descendant of the prominent Vanderbilt family who built their success on the railroad and shipping industry.
28. How did Vanderbilt describe their relationship? Vanderbilt described their relationship as an extraordinary experience because she felt as if she had already known Gordon when they first met. She felt that they were already connected on a spiritual level.

Plant Picture - Shapes

i highlighted the colors and cropped them to make the plant in the middle 

Plant Pictures - Lines

i added saturation to make the colors more vivid, and i cropped it to center the flower

Top 5 Photos Ranking

Top 5 Photos from Lens: An Embedded Photographer Empowers the Poor

1. Photo 15
2. Photo 2
3. Photo 12
4. Photo 9
5. Photo 3

Multimedia Poster 2015 #2

Questions:
1. Why is the poster good?
    This poster is creative because it utilizes bright colors to draw the eye, and the different sections blend cohesively. It conveys the necessary information while retaining the viewer's interest. Additionally, the bubbles are unique and add brightness to the relatively dark background. This contrast of color and brightness makes the poster look more appealing.
2. Why/how is this poster better?
    This poster is an improvement on the previous attempt because the poster exhibits more symmetry with the bubbles on two corners now. Furthermore, we changed the color scheme of the text "Video production..." to make it easier to read. We also added a black border to the title, "Multimedia Fest", in order to make it more distinct from the bubbles and the rest of the poster. In order to make the text clearer, we changed the size and font of the "Designed by..." text.
3. How did we create this poster?
    We created this poster by using Photoshop's many different "Layer Properties". First, we created a background with a blue gradient, with blurred bright stars. Then, we created ovals and different surrounding effects such as glows, opacities, and embossing to make the bubbles. We then selected a color scheme and font in order to make the informational text and their surrounding ovals.

Movie Monday - the Photo League

1. What was The Photo League's credo?
   The Photo League's credo was the idea that social change can be achieved through two things: documentary photography and an emotional empathetic connection to the subject of the photo.
2. What organization did The Photo League separate from?
   The original organization was called the Film and Photo League, but a group called the Frontier Films split off from the original group and the original organization was renamed the Photo League.
3. What was the workshop?
   The workshop was an in-depth study of New York's recreational group. 
4. Who taught "the workshop?"
   Sid Grossman taught the workshops.
5. If you were to devote one year of your life to one project, what project is worth your time and energy?
   I would devote one year of my life to improving awareness about feminism around the world.
6. What was The Harlem Document?
   The Harlem Document was a collection of Siskind's photos that showed the lifestyles of the people of Harlem. It included anything from street scenes to a view of their houses.
7. Who started The Harlem Document?
   Aaron Siskind started the Harlem Document.
8. A photographer discusses a photograph where "the children looked like they came out of a __________ painting. Who was the painter?
   Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was the painter. 
9. Why did the photograph mentioned in #8 look like it was by the painter?
   The scene of the photograph had brilliant illumination by the sun, which looked similar to the lighting in the painter's paintings. 
10. Who was Lewis Hine? (name two significant contributions)
    Lewis Hine was a member of the Photo League. He was a social photographer that pioneered the style of photography the Photo League members used. He initially followed immigrants from Ellis Island to New York, and recorded their living conditions. He also took pictures of the expansion of the steel construction industry by highlighting the positive skill and dedication of the American worker. He was the official photographer of the Empire State Building.
11. Who was Weegee?
    Weegee was the strangest member of the Photo League. He specialized in photographing morbid themes of mayhem and murder. Before, he had worked as a dark room technician.
12. How did The League change when The Nazis took power?
    When the Nazis took power, the League received a flood of gifted refugee photographers from other countries. 
13. How did The League change during WWII?
    Female photographers began to have a more active role in running the Photo League more during the second World war. Most males were enlisted in the armed forces, and some even focused on war photography. 
14. How did Siskind change after WWII?
    After World War II, Siskind started to look for significance in the inanimate forms he viewed around him. He may have been looking for some sense of tranquility in his art depicting the chaos and havoc of the war.
15. What was the Evening post?
    The Evening Post was a magazine that published issues twice a month initially, then changed to publish once, then later, twice a week.
16. Who was Barbara Morgan? What did she photograph?
    Barbara Morgan was an early member of the Photo League that was known for photographing dancers. 
17. What eventually undermined the Photo League?
    Informants for the FBI testified that the Photo League was a front organization for the Communist Party during Red Scare. 
18. What was the "Growing Menace" mentioned in the film?
    Fascism was the Growing Menance mentioned in the film.
19. Who agreed to serve as President when The League was under investigation?
    Harry Truman was serving as president of the United States.
20. What happened to the league?
    The League was forced to disband due to the accusations of communism.

Multimedia Fest 2015

Concert Poster

Period 4 Semester Final

1. My favorite picture from the Lens Photography Blog is number 7, which depicts an acrobat performing at a NightFest light show. This is my favorite picture because the colors of the performance contrast with each other as well as with the black background. This makes for a more intense aesthetic. Additionally, I like the depth that the angle of photography provides; one can see the front-most lights, and then the acrobat, and then some lights behind the performer. Furthermore, this is my favorite picture because it is light-hearted but still meaningful. This photograph is from a traditional month-long festival, which holds both entertainment and cultural value. 
2. The best photograph in the slideshow is number 9, which depicts a red deer seen through morning mist at Richmond Park, London. This is the best picture because it has hidden depths. At first, the viewer's eyes are drawn to just the silhouette of the deer through the mist. But with closer inspection, one sees the outline of the bird perched on its shoulder, as well as the shrubbery behind the deer. This adds to a more complex picture without overwhelming the viewer. This is also the best picture because of the photographer's choice to choose that time, location, and weather condition for his picture. A photo depicting a deer in broad daylight would have been more banal and less scintillating than a deer shrouded in mist. Another reason why this is the best picture is that it shows how nature and mankind can coexist, as this deer, an integral part of nature, was photographed in a manmade park. 
3. I believe that my best work from this semester is the album cover recreation assignment, seen here: http://azhaophotography.blogspot.com/2015/01/httpupload.html. I believe this is my best work as it pulls together everything I have learned so far this year. This picture utilized skills such as directing the photoshoot, taking the picture, and cropping and editing the picture to match the original album cover. I also think this is my best work because the editing that I completed was the most ambitious and complex that I have done so far. Additionally, I believe that this is my best work because I had the most fun doing it; I believe that there is a positive correlation between an artist's enjoyment of their work and the quality. Given more time, I would have liked to fix the small details in the picture. For example, when I was adding the backgrounds, some white spaces showed from where I had cut out the people from the original picture. If I had more time, I would have filled in the white spaces to make a more cohesive photograph. 
4. My three rules of photography are the rule of thirds, the rule of colors, and the rule of whimsicality. 
5. This picture demonstrates my rule of colors and my rule of whimsicality. In order to capture the first rule, I took this picture while the subject, Isaac Hong, was clad in a highlighter-yellow jacket. Then, on Camera Raw, I edited it to make the brightness even more obvious, to contrast with the shade in the background. In order to capture the second rule, I waited for a natural yet uncommon pose. Here, I believe Isaac is stretching his legs, though one can never be quite certain with Isaac. 

(Portrait of Isaac, #5)

    6. Mr. Farley's first rule of composition is to get closer. 

    7. There are many benefits to working in groups. The first is that a group environment allows for more creativity, as there is much more input than there would be from a single person. Another is that it is possible to delegate responsibilities, so that one person is not forced to do everything. Additionally, the completed project is much more multidimensional, as everyone in the group approached it from a different viewpoint. Furthermore, it is a good opportunity to make more social connections and make new friends, as shared experiences are a great step towards forming friendships. Finally, groupwork fosters a friendly atmosphere of mild competition, encouraging each member to try to do their best to outdo the others.

   8. Some drawbacks to working in groups are that it may be difficult to facilitate everyone's opinions into one cohesive, unified project. Additionally, disputes may be difficult to settle and may result in increased tensions between the group members. Also, the quality of groupwork depends on the pre-existing social cohesion of the group; friends may work better together than strangers, for example, but strangers may be more inclined to get focused instead of socializing. Another drawback is that groupwork, especially when members of the groups are close friends, may be hindered by social distractions between the members. Finally, it means that one's project is not made up of completely their work, but also the different opinions of others. This may detract from the individual's original purpose and viewpoint.

   9. My favorite work produced by someone else was the picture of the bell tower quad at night, photographed by Jason Yu. (http://jasonyuthegreat.blogspot.com/2014/12/inspire-by-master-oskar-barnack.html)

10. My group and I studied Julia Margaret Cameron, She pioneered the art of the 'fancy portrait', which is the art historical term for a portrait of a real or literary character.
11. Dorothea Lange's most popular photo is called Migrant Mother. It was taken in March 1936 in an agricultural worker's camp in Nipomo, California. She was working for the Resettlement Administration. 

12. Life magazine was founded by Henry Luce, and the first issue date was 1936.

13. Robert Capa and other photographers founded Magnum Photos in 1947.

14. Falling Soldier was taken on September 5, 1936, in Espejo, Spain.

Album Cover Recreation

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Blondie_-_Parallel_Lines.jpg