Essay

It would be wrong to say I didn't learn anything from this course. As much as I try to stay active during class, I have learned so much this time around. Everything that I have learned in this class has definitely shown me how to be a better photographer.

I learned about the online photo editing site, Picnik.com. I always thought that sites like these were always unreliable and tacky because they would leave the site tag next to the picture. Well, now when there's a minor problem like a technical illness, such as an underexposed image, I can treat it on Picnik.com.

With that being said, I've learned to diagnose photos with technical or artistic illnesses. To fix an artistic illness such as blurriness or just a bad shot, you could just retake the photo or edit the photo on PhotoShop. To fix a technical illness like the one above, there's always Picnik.

My favorite new rule of composition is the depth of field. I like when the subject of the photo is highlighted because it is what's being focused on.

The most valuable lesson that I've learned in this photography course so far is about the shutter speeds, f-stops, and ISO.

I now know how to adjust these settings on all cameras. If the F-Stop is higher, the less light that will get in. But the lower the shutter speed is, the more light gets captured. These settings along with the ISO make a photo what they are.

I also learned more about the different colors of the color wheels. It's almost as if I had to refresh my memory because the last time the color wheel came up was in high school. I knew the basic idea of it but I'm glad I know more about complimentary, analogous, and tertiary colors.

I've learned how to MAKE the photo like Dr. Hart keeps saying. A lot more of my photos won't be by accident anymore. I've learned how to compose the photos instead.

With all this knowledge in store, it betters my knowledge of how a camera works. I am more confident to get a powerful DSLR camera like my brother's (Nikon D300 in the new 3 entries). I have so much to walk away with and I'm glad I learned new things in this course.

When Is Enough Too Much

Pic1, a photo by DRE3K on Flickr.

In this photo, the subject is framed by liquor bottles. "Age" is once again an inner theme as he is experimenting with different kinds of liquor. I really enjoyed this shot because of the depth of field.

Shutter Speed 1/8 | F-Stop 5.8 | ISO 1600

Uninvited Guest

Pic2, a photo by DRE3K on Flickr.

The subject is once again taking character of this "age" theme and putting the gaming magazines aside and reading a newspaper. He is framed by the door way almost as if he wouldn't want anybody to walk in to see what he was doing as a mature adult.

Shutter Speed 1/15 | F-Stop 13 | ISO 1600

Try to Relax

Pic3, a photo by DRE3K on Flickr.

In this series of photos, I interpreted "age" as maturity. The subject has changed from his special Nike brand sneakers to a subtle, mature wardrobe. He is framed from the chair's view so I could be at his level.

Shutter Speed 1/5| F-Stop 8 | ISO 1600

In Vein

DSCF5282, a photo by DRE3K on Flickr.

I took this picture of a mini elephant plant. The veins of the leaves had analogous colors to the leaves themselves. I wanted to capture the detail of the veins so I was experimenting with the ISO but I eventually settled for an ISO of 400.

ISO 400 | F 4.1 | SHUTTER 1/4

Mellow Yellow

DSCF5274, a photo by DRE3K on Flickr.

This photo was taken outside my residence hall. I like the simple contrast of colors in this. The colors really almost compliment each other but I believe they are triad colors.

ISO 400 | F 4.1

Star In the Sky

WP_000194, a photo by DRE3K on Flickr.

I took this picture randomly to see what the sun would look like in the picture and it came out pretty cool. This is all natural, no effect whatsoever. It shows simplicity because it looks like I just placed the sun exactly where it is against the blue sky backdrop.

ISO 100 | F 3.2 | Shutter 4