Photography Used in Stop Animation

As I researched more about photography while doing these blogs, I decided that I wanted to write a post about stop animation.  Basically, stop animation is giving the viewer the sense that an object is moving on its own by taking many photographs, where the object is moved slightly each frame, and then placing all of these photographs together in a film.  This really interested me because I had no idea that photographs could be used for that sort of thing.  After learning about how stop animation was created, I wanted to actually watch one that had been made.  I went to YouTube and actually found a black and white stop animation that was really interesting to watch (link below).  It looks to me to be very well done and I really enjoyed seeing how photography could be incorporated into art in another way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lutGGilVTIo&feature=related

My Attempts at B&W Photography

I am really actually very content with both of my black and photographs that I have taken.  I took each of the photos from a rather odd perspective.  The first photograph was taken from one end of a metal spring that I looked through from the other end.  I really like the way the light on the spring stands out and adds to the detail of the photograph.  Also, the contrast provides very nice detail within the folds of the hand.  The second photograph is a view from above of a huge volleyball tournament through a circular window.  I really think the composition of this photo is very intriguing.  The way the photo is a combination of not only what is below through the window, but also what is behind me in the reflection turned out to be really cool.  I feel like if this photograph had been printed in color then the combination of the view through the window and the reflection would have been confusing, and would have overcomplicated the picture.  Overall, I think each of these photographs turned out to be really interesting, great examples of black and white photographs.

Black & White Photography

I've always really enjoyed looking at black and white photographs.  To me, black and white photos are classic, clean, beautiful works of art that sometimes say more than even a colored photo.  A colored photograph is vibrant and definitely catches the eye of the viewer.  However, in my opinion, colored photos can also distract the viewer from the details that the photographer is trying to express through their photo.  For example, details such as the emotion being expressed can be misread or completely overlooked because the bright colors take away from said details.  This is where I see black and white photographs as being more beneficial in expression.  As a result of there being a lack of color to distract, the viewers focus will be more on the finite details found within the photograph.  Since the photographer often expresses their message through details, the viewer is more likely to notice that which was overshadowed before.  Also, I enjoy black and white photographs because there always seems to be a story behind them.  Often times when I would visit my grandparents, we would spend time looking at old black and white photographs from when they were children.  It was really interesting to hear about how much history was held in such a photograph.  All of these things make black and white photographs beautiful in a more indirect fashion.  However, black and white photographs also have to be aesthetically pleasing to the viewer.
To learn how to make a photograph so, I read a blog that I have been following that had to do with such photos (http://hubsphotographytips.blogspot.com/2008/10/picture-taking-tip-black-and-white-dslr.html).  Within this post, the photographer says the "...difficulty of shooting with a black and white image in mind is learning to turn your colored vision off."  To take a proper black and white photo, it is necessary to understand and see the different levels of the grayscale within your subject, and to notice how the light hits your subject.  In addition to this knowledge, you may also use the newer photo editing programs to make details more noticeable within the photograph.
Applying all of this knowledge, I hope that I can take photographs that are as beautiful as the ones that I have heard stories about all of my life.

My Landscape Photograph

In the landscape photo below, I tried to apply all of the tips mentioned in my last post.  Depth can be seen in the photo as there is a foreground, a middle, and a background to the landscape.  The water makes up the foreground, the island makes up the middle, and the sky and sun make up the background.  Also, just as the blogger suggested, I made sure that the details in the photo weren't blurred so that they stood out and allowed the viewer to see how far back the subject goes.  Movement can be found in this photo through the waves in the water that makes up the foreground.  In applying the timing tip, I felt that taking the photo at sunset, though very cliche, made the picture all the more beautiful.  Taking the photo during this time allowed for contrast between the brightly colored sky and the more cool colored water in which the sunset is reflected.  Though it is not the best landscape, I feel that my choices and application of tips made for a rather nice end composition.

Landscape Photography

I read a post on http://learn-digitalphotography.blogspot.com that gave six tips about how to go about shooting the best landscape photo possible.  The first three tips were not very useful to me as I do not own a tripod or a wide angle lens, and I did not agree with the blogger's idea of focusing on one object in the foreground.  However, I did find the last three tips listed in this particular blog post, to be rather interesting and worthwhile.  The first of these latter tips, regards depth as did my previous two blogs.  While I knew from reading the other individuals blog, all about how to create a sense of depth, this particular tip caught my eye because of what the blogger said regarding the detail found within the picture.  The blogger offered up the idea that perhaps the photo would have a better overall look if everything within the photo had greater detail and was better focused.  Tip number five presented me with the idea that perhaps capturing movement, such as the waves in the ocean, would be beneficial to the photos overall appearance.  The more I thought on that tip, the more I figured that adding movement to a picture would be helpful in that it gives the picture a greater sense of reality to the viewer.  The final tip that I thought I might possibly use during my next photo attempt was tip number six.  This tip's topic was centered upon what timing would be best for taking pictures.  For example, the blogger seemed to think that it would be a good idea to take multiple photos of the same spot during several different times throughout the day.  I'd have to agree in that the timing during which a subject is photographed applies all new meaning to the photo taken.  Each of these tips was very interesting to learn about and I can't wait to apply them to my own photography.

My Version of Depth

After my previous post regarding depth in photography, I looked through some of the photos I had taken to determine whether I had really ever accomplished creating a sense of depth in a picture.   While there were a lot of photos that involved depth in various forms, I was looking to find one that shared a form similar to that found in the examples from the blog link in my previous post.  I found a picture that I had taken of a street with buildings on either side (below), while on a trip to San Antonio.  Though the vanishing point in this photo is not dead in the center, it is easy enough to see where it is located in the picture by following the converging lines of the streets and buildings.  Depth is also created in the picture by the illusion that the buildings in the foreground of the photo are larger than the buildings in the background.  In reality, all of the buildings were relatively the same size, but the perspective in the picture causes it to appear differently. Overall, I am really proud of this photo and I really think that I did a good job on creating a sense of depth for the viewer.

Depth

After reading the latest post on http://hubsphotographytips.blogspot.com/, I came to the conclusion that photography has quite a bit to do with things that you learn in art classes.  For example, within that post, the photographer talks about the proper way to add depth to a photo.  When drawing a perspective piece, you use elements such as converging lines, a horizon line, and a vanishing point.  In one-point perspective, the drawing has one vanishing point to which all of the lines, except those going horizontally, converge towards.  Though the lines actually converge in the drawing, to the viewer's eyes they seem to be parallel through artwork.  The same concept applies when you are taking a photo.  One way that you can add depth is through the use of lines that converge at a vanishing point and create the sense that the picture continues on forever.  In the blog (click on the link!), the photographer uses several examples of photos that  he has taken involving the use of two converging lines.  The simplest of these examples is the picture of a look straight down the railroad tracks.  It is a very good composition despite the lack of activity in the photo.  Also, the bold lines of the tracks stand out against the rest of the composition and really allow for the person viewing the piece to follow the converging lines deep into the photo.  The fact that I am able to apply my knowledge from drawing class to photography is something that I found really interesting as I was reading this photographer's blog.