I thoroughly enjoyed my time in our evolution through photography independent study. I learned so much about making and managing a blog, taking photos, editing them, and making a series of photos with an overarching theme that expresses something (in our case evolution). This blog really helped me to look at my photos a lot differently. It also helped me to see how my photos, taken at different times, can relate to one another.

Managing a blog was probably the biggest thing I learned from doing this class. Starting one was kind of tricky, but once we got it going, everything went smoothly. I really like the idea that our photos are reaching a wider audience than just the people in our classroom. I blogging is a great way of sharing what you have to offer the world wide web. I am most definitely keeping the link to our blog for future reference. It will be interesting to look at it again in like 10 years. 

Another thing I really liked about this class was, obviously, the photos. I loved looking through my photo library and finding photos that I could use to post. What I loved even more was to take new photos throughout the trimester. As I got farther into the class it occupied my mind more and more. A lot of my series included photos that I had taken very spontaneously. I loved just looking outside or passing by an object and thinking "oh! that would make a great picture!" It made me think of nature and beauty in a different way. Beauty can be found anywhere and everywhere.

I also really enjoyed editing the photos. I had experimented with editing photos before, but after doing this class, which really forced me to explore my editing software, I found that I could do so much more with iPhoto. I love seeing how a decent photo can be altered into a great photo. What I love even more is seeing how a great photo can become even better with some editing. Experimenting with contrast, saturation, and exposure is my fave.

Another part of photography that I liked was making the series. I loved putting photos together from different times and locations and putting them together to make a succinct series. I also loved seeing Ben, Abby, and Makaylaa's photos and seeing their personal styles. Ben has a very unique style. He really experiments with different angles and is a fan of taking pictures of very small things. Ben also edits his pictures in dramatic ways. Makaylaa has a very artistic eye and sees the art in everyday things in everyday life. She also doesn't like to edit her photos and simply lets them stay as they were taken. Abby really likes shadow and darkness in her photos. She also has a very matter of fact way of taking pictures. I found (after looking through her photos) that she likes taking pictures of bleak natural settings.

My three favorite photos:

Greenhouse - Minneapolis, Minnesota

 Sunset Backwater Tour - Kerala, India

Scrubs - Venice Beach, California

Final Reflection

Creating the ideas for this independent study was a real treat. Talking it over with Makaylaa, Abby and Nick and thinking about what we were going to do in the class made me incredibly excited to get to work. I became even more excited when we came up with our central theme for the class, evolution. Each week I could take a break from my studies to go take pictures at times and places during the day that inspired, reminded and visually represented evolution. I tried my best to switch it up as far as my subject matter and time of day. In my images I explored aspects of evolution through: spring, times of day, music as well as volunteering & myself. As time went on I also noticed that every aspect of my photo taking skills became crisper and I didn’t have to edit my photos as much to get to the final product that I wanted.  I also like the idea that we were able to make a blog to post our photos on. I liked the idea that people could see our photos and see our progress. I posted the link to our blog on my Facebook wall so people could check in weekly on our posts. The thing I probably would change about the class is I think we should’ve had more structure to our curriculum and different kinds of projects. However in general I really enjoyed the class and would recommend the idea for anyone who likes photography.

Photography final

I love photography. It opens up a whole new world of images, which never cease to amaze and intrigue me. Photography has shown me there is more to nature than just pretty things, there are deeper meanings hidden among the flower bushes that are only apparent if you're eyes and ears are open. They whisper to you, tell you secrets and show you how to see the world differently, behind the lens of a camera. What I love most is capturing these little pieces of heaven in a still image that I hope, creates the same amount of emotion as I found in the original subject. Whether it’s feeling awe, amazement, or wonder, these emotions are what all photographers hope to convey in their art; because it is art, it’s showing us all a side of the photographer’s world. I have enjoyed seeing the differences in everyone’s work and their own personal styles. Photograph, has and always will be, a part of my life.

~Makaylaa

Final Write Up

As this class comes to a close, it's nice to be able to look back on posts that we have made throughout the trimester. I must say that I have definitively noticed some improvement, not just in myself but in the other members of the blog as well. Everyone has seemed to develop their own unique style. I feel like Nick's style has grown to have an almost modern feel, with pictures involving architecture, and modern subject matter. Makaylaa's style has more of an artsy feel, with vivid colors and strikingly beautiful subject matter. Ben's style feels more unique and abstract to me. He seems to take pictures of every day things in an odd way, or find something unexpected to photograph. My own style has more of a natural, raw feeling. I have found that I like to take pictures of landscapes, things outdoors, or things that portray the world how it is, even if it is not particularly pretty. Through taking pictures relating to evolution, I feel that I have forced myself to make connections in what I see everyday. It's been really good for me because I find myself manipulating ideas when taking pictures to make them fit into the evolution theme. It has forced me to be creative and think outside the box. I found myself constantly searching for new subject matter. This was difficult at first, but after awhile it became easier as I got used to what I should be looking for. Working for this class ended up creating a sort of escape from my other classes this term because it allowed me to think and create freely without constraints. I also tried my hand at using Photoshop this term. This proved to be much more difficult than I originally imagined. It isn't very intuitive, and so I had to ask a bunch of people questions and when they didn't know I had to look up tutorials online. I did all this only to figure out that once I edited a photo in Photoshop the file type changed and it wouldn't allow me to upload it to the internet. This was frustrating, however I still learned some things about editing pictures. Having the ability to edit pictures also changed the way I took them as well. I began to think about what might look good after I edit while taking my pictures, such as what kind of lighting it had, and the contrast between the colors. This was fun because it made me feel like I had more power over what my pictures ended up looking like. While taking pictures this term, I focused on learning how to change the settings on my camera to enhance the way the pictures looked. I manipulated the shutter speed, ISO factor, and how much light the lens lets in depending on the conditions under which I was taking a picture, and how I wanted it to look. This was confusing at first, but after some practice I began to understand it more. I posted three of my favorite pictures that I took this term at the top of this post. The picture of horse tail falls is one of my favorites because of how starkly the waterfall stands out against the almost black background, and how the tree is silhouetted against the waterfall. I also like the sort of mystical vibe that it has to it. The picture of the rotten apple is one of my favorites because of the beautiful colors of the apple. The colors remind me of autumn, and I like how the apple is in focus and the background is slightly blurred. The last picture I like because of the vanishing point created by the road. It created a perspective that draws you in. All in all, I learned a lot of things from taking and posting pictures in Evolution Through Photography. I learned some things about how to compose and edit good pictures, and how to write about them and make connections between them. It was a valuable and fun experience.

Perspective

These are all pictures of me. More precisely, the same picture of me altered in some way. The first picture is based mostly on light, the second focusing on shades of grey, and the last one based on pastel blues and pinks. I wanted to show these because they are all different interpretations of the same picture. The color and lighting change these seemingly boring picture, revolutionizes it into something in three different perspectives. My favorite is the last one. I enjoyed playing with the pastel blues and pinks. It made for an interesting experiment.

This series of photos was taken of flowers at a botanical garden in Hawaii. The Botanical garden was absolutely beautiful because it was a piece of natural Hawaii that was untouched. It smelled and looked beautiful, and really gave you an idea for the natural beauty of the area. The flowers represent evolution in the way that they show how a species advances and changes to fit it's environment. Obviously there is something about the environment in Hawaii that makes species incredibly vibrant and colorful. This is what made Hawaii evolve into the place of beauty that it is today. 

These pictures were taken from the top of the tower in Astoria. What I like about these pictures is the misty/hazy quality that they have to them from being taken so high up. In the top two you can see the Columbia river feeding into the Pacific, and in the bottom one you can see the Columbia river weaving through the land. I think that these pictures represent evolution because they are of a very naturally beautiful place, however it's beauty is enhanced by man made constructions. Such as the bridge, and the boat. Both of these things represent the evolution of mankind, and how this can still be beautiful.