Photographic Society Contest

                        Burn. Rexburg, ID; 10/30/11, 10:00 pm- 8.0 megapixel camera phone.

I entered this into the Photographic Society's Contest on Campus, on November 29, 2011. I thought about all the different things that could be abstarct. Usually it's something that you can't tell what it is or it makes you take a double-take to try and understand what it is. I was out with my roommates and didn't have my camera on me, but I had my phone. I was just intrigued by this image I had to capture it. Later on, I thought it might work for abstract. I used different filters on this, and it made it look more abstract looking. But, this was the one I chose. I chose this piece because I think it is visually appealing and it filled my requirement for class! If I had more time I would edit it to make it look more abstract.

Final Poster

Truck Time. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.6, 1/200 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

24 x 36 Poster

This is the photo I took when I went to Bannack Ghost Town with my Class in October. I decided to do this as my final poster because I thought it was one of my better photos over all. I really like how it was edited, it really made the colors pop. The Edits: Hue/Saturation, Vibrance, Curves, Levels, Exposure, Brightness, & Contrast. This was a nice photo to begin with, but it was a little dull before I added the adjustments. I really enjoy the shadows and the angle of this picture, making it unique and interesting to look at. I also had submitted this picture in the class as my Bannack Best shot. It had won the student choice award. If you look back at my previous October posts you will see a big difference in the editing. At first the clouds were purple and the sky was an unrealistic blue. I thought it was pretty making the photo look abstract in sort of a way. I guess its because I am an artist! My teacher encouraged me to change the photo to make it more realistic. And I have to agree it does look a little bit better! Especially because it is a huge poster.  It was a little difficult to find a frame at the last moment. I wanted it to have the 'old western' feel that the picture has. I ended up printing at Walgreen's. I was happy with the overall project.

Tropical. 11/4/11, Rexburg, ID. 5:00 PM, I took this picture with my Phone HTC Inspire

This is a really neat way to display work especially if you wanted to hang each item on a wall. Since I took this picture with my phone when I was out and about, I just adjusted the sats and brightness a little bit, and added a Gaussion blur to the background.Creating a Fine Art template was a little tricky at first but it was fun once I got the hang of it and knowing where all the layers go. I think I might even make this into a business card!

Night & Light Painting

               Rush Hour. 11/3/11. 9:30 PM; Rexburg, ID; F8.0; 1/80, Canon Powershot Sx30 IS

               LOVE. 11/3/11. 9:45 PM; Rexburg, ID; F2.7; 2.0, Canon Powershot Sx30 IS

  

               Play-time. 11/3/11. 9:35 PM; Rexburg, ID; F3.2; 8.0, Canon Powershot Sx30 IS

 

               Fireflies. 11/3/11. 9:50 PM; Rexburg, ID; F8.0; 8.0, Canon Powershot Sx30 IS 

The places that my group and I picked to do these shots weren't dark enough, so I can see myself slightly in the background. It was interesting to try this type of photography. I have a better understanding of shutter speed, and what it means to be cold in Rexburg in the Fall! I attempted to try some other things like being in manual mode and zooming out to get the 3-d effect but, it wasn't as successful with a point and shoot camera.

Scanography & Edge Effects

Mirror Image of Flowers. Spori Building, Rexburg, ID. 4:00 PM. 10/29/2011. Epson Expression Scanner 10000 XL, 300 dpi

 

Frame 1.  Spori Building, Rexburg, ID. 4:30 PM. 10/29/2011. Epson Expression Scanner 10000 XL, 300 dpi

 

Frame 2.  Spori Building, Rexburg, ID. 4:33 PM. 10/29/2011. Epson Expression Scanner 10000 XL, 300 dpi

Frame 3.  Spori Building, Rexburg, ID. 4:35 PM. 10/29/2011. Epson Expression Scanner 10000 XL, 300 dpi

Hall of Frames.  Spori Building, Rexburg, ID. 5:00 PM. 10/29/2011. Epson Expression Scanner 10000 XL, 300 dpi

I was kind of hesitant to try scanning images to make a picture. Once I understood how to use it, it was really fun. I wanted to try all these different dpi levels and scanned images. When it came to figuring out how to make a collage of images in Photoshop I was unsure of how to start. I thought about creating a wall of frames, but this abstract version is more appealing to me. It's different and you don't see something like that everyday. How I did it was by mistake. I tried to cut out the image using the wand tool and it wouldn't select all of it. Then I put a couple of them together, changing the sizes and arrangement of the frames and I was pleased with the layout.

Knock.  Bannack Montana, MT. 5:00 PM. 10/20/2011. F/4.0, 1/400,  ISO 100, Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS Edits: Brightness/Contrast, Vibrance/Saturation, Hue/ Saturation

Knock Edit. Custom Images Tutorial # 14, Flexible Vignette

 Striking a Pose  Bannack Montana, MT. 3:40 PM. 10/20/2011. F/3.5, 1/400,  ISO 100, Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS Edits: Brightness/Contrast, Vibrance/Saturation, Hue/ Saturation

 

Striking a Pose Edit. Custom Images Tutorial # 12 Double Fade Border

 

Cow Girl Up.  Bannack Montana, MT. 2:30 PM. 10/20/2011. F/5.0, 1/800,  ISO 800, Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS Edits: Brightness/Contrast, Vibrance/Saturation

Cow Girl Up Edit. Custom Images Tutorial # Flexible Brushed-on Effect. For this one I couldnt find the "thick, heavy brushes" So I used the one called Heavy Marker Small Tip with varying opacity.

I liked learning about adding different borders because this just makes your custom image that much more custom and unique. This is also good to know if I ever have to make a invitation or custom card. Borders also enhance more to a portrait than a image of a object.

 

Bannack's Best

Reflection Bottles. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/2.7, 1/200 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Home on the Range. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.6, 1/200 , ISO 200

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Truck Time. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.6, 1/200 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Joseph's Waggon. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/7.1, 1/500 , ISO 400

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Autumn Sunset. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/4.0, 1/500 , ISO 200

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS

Mason. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.0, 1/50 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Melody. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/3.2, 1/4 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

This was a really fun trip to Montana.  I enjoyed taking all these photos. I feel like I'm getting better at my photography skills. I had a little trouble at first learning the Aperture and Shutter Speeds for different types of photos we were going for. I finally got the hang of it, but still need a lot of practice. All of these photos in this post are edited in Photoshop and Camera Raw. With these edits, it makes a beautiful picture. 

Light Painting

Hotel Meade. Bannack, MT, night, 10/20/11 - f/5.6, 6.0 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

 

It's incredible what a difference Photoshop can make! The intensity of the blue and the orange really compliment each other. Bringing the blacks out in the piece also added the night time feel.

Boots. Bannack, MT, night, 10/20/11 - f/8.0, 6.0 , ISO 800

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

 

This was done with a 10 second timer and a high Shutter Speed in order to capture the light. Just to add to the overall subject I just brightened it up so you could see what was on the table.

 For light painting a flashlight was used in the previous pictures above to accentuate the subject. With a fast shutter speed we were able to capture the light on the building as if it was already there. 

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

Road to No Where. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.6, 1/1600 (-2) , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Road to No Where 2. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.6, 1/400 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Road to No Where 3. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.6, 1/80 (+2) , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

 

Photomatix HDR blend 

Treasure Trunk. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.0, 0.3 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Photomatix HDR Edit    

 It was really interesting to try HDR with Photomatix. It really makes a difference to your picture. It adds that artistic touch and can make any sky look beautiful.

Macro Abstract

Macro knob. Bannack, MT, mid afternoon 10/20/11 - f/4.0, 1/13 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Macro Texture. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/4.0, 1/500 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Texture & Macro Blend      

 I think the overlay really added to the door knob and made it look even better. Now it looks more antique and the feel what I was going for. I had to overlay the rusted texture twice because it was landscape and the door knob is portrait so it wouldn't fit. I was able to mask it out so you don't see two different pieces.

Reverse Shallow Depth

 

Reverse Depth. Bannack, MT, mid- afternoon 10/20/11 - f/4.0, 1/500 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

 

Camera Raw edit. All I did for this one was, adjusted the light and contrast to get a better color change between the fence and the building on how I saw it that day in Bannack.

Reverse Depth 2. Bannack, MT, mid afternoon 10/20/11 - f/4.0, 1/1250 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

Same with these one. I was able to bring out more features in the building because it is the reverse depth of the previous picture. 

 This type of photography is something I still need to work on. Getting your camera's aperture just right and knowing when to use a tripod is key. I need to be able to learn those things first so I will be able to add a blurry foreground or background to enhance my subject.

Action Blur & Freeze

 

Ghostly Rebekah. Bannack, MT, early afternoon 10/20/11 - f/8.0, 2.0 , ISO 80

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

 

Photoshop edit. For this one I intensified the brightness of the piece so one could tell the hallway was yellow. I also cut out the guy in the back corner to seem more ghostly. As far as the colors go I think I could of gone really dark or really bright depending on the feel I was looking for.

 

Ghost Jumper. Bannack, MT, early afternoon 10/20/11 - f/2.7, 1/400 , ISO 400

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

 

Doing a freeze shot was a little harder to do. To find out what shutter speed worked the best. After a few tries and a lot of jumps I was able to capture her in mid air. 

 Being a beginner I feel like some of this is based on luck, until you know what you are doing and understand photography. So I consider myself lucky to have been able to get cool shots.

Bannack Portraits

 

Thane the Cowboy. Bannack, MT, early afternoon 10/20/11 - f/4.5,1/80 , ISO 800

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

   

Photoshop edit. This was already a great shot, I didn't have to make a lot of enhancements to it. I just warmed up the light on his face and on his shirt.  

Rebekah. Bannack, MT, late afternoon 10/20/11 - f/5.6, 1/200 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS

 

Rebekah is already natrually pretty. I didn't need to make a lot of changes either. I just wanted her to be the central focus. I toned down the light so it would add to the darkness of the background.

Rebekah 2. Bannack, MT, early afternoon 10/20/11 - f/4.0, 1/15 , ISO 100

Cannon PowerShot Sx30 IS 

 

I really liked this angle of the shot and the dark background makes her the central focus. I just added the same enhancements has previously mentioned.  

 After doing this weeks portraits with practice of last weeks portraits, I got a good feel of body composition so my subject is the dominant feature of my picture.