Benjamin “Benny” my parent’s golden retriever is one-year-old now. He is still digging holes and eating things he shouldn’t. Everyone he meets falls in love with him, and he loves the attention.
Category: Photography
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Your eyes are the windows to your soul
Shooting someone’s eye is very personal and requires much patience. Have a place for your model to rest their head or try to stabilize it. Try not to blink!
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Into Darkness – Night Photography / Star Trails
4. Into Darkness
Due Thursday by 3:15 pm Points 100 Submitting a file upload File Types jpg New moon is Oct. 1st. That means you have a unique opportunity for a few days on either side of that date to photograph dark skies and stars. In the spirit of pre-visualizing, planning, and executing your photographs, your assignment is:
1. Find a landmark you’d like to photograph with stars and/or star trails behind it.
2. Download Stellarium from www.stellarium.org and use it to determine when you could photograph the milky way in the same composition as your chosen landmark.
3. Take your photographs (you’ll want to determine how to focus your lens to infinity in advance, so you don’t have to figure that out in the dark).
Your final deliverable will be two .jpg images. One should be exposed such that the stars are points in your photograph, as opposed to streaks. The second should be either a very long exposure to create star trails (probably at least a one hour exposure), or a series of star photos stacked to create star trails (this is usually the more pleasing approach. Again, you’d probably want the series exposed at regular intervals over the course of at least an hour).
Please be safe and don’t go anywhere dangerous or alone. Don’t trespass and don’t fail to bring adequate supplies for your comfort and safety (you’ll probably need a coat. . . what am I, your mother?).
Hint: You’ll probably need a remote shutter release for this assignment. These are available from online retailers such as Amazon for a few dollars.
Hint 2: You can check the clear night skies forecast here: http://www.cleardarksky.com/csk/
Hint 3: Here is a list of common “correct” exposure settings for common apertures while taking night sky shots:
f/1.4, ISO800 = 30s
f/2.8, ISO3200 = 30s
f/4.0, ISO6400 = 30s
f/5.6, ISO12800 = 30sHint 4: Here are four tutorials that can help you:
http://petapixel.com/2013/03/18/how-to-photograph-star-trails-from-start-to-finish/
http://petapixel.com/2013/04/25/a-complete-guide-to-star-trailing/
http://petapixel.com/2014/01/29/picking-great-lens-milky-way-photography/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rydg7JGTAbwHint 5: Make sure your batteries are fully charged.
This assignment is for Digital Photography course (ART 3040) at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah taught by Alex Chamberlain in the Fall of 2016.
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Rubber Rabbitbrush Milky Way
Rubber Rabbitbrush Milky Way with a setting moon.
Captured near Central, Utah -
Something Impossible Part Deux with Photoshop
3. Something Impossible Part Deux
Now that you’ve experienced the purely analog side of special effects photography, you’re prepared to appreciate and enjoy the digital tools we have at our fingertips. Your assignment is similar to your previous one. Your final deliverable is the same: A RAW image, a processed JPG, and a conceptual sketch. However, this time you can use photoshop to manipulate your processed JPG beyond simple color correction. You can add and remove elements as you please. However:
You must not use photographic assets that you did not shoot.
You will be expected to stick more rigorously to your sketch concept (you have the advantage of photoshop, so your excuses for deviation are diminished).
While it’s something of a subjective matter, “Over-photoshopping” will hurt your grade. Your photo should look convincing and realistic.
As always, the rules of good photography apply. Make sure your photo is sharp, well-composed, and well-executed. Make sure your manipulations are seamless. This assignment should take approximately 10-15 hours of your time.
Example of a good project: http://petapixel.com/2011/11/22/how-to-make-a-photo-of-a-bouncing-baby/
Here’s another example: http://petapixel.com/2015/03/18/how-i-created-a-shot-of-myself-falling-in-the-kitchen-with-food-flying-everywhere/
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The Epic of the Individual – Stranger Portrait
1. The Epic of the Individual
This is a warm-up. I believe that every human life is extraordinary if we have the patience to look. Further, among the key skills that a commercial photographer must have, is the ability to communicate and work with people. Your assignment is to take a portrait of a stranger. The final product is to include a caption with a quote from the subject that gives insight into their life and personality. The photo should also express the sentiments of the caption.
For reference, see http://www.humansofnewyork.com
As in every assignment, your images must be tack sharp unless there is a legitimate artistic reason for blurring. If your images are *almost* sharp. . . reshoot. This assignment should take several hours to complete at a minimum. Your final deliverable is just one photo, but you should have hundreds of candidates (probably of several different subjects) to choose from. Your best shot should be extraordinary. This is not just a picture of a person: this is an image of a human life. Treat it as sacred, precious, and worth your time. Make it interesting. This will be graded very strictly. On a more positive note, this has the potential to be one of the more enjoyable and rewarding assignments you’ll ever do. Have fun!
Final deliverable: One, full-res photo with an equal-sized caption underneath in PDF or Jpg format.
Disclaimer: Please be safe about this! Do not approach strangers alone or in isolated areas. Keep a buddy near you, or stay in safe, public locations.
This assignment is for Digital Photography course (ART 3040) at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah taught by Alex Chamberlain in the Fall of 2016.
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Thesis Portfolio · Smartphones are evil
This assignment is for Digital Photography course (ART 2060) at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah taught by Alex Chamberlain.
Smartphones and tablets were designed to help people communicate but often interfere. These personal devices often hinder personal communication.
Photo 1
Smartphone and tablet users rarely notice what is going on around them.Photo 2
Work. Play. Learn. Communicate. Research. Consume. Sleep?Photo 3
Smartphones have consumed conversation at the dinner table.Photo 4
Minor distractions while driving can cause major problems.Photo 5
Quality time spent together is healthy for any relationship, but a smartphone will disrupt that.Photo 6
People who use smartphones to communicate have difficulties communicating with other people.Photo 7
Playing games with the people you love will not be enjoyable for them if you use a tablet the whole time. -
The world in motion – Dream Bowl / Breakfast Blitz
8. The world in motion “Dream Bowl”
Breakfast is an everyday struggle. After waking up, these two brothers battle it out for their first meal of the day. Who will be victorious? Starring Hudson and Hayden. A short film by Joseph Cowdell for a photography class at Dixie State University.
This movie was made using a Canon 60D. It was edited with Adobe Premiere. No sweet potatoes were harmed during the making of this film.
Requirements
Your Assignment, should you choose to accept it, (you should since it’s graded) is pretty open-ended this time. We’re covering the basics of video editing, story-telling, and production in class, now let’s see what you can do with it. You are to create a 3-minute (plus or minus 15 seconds) video that tells a story featuring at least one person. You get extra credit if you include a well-made time lapse (I’ll show you how). If you need music, www.audionautix.com is a great place to start for music that’s legal to use (with credit).
Encode your video as a .mp4 file, h.264 codec. Upload your file here as a .mp4 or a .wmv, or post a link to a YouTube upload. Good luck!
P.S. I will give you 25 points extra credit on this assignment if you create a musical with original music performed by your cast.
This assignment is for Digital Photography course (ART 2060) at Dixie State University in St. George, Utah taught by Alex Chamberlain in the Fall of 2015.
