Great Black And White Photographers Part 3

1.) While I was doing part two, my eye was caught by Clarence John Laughlin's photos, because of the major differences in value, even in a black and white picture. His pictures that I picked went from very dark in some spots, to very bright in others.
2.) The senses I feel in his pictures, Picture 1
I see the dust collecting on the wood stairs. The bright light shines in my eyes, as I admire the complex designs on the stair sides. I look down the spiral to the ground, two floors below and see the wooden floor, flat and motionless, contrasting the spinning feeling of the spiral staircase.
I smell the rusty handrail. The smell of mildew penetrates my nose, but as I get closer to the wall, the fresh sent of new cut wood is present. Not as prominent as the old, musty smell, but still there nonetheless.
I hear the thud every step I take on the wooden stair. It assures me that I am alone for no other sound is present. I tap the railing to check its stability and it makes a quiet ting.
I taste the mustiness in the air. The same taste that always comes when you are in somewhere that is so old you can taste the age. The spiraling stairs cause me to start feeling woozy, and the musty taste is soon replaced by a taste of my lunch, a ham and cheese sandwich, finished less than ten minutes prior.
I feel the cold, hard metal handrail, strong and unmoving. I struggle going down the stairs as I feel them hard and unforgiving if I were to fall. I begin to feel dizzy, as the staircase seems to spin forever.
Picture 2
I see the archway formed by the trees. It looks almost like a tunnel, with a light glowing at the end, yet the holes caused by the leaves and branches shed light throughout. I also see that the trees which I thought led to a glorious future, just leads to another forest, nearly impossible to navigate through.
I smell the fresh scent of oak. It tingles my nostrils, along with the smell of grass just growing in. Other springtime smells are easy to decipher in the wonder of scents, along with something fruity. All of the sudden, the scent of a diesel engine fills the air.
I hear the grass muffle my every step. Then two birds start a conversation as a chipmunk squeaks when it finds an acorn. The soothing sounds of the forest then are blocked out by the sound of a bulldozer, taking out everything in its path.
I taste the change of a normal spring day in the forest to the bitter taste of exhaust. I cough from the fumes and start to cough up blood. The iron taste in my mouth tastes almost like a sweet relief from the pipe exhaust onslaught previous.
I feel the cool grass as I fall onto it. After I struggle to regain my balance I fall again. I can feel the vibration of the dirt as the bulldozer slowly moves closer to my body. Pain surges through my legs and up my spine, as I realize the bulldozer came for me.

To share my ideas with the word, I would like to create posters and blogs, if not another webpage as well.

Mural preview

To show a unique Akins story, I could take photos of all the different Akins clubs. I could use go around after school and shoot. Students want to hear about this to know what they can spend their time doing. Phone cameras would be convenient, but SLR cameras would be able to produce better pictures. I believe a mixture of both types but more SLR pictures would work best.

Nick Brandt Photography

This was my favorite picture in the slideshow of Nick Brandt's photography. I like it because it emphasizes the lioness being majestic, and the photographer puts her in the bottom left corner, using the rule of thirds, as well as the clouds blocking the sun in the top right to add balance to the picture.

To take these pictures he used a Pentax 67II. He takes the photos like this to try and capture their spirit in his work. His hope is to show the animals in a state of "being", that they soon may never occur again. He said this about his pictures, "Why the animals of Africa in particular? And more particularly still, East Africa? There is perhaps something more profoundly iconic, mythical, mythological even, about the animals of East Africa... There is something deeply deeply, emotionally stirring and affecting about the plains of Africa - the vast green rolling plains punctuated by by the graphically perfect acacia trees."

Academic Shoot Reflection

When I was shooting, I realized that it is harder than it seems. People do not stand how you want them too, and it others get in the way. I tried to focus on keeping the subject in focus, so for a few shots I had to turn to manual focus instead of auto. If I were to do this again, I would try to keep my full subject in the picture, without leaving too much headroom. I would keep the same subjects and placements, because if I just moved the angle a bit the picture would've turned out better. I believer that balance will be the easiest rule to achieve next time we do this, and framing will be the hardest. I understand these rules very clearly now.

Academics Shoot

Balance

I balanced the two people closest to the camera fairly well. It is somewhat clear that they are the subjects but the others distract from the picture. To make this better I could've waited for the teacher to exit the frame.

 Avoid Mergers

I took a bad picture on purpose to show a merger. I cut off the top of the teacher and another student to get more of one student. The subject is mostly clear, for she is the only one not cut off. To fix this, I should lift the camera up a little.

 Framing

I framed the girl in the blue inbetween the two boys, and she is the subject. It is a little distracting with the other people there and in the way. To fix this I should have moved to the left and zoomed in.

 Lines

There are two lines in this picture. You can easily see the two lines and the girl stands out as the subject. If I had moved over to the left and turned the camera it would've made a better picture.

 Rule of Thirds

I placed the subject in the bottom and her rifle in the top right corner. She is easily defined as the subject, but if I had moved back to get the whole rifle, the picture would've been better.

 Simplicity

This picture demonstrates simplicity with a very colorless background and a clearly defined subject. To make this picture better I should give less head room and move the frame down.

Academic Shoot Preview

The Story

In this photo, there is a large group of students gathered around a flagpole at sunrise. They are holding hands, showing reverence as they bow their heads. This makes me think it is to remember someone who has died.

Action and emotion 

This photo shows a science experiment being completed, and the result is a massive explosion causing water to fly all over! The girls are exited and amazed to see the result.

Filling the Frame

This picture fills the frame with the large amount of homeless people and volunteers lining back. It shows the farthest forward person almost from head to toe, to give only a little excess space at the top of the picture

Favorite Photo

This photo is my favorite because it sums up what is my junior year of high school. I have so much stuff to study for it almost seems unbearable. This photo has good asymmetrical balance and avoids mergers. The person in the middle is framed by the outer bookshelves, and set in the bottom third so you can see all the books to study laid out over the top third.

I would like to take pictures in the library, chemistry and speech classes. These I believe will have great shots, waiting to be captured. I could go to Mr. Bilinski's or Mr. Valles classes. To get amazing shots, I will change my point of view until I can add as many of the rules of photography as possible.