Journal Entries
September 10, 2019
September 10, 2019
Today I had my first meeting with my mentor Ben. I learned a lot from just this first meeting, I can’t wait for more. We talked a lot about what I would like to get from this project and what and how he could help with that. I feel like I came into this expecting to be able to finish way more than possible. I wanted to create a photo book like one of the ones Ben has done that I’m in. It’s a very nice visual to be able to see progress throughout the book. I would love to do one of these books with maybe 100 or so photos of people from the community trying to capture their personality.
Today I had my first meeting with my mentor Ben. I learned a lot from just this first meeting, I can’t wait for more. We talked a lot about what I would like to get from this project and what and how he could help with that. I feel like I came into this expecting to be able to finish way more than possible. I wanted to create a photo book like one of the ones Ben has done that I’m in. It’s a very nice visual to be able to see progress throughout the book. I would love to do one of these books with maybe 100 or so photos of people from the community trying to capture their personality.
For my paper, I'm still looking for possible topics like maybe something with politics?
For my paper, I'm still looking for possible topics like maybe something with politics?
Maybe how the camera affects the face but that might be too specific and hard to get evidence. Or I can talk about the history of photography and how it has changed with new technologies. I’ll need to talk to my panel head and Ben And Mrs. Floyd to see which ones would work or won’t or need more info.
Maybe how the camera affects the face but that might be too specific and hard to get evidence. Or I can talk about the history of photography and how it has changed with new technologies. I’ll need to talk to my panel head and Ben And Mrs. Floyd to see which ones would work or won’t or need more info.
I hope as my senior project is written that it will be easier to form a more solid display and paper. I realized that this is going to be way more work than I had anticipated but I know that I will be able to finish with a clean well thought out paper and display. I am very excited to learn more about how a camera works and how to take good professional photos.
I hope as my senior project is written that it will be easier to form a more solid display and paper. I realized that this is going to be way more work than I had anticipated but I know that I will be able to finish with a clean well thought out paper and display. I am very excited to learn more about how a camera works and how to take good professional photos.
November 6, 2019
November 6, 2019
Today I met Ben for our first meeting to start our senior project. The first thing we did was look at the gear that I have from my parents and how they would work in the field of photography.
Today I met Ben for our first meeting to start our senior project. The first thing we did was look at the gear that I have from my parents and how they would work in the field of photography.
I have an old Nikon 40D and a couple of old lenses and many of them aren’t that great for portraits. But my old 55mm works wonders when it comes to photography in general. So that's the one we/I decided to use for all of my shots today.
I have an old Nikon 40D and a couple of old lenses and many of them aren’t that great for portraits. But my old 55mm works wonders when it comes to photography in general. So that's the one we/I decided to use for all of my shots today.
Then we drove down to the church at the bottom of my road to the river. We talked about using natural light in addition to the angle to make the photo pop instead of being a dull mat photo. I didn’t realize how much thought went into each and every photo just to make it remotely interesting. And as the day went on I got better at mentally seeing the image I wanted before I got into a position to take the photo, thinking about lighting, angle, and background before changing the settings to try and get the photo I wanted.
Then we drove down to the church at the bottom of my road to the river. We talked about using natural light in addition to the angle to make the photo pop instead of being a dull mat photo. I didn’t realize how much thought went into each and every photo just to make it remotely interesting. And as the day went on I got better at mentally seeing the image I wanted before I got into a position to take the photo, thinking about lighting, angle, and background before changing the settings to try and get the photo I wanted.
As the day went on I found myself getting faster and faster every time but it still wasn’t instant.
As the day went on I found myself getting faster and faster every time but it still wasn’t instant.
When we went up to the Randolph Whales tales it was easier to take better photos due to having a set subject that I could move about getting different angles and shooting through plants and other obstructions that could make each photo unique and along with the beauty of the sunset behind really helped with the composition.
When we went up to the Randolph Whales tales it was easier to take better photos due to having a set subject that I could move about getting different angles and shooting through plants and other obstructions that could make each photo unique and along with the beauty of the sunset behind really helped with the composition.
December 16, 2019
December 16, 2019
Yesterday I visited Ben’s studio in the basement of the Randolph Harold in town where I watched/was in my first photoshoot. I had met with Mrs.Tucker the week before and she had asked me to send her a headshot so I asked Ben if that was possible and he said of course. Then we had Riley Bashaw come in for his senior photos so we did them together. We started out talking about how to use the studio lights to make the face look good and how to make it an interesting photo with only a flat, simple colored background. I found this to be the hardest day of photography that we have done. I know it takes time and practice to be able to work with someone for someone go get flattering photos. It's hard to pose them, and figure out the lighting and all these other factors. It's so hard to get a good photo without any background knowledge that I was pretty upset with most of my photos. They weren’t quality photos but I tried to keep going afterward. So when I got home I spent about an hour looking at different cameras and light angles and how each lense affected the face. Then today I went out and found a yellow sign and used what I had learned from last night to try and apply my learnings from last night. They turned out to be a bit better but I am still working on the posing side of studio photography.
Yesterday I visited Ben’s studio in the basement of the Randolph Harold in town where I watched/was in my first photoshoot. I had met with Mrs.Tucker the week before and she had asked me to send her a headshot so I asked Ben if that was possible and he said of course. Then we had Riley Bashaw come in for his senior photos so we did them together. We started out talking about how to use the studio lights to make the face look good and how to make it an interesting photo with only a flat, simple colored background. I found this to be the hardest day of photography that we have done. I know it takes time and practice to be able to work with someone for someone go get flattering photos. It's hard to pose them, and figure out the lighting and all these other factors. It's so hard to get a good photo without any background knowledge that I was pretty upset with most of my photos. They weren’t quality photos but I tried to keep going afterward. So when I got home I spent about an hour looking at different cameras and light angles and how each lense affected the face. Then today I went out and found a yellow sign and used what I had learned from last night to try and apply my learnings from last night. They turned out to be a bit better but I am still working on the posing side of studio photography.
January 12, 2020
January 12, 2020
Today Ben Deflorio and I went on a photo walk to practice my exposure and to do my mentor interview. We walked up Fish Hill and asked him questions about how he thinks photography plays a role in local politics and how it is used in Randolph and other local towns around us. Many of his answers were very interesting to me. He explained how many newspapers used them to show the townspeople that each government official was following the plans they had laid out during elections as well as helping the people of each town see them as hard workers and that they were just like the people who had elected them, just ordinary people doing their part. He also explained the many factors that went into taking photos of politicians. The way each photo is framed can show a positive or negative bias story that each newspaper wants to portray for them.
Today Ben Deflorio and I went on a photo walk to practice my exposure and to do my mentor interview. We walked up Fish Hill and asked him questions about how he thinks photography plays a role in local politics and how it is used in Randolph and other local towns around us. Many of his answers were very interesting to me. He explained how many newspapers used them to show the townspeople that each government official was following the plans they had laid out during elections as well as helping the people of each town see them as hard workers and that they were just like the people who had elected them, just ordinary people doing their part. He also explained the many factors that went into taking photos of politicians. The way each photo is framed can show a positive or negative bias story that each newspaper wants to portray for them.
His answers to my questions were very unexpected. I had no idea that just the framing and position of the camera could have a positive or negative effect on the way the photo is viewed by the public. As I went on with my research for my paper I began to see this from every side of the 2012, 2016 and the upcoming 2020 elections. Each side of the campaign used unflattering and misleading photos of the opposing sides, in an effort to persuade the public into voting for them instead of their competitors. As I go on with my senior project I cant wait to keep learning and understanding the influence of photography.
His answers to my questions were very unexpected. I had no idea that just the framing and position of the camera could have a positive or negative effect on the way the photo is viewed by the public. As I went on with my research for my paper I began to see this from every side of the 2012, 2016 and the upcoming 2020 elections. Each side of the campaign used unflattering and misleading photos of the opposing sides, in an effort to persuade the public into voting for them instead of their competitors. As I go on with my senior project I cant wait to keep learning and understanding the influence of photography.
March 14, 2020
March 14, 2020
This week I had a very exciting time and the opportunity to have a photo shoot before the Stay at Home order was put into place. We started out meeting in town and discussing what she was looking for in the photos and then we went walking to different locations. We went to the abandoned wood mill passed the theater, railroad tracks, and the park, finding well lit and symmetrical backdrops to give the photos a pleasing background but not too distracting to the point that it takes away from the main subject, Natalie. Then after we were done we planned another shoot later in the year to get some studio shots but COVID-19 had different plans, and the shoot is on hold until a later date. After the shoot was over I went home and started sorting through the photos we liked from the ones we didn’t. I then went into lightroom and started doing basic edits like brightness and contrast. I then went back through each photo to tailor each one to create a smooth image that pulled your focus to Natalie. I then exported these edited copies to photoshop and added the titles of Natalie’s songs to her favorite three photos creating her album covers and shared them with her. We are waiting to meet to finalize the font of each photo and make the final adjustments to Natalie’s liking and then they will be finished.
This week I had a very exciting time and the opportunity to have a photo shoot before the Stay at Home order was put into place. We started out meeting in town and discussing what she was looking for in the photos and then we went walking to different locations. We went to the abandoned wood mill passed the theater, railroad tracks, and the park, finding well lit and symmetrical backdrops to give the photos a pleasing background but not too distracting to the point that it takes away from the main subject, Natalie. Then after we were done we planned another shoot later in the year to get some studio shots but COVID-19 had different plans, and the shoot is on hold until a later date. After the shoot was over I went home and started sorting through the photos we liked from the ones we didn’t. I then went into lightroom and started doing basic edits like brightness and contrast. I then went back through each photo to tailor each one to create a smooth image that pulled your focus to Natalie. I then exported these edited copies to photoshop and added the titles of Natalie’s songs to her favorite three photos creating her album covers and shared them with her. We are waiting to meet to finalize the font of each photo and make the final adjustments to Natalie’s liking and then they will be finished.
This was a very fun day for me being on my own to think about how each photo would be framed and the settings for each shot. Ben has taught me so much and helped me today more than ever and I can’t wait to continue working with him to finish this project in the studio.
This was a very fun day for me being on my own to think about how each photo would be framed and the settings for each shot. Ben has taught me so much and helped me today more than ever and I can’t wait to continue working with him to finish this project in the studio.
April 4, 2020
April 4, 2020
For the past few weeks, I have been taking a photography elective class at the Community College of Vermont in the early college program. My professor Kurt Budliger is a professional photographer and teaches photo walks for a living. Each week we are given a theme we need to capture in our photos that we will then share with everyone in the next class, giving feedback to each photo. This week’s theme was contrast.
For the past few weeks, I have been taking a photography elective class at the Community College of Vermont in the early college program. My professor Kurt Budliger is a professional photographer and teaches photo walks for a living. Each week we are given a theme we need to capture in our photos that we will then share with everyone in the next class, giving feedback to each photo. This week’s theme was contrast.
This has been one of my favorite themes we have done so far as it forced me to stretch my creativity in order to do the project. Instead of taking photos that I have seen time and time again, I decided to take more abstract photos using contrasting colors, lighting, and negative space (the area around the main subject of the photo). Instead of just taking a photo of the subject I wanted, I instead moved around it so that I could see it from as many different angles as I could the took my final photos in the best angle.
This has been one of my favorite themes we have done so far as it forced me to stretch my creativity in order to do the project. Instead of taking photos that I have seen time and time again, I decided to take more abstract photos using contrasting colors, lighting, and negative space (the area around the main subject of the photo). Instead of just taking a photo of the subject I wanted, I instead moved around it so that I could see it from as many different angles as I could the took my final photos in the best angle.
The next week (yesterday) we had our shoot n’ share, where we discuss each others photos and give advice and helpful critiques. Many of the photos people took were amazing with small things that distract the eye from being fully on the main subject. Once I shared my photos I learned that my thinking outside the box paid off.
The next week (yesterday) we had our shoot n’ share, where we discuss each others photos and give advice and helpful critiques. Many of the photos people took were amazing with small things that distract the eye from being fully on the main subject. Once I shared my photos I learned that my thinking outside the box paid off.
April 15, 2020
April 15, 2020
Being in quarantine has made finishing my project very hard as I am unable to meet people for portraits. In the meantime, I have been taking photos for my photography 2 class and it has been very helpful in product photography and creating frames using the things I find all over my house. Each week we have a new topic to represent in our photographs, My favorite was self-portraits. But these portraits weren’t photos of our faces, they were of objects or something that represents who you are as a person. It made me think way outside of the box and helped me learn how to create a deeper understanding created by my photos. I also started to learn how to use my great grandfather’s Pentax SPii film camera to further help me learn how the ISO, Shutter speed and aperture affect each other and creating a balance between each of them makes my photos unique and beautiful. Along with finding this balance, the limited number of photos that can be taken on a single roll of film forces me to choose each shot carefully or risk the loss of a photo.
Being in quarantine has made finishing my project very hard as I am unable to meet people for portraits. In the meantime, I have been taking photos for my photography 2 class and it has been very helpful in product photography and creating frames using the things I find all over my house. Each week we have a new topic to represent in our photographs, My favorite was self-portraits. But these portraits weren’t photos of our faces, they were of objects or something that represents who you are as a person. It made me think way outside of the box and helped me learn how to create a deeper understanding created by my photos. I also started to learn how to use my great grandfather’s Pentax SPii film camera to further help me learn how the ISO, Shutter speed and aperture affect each other and creating a balance between each of them makes my photos unique and beautiful. Along with finding this balance, the limited number of photos that can be taken on a single roll of film forces me to choose each shot carefully or risk the loss of a photo.
A few weeks ago I had a google hangouts meeting with my panel head to discuss where my project will go as far as a product and how I can adapt my photos to reflect that change. We talked about doing photo shoots with my family who is home with me, switching from portraits to landscape photography, or one that I am very excited about, Self-portraits. Taking photos that I feel represent myself as a person and helps me put myself out to the world creatively, and sharing that with the world.
A few weeks ago I had a google hangouts meeting with my panel head to discuss where my project will go as far as a product and how I can adapt my photos to reflect that change. We talked about doing photo shoots with my family who is home with me, switching from portraits to landscape photography, or one that I am very excited about, Self-portraits. Taking photos that I feel represent myself as a person and helps me put myself out to the world creatively, and sharing that with the world.
May 6, 2020
May 6, 2020
Today I continued working on my senior project product, a google sites page that will be attached to my online portfolio. I had so much fun adding photos to headers and organizing each photo to fit and look pleasing to the eye. For each group of photos, I tried to use photos that were similar in color, light, and contrast so that they flow together and make sense to be together. I also sorted them with themes like macro shots or close-ups, landscapes, and man-made objects. I then split these into different pages of portraits, nature, and product photography. As I went along adding mt photos I added texts to explain some photos and the prosses behind taking photos.
Today I continued working on my senior project product, a google sites page that will be attached to my online portfolio. I had so much fun adding photos to headers and organizing each photo to fit and look pleasing to the eye. For each group of photos, I tried to use photos that were similar in color, light, and contrast so that they flow together and make sense to be together. I also sorted them with themes like macro shots or close-ups, landscapes, and man-made objects. I then split these into different pages of portraits, nature, and product photography. As I went along adding mt photos I added texts to explain some photos and the prosses behind taking photos.
My favorite part of creating my product is reflecting back on my progress as a photographer. I’ve looked back at my first photos and see where I have improved and the biggest thing I have noticed is how many photos I have for each final shot. In the beginning, I use to have maybe 5-6 photos adjusting for lighting and composition. Now I can accurately estimate my camera settings to get closer to the lighting I want to add to the feel of the photo, as well as I have begun to notice that I can visually see the photo I want to take in my head. I can then recreate the image I have in my head and with my camera then continue that mental image into programs such as lightroom and photoshop to further create the final image that started in my head.
My favorite part of creating my product is reflecting back on my progress as a photographer. I’ve looked back at my first photos and see where I have improved and the biggest thing I have noticed is how many photos I have for each final shot. In the beginning, I use to have maybe 5-6 photos adjusting for lighting and composition. Now I can accurately estimate my camera settings to get closer to the lighting I want to add to the feel of the photo, as well as I have begun to notice that I can visually see the photo I want to take in my head. I can then recreate the image I have in my head and with my camera then continue that mental image into programs such as lightroom and photoshop to further create the final image that started in my head.