Written reflection:

I think that one of my biggest growths as a photographer this semester is being able to look out all around me to be able to find the opportunity to take a photo. My second biggest growth as a photographer this semester is learning that anything can be/make a great photo. One of the things I know about Photography now that I didn't know before taking this class is how to adjust to camera settings to change for example the brightness. Another thing that I know about Photography now that I didn't know before taking this class is how the first cyanotypes were made, what they were mainly of, and who invented them. A third thing that I know about Photography now that I didn't know before taking this class is that there are so many different elements in taking pictures in photography. My absolute favorite thing to photograph is landscapes and wilderness pictures. I have always loved to take these types because in landscape photos there it so much variety there is in the picture. Some examples of this are the colors, the way the sky looks, or how many different types of ecosystems are in just one picture. I also love to take pictures of animals in the wild like deer, moose, birds, fish, foxes/coyotes, and the occasional dog. My second favorite thing to photograph it things with a lot of texture and depth in them. Like the bark on a tree, the crevices in the rocks, or the grains in the wood. My opinion about taking these types of pictures did not change after taking this class. I think that my photographs have improved over the semester because when I look at pictures that I took from before taking this class compared to after/during taking this class. Some things that I can see that they are either more aligned, have better focus, or they have captured everything in the picture and not just one spot. Some camera techniques that have helped in supporting me to get better as a photographer are learning what an F stop is, what shutter speed does to a picture, how ISO effects a photo and how to change all of these things based of how the picture looks on the camera before you actually take it. Some photoshop skills have helped to support me to get better as a photographer are learning that if I had taken a picture and it came out a little dark then I can just brighten it in photoshop. I can also change how the colors look in a picture on photoshop with many different tools. And you can also change the photo to be just black and white with very little knowledge on how to use photoshop. I am hoping to improve on how to change the camera settings to get the photos as close to perfect as they can be with no additional editing in the future. I really want to continue to learn how to make photo look better and maybe one day in the far future and can make my passion of photography a carrer who knows.