MMS 173 Assignment 1: Knowing Where I'm At

(Part 2)

PART 1

At first, I only planned on looking at fifteen (15) entries from the whole class, but I was kind of disappointed to see that a lot of my classmates had a mediocre entry of photos. I ended up looking at fifty (50) entries—more like sixty (60) entries; I lost count during the mid-40s of viewing—so almost a third of the whole class. I looked at more entries till I found five (5) photos that I think are great shots. With all honesty, I only found eight (8) entries that I think did a better job than I did. I decided to do this because I still cannot bring myself to tell the class that their photos suck, even if I try to be as professional as I can about it. I just cannot do it, even knowing that they will not likely look at my critique of their photos.

Some of the bad photos I saw involved a lot of landscape photography that had bad compositions. Most of the landscapes I saw were not well-proportioned to the sky. I know some of them intended to take a photo of the sky or the clouds, but the result of their photos looked pointless and badly done—this is taking into account that I did not expect them to edit the photos. However, some of them still had the potential to be good shots. I also saw some photos where the shadow of their smartphones or cameras was visible—and to be completely honest, I think it would just be an excuse if some of them would say they intended the shot to be like that, but the photos themselves did not look like it.

Of the eight entries that I mentioned above, five photos from Julia Marquez, Jermaine Lobo, Arvin Alviar, Erwin Javillonar, and Alyssa Ocampo will be talked about in part two of this assignment. These five photos are what I think have better applications of principles of design and composition techniques than the photos I took.

PART 2

The Purest Smile: A Portrait of Viel

Julia Marquez’ The Purest Smile: A Portrait of Viel is the best photo I saw from all the entries in the class. The most obvious composition technique applied here is the rule of thirds. But, I would to mention that the thing I liked most about this photo is the principle of unity, specifically the unity of colors in the photo. The vibrant colors of the pink hat, light blue shirt, and red umbrella make the photo have a warm and nostalgic vibe to it. I think it also had something to do with the color science of her Fujifilm camera. I know for a fact that hobbyists and professionals buy Fujifilm cameras for their great color science in the photos they produce. Regardless, I think it is the one shot that justifies its worth of taking a photo of the most.

Soaked in Reality

The second photo in my top five is from Jermaine Lobo. I think her photo of Soaked in Reality can compete with a professional’s. The obvious principle is the emphasis on color. The pinkish-red highlights the contrast (although, it is not the “contrast” mentioned in the manual) of the two ladies in the background. Both pairs of subjects have pink highlights in their clothes and accessories. The use of depth of field is also quite notable in this photo. The depth of field alongside the application of the composition technique golden spiral presents the story of the two children under the wet jacket being the main antagonists of the shot.

Palengke (2022)

The next photo I would like to talk about is from Alyssa Ocampo, and it is her Palengke (2022). I really love images that represent the day-to-day life of Filipino middle to lower-class citizens, and the palengke is one of those places that you can see almost every time. This photo in particular applies the composition technique of diagonal—and I am not entirely sure of it, but it could also be counted as a radial composition as the counters are parallel. The long counter of palengke vendors creates the composition that also highlights the principle of design harmony and balance, as well as emphasizing the element of pattern created by the solar light-fans above the purchasable goods. The almost resembles an image from a Wong Kar-wai film that I heavily vibe with.

Sa Baler

Sa Baler by Erwin Javillonar definitely belongs to my top five. The rule of thirds is dominant to the composition of the photo. The seawater covering the entire bottom third (horizontal) of the frame while also having the subjects fill the space the between third (vertical) makes the composition of the shot stand out from the rest of the class, despite having the simplest concept and subjects.

Gazebo

Last on the list is Gazebo by Arvin Alviar. I chose this because it is a better-composed shot compared to my pathway photo—both photos have an architectural subject. The golden spiral is clearly applied to the photo. Leading the eyes of the viewer to the structure of the Gazebo. The space that is the sky makes the viewer look further into the images that lead to going through each tree and vegetation and end up with the view of the Gazebo from afar. I think the photo is a great example of applying composition techniques to architectural subjects, despite this one being all green from all the plants and trees, including the roof of the Gazebo.

PART 3

After carefully looking through the entries of my classmates, I can confidently say that with my skills belong to the group of students who can produce well-composed photos. As I said earlier, it took me to look through sixty entries from my classmates to find photos for my top five. The entries of photos I saw from my classmates, again, were quite disappointing. Back in MMS 172, I considered myself to be average when producing audio, but I do not see the same here in MMS 173 with photography as the subject. I guess I do better with images and photos than I do with music or audio—or just to put it simply, I do better in fields where I use my eyes than I do with my ears. I sound like I am being overconfident, but this is just how I sincerely see it. My butterfly, sleeping man, and pathway photos are better compared to the majority of the sixty classmates’ entries I looked at. I do better at composing or framing my shots, and I do a good job capturing my intent of taking the scenes as photos. I understand the elements of a photo as well as the principles of photography. I think my skills are quite sufficient enough to successfully apply the techniques and principles in the course manual in taking photos with my camera. However, as always, there is still more room for improvement. Personally, I think I should focus more on how I can maximize the features of my camera to take full advantage of it. I need to reach the full potential of my skills to match my camera's photographic capabilities. I would also like to take better photos than the five classmates I mentioned going through the course. I already view the course site to be a competition with my self-satisfaction as the ultimate price.

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