Click above for my prize winning radio wraparound (3rd place!) from a model train exhibition I attended. I really enjoy speaking to people about their hobbies, they can be so animated and passionate. I couldn't help but get into model trains too. I took several photographs because some of the exhibits were so detailed.
Here is my fun feature project! Lots of hard work, excellent team work, and dedication led to this production. Everyone worked on each aspect of the project with the team leader of the task. I was the leader for editing and I'm very pleased with how well my group worked to make this project turn out the way it did. I learned a lot more about Final Cut Pro and I learned the importance of audio in any video project. Sound quality can make or break a video; the pictures can be manipulated but if the sound is bad, you cannot easily fix it.
I also learned the importance of teamwork- this project could never have been as good as it is without a cohesive team effort. We worked well together and found ways to push the project forward even when we didn't all agree. A lot of clever ideas emerged that no one person could have thought up alone and everyone was able to teach another group member something new. I am very proud of this short film. After watching the film clips countless times, it still makes me laugh.
This is my group's sequencing project in which we concentrate on creating a story while effectively using cut ins, cut aways, and going in and out of frame. We also had our first attempt at using Final Cut Pro and IMovie to create this project. It is a simple, funny story and I think it worked amazingly well. I had never used Final Cut Pro before and learning it was quite the exercise in trouble shooting. I learned a lot and look forward to doing more editing in the future.
I submitted this photo for my Portrait project. The contrast is perfect, with the girl's white polka dotted shirt and her beautiful curls and slightly damp skin. I snapped this picture as she was dancing in a night club. She turned her eyes towards the camera at exactly the right moment.
I had trouble asking strangers to take their picture for this project. It was the main aspect of this project I had to overcome, and it was difficult for me. I felt that people would pose more once I asked them if I could take their picture and the moment would be lost. To avoid this, I was instructed to make eye contact before taking a candid shot and smile- be "a little disarming". This valuable nugget of advice is excellent, if you can pull it off. I'm still working on it.
Here is another shot in the club, the DJ caught in a Renaissance portrait pose, one finger pointing up to the heavens while hip hop blares through pounding speakers.
Clearly not a stranger, this is a dear friend and of mine. I intruded upon her and her husband one night to take as many shots as I could. I love this picture because it taught me that canted shots can turn out beautifully and sepia toning is your friend. While I know I should have gone outside my comfort zone, I am still very pleased with how this picture turned out.
The first one here is my personal favorite photograph taken for the slideshow project. It took many shots to get this particular picture and I'm really happy with the results.
I had to pick the letters out of the soup then prop up each one with a piece of potato so it wouldn't sink. Tastiest photo set up ever.
I liked playing around with aperture and shutter speed. Once again, I took several shots before I was satisfied with this one.
Here is my group's slide show of our theme, liquid. I had forgotten how much I appreciated photography until I started working on this project. It forces you to take a closer work at the little things, the seemingly insignificant moments, and try to capture them in a dynamic way. I struggled at first because I was trying to hard to look for obvious ways to photograph liquid, like at a beach. I found my favorite photo location at a fountain in a small shopping complex near my home. I have passed by this fountain many times and never looked at it twice until this project came along. It looks quite dull until you get up nice and close- the flash and a high shutter speed brought out something I never would have seen in this little fountain. I learned to take the opportunity to stop, look around me, and take as many pictures as necessary to get the perfect shot...even if it means my groceries have to wait on the ground and people stare as I lean dangerously close to very cold water.
