Period 5 -- Critical Analysis #10

1/27/2020

Semester 1 Personal Reflection

Today you will be writing about your own work that you have made in this class.

Take some time to think about the different projects you have completed so far in class. You will pick one project that you responded to, and one project that you did not respond to. Then, you will write about your experience. Be sure to include this information in your writing:

Which project did you respond to most? Explain why. For example, if you enjoyed the self-portrait project most, explain which parts of the project resonated with you. Did this project change your way of thinking? Did it help you become a better artist? Did you learn a new skill completing this project?
Which project did you least enjoy or respond to? Explain why. What did you find challenging about this project?

Next, pick your favorite image that you have created this year, and write at least 1 paragraph analyzing the image. Describe specifics, form, and content. Finally, evaluate the image. Be sure to describe which project you shot the image for.

Next, pick your least favorite image that you have created this year, and write at least 1 paragraph analyzing the image. Describe specifics, form, and content. Finally, evaluate the image. Be sure to describe which project you shot the image for.

For your final paragraph, take some time to write about your Dream project. Explain how your final images pertain to the theme word of DREAM. Explain how your images are cohesive.

Your analyses must be a minimum of 5 paragraphs, with 5 sentences minimum per paragraph. Be sure to post your analysis as a comment to the correct class period blog post. Your analyses are due by MIDNIGHT on Wednesday, 1/29/2020.

Jacpb Perez

1/27/2020 11:44:52 am

The project I enjoyed the most was the “Dream” project. The reason I loved this project so much was because we learned how to composit which i adore. This made me change my way of thinking about opening my mind to a new art style or introducing objects in images that usually wouldn't be there, EX: A duplicate version of myself. The project i enjoyed least was for sure project 3B, where we needed to take pictures of strangers. The reason I least enjoyed this project was for one reason talking to people who you don't know and asking if you can't take their pictures. Another reason i didn't like this project was because we had to tell them they couldn't smile which just made both of us feel awkward.

My favorite image this year was my image from project 3A. This was an image of me dunking a basketball. My favorite aspect of this image is definitely the camera tilt i added, where I looked straight in the air and the rim and whole hoop is tilted. I also love my facial expression as it perfectly captures the feeling of aggresivnes and power in my dunk. This image just perfectly expresses my love and skills for basketball.

My least favorite image i took this year was a picture of a basketball but using the rule of thirds. The reason I dislike this image is because now looking back at the image i know i could of done so much more with it. Another reason i dislike it was just my lack of creativity and enthusiasm for this image. The final reason I dislike it was because in camera raw and photoshop I completely messed up my contrast and overall editing of the image. This image was taken in 2.

My project 4 images are all connected through the black and white aspect with highlighting a specific color in the image. My first image portrays dream by showing the dream of say being a hitman and fighting some person, but the person is in fact yourself. This image relates to common scenes in the video game series, “Uncharted.” My second image portrays dream by showing multiple versions of myself playing basketball together, which could never of course happen in the real world and it combines a common thing in my head; basketball. My third image portrays dream by me fighting my own self with a sword, this has a symbolic meaning too by expressing the common idea of you fighting yourself in your head. My fourth image portrays dream by me levitating in mid air with two Nerf guns in my hands, which is a common dream i have.. My fifth image portrays dream by me playing corn hole with my self, which is a common game i play with my mom. My sixth image portrays dream by another image of me fighting myself, which has the symbolic meaning of you fighting yourself in your mind. My seventh image portrays dream by is me playing foosball with myself, which is a common game i play with my brothers. My eighth image portrays dream by is me reaching for money which has the symbolic meaning of people always reaching for money no matter how hard or far.

Gabby Beck

1/28/2020 04:48:57 pm

Probably my favorite project was the composition project. I liked how we took a random object and used different ways to turn that object into a different thought or perspective. The four different perspectives were bird and bug’s eye view, frame, and the rule of thirds. From those I liked using a bug’s point of view because it makes the object look more powerful than it really is. I used my cello in it so when I did the bug’s eye view, my cello looked like a majestic monster.

The project I disliked the most was the stranger part of 3B. I’m just not that comfortable of taking pictures of other people and I am shy. I thought I would take forever to set things up and embarrass myself. I also didn’t want to be rejected or look weird around other people. I will probably never take a photo of a stranger unless I needed to.

My best picture was probably in the Dream project where I took a photo of my sister. She was standing in front of some trees and had a little pose. I sprayed little droplets of water that, when seeing the picture, made the sun glint off the little drops. The water was there to make the photo seem more dreamlike or magical. I had to use a higher ISO and slower shutter speed because it was a little dark in there.

My least favorite photo was my first one of the first project, the Name Game. That first photo was the first letter in my name, G. I could never seem to get it in focus or a good lighting. I used the scroll of my staircase to see a G and had to stand on a chair to get it at the right angle. The background was of the floor and stairs and tried to cut off as much of the rest of the handrail as I could to make it look more like a G.

My main theme in our project Dream was troubles and beauty. I had one photo where I made multiple mes harassing me in a dream. I also had one of my sister covering her face and shaking so it would look blurry and I had a blurry picture of me riding a bike like I was getting away from something. My beauty pictures consists of my floating cello, my sister and the water droplets, and me upside down showing part of my face. Those show the sort of beautiful magic that can happen in dreams.

Andy Cubriel

1/29/2020 08:27:52 am

The projects that I liked the most and that I responded to the most were Project 4 (Dream), and Project 3 B (Relational Portraits). The parts that resonated with me for project 3 B was that I got to interact with people in public, which used to be outside of my comfort zone. Now that I completed that part of the project, I am able to talk to strangers more easily, and feel more comfortable in public. The thing that I liked the most about project 4 was that I learned how to composite. This opened up a lot of new information to me about photoshop, and how I can edit more freely. This new skill has really improved my experience in her class.

The project that I enjoyed the least this semester was project 4 A (self portraits). This project just wasn’t as enjoyable for me, because I like being able to see the photo before I take it, which is difficult to do while being in the photo. What was difficult about this was that I had no one that was relative to my size in my family, so it was difficult trying to take a photo like that without someone similar to me to take the focus of. Also, I had to readjust the focus of the photos several times, and then I had to take close to 100 photos like that. I also felt that it was difficult to capture my personality in just a few photos.

My favorite photo that I took this year is a photo I took during the dream project. It is a composite that I took of my sister, and turned the background to black and white. In the photo, there are two of my sisters (I only have one sister), and she is playing cards with herself. The entire photo is black and white except for the stacks of poker chips in the photo. The project that I took this photo was Project 4, or Dream, where we had to create dream-like images, and have 8 final products that were all cohesive in some manner.

My least favorite photo that I took was a photo in project 3 A (Self portraits). In the photo, I am sitting in a blue chair with a book in my hand. The book is the Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, and I am wearing a blue ford parts t-shirt and a T.M.I hat. You can barely see a table in the background. The reason I dislike this image is that it just doesn’t look that good, and it doesn’t reflect the time that I took to take the photo and edit it. The project this came from was project 3A, where we were assigned to take self portrait, and this photo specifically came from the authentic self portraits portion of the project.

Most of my photos pertain to dreams by having several of the same person in them. They are doing stuff in the photos that you would only be able if you were in a dream. The other photos related to dream by having a specific thing in the photo more vivid. One example of this was a photo of my sister, wearing the yellow towel as cloak, with her hair frizzy. The entire photo was black and white except for the cloak, which relates to dream by having one thing stick out like a sore thumb. The story I imagine when I look at the photo is that she had been without seeing herself for a longtime in the photo, and what you see in the photo is what she's about to see when she looks in the mirror. My photos are cohesive because they are either composites, or the background is black and white except for one object in the image.

Suly Welsh

1/29/2020 09:53:26 am

Blog #10 | 1/27/2020

During our first semester of Digital Art, the class has been able to compose a couple of projects. From the first 'name game' project to the 'dreams' project, I think I have been able to appreciate things I didn't appreciate before. As I took pictures for the different projects, I was pushed to take time to think about what I was photographing and how it'd relate to me. I had to think about which angles and which shots spoke to me, and which ones weren't as good. Through the process of taking pictures, I was able to look at the world, literally, through a lens. It's something that I don't do that much, the act of taking time to take a picture. It is one brief click which will capture an eternal moment. Out of all our projects, my favorite one was Project 3B: Portraiture (Strangers and Family). This was the portrait compositions that had like three different sub-themes. The project was the third class project called 'Portraiture'. Within that project, we had two different types of portraits to take: 3A Self Portrait (authentic self & alter-ego), and 3B Relational Portrait (strangers & family). I had a lot of fun making these pictures because I got to shoot moments and people which I love.

For the family, I turned in seven final pictures. I had one picture of my sister making breakfast and she was wearing a kimono that my grandma gifted to us from China. I love my house on weekend mornings when I wake up early and drink some coffee and make my own breakfast. I love this picture because it is a pure and genuine moment for me, and it reminds me of that satisfying feeling I get in the mornings. Another was a picture of my youngest brother, Isaac, holding a family friend, Sebastian, who is around two years old. I love this image because I've always seen Isaac as the baby of my house. I was about seven-years-old when Isaac was born, and I care for him so much because I'd always try to protect him and carry him as if he were the most fragile thing in the world. I'd change his diapers from time to time, I'd put him to sleep in his little crib and I'd jump in with him to make sure he was okay, I'd carry him everywhere like a little sack of potatoes. The moment I remember most during his baby years was when my mom told me to stop carrying him, so I wouldn't risk dropping him (since I was literally an eight-year-old). I remember sitting down on the stairs, carrying him, and this comment just made me hold him tighter and with more care. At that moment I knew I'd never ever drop him, and knew he was safe in my arms. He would just lay in my arms looking all peaceful and warm, and so now I can't ever stop thinking about him as my little baby. I absolutely adored how this picture came out because it reminds me so much of how I used to hold Isaac. Now, Isaac is the one holding little Sebastian. It's an amazing feeling to get to see him feel like I felt when I held him. All the love and care that I felt when I held Isaac, and how mature and protective I felt is now what Isaac (maybe) subconsciously or consciously is feeling towards Sebas. I thought it was really cool to be able to capture that moment. And to answer the question about what this project taught me, that whole paragraph is my answer. It taught me to photograph emotions and to see what each moment means to me. The emotions, feelings, and thoughts are all mine, but I was able to authentically capture moments that relate the most to how I feel.

I've liked all the projects so far because even if they're not as heartfelt in content, they have all taught me something. Whether it be how to work my camera by practicing the adjustments or the intense pondering over what I wanted my content to have, they have all worked up to the point that I am at right now. I will say that the one I enjoyed the least was the second project, Project 2: Composition. This was because I did it WRONG! That's so embarrassing, but at least I got to practice taking images downtown and start forming what kinds of compositions I like best for taking images. I think that was one essential checkpoint that helped me realize the style that I tend to work more when taking pictures, aesthetically.

I think one image that I'm currently very proud of, both composition and content-wise, would be from this past dream project. It's Project 4: Dreams, and it's the eighth picture that I uploaded. The image is in black and white to give it that layer of separation from reality, so it can feel like more of a movie rather than an actual mundane moment. It is truly amazing how much work and appreciation that Mr. Leonard has for this band, and I believe that choosing to make it black and white helps to encapsulate that feeling better. I'm very proud of how symmetrical and neat the image looks. It's Ian Gallagher in a clear and focused view with his saxophone in the middle of the image facing Mr. Leonard. Mr. Leonard is directly behind him (a bit blurred) writing down some notes that

Suly Welsh (pt. 2)

1/29/2020 09:55:15 am

he gave Ian since he was playing a part by himself which is very important for the music piece to sound its best. I enjoy this image because that's what I see every day in the band. It's amazing to see everyone working on the music and then listening to the final product compared to what we sounded like during our first run of a piece. This image shows a moment when I feel the happiest in the band and when I feel like I'm contributing to something so genuine. Even though I'm not the best, I have a passion for music as well, so this image taps into that too. And I don't have an image that I don't like, they've all been unique in their way and have helped me practice in one way or another.

For our fourth project: Dream, we were tasked to take pictures of your definition of a dream. I personally LOVE dreams and love dreaming in general. It amazes me whenever I have random dreams that I literally can't even come up with when I'm conscious, so I'm very attached to that theme of lucid dreams and the subconscious. I would've done my project with that criteria, but decided to go a separate route. I just the aspect of dreams of growing up. "When I grow up". This aspect of dreams was the aspect of tangible ones. The ones which we aspire to achieve. It can be a job position, being awarded a trophy, achieving an intellectual breakthrough, etc. These are the dreams which we work every day. The ones which motivate and inject zeal and purpose into our lives. These images are about normal people working towards their goals. They do not have very dramatic colors or fantasy elements which is why I chose to edit them to be black and white. They capture a person's will to achieve their dream through hard work and tenacity.

Alissa Welsh

2/21/2020 10:03:59 pm

This semester I responded more to the last project, dream and I least responded to self-portraits. I liked the dream project the most since not only did my pictures improve but also learned new editing skills. During this project my mindset changed and made me think that now I am capable of taking any type of photo using composition. It helped me become a better artist since it opened new doors for me with a variety of tool options. I learned how to lay two images on top of each other and make them one showing what you would like.

I liked the self-portraits the least since it was the most challenging project for me. It was really hard to focus the camera, take the picture, and make it stay on the tripod. This project was the one that I least enjoyed and didn’t have fun shooting since I didn’t like my results. With this project it helped me admire the time and work of artist self-portraits since now thanks to this project I know how challenging it is.

My favorite image that I took this year I didn’t turn it in but you can check it out on my website on my extra pictures. This image is a puddle reflecting the light of a movie theater. I fell in love with this image because of the colors that show and how nice the reflection looked. If I would have to evaluate my picture from 1 being horrible to 10 being amazing I would give it a 6 or 7 since it needs more sharpness.

My least favorite pictures are all my self-portrait ince the quality is bad and the focus is also bad. When I created those images I didn’t take it seriously instead I was just messing around having fun. So they are nice to keep them to see how much I’ve improved.

For my Dream project they all connect with the word dream. One is about dreaming being the ruler of a chocolate castle, or being able to jump so high you can touch the sky, or getting lost in the adventure and wonders of the books, or being two different people, or beng on the shadows of someone, or stalking someone, or while you are deep into the book that you start to fly, or cloths just floating around.

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Period 5 -- Critical Analysis #10

Semester 1 Personal Reflection

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