Final-Edited

Final Photo Slide Show Pre-Editing.

DOF 3

DOF- Last and Post 3

In some recent feedback, it was brought to my attention that there is no fluidity in my blog and I would like you all to see what I do, “Nutshell” it for you for lack of a better term.  I am a woman in a free country, a country that is free because of the sacrifices of many selfless men and women; I can be employed equally thanks to Title VII of the Civil Rights act of 1964. (HeinOnline.org)  If I were in many other countries on this planet I would be persecuted for many things, one of which is being a woman. Afghanistan, Africa, China just to name a few. I am white, I am outspoken, and I believe firmly and firmly on many topics that most people don’t want to talk about sex, religion, politics & race. “1 in 3 women will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. In some countries, this statistic represents as much as 70% of the female population.” (Careusa.org)

During the 19^th century women started to vocalize their desire to vote, to participate in law making by taking an active role in government (wikipedia). In 1869 the fourteenth amendment was proposed to give black men the right to vote, but still no rights to women. Fifty one years and five amendments later women won the right to vote in the United States (wikipedia). During that same time period the camera became one of the only mechanical devices linked to women. George Eastman  had a history making advertising campaign in the late 1880’s that brought the camera into the home, since women’s primary careers were in the home at that time it is only logical that women gain interest and become amateur and professional photographers (Gover).  Lets fast forward and jump into my life and how all of what I just said ties into my life.  I want to bring your attention to Rick Doble and a term he introduced to me “Photo- Expressionism- I suggest the term “photo-expressionism “for digital photographs that are as personal and expressive as the expressionist paintings of the recent past.” (Doble).

I cherish my camera, I can photograph my favorite things, places and people. I can document moments that become memories, or events that are important in our life. I can change a lot of the aspects of my camera or even the image after I’ve taken it. I also cherish my freedom and cherish that in this country there are laws and people that are working to protect my freedom that allows me to express myself in a blog about freedom and photography and how they tie together. To take an active role in how laws are made and enforced, how your freedom is exercised and protected, to continue to ensure that the freedoms enjoyed by us are still available to our children and grandchildren we MUST vote. Voting is not a right it’s a responsibility, that should not be taken lightly. Be cautious in your choices; be sure that the person you are voting for will work on your behalf, someone who shares in your values and ethics, and someone who will speak for the people that she or he is representing. Don’t choose someone strictly on party affiliation, choose wisely and research how they have performed before they were on the grand stage of campaigning when sometimes saying the right thing at the right time to the correct media is what may get them elected, make sure that the person you are choosing is true to their beliefs and comes as close to your own as possible. If you don’t vote, you leave the choice of leadership to someone else, is that a gamble you feel you can afford? Don’t just vote in the presidential elections either, vote every time you are asked, in city elections, county elections, statewide races. Yearly, every other year or every four years it all builds to the bigger picture, it all makes a difference and it all means you are taking an active role in your freedom, and mine. Thank you to those that do vote Thank you to those that serve this country to guarantee my freedom and that of my children, thank you to those who have died in that battle. Thank you Sir John Herschel , Joseph Nicéphore Niépce and Louis Daguerre for discovering and perfecting the art form called photography. Here’s to George Eastman for making the camera accessible to the masses. (Wikipedia - History of Photography)

Works Cited

Careusa.org. 12 2010 <https://my.care.org/site/Donation2?idb=462488233&df_id=8180&8180.donation=form1&autologin=true>.

Doble, Rick. Is Digital Photography The New Expressive Visual Art? 12 2010 <http://www.rickdoble.net/xtremeself/photoexpress.htm>.

Gover, C. Jane. The positive image: women photographers in turn of the century America. Albany: SUNY Press, 1988.

HeinOnline.org. 12 2010 <http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/mnlr51&div=47&id=&page=>.

wikipedia. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_rights>.

Wikipedia - History of Photography. 12 12 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_photography>.

Portraits

Being recently unemployed I have been more house bound than usual. I took this weekends weather as a sign that I would not complete this assignment the way I wanted to. I wanted to get to a place I hadn't been in a while and shoot people outside my comfort range. T suggested that I go visit him at deer camp. Great idea I'll get that unique shot I was seeking being in a crowd of retired men in their natural habitat for this time of year, what a great solution and oh yeah OUT OF THE HOUSE!!! whoot whoot! Arriving shortly before what I thought would be lunch time I would find them all returning from a morning in the woods rosey cheeks, grey beards and camo clothes....another well laid plan shot, literally, one of the group had harvested a deer that morning and all the pals were not returning as I thought they would be. They were in fact exiting and in a rush to get to the weigh station and brag to their fellow outdoorsmen. I was left with my same subjects in a new environment. Think quick.....now what? Leave it to my father in law who said "why not take the family for a little hike and see who you can see and what you can see in this area" So we bundled up and set out. We saw no one but each other and the pristine wilderness, the peacefully falling snow and the beauty of being out as a family. When I took W off my back in his backpack he was all smiles and having a wonderful time being out. I couldn't help but capture him on film, snot and drool and all. I was so happy to get my shot! T isn't understanding why I want to take a picture of him all messy that's why is looks so skeptical:) I also love this shot because you can see the Father -Son resemblance so well! And without trying applied the rule of thirds:)

Dimensions of Freedom-2

This week starts the “lame duck” session of congress, something any citizen should be leery of. A Lame duck session of congress happens in even numbered years when congress gets back together after the November Mid Term elections, some of the returning members have been elected out of the offices that they currently occupy, however they are responsible for returning to attend to unfinished matters.  We the people should be leery of this sessions for one of two reasons, either the member that has been voted out just attends for the sake of attending and isn’t invested in making sure that their job is accomplished to best serve us, or they work their tails off to achieve their agenda, possibly one that doesn’t best serve us. Every administration talks the talk, of working together to best serve the nation.

In Barack Obama’s acceptance speech when he was elected President he stated "In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people," Obama said. "Let's resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long."

"I reject the ugly politics of division," George W. Bush said in 1999 when he first ran for president. "I'm a uniter, not a divider."

Today we send our newly elected representatives to be schooled or in the jargon of the office “orientated” in the how to of the system to which we have elected them.  I have a great concern that the old dogs that we have rejected in the latest election, by not voting for them again, are teaching the new dogs the same old tricks. There was a large movement by the tea party to encourage the new recruits to avoid some aspects of the training. So that they may keep a clear eye on job we have sent them to do or their eye on the prize so to speak. While for the moment the president still has the upper hand in the numbers on the house, soon the winds of change will blow and we certainly hope for the better. We the people have shown our true dislike for the way things were, and now we can certainly hope that by electing fresh people with fresh ideas to the capitol we have regained the upper hand.

Alas this conversation will continue as it has for centuries and there will always be two sides. Someone will always feel like they have the “upper hand” let’s look back to the inaugural address of Thomas Jefferson where the one of the most controversial and debated, taught and discussed lines “we are all republicans: we are all federalists.”  The battle to work together has been raging for centuries; presidents have used the promise of bipartisan leadership in inaugural speeches for as long as we have been a country.

Let your vote be your voice, let your voice be heard, stand true to your values and ethics, vote with those ideals and stand firm, and then perhaps we will see the walk being walked as much as the talk is being talked.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/lameduck.htm

http://search.creativecommons.org

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/elections/can-obama-keep-promise-of-bipartisanship/891974

http://www.iancfriedman.com/?p=367

Clone this:)

So first I croped out the chicken coup, because it was too daunting a process to figure out where to draw( or undraw) the lines. Then I cloned the sky and in different areas to hide the greenhouse, then I placed another cloned cloud or two so it wasn't as obvious that I removed anything. Then I replaced the birdock I accidentaly removed. Then comes the smudge tool!! Great invention, removes all the little inperfections and hard lines. I think in hindsight I may have left out the replaced burdock in another attempt, because they look a little forced. I did no other adjustments to this image.

FILTERS W9

I placed this image on a canvas and oilified the image, then I cropped out the tree because it's a distraction. T was irritated that I used him as a subject but it was the clearest and simpliest photo I have in the non archieved shots. I explained to him that this was the man that I married and it's how he looks ( not the canvas).

DODGE/BURN W9

WOW, this was a really frustrating assignment, I don't know if I didn't look hard enough
for the correct "brush" but oh man!

Here is what I did:
Duplicated original image
Cropped away the sidewalk and the extra swing rope
Then I took the Burn (darker) tool and played and played with the settings until I found the density I wanted and did a couple layers until the sun spot over W's shoulder was toned way down. Then I choose the Dodge(lighten) tool and highlighted his face so was the focus.
I realized that I over lightened his face so I went back and burned his eyes and mouth and armpit.
I would have liked to have erased or smoothened the lines from the brush.

W8-Light Adjust

I cropped this shot and adjusted the brightness and contrast. The original shot had a bunch of distracting items in the background and the late day light was so bright that the light meter on the camera was having a hard time where to adjust. The baby's face still his a little brighter than I would like but the fill flash is less distracting on the face of the pumpkin in the "adjusted" image.

W8-CROP

I crop regularly, but here is the assignment. Halloween was great at our house, so much fun, I miss the time when N wanted to be home, but W is getting bigger by the second, and he will be have to be home for a while longer!

Dimensions of Freedom 1

Have you ever read a paper that begins “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America…”? http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/freedom/constitution/text. html
Perhaps before standing in line at the polls this coming week if you haven’t or it’s been a while since you did; take a quick look. A couple hundred years ago there was a group of men who thought we were deserving of a better life, one that allowed us to choose our leader. When you choose your next leader do so with care, Is the person that you are voting for the best person to lead us, to represent your values and ethics? Have they read the constitution, do they understand it? Do they believe in what it stands for? Do you?
An enormous number of people gave their lives in the name of freedom, the freedom that I find myself taking for granted from time to time. One I witness abused at the polls every couple of years, here is what I mean; if you don’t understand where we came from (the foundation of this country) you shouldn’t be standing in line to vote. It is only from history that we learn how to change the future.
It is our collective responsibility to take control of our destinies by learning our history, educating ourselves and our children on what sacrifices were made so that we could stand in those polls. We need to understand that this is a privilege not a right.
“Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” Thomas Jefferson
Choose carefully, it is possibly the only thing that you can do as an individual to change the world, it will certainly change the way you feel about the process, not the issues, not the candidate, but the process.

Images used from Google images.

W7 second try

This one came out so much better I love it. It just took fresh eyes and a fresh point of view.

Photo Manipulation

This assignment was so hard! It took me over two hours! Maybe because I'm not familiar with the program. I had to take many breaks to keep from smashing my computer. It turned out kinda neat in the end, I want to be able to do more.

Neat quote

Quote: "A photograph isn't necessarily a lie, but nor is it the truth. It's more of a fleeting, subjective impression. What I most like about photography is the moment that you can't anticipate: you have to be constantly watching for it, ready to welcome the unexpected."

Martine Franck joined Magnum Photos in 1980 and became a full Member in 1983.

Landscape Assignment

I couldn't decide on any one landscape photo  from the many that I have shot. Please note that the double rainbow is property of Lemon Lily productions and was taken by Susan Day Fuller (aka My Mom). It is too beautiful not to share as a part of this assignment. I enjoy the landscape shot, it prompts the part of my mind that stores memories. Places I have visited, days shared with friends, or the same beloved location as seen through the years and seasons. Some places seemingly never change if you hurry by them, but slow down, take in the obvious for the not so obvious and the subtle changes become apparent. We are richer for seeing the little details in the big picture and remembering the big picture in the little moments.

Aesthetics

The Aesthetics of Photography

Seeking to determine the particular aesthetics of photography, the American Berenice Abbott and the Frenchmen Eugène Atget, André Kertész, and Henri Cartier-Bresson developed intensely personal styles. The exponents of surrealism in France and of futurism in Italy and the various German art movements that were focused in the Bauhaus all explored the medium of photography. The international exhibition “Film und Foto,” held in Stuttgart in 1929, helped to make formal a purely photographic aesthetic. The works exhibited combined elements of functionalism and abstraction. Photographic subject matter shifted from the past to the present—a present of new forms in machinery and architecture, new concern with the experience of the working classes, and a new interest in the timeless forms of nature.

In California during the 1920s and 30s Edward Weston and a handful of kindred spirits founded the f/64 group, taking their name from the smallest lens opening, that which provides the greatest precision of line and detail. This small and unofficial group—which included Imogen Cunningham, Ansel Adams, and Willard Van Dyke—came to dominate photographic art, overshadowing the pictorial aesthetic. They and their imitators eschewed all post-exposure handwork, and worked with 8 × 10-in. view cameras in order to obtain the largest possible negatives from which to make straightforward contact prints. They limited their subject matter to static things: the still life, the distant or closely viewed landscape, and the formal portrait. The influential teacher Minor White became known for his poetic, visionary work related in technique to this straight approach.

Read more: still photography: The Aesthetics of Photography — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0860371.html#ixzz120c8Imxl

Framing Slide Show3

Rule of Thirds assignment

Rule of thirds, water fall in Smugglers Notch

River shot in Johnson, corner of Rt 108, & 109

Lighting assignment

Dreary shot overcast skies .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Then the morning sun.

Late day fading sun, last time it will shine in this window today.

Contiigous Color Assignment

All I really needed was the sun to show me the way. All week I have been struggling with this project. Then this afternoon the sun came out, I was sitting on the couch doing various homework assignments. Suddenly I was distracted by this bright object in the sky, I looked out the window and there was my mandavilla just hanging there begging to be photographed and it hit me that those amazing colors I was looking at fit in the assignment for this week! What beauty we can see, especially when we aren't looking so hard for it.

Monochrome color assignment

Wyatt is wearing several shades of green today to demonstrate my attempt at a monochromatic photo, note the green backdrop, green philodendron peaking in from the right, the dracena umbrella-ing over my subject, the green pillow (hiding the red logo on his outfit) he has my lense cleaning cloth in his hand just to add a little flair to the photo. All so sheek for this season! Thanks mom for the idea of proping.

Along came a spider and sat down beside her

He has tiny little hairs all over his body and he is creepy crawly. He dwells in the barn, but cannot spell.

WEATHER-BLAHH

The weather is slowing my progress on the photo assignment for the week.  I am looking everywhere for examples to use in the color assignment. I have turned my focus inside looking for the colors of the wheel.
 I have so many house plants maybe I could think of something ...my mom suggested "propping"  I never even though about it...if it didn't occur it wasn't photo worthy. I am looking forward to digging for prop materials!

Week 3 collage-Ericka

These are all things in my front yard, or house.
 

Picture Day

I thought today I would try to get K's senior portrait, the family Christmas card, the photography assignment and just a nice day outside all accomplished at once. What a better setting that the lakefront, everyone matching outfits. I was so frustrated with my lack of forethought. the white shirts, the height of the sun in the sky the bounce of the light off the lake, made for a bad combo. I got some good shots, but none that I would say WOW what a great shot. I can't help but wonder if the ignorance I had pre this weeks readings were making a bad photo before or if ignorance was bliss. This is a picture of T on the Waterfront on the break water, one no flash all auto setting, one fill flash auto setting, and one I manually played with to get the "perfect" shot. However I am so critical now is it truly perfect or is it too dark?

Ponderings...

Think about the sound you make when you take a bite of the best meal, or when you find your favorite pair of slippers, or even the sound you make just as you lay down exhausted. This is how fall feels for me, despite the fact that it's one of the busiest times of the year for me. Football season is here, 9 credits of classes, full time work and the full time schedules of children. What will I do when they grow and go? What is spare time?
K and I were talking about the fall Sunday afternoon routine, boys watching football, we pretend to know what's going on  and that we care, then we quietly retreat to the kitchen. Bake, broil, grill, poach....you name it. Much of our problem solving, socializing as a family is done in the kitchen. The sounds of the game, the crisp air outside seem to make for some of the best munchies, big filling meals new experiments gone horribly wrong, and behind the strings of an apron it's never a problem.
Ajou recently sent me a really neat note about aprons, I will share with you;
The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken-coop the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids; and when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled it carried out the hulls. In the fall the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes. 

I look forward to pot roast, chili, venison stew, pumpkin pie and the smells and warmth of the season. Think again about that sound, the one of complete and udder contentment.

Day 2- Where I'm From

I am from the garden, the shade and the lake

The Font, Muther, Ajou, Paduh, Penny, Petrie and Digger

I am from are we there yet? it’s not what you say it’s how you say it

A wrinkle in time, where the wild things are, and the giving tree,

I am from a solo paddle on Labrador Pond, an overnight railroad trip,

Tinker Falls tinkers and Mountain View summers.

I am from a lady slipper, the dinner table and a picnic basket

stuffed green peppers, pot roast, Ida’s gooey fooey on Sundays and homemade pasta on paddles.

I am from Oscar de la renta and diamonds, cigarette smoke and wood dust, cinnamon and sugar and old spice and hugs

I am from my boys who gave me motherhood and my cameras that gave me boxes of memories

I am from today, yesterday, tomorrow and always Tony, and my kids.

Day 1

So today starts a new semester for me. I am nearly done, can hardly believe that June this coming year I will have my degree! I have loved photography since high school, as far as I can remember. I have seen my mother with a camera my entire life however and if my children see a camera they automatically pose. I am looking forward to my digiphoto class, I am also taking a business class and an English class no where near as exciting.

My first try at blogging, lets see how it goes.