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 .
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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.