I really like this photo by Rodney Smith and I got it from http://www.rodneysmith.com/images/stock/BAB020602212.jpeg. I realized that this photo was taken at the same spot the princess gown castle photograph above was taken. I like how there's so many teapots and teacups around her and how she's barefoot even though she's in this grand place wearing this grand dress. It shows that even though she's rich and living in this palace she can still relax and take off her shoes once in a while and layback and just stop time a while. I like the expression on her lips how it's pouty with red lipstick. It just adds to the funniness and youngness of it all. I love how fun it looks.

Assignment-2 HIGH KEY LOW KEY

I really enjoyed this assignment because it wasn't as hard as the last one, yet still a little challenging. It was really fun because I got to take pictures of white on white and black on black which I thought was really cool. The picture with the white teacup and milk in it on the white carpet was really simple I thought. I just opened the cupboards in my kitchen and I already wanted to do something with milk. I just wanted to find the right cup so I saw that and I was like that's the perfect cup to do it with. This is a retake of the same picture except without all the shadows by it. I like it better like this because it's pure white and more simple. The one with the black bead bracelet on my mom's hair was really cool. I thought using hair would be a cool background because it would be different from regular carpet or paper or wall. At first when I took this photo it was too light because I cast natural light from the window on it. This is the 2nd time I took it and it looks a lot darker. I made it dark enough so that you could still tell what it was but still achieved the goal of this assignment. The third photo of the patent black bag's gold details was retaken also. I originally took the entire bag but then Mr. Slade told me to focus in on the square details and the gold details so I did that and it turned out really good. I set it on a background of my mom's fur coat so the quality and luxe-ness would match because you can kind of expect patent and fur to be both same level kinds of things. The fourth one of the white skirt with a light shining through it was a really cool setup. My window at home has a bar in the middle and then bars across so I could hang stuff up if I wanted to although people don't usually do that. Haha. I originally did it of the entire skirt and then Mr. Slade told me to focus it in and I did that. Now you can see the lace detail and what's on the skirt much better. I like it better too. The one with the egg in a bowl, I was originally going to do it in a crystal bowl but then that wouldn't be white anymore. I took Mr. Slade's suggestion to do it with a poster board reflecting the light back from the opposite way so that the shadow wouldn't be too much. It really did decrease the shadow and made it look a ton better. I also adjusted my white balance so it didn't look dark or orange-y. I like it better now than before. This assignment overall was more fun than the last one because on the last one I got so tired of it that it wasn't fun anymore. This was kept fun because there wasn't much restriction and everyone could have their own ideas of things to take pictures of. I finished this assignment in a couple of hours so it didn't take up all my time either.

I really love these Rodney Smith photographs. I got the more forest one at http://www.youthedesigner.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/mbr050408015.jpeg and I got the more castle one at http://www.virginia.edu/insideuva/2003/12/images/rodneysmith.jpg. I really like those princess-y girly photographs and how it makes me feel I'm in wonderland or a land where everyone lived and looked like this. I really brings out my fantasizing feminine side. I am a really girly person and these types of photographs really capture my eye. I also really like the lighting Rodney Smith used. I like how in the forest one he cast the light from a more emptier height and cast it through the trees making it look like fresh morning sunshine with fairies fluttering by or something like that. The way he makes the woman match the forest sunshine look really completes it like it's in a different world. I also like the lighting in the castle palace one with the light slanting down from the big tall windows and how her reflection is in the mirror in the back. I just can't describe how much I love these photographs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YSL Bag on Fur, White Lace Skirt, Bracelet on Hair

I really like this bag on the fur jacket because it's a really pure black and the bag and fur are both really luxe looking so it matches. I like how the bag is patent and shiny and the fur isn't as reflective. I like the gold details on the bag with the gold lock like thing and the circle handles. I took it at 10:30 pm at night and it was so hard to get good lighting. Haha. I also really love the whtie skirt because it's in front of the light and it shines through a little bit. I just have to cut part of it out to make it more abstract and better looking. I also really like the bracelet on the hair because I thought the hair would be an interesting background. I just have to make it darker so it's a more rich black.

Bracelet on

Lady In the Dark Sea

I really like this photo by Patrick Demarchelier. I got it from http://img.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=561331. Patrick Demarchelier is a famous fashion photographer and he does all different photography for different magazines and ads. I really like this one because the white of the water by the person makes the person just stand out more and makes it seem even more black than it already is. I really like the lighting of the photo because it immediately tells you what the focal point is and I like how the light fades in the sky and the water. If it wasn't black and white, it would ruin it because you wouldn't be able to see the fading of the light and the person in black more clearly. Black and white makes it more beautiful.

I really like this photo by Lewis Hine and I got it at http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/glimpse.jpg. It was probably taken a while ago based on the number of scratches and dust built on the photo. I really like it because the row of "sidewalk" and bottles behind the little girl lead your eye to the very back of the photo until you can't see anymore and then you just want to know what's back there and what else wasn't included in the photo. I like how the little girl is there. If the little girl wasn't there it would be a worse photo because it would be too plain and nothing special would be there. It wouldn't be as unique.

A Beautiful Simple Dress

This photo is by Sandro Dzneladze and I got it at http://www.sandrophoto.com/wp-content/themes/ubminim/images/digital-photography-2.jpg. I really like this photo because again it shows femininity and I really like how the dress and the background are similar colors and what makes it stick out is the hair, jewelry, the person's skin, and the texture, details, lace, and ruffles of the dress. I like how there's layers to the dress and how it's very simple and there's not too much color in the photo. I really really really like it. It makes me feel very girly and it brings out the girly side in me. It makes me dream and reminds of me Cinderella without the in between sad and bad events. It reminds of my royal descent (my grandma was a princess). I like how her arms are on her back and front because it changes the light on her arms and I like how the shape is when she does that. I like the light fading from light to dark on the wall and how her dress is bright on the back and dark in the front.

This photo was taken by Ansel Adams and I got it from the website http://www.anseladams.com/ProductImages/srs/1502023.jpg I really like this photo because I really like pictures of roses because they show a more feminine side. I like how it's black and white because it would ruin it if it wasn't black and white. I like the texture of the wood as the background for the rose. The rose is very simple and the background is more detailed and complex, so it kind of balances it off. This reminds me of the roses in my house (they're fake) even though they're red and what I want to know is how the rose got there since it's not connected to anything and I want to know what color it is because it could be symbolizing something through the color of the rose since different rose colors have different meanings. I also want to how it happened to land on the sandalwood. Even though Adams probably put it there, it also could have gotten there naturally.I want to know the story behind it and it's really beautiful and interesting. It reminds me also of maturity and love and traveling as in going where things bring you without knowing what's going to happen next like Jack in The Titanic, just living his life without knowing what's happening tomorrow.

Melancholy-ness

I don't really like this photograph because it's more negative than positive. It's by a photographer or two named Liyu + Liubo. I got it off ofhttp://www.jmcolberg.com/weblog/archives/LiyuLiubo.jpgIt's a strong image but I like photographs that convey a positive or neutral feeling more than a I'm going to commit suicide negative feelings. I don't like how the girl is just sitting there doing nothing while the fire is burning on her bed. I thought about it for a little and then it occurred to me that she probably set the fire because it doesn't look like it's coming from anywhere else. This brings me kind of a sad message that she either wants to kill herself or hates everything around her. The image is depressing and even though there is bright light coming in from the doorway, it's kept eerie and the curtains are halfway closed to shut out the light. I really don't like this photo.

The photographer of this photo is Weng Fen, another Chinese photographer. I got it from the website:http://www.universes-in-universe.de/car/shanghai/2002/tour/img/img-05.jpg. This caught my eye because of its perspective. It makes the world seem round even when we look at it, which it doesn't seem normally for us. It makes the sky seems rounded in even though the buildings are still straight. The buildings help the effect though because they go from hight to low and the straightest and tallest is the center. The photographer makes it look realistic through the little girl sitting on the wall looking at the scene. This is realistic because the roundness of the sky and buildings make it look unrealistic and the girl sitting on the wall justifies that and makes the photo be realistic, something we could all see.

Assignment 1 - Numbers

The photo of the clock minute hand on the 12 was a pretty cool idea for me. It didn't take me too long to think about it and it ended up being very cool. I really like it because of how up close it is and how you can see the shape of the minute hand on the twelve. I took this one at home. The one with the calender on the October 22, I also really like because it's very simple. You can immediately tell what it is because there's only one big thing in there and the rest is just flowers and colored background. The 22 is nice and big and you don't have to search for it. It's very obvious. I was sitting doing homework when I looked up and on my desk was my little calender so I just flipped to the right date and took the photo. The 50th birthday card for 50 is very unique partly because of what it says on the card. I like it because it's not just a number there and there's other stuff surrounding it as well, but it still makes the 50 obvious even though there's other stuff because the only number on there is 50. I like how unique it is and how there's not colors everywhere; it's just black and white. I took that one at Target and I was walking around taking pictures and I was searching for a 50 when I thought of birthday cards and walked there to see if there were any cool ones to take pictures of. The 73 on the bottom right corner is really unique because it's simple. There's nothing else in the photo but a number and a frame and a window. I was thinking that it would be too off in the corner to get noticed but then I realized that it's the only freakin thing in the photo, so of course it's going to be the first thing you look at in the photo. I didn't think it was going to be a good photo because of how simple it looked at the time even though I didn't think of it that way. I thought of it as how simple it was in a bad way and I forgot about simple in a good way. The corn dog 79 cents one just made me laugh. I originally saw it in the beginning of the assignment, so I remembered it for when I got to 79. When I got there I immediately went there to take the photo. I thought it would be cool because it has a corn dog on it and Wienerschnitzel. I didn't think about the fact that it would make people laugh a little until I asked Vanessa Wall if this photo was good and she laughed and said she liked it. I really like how it's the sign for food and how it's not just a number; it incorporates other things into the photo but still makes the number noticeable.

This assignment overall was pretty hard for me. When I first heard we had to do it it was a challenge for me but I didn't expect it to be as hard as it really was until I got to the 40s. It was hard finding numbers that fit the assignment/photo so I had to go 3 supermarkets, along the roads, my house, and the mall. My parents drove me everywhere and it took me about half a day on Saturday, half a day on Sunday, some on Friday night, and 1 hour on Monday after school. I had to go out for the bigger numbers and I stayed home for the smaller numbers. The assignment started out fun but just got really hard for me and I was scared that I wouldn't finish in time because I was still taking pictures Monday night, but I finished because I wouldn't let myself not finish.....as most people already know that about me. Haha. 

This is a photo taken by Chi Peng, another Chinese photographer and I got it at the website http://www.artfacts.net/artworkpics/10428b.jpg. This is a very cool photo because I like how the strings go from more gathered at one point all the way until spread out farther and less gathered. I like how the only big piece of color is the guy in the middle dressed in gold and red with ornaments in his hair. It's very cultural and I love the lighting coming through at night with the lights and the streetlights. It creates wonderful shadows and the bright to subtle lighting. I also like how there's different lines and shadows shot across the buildings and walls that match the strings.

On Sept. 11, 2001 I was home watching TV, just a usual day. I was just in New York about one or two weeks ago and The Twin Towers were beautiful, magnificent, and tall. That night everything changed. The Twin Towers were crushed and down. On the news everyone and everything was frantic and worried. Every single news channel and internet cnn.com or bbc.com were reporting the big big news that bin-Laden had drove the plane into the two towers. I was in 2nd grade and I really didn't understand it all when I first watched it. I thought it was some small news that would blow over and be over in a week but it wasn't. It was something that would be remembered in history and everyone would know it for years to come. After I got older, then I realized it when every year people would be remembering it. My parents were worried and frantic as well. They were worried and expressing their concerns. Only when I got to 4th grade did I understand this whole event.

This is a photo by Tseng Kwong Chi, another Chinese photographer. This was taken in 1979 by the Twin Towers in New York. I got in fotophile.com/200410news.html. I really like the perspective that he took on this self portrait. I like how he took it from down to up and that I can see the details of the building. He has several photos like this with different famous landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. They're really fantastic. It's simple black and white and grey and it actually gives a bigger message that complexity.

I love this photo by Don Hong Oai a Chinese photographer. I got it off of haha.nu/beautiful/don-hong-oai/photography/. I love it because it really shows Chinese-ness in it with the Chinese writings on the side of calligraphy. I like the light of the lake and how the brown color goes from light to dark. I also like how it's not too complex and how there's the boat and only two people. It's very beautiful.

I got this photo at http://img166.imageshack.us/img66/1548/annegeddes010kx6.jpg.

It's taken by Anne Geddes. She loves to take pictures of babies in different objects or on different things. Some of her photos I really like. I really like this specific one because of the baby in the flower even though it's not proportionate. It's very simple because it's black and white with two items and the shadows and lighting is beautiful. The disproportionate of the photo isn't strange appearing though because it seems like it totally fits in and is normal. I love the color and simplicity of it all.

I really like this photo that Lauren Greenfield took because it's very realistic. This is from her documentary Thin on HBO. This girl is in rehab. It's very realistic because there really are girls like this in real life. Girls who think they're still fat when they weigh like 60 pounds. They want to be beautiful so bad because of the surroundings and people around them and the pressure to be thin today. She still thinks she's fat and has an eating tube in her body. It's very sad, but I love this photo.

Sunrise

I really like this photo even though I took it while riding in a car to the school. I love this subtle light after the sunrise and how everything else still has shape even though it's black and dark. This reminds me of movies when people are sitting there in whatever situation watching the sunrise and having a good time together with friends or whatever. I like how the sky is purple-ish and it really is beautiful.

The brighter left side is the real scene of what's happening and the darker side is the reflection on a TV. The black line towards the middle is the TV edge and I stood on the right side of the TV to take this and I thought it looks very cool since it's a reflection and you can't really tell what it's reflected off of until you carefully look at it. I really like taking pictures of reflections because I think they're really cool.

Two Shoes

I really like the simplicity of this photo I took because there's not a lot of color but I like how the sidewalk is divided and the shoes are divided into different grids. I like how there's black and red as the strong colors.

Double

I really like this picture I took because of the reflections and the light making the reflections blurry.

I really am enjoying photo class so far because I love how we just shoot pictures and print in the spring. I really love having a small class because things go better and faster and I also love how we're printing in the spring because it just saves me time from going in at lunch now. Haha. PHOTO  IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

I love this photo that I just saw going through Lauren Greenfield's images. This is from her Girl Culture. On her website it said that she wanted to show the insecurities, imperfections, and the pressure that girls have today to be beautiful and perfect. This really shows that because if this girl didn't care what people thought of her then she wouldn't be tanning because she obviously thinks it's more important to look tan than the risk of getting skin cancer.

This is one of my favorite photographs of Lauren Greenfield. It's girls in a pageant posing for pictures and I love it because there's so much going on. There's so many different colors and expressions on the girls' faces. I also love how she shows the shadows of each person on the ground because it "decorates" the grass and makes it less boring.

I really like this photograph by Annie Leibovitz because it shows some really unique things. The woman on the spiral red and white wheel is dressed up really nicely, but it seems like she's about to be killed because the expression on her face is very serious. The red and white beach balls also kind of show a connection to the woman on the board somehow. The lady trying to do something to her seems nervous because she isn't watching what she's doing, so I think this is kind of a worrisome photograph trying to be made more beautiful by dressing the lady on the wheel up a little fancier and making that 

                                                                                  element of the photo stand out more.

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