Color Theory

     First of all, a primary color is a color that can be mixed with other colors to form other colors, but that cannot be created by mixing any other colors together.  When mixing paints, for example, one can form green by mixing blue and yellow, but cannot form blue by mixing any other colors, so blue is a primary.  A secondary color is a color mixed from an equal amount of two primaries, so for example, a green mixed from 50% blue and 50% yellow.  A tertiary color is mixed from two thirds of one primary and one third of another, so that could be a green that was more blue than yellow, or vice versa.

     My contact sheet:

     I chose yellow for this assignment.  Yellow was my favorite color as a child, but I've always thought all colors have some aesthetic value, so I think favoring it wasn't really about what the color actually looks like.  I think it was my favorite because I didn't know many other people who picked it as their favorite color, and I always wanted to be original.  That's true even today, even though I wouldn't necessarily still pick yellow as my favorite color, so I see yellow as symbolic of originality as well as symbolic of a connection I still have to my childhood self.

Response to Chapter 4

This chapter was short but it made me fully appreciate just how amazing computers are, though they are no longer a new invention.  The idea of determining a precise color through three numbers is astonishing to me.  Also, the gamut shown on page 82 looks like an artwork itself.  I was also fascinated to learn about the layers of a digital photo, how a color photo is created by layering black and white/ monochromatic primary photos.  Cool stuff!

Answers in Photographs Assignment

Who are you?

*There should be an Amnesty International button in here, along with more samples of my writing in addition to the news articles and journal.  

What did you look like as a child?

What is your main character trait?

What inspires you most?

What do you normally take pictures of?

What do you love about photography?

What do you want to be?

What is the first thing you touch in the morning?

What is your favorite photograph?

* Photo I took of a photo taken of me by my best friend, Alex Sanford
Share a secret about you or your best friend.

What is the meaning of life?

16 Pictures Assignment

A Moment Alone:

Animal:

Bed:

Body Part:

Clouds:

Favorite Spot:

Glass:

Heat:

Insect:

Leaves:

Object Out of Place:

Pattern:

People Laughing:

Reflection:

Shadow:

Something Scary:

Contact Sheet:

Response to Chapter 3

This chapter dealt with exposure.  For me, it generated the following questions and comments:

What criteria do computers use when estimating what pixels to add when resampling?

How often do computers incorrectly interpolate what new pixels will look like?  Can this be corrected?

How was it figured out that people see reflected light as color?  I've always wondered how this information was discovered.

It's a bit difficult to comprehend the colors created by mixing lights of different colors because they don't follow the color wheel.  How do red and green make yellow?

Why isn't JPEG an accurate format?

I love the Delano photo on page 65, with the light coming through the windows.

Response to Text Chapters One and Two

          The first two chapters have shown me that my camera may be more of a challenge to work with than the DSLR cameras students have brought in.  My camera seems to be a subcompact camera, which offers less control.   It has the following menu items: Date and time, Share button settings, LCD brightness, red eye reduction, orientation sensor, camera sounds, video out, image storage, language, reset camera, computer connection, format, Kodak camera software, and “About”.  This is a little disappointing, but it also serves as an interesting challenge.  The text also pointed out that this camera is easier to carry around, which is an advantage I didn’t really think about before reading.

            I’m wondering if I will be able to compensate for the lack of control in the camera using Photoshop or whichever editing software we use for this class?  I have some experience with Photoshop so I know how to do this a little bit, but I’m excited to learn more.

            I liked that the book described blurring in cameras as a potential tool, not just a flaw.  I thought the photograph of the horses was very cool.  The blurring showed the horses’ movement, which made the photo seem livelier.

            I thought it was very helpful for the text to show how to hold cameras to prevent blurring when it isn’t wanted.  That is something I can definitely use to have more control over my camera.

            Overall, I like that this text helps me better understand the challenges of using my camera but remains encouraging.

Why Do We Photograph?

Photographs preserve moments and memories in a visual way.  For example, I have these photos of my senior prom:

They also allow people to capture an aspect of something others might not normally notice and emphasize it.  For example, an ordinary object can be the main focus of a photograph, even though it wouldn't be most people's focus in everyday life.  The following is a picture of the quilt my mom made for me while she was pregnant with me:

Normally, it would blend into the image of the rest of the room it was in, but in a photograph I can make it the main focus and hopefully encourage others to notice its beauty the way I do.

Photos are also a very exciting artistic medium, which offer just as much opportunity for creativity as other mediums because of the range of angles, subjects, and editing tools available.  For example,I used Photoshop to alter a self-portrait into what looks like a horror movie cover:

The beauty of photography is that it fulfills a wide range of purposes.  It can be an easy click and a resulting memento of a great time, or it can be a carefully constructed art form that resembles something imagined rather than real.