This photo is a close up shot of a tree bark with bamboo tied to it to help support it. I took it close up because I wanted it to seem abstract, but even so, you can still see what the photo is of. I used the composition rule of horizontal lines, because the tree bark in the center is horizontal. The message I am trying to say with the photo is that you need others to support you. I took a photo of this park of the tree, where the bamboo sticks are holding it up, so it can show this message. Another message is unity, because I feel like the bamboo sticks helping to hold up the tree shows teamwork.

This is a zoomed up picture of an old electrical plug, near the water fountain. I took the photo at an angle, which kind of uses the compositional rule of diagonal lines.  I looove the clearness and detail of this photo, you can see all the paint splatters on it.

This is a photo of the top of a lamp. No, those dots are not dew, but in fact, part of the texture of the lamp. I like the clearness of the picture. I used the compositional rule of space here, you can see some of the space in the left top corner, so the photo isn’t completely focused on the object.

All in all, it was kinda hard to use any rules because the photos are all close-up and somewhat abstract. I had a lot of fun with this project, though.

I believe a good abstract photo needs to be very clear, and detailed. You cannot have a blurry abstract photo, because it is harder to tell what the photo is of. Also, the lighting on the photo is very important. When you can clearly see the lighting on the photo, it is more nicer to look at. When you can clearly see the difference between the light and the dark, it makes the photo more likeable to look at. The perspective and the angle you take the photo is important too. A leaves veins in a straight, horizontal lines convey a different message from the veins taken at an angle.

I think this photo was taken long ago, probably when there were only black and white cameras. It’s somewhat hard to see what the photo is of, because it is somewhat blurry, but you can tell it is of buildings. I don’t know why, but it reminds me of Germany. I think this was probably taken during a famous time period, because the photo is very famous.

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What actually happened: this photo is the world’s first photograph taken. Ever. It was taken in the early 1820s. It’s titled, “The View from the Window at Le Gras,” and was taken by a french inventor by the name of Joseph Nicéphore Niépce at his studio. Nice name, huh?

(Information from: here.)

I took three photos of my partner, Veronica:

In this photo I tried to use the composition rule of space, making the photo look a bit more dreamy, like she is looking up in space, lost in thought. I also used the rule of thirds. I chose the background of bamboo because I liked the bamboo’s texture and thought it’d make a pretty background. There’s also a lot of rhythm and movement in this photo caused by the bamboo.

I blurred the edges of this photo because I felt like it would help bring more attention and focus to the model rather than the person looking at the background. I also put a light filter over this and saturated it so the colors would stand out more. I tried to use the compositions ‘rule of triangle’, because her body is almost triangular in shape. I told her to look and smile so it looked somewhat casual.

I put a black and white filter on this photo because I felt like it would bring balance, and nobody would get distracted by colors. Also, the black and white makes the picture look a but more peaceful. I used the composition rule of space, making her look as if she is daydreaming. Her body also looks almost triangle-like, which is like the composition rule of triangles. I made her in this position because I feel like she would look very dreamy and imagitive in this position.

Overall, I was trying to portray a girl who is daydreaming in the park, in a casual manner.

I think what is needed to make a good photograph is a main idea, a main object that grabs the attention of the person looking at it. (ex, a person.) You also need a good background, one not too distracting. You might have no background, either, just white behind the main object, but that makes the photo look like an artificial photo, like a school photograph of a student. The lighting must not be too bright, but cannot be dark either, unless you are trying to portray a scary photo.

I think the girl in this photo is of a girl from somewhere in Asia. She looks like a young adult, around the age of 16 or so. Since I know she was on a magazine, I assume she has done something very big, like stand up for her education or her rights. She has rips in her shawl, suggesting she is very poor and doesn’t have too much money.

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What actually happened: this woman’s photo was taken by a stranger very long ago, and she was published on the cover of the magazine, but nobody knew her name. She was known as the ‘Afghan Girl’ for around 17 years, before the reporter (Steve McCurry) searched for her and found her. Her name is Sharbat Gula. A soviet bombing killed her parents. She and her brother survived. She later lived in a refugee camp. The reporter found her in the refugee camp, and she gave her story to the reporter. She had not seen the photo as a child.

(information from here.)

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I like all these photos of the protest and think they are very powerful is because all of them give the message that all the protester are united for a certain purpose. The first photo shows a lot of student holding their arms up in an ‘X’ position, the second with all the protesters with their arms up, showing they mean no harm, and the third one with all their hands held together and their wrists tied with yellow ribbons. This gives the message that they are all working together.

I also like these photos because they are strong yet peaceful. They are peacefully putting their hands up, and in the second photo, they are all showing they have no guns/weapons and just want to protest peacefully. (kind of like what the people in Ferguson did).

Horizontal lines

Vertical lines

Diagonal line

Rule of Three

Rule of Triangles

Rule of Space

Repetition/Pattern

Depth/Perspective

Combination of ‘depth/perspective’ and ‘space’ and ‘rule of three’.