Artist Statement

In my portfolio you will find 16 different projects all of which I required different skills and techniques to complete the projects. These skills were acquired in the process of taking pictures and using Photoshop. Although my portfolio may not be perfect it is my work and I am proud to show it and not afraid to admit in any way that there are improvements that could have been made, but it’s to late now. I have learned so many things in this past semester that to tell each thing would make this artist statement insanely to long. A broad selection of the many things I learned is Photoshop in general. I have never used Photoshop until this class and learning how to turn my pictures different colors, blur them, fix the lighting, and numerous amounts of more effects are the main things I can touch on for what I learned when relating to Photoshop.

I feel that I was most successful with my Photographic Effects project. This is due to the fact that I had to use Photoshop to mess with my own pictures and who better to fix my pictures then me? I knew what I wanted myself to look like, but I had not learned how to do it all just yet. I had more freedom when doing this project so it made it fun for me and worry free because I felt that regardless of what I did to my picture I couldn't go wrong. The project was not precise on what exactly had to be done but had a wide range of the effects you could use which relieved me off any stress- I was able to comfortably do the project which I believe I was the most successful with between all the projects.

On the other hand I did struggle as well. My biggest struggle was with Photoshop solely because of the fact that I had a difficult time remembering how to do all that was taught to me and combine them to make the image amazing. I had people around me to assist me when I would get lost or forget how to do something. The hardest thing was simply remembering it all because it’s so much information to retain. In the future I feel I can improve by being more creative in what I do when using Photoshop because I do not fully think outside the box just yet. Although my mind has opened to new ideas in the past semester and I feel that is a great improvement. =]

Personal Words

The lyrics I chose for this project are Girlfriend by Alicia Keys

"May be silly for me to feel this way about you and her Cuz I know she's been such a good friend I know she has helped you through Talkin late on the phone Every night you've been callin Private moments alone Could your heart soon be fallin And I know she's a friend But I can't shake the feeling That I could be losing your heart. I think I'm jealous of your girlfriend Although she's just a girl that is your friend I think I'm jealous of your girlfriend She shares a special part of you. You said that she's one who helped you see How deep you're in love with me And intentions were not to get in between But I see possibilities. And you say that you feel I'm the best thing in your life And I know it's real And I see it in your eyes There's no reason for me, to even feel this way I know you just enjoy her company. I think I'm jealous of your girlfriend Although she's just a girl that is your friend I think I'm jealous of your girlfriend She shares a special part of you. It's enough to make a ninja go crazy. I think I'm jealous of your girlfriend Although she's just a girl that is your friend I think I'm jealous of your girlfriend She shares a special part of you."

I chose the lyrics because I feel they often represent particular situations I find myself in when I'm in a relationship and it has happened more than once. To me the lyrics are saying how Alicia Keys is the girlfriend yet she has suspicious that another girl her boyfriend often talks to is more than just a friend to him although they have repeatedly had the conversation that she is just a girl who is a friend. This song is not a new song and I do not know how old it is, but I do notice that whenever something similar as described in the song is occuring with me the song seems to pop up whether I hear someone singing it or if it plays on my ipod which I feel is a little wierd considering I have about two thousand songs. I also like how in the song the actual girlfriend is able to admit her jealously to her boyfriend although in the end it might be what drives him away into the arms of the other girl who is a friend. The song itself is actually very short and straight to the point just happening to have to chorus repeated frequently.

Social Issue: Women In Society

In this photograph a woman is doing all types of things at once, multitasking to the fullest. There is a sense of weariness presented in the woman’s face. The colors I have used in this picture are black, red, grey, and some white on the apron. All the words are red to show the consistence of what she does each day and how tiresome it truly can be. The fact that she is in the kitchen getting ready to cook at the same time coming home from work with her business suit still on, while doing even more work on the computer, also about to go fix something with the drill proves that she has to do everything and she is drained. This superwoman has had enough, but she has no choice but to continue on because if she doesn’t who will?

The issue present is that women in today’s time have to not only take on the duties of men, but continue doing all the other household routines that are expected from them. Women like this are exhausted and fed up knowing that they cannot quit because they must continue, if not for themselves then for their families. Men simply sit around having sympathy for these ladies, but rarely doing things to step up and assist them. My picture is bluntly stating that although women are capable of doing everything, just as well as men, they are worn out and would not mind someone coming to help them out. This effects me and the people around me such as my family because they are the women who have to do everything at once all alone, and all I can really do is sit and watch them struggle which breaks my heart for it is not my wish to see anyone struggle the way these women do. It also makes me raise question to if things will get any better or worse by the time I have my own family with a career, and if things remain exactly the same, it makes me reconsider the plans I had for my future for fear of a breakdown. The men need to step up and give these women a break, because the stress is getting to them all, and soon enough people will truly see the wrath a woman can possess when pushed over the edge.

Scary Effects

The vampire picture was my favorite because it looks the more realistic out of the two and I have always liked vampires in general even thought they are not real. :)

My favorite new tool I learned was the liquefy tool because it creates the fangs in my vampire picture and can make other things look odd and dropping down as well.

A difficulty I ran into was trying to use the pen tool how I wanted, but it was much more difficult then I suspected and I was able to use it, but not as well as i wished. I think i did well on the blood dripping down my face as well as the smeared mascara coming down my face in the alien picture. Video game designers would most definetely use this because they have to be able to think crazy creative as well as skilled in photoshop and computers in general.

Critique: Robert & Shana ParkeHarrison

A man is on the water, on the water building a bridge all alone with not a single soul around. He hammers away working hard to build this bridge on this body of water. This older gentlemen seems to take his time doing his chosen task, but by the time he is finally finished he may have aged to the point he no longer cares. The black and white is not to strong in the picture, yet rather there are multiple shades of grey perhaps representing how he feels about the repetitive activity occurring before him. The bridge clearly is being used as a leading line to this man and the fact that simplicity surrounds him while he is dead center identifies him as the emphasis. He builds this bridge to escape from what is behind him and realizes he must make his own way, literally. Many always wish to get away from society but cease to do anything; this man on the other hand has stepped up in doing something about what he wants, whether it is isolation or freedom.

Photographic Effects

Out of all the tricks and tools we have learned in the last few days, my favorite is the Glow because I love the way it makes my picture look so soft but stand out at the same time.

I would hope to work a little more with the cross processing trick because I did not seem to do so well on it when we first tried it so I hope to become more familiar with it by exploring together in class.

My favorite thing that i discovered on my own was the chrome effect which can be found under through filter under sketch. The chrome gives the picture a type of watery metal look which I believe the eye finds captivating.

Portraits

1. I believe I was most successful with the surprise me photo because it was not necessarily something people would expect to be happening in school where he is climbing up a ladder to reach the light.

2. For the artistic picture I looked for shadows to get my partner in the shadows and have him pose in a depressed mood to give the feeling that something is wrong with him.

3. I gave my partner a basketball as his prop which went well with his Jordan shoes and I put him in the gym so he would do a pose a basketball player would do. The photo is decent but I believe it could have been better if his outfit looked more like an actual basketball players costume.

4. I believe what makes my surprise photo different is that someone is actually climbing on a ladder up to a light within the school and the person is a student, that is not something you see on a daily basis so i believe that makes it unique.

5. I feel that the pictures may have overall been better if we were instructed more on what exactly to do instead of do our own creative ideas because in reality I am not that creative and work better when given specific instructions.

Contact Sheet

Out of the 8 compositional tricks we have learned so far, my favorite is the extreme angles because I enjoy seeing things from odd angles that we normally would not notice.

Although extreme angles are my favorite compositional trick we have learned so far, most likely I will begin using rule of thirds in my day to day picture taking. For some reason it has stuck in my mind that the pictures look better when the emphasis is not dead center therefore rule of thirds is the compositional trick I will most likely use more frequently in my photographs.

The lighting compositional trick was my least favorite because I wanted to have something different that not everyone else was doing, but my plan did not work and my imagination could not go far enough to create a good lighting scene.

My favorite was the extreme angle pic I took from a birds eye view simply because I like how I am seeing the emphasis in an angle I had not seen before.

Compositional trick #8 Fill in Flash

When in the sunlight and facing away from the sun, a shadow overcast the subject therefore you cannot completely see your emphasis. The fill in flash makes the shadow disappear so that you can see your emphasis completely. So clearly the best time to use fill in flash is when some time of shadow is effecting the outcome of your picture when you want to see your emphasis clearly as the pictures show above.

Compositional Trick #7 Drawing with Light

The audience pays deeper attention to what all is occurring within the picture when the lighting is different from a normal picture, it gives them something to think about rather then just looking and realizing it is some picture of some person. The lighting often also affects the mood of the photo itself.

When I look at the photo I took, I get an adventurous feeling as if it is time to march forward and see what is in our future. The lighting helps create this feeling because it is mostly all grey and white toned colors which automatically make me feel like things are good when compared to a picture that has all black and some white which makes my heart feel dark.

Compositional Trick #6 Framing

The framing technique helps the composition by creating a frame that directs your eye to the emphasis. The frame makes the viewer look through the frame, which can be anything, and focuses on the emphasis.

The composition in my photo does not stand out to well, I could have done or should have done better eliminating more of what was around my frame and subject, I believe that would have been the best thing for me to do to improve my picture.

Compositional Trick #5 Extreme Angles

Extreme angles are a good compositional trick when you want your picture to be a little over dramatic and see things from a different perspective that most people would not normally have.

My photo of the rabbit is not a very good extreme angle picture because instead of viewing the rabbit from a worms point of view (which was part of the assignment) it looks straight forward which is not a unique view. The other picture of my partner is a better extreme angle as it has a birds eye view.

Compositional Trick #4 Simplicity

Having simplicity in a photo is great for strengthening the composition by only having one main object so your eyes go directly towards the emphasis. Simplicity does not mean boring, it simply means not having other things going on in your picture so that the focus is on one main thing. Although the picture of my cactus shows simplicity it is also boring therefore not being a very good example.

Simplicity can be an effective trick when wishing to direct the attention upon a particular object with no other distractions around. The picture of the rabbit is a good example of this because I only wanted a picture of it, so while it was in a corner I croped in enough so that the picture is only showing the rabbit.

Compositional Trick #3 Macro

Macro allows the photographer to see details they normally would not notice, to view things close up that normally someone can not see. It is good for the photographer to know how to use this so that when wanting to focus on a tiny object the macro not only does this but also blurs out the edges so that the emphasis really pops.

Compositional Trick #2 Leading Lines

Leading lines (when having a subject) takes the viewer right into the picture and directs the attention at the emphasis. Other times when there is not a subject the leading lines simply make the eye travel across the lines out the picture. You use leading lines when you would like the viewer to be immediately drawn into the picture.

Compositional Trick #1 Rule of Thirds

The rule of thirds shows the best place on the grid to place your subject. You do this by holding down the focus button for a second then aiming your camera where the focus was best. The time to use the rule of thirds is when you want your emphasis to not be dead center and interest the viewers eye.