In School Field Trip Photos

photos by Mrs. Messman
Our most recent in-school field trip presented unique weather challenges. With our morning class, it was cold and foggy. Then, in our afternoon class we were taking photos as the fog broke and for our last two class periods it was extremely bright and sunny. The hoop photo is reflects just how bright a day it turned out to be.

Self portraits

photo by Mrs. Messman

We will be producing self portraits as part of our end-of-quarter project. There are some great resources out there to see how others have created their portraits. Check out the Creative Self portraits group on Flikr.I am sure you will be inspired:)

Time Flies!

Where has the quarter gone? Our A Week classes are in their final week of the quarter and everyone is busy working on their end of quarter project: Ten Great Photos.

For last week's (B Week) classes and this week's A Week classes we opened each day with Activators that featured tips from Digital Days Photo.com

The tips we focused on included blur and histograms. Going into our final projects, I know these tips will helpful.

Kodak's Top Ten Tips

The Kodak website has some great photo tips that they have compiled into a Top Ten list. Take a moment to check out the list and think about which tip is most helpful for you.

Also, while you're there, take a look at the digital vocabulary and the great explanations and examples of the various scene modes that are on most all digital cameras including our own 12 megapixel Sony CyberShot cameras.

In-School Field Trip

photos by Mrs. Messman

When we venture out into the GLTS building and campus for our in-school field trips, we plan, we shoot, we critique and THEN we do it all over again.  As much as we DO plan, there just never seems to be enough time to get in all the shots that we'd like to take. As a way of working around this, we will now be doing our in-school field trips during the middle of the week. This will leave us with extra shooting time(if we need it) and it will also allow time for any PhotoShop enhancements that we might like to make.

On Friday, October 16th, our Periods 1 and 2 Fashion students were tasked with the assignment of taking photos in the building that focused on natural light, contrast and people. It was Black and Orange Day so there were plenty of color and costumes all around:)

Thank You Jim:)

Thank you, Jim. Jim who? Jim Beecher, the NYC photography teacher. Jim has an incredibly rich photography education website. It's called PhotoKaboom.  It is way organized, way simple and way relevant. We will be using it a LOT. Thank you, Jim.

The Hair Dryer and the Tree

Photo by Mrs. Messman
During our in-school field trip today, we shot images of some of our GLTS Career Areas. Kathie Howe, GLTS Night School Director requested these images for use in an upcoming brochure. While we were in the the salon of the Cosmetology shop, we captured this warped view of a tree as seen through the hood of a salon style dryer chair. Cool, huh?!

Natural light and apples

photo by Yannery B., Fashion Technology

As we worked with our cameras and adjusted them for various settings, we took photos of apples in the flourescent light of our classroom. Then we walked down the hallway and took photos of the apples in the natural light. We all agreed that the natural light made a huge difference and that the colors really "popped." As part of this exercise we learned how to use the "food setting," which places the camera into Macro mode and presents the food image in deep colors.  Speaking of lovely images in natural light, check out the Conde' Nast publications store blog page;  it has a beautiful image of apples in natural light.

Visual interest is all around us

Photo by Mrs.Messman
These days, we are washing our hands a little more than usual in an attempt to ward off germs from the dreaded Swine Flu virus. One of my students, Johanny, suggested that we remove the pump from the hand sanitizer I keep in my classroom and photograph the view looking into the bottle. Great idea, Johanny! That's the the kind of creativitity that leads to compelling photographs. Click here to check out this great article from Digital Photography School that talks about 12 ways to add randomness and creativity to your photography.

Making Mistakes?

What is the most common mistake that happens when you take a picture with your digital camera? Are your images blurry? Does the flash always go off?  Please write 2 sentences as you post your comment here.

Quarter One: What have we done lately?

photo by Graphic Communications student, Dargelis H.

We are about halfway through Q1 and so far, in both our A and B week classes, we have:

• learned how to describe, analyze and reflect upon the elements and principles of composition.
• written photograph analysis assignments in groups and as an individuals.
• participated in an on-line scavenger hunt for compelling photographs that reinforced the elements and priniciples of composition.
• discussed the importance of photographic vision.
• activated our SlideRocket accounts and created SlideRocket presentations.
• activated (most of us) our Blog IDs and posted comments to this, our class blog. 
• discussed rule of thirds, framing visual images and other general rules.
• scouted potential photo shots for our first photo assignment: texture and repetition.
• played around with our cameras to become familiar with the general settings.
• participated in an in-school photography field trip.

So, what's up next? In the next few weeks? Stay tuned! We're just getting started:)

In School Field Trip

photo by Mrs. Messman

On our in-school field trip today, we were surprised by the number of bees, grasshoppers and butterflies that were in the areas surrounding our athletic fields. We captured some great photos of texture and repetition that will soon be posted (along with our written analysis) on our Embedded Academics English Daily Photo Blog.

Happy October!

photos by Mrs. Messman

This week our A Week Shop classes are scouting ideas for their first photo shoot which is set to take place tomorrow.

Today, we ventured around and took some casual shots inside and outside the building.

We all agreed that at times, the crisp blue sky was so perfect that it looked like it was "Photoshopped."