GIMP Manipulation (Week 7)

For this weeks assignment I decided to use GIMP to manipulate my photos. In my first photo, I started with the background (a photo that I took at Lake George, NY.) About a week ago I took a photo of a rabbit laying down in a funny position. I decided that if I were to select the rabbit in this position, add a cape, and super impose him into the air, it would look as if he was flying, thus we have "Super Rabbit".



The next shot that I took was of a single firework exploding (the one on the right), and I added another firework exploding to the left side of the shot to try and balance the photo and add to the composition. I did this by using the "free select tool" or "lasso". Once I selected the image, I added the photo to my clipboard and pasted it in the original photo. I than had to move the image to the final destination using the "move tool". I took these photos at Stratton Mountain's Firework display on July 3rd. I took about 300 photos of the fireworks, but only liked about 40 shots. It was way harder than I could ever imagine. It would have probably worked better if I had my tripod.



The third manipulation (My favorite) is a picture of my dogs head on my nephew's body. I started with a picture of my dog getting her nails cut (shes not happy). I selected her head by quick masking the photo and painting the area of selection. After I got the area that I wanted, I sent the image to my clipboard, and pasted in over the shot of my nephew eating an Italian ice. Once I had the photo in a good position I used the smudge tool to tie the photo together.



My final shot took me the longest to manipulate. The background shot was taken in Stratton, VT, of a pond with a beaver dam in the background. In the foreground I have a shot of a couple sitting on a bench. Before I manipulated the shot the couple were looking at Lake George from a park bench, relaxing under the trees. The whole foreground of the final shot was layered over the shot of the beaver dam. I used the software's "Quick Mask" tool to select the images in the foreground (the couple, the bench, and so on...) Once I had the selected area, I cut it into my clipboard, and pasted it into the scene with the beaver dam.



This next shot was really challenging. I wasn't sure what I thought about it, but I was trying to go extreme. I picked a photo of my bathroom sink and layer that with a shot of Lake George. After I was done laying Lake George over the sink, I made another layer with the water coming out of the faucet.

I forgot to mention after I was done manipulating all mt shots, I scaled the pictures down so that they would fit onto the computer screen, at 100%.

Landscape

I really enjoyed this assignment. I have 7 photos that I would like to share with the class. All of which are taken in different areas of Vermont, and New Jersey. Can you tell the difference? Well, the first photo on the list is that of a farm outside the town of Weston, VT. I thought that lighting was better earlier in the day, but unfortunately I didn't have a camera at the time. The second photo was taken in Weston. Behind the Weston Play House there is an old saw mill that has been turned into a museum. I really enjoyed this photo. Next up is a shot of a rail road crossing in Danby. I tried taking this photo from many different angels, and this was the best. The following shot was taken off of Taber Hill RD in between Landgrove, VT and Danby. This shot was a simple but not an easy shot to take. It was pretty slippery trying to get this focal point. The next shot was taken off the same road. The focal point was looking down into the valley of Danby. Finally, I get to the two NJ shots. First, I took a picture of a lone tree in the middle of this farm. I originally took the photo as part of my composition assignment, but decided that it would probably work better as a landscape. Last was my favorite of this assignment. I had to do a little digital enhancing to this photo, but I really like the eeriness of this dead tree with the fiery sky. I hope that you enjoy these photos, and please critique these good and bad to let me know if I am on the right track. Happy 4th!

The Rule of Thirds

The rule of Thirds is an amazing rule. My photos were taken a dusk in a decently dark settings. In the shot at the farm, I changed the setting on my camera, and got a better shot. I hope that everyone had as much fun as I did on these assignments.

Photography Using Framing

This is part three of this weeks assignment. It definitely called for some creativity. I took these photos in a few different areas in Northern New Jersey. My favorite shot in the slide show is that of a medieval style bench. I grew up in NJ and have never been to this location. I hope that you enjoy.

If the slide show does not display in full, just click on the portion of photo that is displayed.

Week 5 Assignment #1

This week we are discussing composition. I have been reading the book "The Illustrated Practical Guide To Digital and Classic Photography The Expert's Manual On Taking Great Photographs" which provided examples of composition from basics all the way to advance demonstrations. Since this is the first week that we are discussing this topic, I will like to add the following information to this weeks discussion.

Three key areas to be considered in composition:

1.) The center of interest- having decided what the central subject of the photograph is to be, ascertain where the photograph is to be shot from to achieve the most effective background.

2.) Possible distractions or intrusions- examine the subject, background and foreground very carefully to ensure that the picture will not be spoiled by an unwanted element. It is only too easy to mar a beautiful building with a traffic sign in the foreground, which you may not even have noticed, or to produce a portrait of some friends complete with a telegraph pole emerging from the top of one of their heads. Usually an intruding object can be removed from the composition simply by moving slightly to one side. It is worth waiting for any moving vehicle to pass.

3.) Enhancing the foreground- it is important to decide if there is anything that might add to the foreground without detracting from or obscuring the center of interest.

Information provided by:

The Illustrated Practical Guide To Digital and Classic Photography The Expert's Manual On Taking Great Photographs

Steve Luck and John Freeman

Lighting Shots (Week 4)

This is my first set of lighting photos. This week I have been helping my parents out with some work at there house in NJ. This shot comes from there front porch. The pictures were taken in the morning, noon, dusk, and evening. I really enjoyed working on these photos.

This set of photos were also taken at my parents house. Same scenario, but these pictures had a little more to offer. I wish that I had my tripod set up to take these photos, so that I was in exactly the same place.

Monochromatic and Complementary Photos (week 4)

I found that this weeks assignment really tested your creativity. I was finding it hard to create a monochromatic photo. I ended up taking a photo of a young maple tree in my yard. I took the shot looking down on the leaves of the maple. The background color comes from the interlocking bricks on a near by walking path.

The complementary color scheme was equally as challenging. I used a photo that I took of some purple petunias. From this direction the background was my yellow Jeep. I Liked my monochromatic shot better, because of the background. I thought that the petunia photo would have been better if I could have snapped the shot at a different vantage point. At this vantage point the background just looks like a blob of yellow.

Lighting shots still to come!