Week 8 - Is She Fair Game?

     After watching the movie Roman Holiday I find myself on the fence when asking the question "is she fair game?" Normally I would say yes because anybody is has the freedom of press. I'm not going to sit here and say that I don't love seeing the news magazines about the different celebrities now a days because I do. I am just very confused on how to feel. One side of me is saying that with the status of being a celebrity you have to give up some things like privacy, but then anyone has a right to privacy regardless if you're famous or not. Normally I would say yes because anybody is has the freedom of press. I'm not going to sit here and say that I don't love seeing the news magazines about the different celebrities now a days because I do. I am just very confused on how to feel. One side of me is saying that with the status of being a celebrity you have to give up some things like privacy, but then anyone has a right to privacy regardless if you're famous or not.

     I enjoyed the movie. It was predictable though but its an older movie so I didn't mind it as much. The actor in the film had intent to use his opportunity to get the next best news story. After spending time with the princess, he lost sight of his work. He let his emotions get in the way of what he was set out to do. I liked the way that the film ended. It makes it more real I guess you could say. Today movies have the lovers run off into the sunset (very unrealstic) but this story shows what is the truth when that type of situation happens.

Week 7 - My Business Plan

     Business has never been my thing and when writing my business plan I feel awkward. I believe the hardest part of finishing my business plan is actually sitting down and doing it. I seem to get distracted very easily and since business is not my forte I tend to not want to do it. I believe the hardest part of finishing my business plan is actually sitting down and doing it. I seem to get distracted very easily and since business is not my forte I tend to not want to do it.

     I think it has to do something with the numbers and the fact I have to write several papers. I not good with words as you might have noticed. I can get my point acrossed just fine but I do not have a facy vocabulary like most do. I think it has to do something with the numbers and the fact I have to write several papers. I not good with words as you might have noticed. I can get my point acrossed just fine but I do not have a facy vocabulary like most do. I get nervous when writing because I feel like I could be getting my point acrrossed in a more elegant way.

Week 7 - Eye Reflection

 

     This week the photo challenge is to take a picture of a person's eye but have you in the reflection. This was actually kind of tricky. I first tried taking a picture of someone with light eyes and it didn't work very well. I then took a picture of my friend with dark eyes. This final image was probably the fifth or sixth image I did. It didn't turn out how I thought it would turn out. The colors of the image were way to saturated and looked awkward so I decided to make the image black and white. I first tried taking a picture of someone with light eyes and it didn't work very well. I then took a picture of my friend with dark eyes. This final image was probably the fifth or sixth image I did. It didn't turn out how I thought it would turn out. The colors of the image were way to saturated and looked awkward so I decided to make the image black and white.

     I had the pleasure of being able to shoot this with a Canon 5D Mark II. It was the first time I had ever touched one so it was a little weird. I have to practice my focusing. The lens I used on the camera was an 85 mm.

Week 6 - Ron Galella and the First Amendment

     I have seen a lot of documentary films and videos about different photographers that interest me; a documentary about a paparazzi photographer is the last thing I thought would give me insight to the photo business.

     Ron Galella exercised his first amendment right to the fullest. I think all photographers should go about their work with the same determination and attitude he did. I valued the fact that he did whatever he needed to, no matter the circumstances, to get the next best shot. After watching a documentary about paparazzo Ron Galella, I was inspired. I have seen a lot of documentary films and videos about different photographers that interest me; a documentary about a paparazzi photographer is the last thing I thought would give me insight to the photo business. Ron Galella exercised his first amendment right to the fullest. I think all photographers should go about their work with the same determination and attitude he did. I valued the fact that he did whatever he needed to, no matter the circumstances, to get the next best shot.

     It amazed me on how he slipped out of every sticky situation by exercising his first amendment right. In the eyes of the law, everything thing he was doing was technically allowed by law. Although some of the measures he went to to get a better picture were a little over the top, and sometimes menacing.

Week 6 - Paparazzo

     This week we had to take a picture inspired by the documentary of Ron Gallea. We were supposed to photograph someone famous. At first i had a hard time thinking of who to photograph. I don't know many famous people let alone have access to them. At first I was just going to take a picture of my boyfriend because he is well known around our school but he is very busy with getting ready to graduate I didn't want to bother him. Then I remember the concert that my friend's band was performing in. Their band is called Crash Kit and they have been becoming more and more popular around the Vegas valley. I decided to photograph their lead singer Ashley. She has great energy and always is a blast to shoot.
     For the equipment I used a Canon 7D with a fish eye lens. I used a fish eye lens because I wanted to get that "rock and roll" type feeling to it. I also made the image black and white to stay in the feeling of Ron Gallea's work since he shot in black and white film.

Week 5 - Racehorse not Unicorns

     The business I would like to have is one that focuses on commercial and food photography.  I have always loved to work in studio. Having to tinker with every little detail, there is just something about it that makes me feel like I can truly be creative. However, commercial photography is not all about still life, I will also be shooting portraiture, architecture, really whatever the clients requires.
     As far as how big my company will be, I would like to maybe have no more than 4 people (including myself). Obviously one of the people would be myself, and then I would have my person who handles all the business stuff/money, and then maybe one or two assistants. The assistants are not necessarily set in stone but I do need someone else there to help me with the numbers side unless by some miracle I start to understand how to be organized with my money.
     I would like to have a storefront. First I would start small but then progressively expand. I still am debating on the location of my studio. Las Vegas is not a very big town for food photography (as of yet) so I would probably have to move to either New York or California. I don’t really like moving but I think if I stayed in Las Vegas I wouldn’t be able to make enough money to support myself but I have to also keep in mind my family. Hopefully by the time my business is up and going I will be married and have a family started.
     I see my clients mostly being restaurants. I would take pictures for their menus, promotional usage, really anything. Also I see myself shooting up and coming chefs (or established chefs) who are publishing cookbooks.

Week 5 - Who Won the Super Bowl?

     The beginning of February is always an exciting time for both football players and their fans. Why you might ask… Super Bowl. More than 100 million viewers were expected to watch the nail-biting game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, broadcast on Comcast Corp.'s NBC. Nationwide football fans gathered around the TV screen to watch this thrilling game. The final score was 21 to 17. Giants won Super Bowl of XLVI. But were they the only ones who won? Think of all the commercials you saw, the ads on the field, the sports memorabilia. I think the true winners of Super Bowl are those who do the advertising but more specifically the auto-industry.

     According to Wall Street Journal, the auto-industry won over audiences for the second year in a row. This year I lost count of how many car commercials I saw, all nicely done. I remember saying after almost every ad “Ooh that’s a nice car! I want that!” Several of the car commercials had celebrities who we all know and love. My favorite car commercial was probably be the Acura commercial with Jerry Seinfeld being one upped by Jay Leno. Not only was the car beautiful and I want it really badly but also it was hilarious.

Week 5 - Comparative Analysis

     I want to do commercial photography so that’s where I started on Google. The first website I found was Mark DeLong Photography. Mark is based out of New York and does more work with people than I would think a commercial photographer would. The look of his site is simple, just a black site with little color. The simplicity of the website really makes his work shine. I think that is one of his main strengths. One of his weaknesses I think is the fact you can’t see thumbnails of all the pictures. In order to view the pictures you have to continuously click the arrows that appear over the pictures. I feel like his website is more of a glamour site than a business site. I don think it is a real business but his site is more glamour.

 

     The next website I found was a local man named Jeff Green. Like Mark DeLong’s website Jeff Green’s is also very simple. His website has a white background which also makes his pictures pop. I love how he has food photography on his. But unfortunately like Mark DeLong’s website, I couldn’t find a way to view all thumbnails. I did like how there was a scroll bar for the pictures so I didn’t have to click and click. His images are amazing and I will be contacting him to see if he takes interns. I think his website is also a little bit more of a glamour site because there are no prices or business things on there but I do believe it is a business.

     The next website I found was by Eric Raptosh. Eric is based out of Los Angeles. I think I like his website the best. Yet again it’s a plain background on white. The tabs are neatly displayed and the pictures are good quality. I like how he breaks up the different categories more in depth. However Eric’s galleries do not have an option to see thumbnails. I really liked how he had the layout of his studio on there. I haven’t seen that in the other website but I don’t think his site is a business forward site but I think it is a real business.

 

     The last website I found was by Mark Robert Halper. I have to be honest, I did not like his website at all. I like the simple layout of the site but it was so confusing to navigate. Everything is square on the search and the text is so small. I don’t even know if he’s considered a commercial photographer. I couldn’t find his picutres so I have no clue how to critique his work. I do like how his name is biggest thing on the page but I don’t know how to navigate his site. I don’t know if it is a real business or not because I don’t understand the website. The little thumbnail on the main page are nice looking but I would like to see more. I just don’t know where to go or what to click on.

Week 5 - Painting with Light

     This week the photo challenge is painting with light. I love painting with light. I feel like a little kid again but instead of using paints or crayons I use light. This final image was probably the fifth or sixth image I did. When I first started I was trying to light up my boyfriend with my flashlight app on my handy dandy iPhone. The picture came out really cool looking and it was kind of creepy looking. Then I started thinking of being more playing. I wanted to have color in my picture but I had not colored light that I could easily maneuver. So back to my handy dandy iPhone, I looked in the app store for something I could use. I found a strobe light app that was very annoying. It was perfect.

     It was kind of difficult to paint with my phone though. In order to change the color I had to swipe my finger on the screen but I also had to tap the screen to make it flash. That is why my spiral looks like a dotted line instead of a fluid line. I would have liked to have a few more colors in my final image but just changing it that much was a pain. The reason I picked this image is because for one it was the only picture that I liked the spiral. Also the colors reminded me of a fruit roll-up. For the equipment I used were my usual Canon XSI and the standard 18-55mm lens.

Week 4 Photo Challenge - Wedding

 

     For this photo challenge we were to take a picture of something that read “wedding”. This challenge was kind of difficult because when I was trying to plan my shoot I didn’t know of anyone who was getting marriage so I had think of something else.

     So I took to my favorite time wasting website, pinterest. I started seeing picture after picture of adorable couples looking in love. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I said thinking about possibly staging a couple shot. I tried to contact some of my favorite models but unfortunately they were not able to help me. I had to go back to the drawing board (back to pinterest).

     I started seeing pictures of detail shots, like pictures of tables, rings, cake, shoes, the dress, etc. I thought to myself, “I could do that.” I decided to do the “ring” shot. I looked around in my costume jewelry for the perfect wedding ring and I found the one in the picture and a simple silver band. I wasn’t sure how to place the rings at first so I continued to brainstorm. On pinterest I saw pictures of the rings laying on the wedding invite and several other poses. I saw one picture where the rings were on top of the bride’s bouquet. I decided to use that because it looked classy. I used a bright yellow (fake) rose because yellow is a very happy color. I think my picture turned out exactly how I pictured it in my head; I just wish I had more light.

     For the image I used my Canon XSI with an 18-55mm lens and a 10x marco extender. For my lighting I just used my bedroom light. I had to clamp the rose to my desk so that it didn’t move and had to continuous reposition the rings.