My Favorite Cover

The New York Times Magazine, September 14, 2014, The Culture Issue

Photographer: Victoria Diehl
Designer: Raul Aguilla
"For the cover of the magazine’s annual Culture issue, the artist Victoria Diehl rendered Lena Dunham in the style of an ancient Greek bust. This juxtaposition of the modern and the classical highlights the issue’s underlying theme: the waning of the patriarchy in art and culture, and the rise of other kinds of voices. Modern typography inspired by old-style calligraphic letterforms completes the design."

This photo conveys the cultural relevance of Classical Greece in the modern world, the prevalence of the patriarch and the significance of its effects on society. In order to send this message, the photographer had Dunham pose in the specific manner of a Classical Greek bust and used a black background, simplicity, to allow the image to stand out significantly. The amount of light on the bust is just enough to give it the illusion of being marble, but not so much as to create too much reflection. While in reality Dunham is not so pale, the whitish color assists with the marble effect and conveys the message by showing how unrealistic the "ideal woman" is in reality. The message is mainly communicated by showing the similarities of the patriarch in Classical Greece and today's modern society. 

Best magazine covers 2015

1. The Advocate-Formal
2. Wired-Formal
3. ESPN-Environmental
4. Out-Environmental
5. Bazar-Informal
6. ESPN-Formal
7. New York-Environmental
8. Atlantic-Environmental
9. Family Fun-Environmental
10. Culture-Formal
11. Bazar-Formal
12. Bazar-Informal
13. Vanity Fair-Environmental
14. Variety-Informal
15. Men's Health-Formal
16. Bloomberg-Formal
17. Golf Digest-Environmental
18. Kinfolk-Environmental

Magazine Tips

Five things I should be thinking about when I design my magazine cover are:

1. Don't mess up a good picture
2. In a boring picture, make one element pop
3. Make sure it catches attention 
4. Make sure that it stands out
5. Make sure that the picture is interesting

Portrait Prompt Shoot

Self Portrait and Portraits Part I

Introduce a Prop:
Add a prop of some kind into your shots and you create another point of interest that can enhance your shot.

Frame the Subject:

Framing gives an image depth and draws the eye to a point of interest in the image.

Play with Eye Contact:
      This can create a feeling of candidness and also create a little intrigue and interest as the viewer of the shot wonders what they are looking at. 










Environmental Portrait:

I like this photo because it shows off her passion without drawing away from her. This image has a simple background and two lines that lead to the subject.

I like this photo because it shows off his passion without being too busy. This image has lines that showcase the guitars beauty and the lines lead to the subject.











Photography Self-Portrait:

I like this picture because it gives a different perspective of the subject and the background points eyes toward the subject.

I like this photo because it gives insight into an old home, as shown by the coke bottles in the foreground, and because it is an older self-portrait.












Casual Portrait

I like this photo because the joy in the image is evident and nearly palpable, the smile is genuine and the dog can almost be seen wagging its tail.

I like this photo because both the woman and the child are happy and smiling genuine smiles, the joy is clear and almost tangible.











I hope to photograph my sister with her dog, either her chasing the dog or the dog laying on her lap. I would like to photograph the running scene in my backyard, with the dog on one end and her on the other, preferably with a huge smile on her face. I hope to photograph the sleeping scene on a car ride, with him in the middle seat and her on the side with the dog's head on her lap and her hand on his back, or with her laying her head on the dog's back and the dog's head on her lap. In order to make these shots successful, I will send them both into either the backyard to run, using a high shutter speed, or into the car, preferably at night and using a high enough ISO, and have her lay on the dog in the backseat.

Love and Loss

Going though these images, I felt happy, upset and horribly sad. While not knowing these people personally, I was still able to perceive their emotions and I reflected them to an extent.

"These photographs do not define us, but they are us." To me this quote means that while these images show the couple, they do not capture their personality, their likes and dislikes, their hobbies and their treasured memories.

If I was in this situation, I would not be able to photograph these images. I wouldn't want to look at pictures of my loved one sick and remember those days, I would rather look at pictures of them happy and smiling.

If I could write Angelo a letter, I would tell him to remember the days before she got sick, to remember the moment he met her, the moment he asked her out, their first date, when he proposed, when she said yes, their wedding, all the happy moments when she was lively.

American Soldier

A:     This is the most powerful image to me because Fisher's realization that the army is different than what he thought it was going to be is clear on his face.
 B:     I can tell when the location of the photos changes because the background is different and the type of dress is different in each location.
Set 1: Image #1- image #4
Set 2: Image #5- image #14
Set 3: Image #15- image #27
Back home: Image #28
C:     I found that the second set of images was the most powerful because it shows Fisher's transition from a high school graduate to a soldier.
D:     These images work together to tell a story because it shows Fisher's mental, and physical transition from a high school graduate to a soldier and why he transitioned.
E:     In the photos where Ian is the subject, the caption is usually written in present tense.
F:     The caption enhance the images because they provide more information than is evident in the photo.
G:     Ian decided to join the army on his 17th birthday. In order to join the army, Ian had get his diploma, so graduation was important, but not the ceremony. A week before leaving for Basic Training, he learned what it would be like. His family threw him a traditional party, with ice cream and cake, while his friends threw a different king of party, with beer pong. Ian's friends Buddha and Pineapple came to say goodbye before he left for Basic Training. The recruits were given an impossible task to be completed over and over. After failing to inform the army of a previous injury and then aggravating that injury could have gotten him disqualified. Ian and the other recruits are broken down to nothing so that they can be rebuilt in the army model. Ian keeps his playful quality by making machine-gun noises after being handed a M-16. Ian's drill sergeant John Eldridge got attached to Ian and motivates him during field training. After a long week, Ian turns to his religion to help alleviate his problems. Ian received his qualification as an infantryman. On a week-long field training exercise, Ian put his skill to the test during "raid" on Iraqi "villages", "attacked" their base, and a ten mile march with 65 pounds of gear on.

Rules of Photography II

Theme: World Landmarks

Rule of Thirds
Temple sight at Hawaii Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Park

Balancing Elements
Colorado State Capitol

Leading Lines
Golden Gate Bridge

Symmetry
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China

Viewpoint
Statue of Liberty

Background
Gateway Arch

Depth
Arlington National Cemetery

Framing
San Jose de Los Jemez Mission

Cropping
9/11 Memorial

Cool Merger