Week 10 Blog Forum

Topic 1

This photo of The Macks is my favorite photo that I took this term. I really like how I framed the bass player in between the two singers up front. These photos weren't easy to get and my hearing was gone for a couple days after which really adds to the worth of this photo for me. I think this photo reflects what I’ve learned in this class well. It a nicely composed picture and I had to fiddle with the settings a lot on my camera to achieve it. Before photojournalism I would always use my camera in auto mode, so this is a big achievement for me. I also managed to talk to the band afterward for a short interview which I would have never done before. My photo skills have improved a decent amount compared to where I was when I started. I still have a lot to improve on, but slow progress is still progress. I never really cropped my photos that I would take with my camera before this term, but now I understand how much of a difference it can make. Now when I’m looking through my photos I always plan where I’m going to crop all of them.

Topic 2

In the beginning of my first term of college I set three goals for myself for my photojournalism class.

"My Three goals for this class.
One is to be successful. This to me means that I'm going to stick with it even if it gets a little scary here and there.
Two is to improve my photography skills. I want to know my camera like the back of my hand.
Three is to be comfortable with taking pictures. Sometimes I'll get nervous at events taking pictures. I'll feel like I'm not supposed to be in anyones way or something like that. So I just want to get comfortable with my photojournalist mask."

I would definitely say I excelled at my first goal. When I first started this term I had a fear in my back of my head that it would become too much or I'd get overwhelmed at some point and I'd just give up. That did not in fact happen to me and I might even manage to pull off an A in this class, knock on wood.
My second goal was to know my camera like the back of my hand. I'm definitely a lot closer to that point than I was at the beginning of the term. I feel like I know what I'm doing with my camera now which is a really nice. I used to use auto mode for everything, but now I know how to control ISO and shutter speeds easily.
My third goal was to get more comfortable taking photos. I think I anticipated a lot more fear than what I actually experienced. Now I know that every time I lift up my camera it's going to be a challenge, but I'll feel like I really accomplished something when it's over. Talking to the photographers at the Street Photography exhibit was a real eye opener when it came to those nerves you feel when you're taking peoples pictures. I learned that those butterflies never fully go away, but instead you learn to enjoy that thrill.