Candles
Three photos from a photoproject earlier this spring. I got my insperation from Christina Perri's music video for a thousand years, and decided to try and capture candlelight on camera.
Warrior
These photos were a part of a spontaneous photoproject that I put together one evening earlier this week. My sister bought a new eye-shadow palette that contained colors that to me were very natural and earthly colors. I chose to test out an idea that I had. I thought about military camoflage and the use of greens, browns, greys and blacks in order to create a "nature-blend". I also thought about tribal face painting in parts of the world like Africa, and found some images that inspired me. The lighting in the pictures represents both the beauty of the face painting and the darkness of war in connection to the military camoflage. Within photography, this is one of the ares that I feel that I have come a long way: lighting. I have learned how to position lights, and the camera, in oder to capture light from the angles I want and also avoid unwanted shadows. Placing light in order to emphasize different aspects or focuses of the picture bring it to life in a different way.
I used an effect called "night effect" to get the blue-purple darkness in some of the pictures and regular light and color, contrast, and exposure variations to acheive the others.
I chose to name this "warrior" because that is what I feel that these pictures and themes represent.
Winter Wonderland
Here are a few simple picture that I took today while me and my family were at the skating rink by our house. I used my new 50 mm camera lens that I got during winter break, which is a typical portrait lens. It creates a very strong focus and blurs out the background in order to further enhance the object of the picture. I have not editted these at all since I do not this that it is necessary and like them as they are.
Before and After
Project: Wedding
These are most of the photos I took at my uncles wedding in the end of July. It was outside of Stockholm and the weather was fabulous! I´ve used different effects to change the tint and appearance of the photo and a lot of blurring to erase the background and bring forth the people as the focus of the photo. I encountered a huge obstacle during the wedding ceremony and during the party afterwards since the lighting was horrible both in the church and in the building for the party. Therefore I took most of my pictures outside, and had to edit the indoor pictures a little extra to try ot reduce the blurriness of the photos. This worked to a certain extrent but the outdoor pictures are significantly better and sharper than the indoor ones.
For this activity I will take both service, since I took pictures the whole day and evening afterwards and donated the pictures to the couple afterwards, and creativity for the editing the pictures and discovering new techiniques for reducing blur and the yellow-tint that showed up on the pictures that were inside the church.
I feel that the skills I developed through testing different techniques for reducing the yellow pigment will be useful for future photography since indoor photos of any type usually give the same effect. Mastering this technique will help me in the future with similar problems.
Service: 10 hours
Creativity: 10 hours
NOTE: Click on the pictures to make them larger.
Hanna
Blogg Design (NEW)
Two weeks ago I made a new design for my blog. I changed the header, and the font. For the header I spent 6 hours taking pictures, setting upp lighting, and piecing it all together using photoshop and paint.
First, I chose clothing and put on "stage make up" so that the camera would capture it the way I wanted. After this was finished I was ready to take pictures! Or so I thought. I found a white wall in my room which I could use as a background and tilted my light towards me to avoid shadows from the side. This caused a problem since I had a shadow from the other side. SO, I found a lamp that I could attach to the other side to avoid all shadows. I couldn´t completely avoid shadows but it was better that nothing. This whole process took about 1 hour.
After taking about 150 pictures I was ready to open the computer and start the hard work. I sorted through the pictures and chose 3 that I wanted to use. I used photoshop and effects of photoshop to make the pictures look the way I wanted them to. I then used paint to place the pictures on a single-colored background the way I wanted them. The I took the new picture and used photoshop to place the text and make some finishing touches before it was finished.
OLD DESIGN (above)
NEW DESIGN!!
First, I chose clothing and put on "stage make up" so that the camera would capture it the way I wanted. After this was finished I was ready to take pictures! Or so I thought. I found a white wall in my room which I could use as a background and tilted my light towards me to avoid shadows from the side. This caused a problem since I had a shadow from the other side. SO, I found a lamp that I could attach to the other side to avoid all shadows. I couldn´t completely avoid shadows but it was better that nothing. This whole process took about 1 hour.
After taking about 150 pictures I was ready to open the computer and start the hard work. I sorted through the pictures and chose 3 that I wanted to use. I used photoshop and effects of photoshop to make the pictures look the way I wanted them to. I then used paint to place the pictures on a single-colored background the way I wanted them. The I took the new picture and used photoshop to place the text and make some finishing touches before it was finished.
OLD DESIGN (above)
NEW DESIGN!!
Spring
The spring flowers have started to come up in our front yard so today while I was sitting outside I decided to take some pictures of them and edit them. Here is the result of two of them.
Guitar
Winter Holidays
I took vary many pictures during my visit to St. Louis in December 2010/ January 2011 but I haven´t put them up yet. I just got around to looking at them and editting a few, so I thought I´d share them.
Our christmas tree this year.
Beautiful BabyK.
Mirror ornament (you can see me taking the picture in the reflection).
Silly Santas
Another beauty, my good friend Sammie.
Pretty baby with an eye patch.
Our christmas tree this year.
Beautiful BabyK.
Mirror ornament (you can see me taking the picture in the reflection).
Silly Santas
Another beauty, my good friend Sammie.
Pretty baby with an eye patch.
For some of the pictures above I used a 55mm lens instead of my normal camera lens. This was the first time I used it and I love using it for portrait pictures since is gives the close focus and the blurred background.
New Actions
For photoshop there are things called actions. These are recorded streams of editting that people can record themselves or record for others. This way you get the same effect everytime without having to redo it. You simply play the action and it repeats all the steps you did when you recorded it.
A woman named Rita has a photoblog where she shows what she knows about photography and photoshop. She also allows people to download her actions for free and use them on their pictures. I have recently started experimenting with these actions and here are two results of pictures I´ve been working on.
A woman named Rita has a photoblog where she shows what she knows about photography and photoshop. She also allows people to download her actions for free and use them on their pictures. I have recently started experimenting with these actions and here are two results of pictures I´ve been working on.
New Blog Design.
A few days ago I took several pictures of myself for a new blog design for my personal blog. I editted them in Photoshop, which I installed on my computer during the winter holidays, and then i put two of the finished photos together as one. I then made them a sepia tone and added text to the finished product. I´m very happy with the design, however, it took a while to make since I am not familiar with Photoshop yet. I am using the Photoshop CS4 and the Bridge program connected to it to edit my photos.
Finished product
Finished product
BabyC
These are pictures I tool of my youngest sister, 'C'. She has recently started interacting more with her surroundings and started recognizing the people around her. Also, she has started to smile, which is amazing to see. Getting her to smile in front of the camera is a struggle though, since she fins the camera very interesting and mostly stares at it with big round eyes. But I got a few good shots of this babybelle.
For these pictures I altered the contrast, and then used an effect to washout some of the coloring. This gives a reletively even shade throughout the whole picture. It also flows together with the blanket below her aswell.
When I editted the second one, I used the "night-effect" and then evened out the tone, to give the who picture a light blue-purple over-tone.
For these pictures I altered the contrast, and then used an effect to washout some of the coloring. This gives a reletively even shade throughout the whole picture. It also flows together with the blanket below her aswell.
When I editted the second one, I used the "night-effect" and then evened out the tone, to give the who picture a light blue-purple over-tone.
Fall 2010
CREATIVITY : Fall Pictures.
Taking pictures is fun when I have such a willing model. My little sister is always up for a photo session, and the camera captures her very nicely. I really like how the first two pictures turned out, with the sunset effect, which gives a red orange glow to the picture which feels very "fall" to me. The next picture is clearly fall, I decided to capture the fall colors, so I took a close-up of a pile of leaves. I think it turned out rather nice. The colors are vibrant and the kind of dead side of the fall with the fallen leaves.
The last photo has kind of a different meaning for me. The two flower bouquets represent two different parts of my life. The little one I recieved at my uncles wedding many many years ago. This represent a good part of my childhood. The bigger one I got from my boyfriend a few months ago and represents my life now. A lot has changed but both of the times I recieved these flowers I was genuinly happy. They represent good memories.
The last photo has kind of a different meaning for me. The two flower bouquets represent two different parts of my life. The little one I recieved at my uncles wedding many many years ago. This represent a good part of my childhood. The bigger one I got from my boyfriend a few months ago and represents my life now. A lot has changed but both of the times I recieved these flowers I was genuinly happy. They represent good memories.
Project 1
I´m starting a new project where I plan on connect every picture I chose to work with to a specific song. It´s like a story for each picture and a picture for each story. Visual music, I think this will be a fun way to do more with my photography. This particular one is a tribute to Avril Lavigne, where I will be using her lyrics to relate to my pictures.
When You´re Gone
"I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side
When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through
The day and make it ok
I miss you"
"I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side
When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through
The day and make it ok
I miss you"
This song is one of my favorites and has been for a very long time. The song has so much emotion in it, and I think that this picture expressed the same kind of lonlieness and abandonment that the lyrics make you feel when you hear the song. Empty swings have always given me a sort of eerie feeling, and also made me feel a sadness. For me it feels like a part of childhood that we all think is so exciting at one point in our lives, that we forget about as we go on with out lives after childhood. Swings are responsible for so much laughter, so many turned stomachs, and so many memories.
Nobody´s Home
"What's wrong, what's wrong now?
Too many, too many problems
Don't know where she belongs
Where she belongs
She wants to go home
But nobody's home
That's where she lies
Broken inside
With no place to go
No place to go
To dry her eyes
Broken inside
Open your eyes
And look outside
Find the reasons why
You've been rejected
And now you can't find
What you've left behind"
Too many, too many problems
Don't know where she belongs
Where she belongs
She wants to go home
But nobody's home
That's where she lies
Broken inside
With no place to go
No place to go
To dry her eyes
Broken inside
Open your eyes
And look outside
Find the reasons why
You've been rejected
And now you can't find
What you've left behind"
This picture screams autumn. All the things that were thriving during the summer months are now withering, dying, and these empty shells and shriveled blossoms are all that are left now. The green dissapears, but at the same time the color explodes. The leaves on the trees are at their visual peak, but there is nothing left of the flowers. They look empty, like the life that was in them has left, and left, like the song says "nobody's home". The flowers in this picture held seeds, which are now gone, and are now left resembling an empty house.
Alice
"I found myself in Wonderland
Got back on my feet, again
Is this real?
Is this pretend?
I'll take a stand until the end
I,I, I'll get by
I,I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I,I, I won't cry"
"I found myself in Wonderland
Got back on my feet, again
Is this real?
Is this pretend?
I'll take a stand until the end
I,I, I'll get by
I,I, I'll survive
When the world's crashing down
When I fall and hit the ground
I will turn myself around
Don't you try to stop me
I,I, I won't cry"
These lyrics were made for the motion picture Alice in Wonderland , but it is also sung by Avril Lavigne. This picture resembles a peephole into an imaginary world, full of light a color as apposed to the normal grey blur of everyday life. The routines and structure are replaced by color and freedom. This reminds me of the theme from Alice in Wonderland and the lyrics to this song. Alice slips through a hole in the ground and finds herself in Wonderland, but can't decide if she thinks it´s real or not. Almost like this picture, where you´re left wondering if it's real or just our fantasy of "the other side" where the grass is always greener.
How Does It Feel ?
I am small and the world is big
All around me is fast moving
Surrounded by so many things
But suddenly, suddenly
How does it feel, to be different from me?
Are we the same?
How does it feel, to be different from me?
Are we the same?
How does it feel?
I am small and the world is big
All around me is fast moving
Surrounded by so many things
But suddenly, suddenly
How does it feel, to be different from me?
Are we the same?
How does it feel, to be different from me?
Are we the same?
How does it feel?
This song compares two people, who are different, but still similar in certain ways. I related this to the picture in the way that there is a tree trunk, but it has life all around it and on it as well. This is showing that even though the plants are all different, they coexist and make something greater together. Even though they may be different, they're also all the same. I think it´s the same way with people. We like to look at how people are different, but tend to forget that after all is said and done, we´re all still people.
Shaken
Here is my first finished picture that I have taken and editted. I was sitting in my living room with my camera and noticed that my dad had hung new pictures on the wall, so I decided to make something artistic out of something already beautiful. I´m happy with the result, and the focus on the picture closest to the left, and the colors. I think the picture could have been better, of course, but for the most part I´m very happy with the result. These photos on the wall mean a lot to me, since they remind me of the brighter parts of my childhood and they show how the new memebers have been added to my family.
