My Photos

• What is the main subject? The main subject of this photo is the NU scene shop, off the side of the theatre. It's where all the paint, wood, tools, and other supplies are kept.
  

Why did I take this picture? What does it mean to me? I took this picture one day while I was waiting backstage at play practice. I've always loved the colors and the history of the scene shop, and on that particular day, the light coming in from the windows on the side made the colors really come alive. Theatre at NU has become a second home to me; from late night rehearsals to early morning sets crews, I've made some of the best friendships and memories here.

How does the photo focus attention on the main subject? In this photo, the main subject is the whole scene - when you look at it, your eye isn't drawn to any particular part of the image, but to the image as a whole. I'd say that the middle is probably the most interesting, with both the colors and the sink pipe, so the eye would probably be drawn there after an initial look.

What are the elements of design that make the picture "work?" The picture really works because of how interesting its content is. The scene shop is unusual in both idea and color, which automatically makes the photo interesting. Also, the lighting in the scene shop really makes the colors pop - I've taken other photos of the shop on different days, and none of them have ever been as good. The insane colors draw your eyes to the photo, and that's what really makes it work.

How could this photo be improved? There's one part of this photo that has bothered me ever since I took it - and that is that the sides of the photo are not straight. If you look at the cabinet on the left and the cut-off counter on the right, you'll see that the photo's frame cuts off both at weird angles, which makes the picture look slightly tilted. I'd like to imagine that the reason it's not straight is because the cabinet isn't tilted straight, but it could possibly be because I didn't line things up in the frame before I took the photo.

What is the main subject? The main subject in the photo is Joni Griffith during one of our "basketball" days off at school.

Why did I take this picture? What does it mean to me? Photography has taught me to take my camera with me at every moment because you never know what you might miss. When I saw Joni propping her feet up towards the camera, I decided to experiment with a different angle and take a picture from that perspective. When I looked at the photo, I almost thought that she looked like a wee little child writing, lost in her own little world.

How does the photo focus attention on the main subject? Joni's pose draws the eye immediately to her; we focus on the feet and then our eyes travel across the rest of the photo (aka the lockers, half of a door, etc.)

What are the elements of design that make the picture "work?" The rule of thirds really works in this photo - it wouldn't be nearly as interesting if Joni had been in the middle of the frame. Also, the black and white really works to an advantage - it makes the photo seem more "mysterious" than the color version. The "holga" style edit (the black on the sides) also makes the photo much more interesting. 

How could this photo be improved? This photo probably could have been improved in the editing stages - while I was editing it black & white and "holga" style, it seems that Joni's neck was kind of lost in the black. I could have experimented with editing to see if I could lighten up the neck area a little bit.

·  What is the main subject? The main subject of the photo is a pink flower in the garden outside the NU science rooms. The flower is perfectly in focus; however, there are additionally subjects in the background that are out of focus. A boy and a girl are sitting on a bench, and you are unable to identify their expressions due to the out of focus background.

·  Why did I take this picture? What does it mean to me? I've been looking for emotions around me for a long time, and one day I saw the perfect oppurtunity. I wanted a photo of people intereacting, but I wanted it to not be of people at the same time. With this photo, I had a pink flower, which I interpreted to represent innocent love; and the "couple" in the background to reinforce my interpretation of love.

·  How does the photo focus attention on the main subject? The photo focuses attention on the flower by keeping only the plant in the foreground in focus, while blurrying out the background and additional subjects.

·  What are the elements of design that make the picture "work?" This is another example of utilizing the rule of thirds for more interesting photos. Additionally, the focus and out of focus variety in it really makes the message "work" and the interpretation of young love come through.

·  How could this photo be improved? This photo could be improved by maybe making the background in focus as well - I tried taking some photos where both the foreground and background were in focus, but the scene didn't seem to flow as well. It also might have been improved by just having the flower and people in the photo and cropping out the grass - it somewhat distracts from the message.

Ballin'.