So, I know this may not count for a grade, but I figured I’d post several photos I took for our assignments for The Lantern. It was great experience getting out there and shooting all of these!
A few photos from Lantern assignments
Category Archives: Photography
Midterm Project – Behind the scenes of the oldest winery in Central Ohio
For my midterm project I chose to take an inside look at Wyandotte Winery, which was built in 1976 as the first winery in Central Ohio. According to its current winemaker, Robin Coolidge, there are now more than 220 wineries in Central Ohio – and the market is growing. Robin and his wife, Valerie, bought the winery in 2006, and have implemented various business tactics to bring it the success that has made it thrive today.
The winery doubles as their home, and they’ve planted several grape vines around the property, although they have yet to see a crop. The most difficult aspect of this project was editing down the audio from the interview, which was more than 30 minutes long and full of interesting quotes, but I think my edits still do the story justice. Overall, it was an inspiring experience to learn about how they took a chance to follow their dreams, which has led them far.
Portraits/Audio assignment – Exploring the work of a glass-blowing major
For the portrait/audio assignment, I chose to explore one of the worlds of art that I had never before had the opportunity to see: glass. I’ve always been curious about Ohio State’s glass program in the Department of Art, and have always thought glass blowing (or any art, really) seems a fun path to follow, but I could never have the talent. So how many glass blowing majors could there possibly be at OSU? As I suspected – less than 20.
The person I chose to interview is Neil Messinger, a senior in the glass program. He let me photograph him during one of his glass-blowing sessions, and here are some of the results:
When I first walked into N8 studio, the first thing I noticed was the relatively dark lighting, but I played with the lights from the work space and the mirror reflection to my advantage as best as I knew how. I found it interesting to have a light source (the flame of the torch) as a main subject in these images, and tried to avoid any silhouette effects. There were limited angles at which to photograph him, due to the nature of the work in front of him and the structure of the room, but I somehow caught some intriguing and more-than-decent images in the process.
The one below – which I didn’t submit due to poor lighting – is when I finally got the guts to say, “could you take off your sunglasses for this one?”
Capturing my self-portrait was a whole different category of challenges.
A. I don’t see myself as “photogenic” in the slightest (I honestly prefer what I see in the mirror to what I see in photos)
B. My roommate was helping me with the shoot, and I didn’t want to take more than 25 minutes of her time, and
C. I didn’t know how to portray myself, so as you see I randomly chose to spread out some of my published articles from The Lantern and hold my violin in the center of them, shot from a bird’s-eye-view angle :p. I think it does a decent job at conveying my outgoing/random personality and most-prized interests.
Feature Photos Assignment
The feature-photo assignment posed one of my biggest challenges yet: actually getting up close and personal with OSU students, taking photos of them and asking for their names. Although originally very weary of doing so, it turned out to be a rewarding experience.
For example, I was able to capture good shots of people participating in activities that I don’t personally enjoy, like basketball, which opened my eyes to the fact that a photographer can find beauty in any situation. I was able to explore campus and see a variety of possibilities for photos, due to the multitude of people and events that bring daily life to The Ohio State University.
Although a tough choice, I decided on the two images below because I believe they are the most personal and action-packed photos I captured. They also turned out the best quality/aesthetic-wise out of the 40 or 50 pictures I took. Also, since feature photos do not merit a story to accompany them, I thought these were the two that best spoke for themselves. I was happy of my ability to capture fast-paced movement with a DSLR camera by adjusting shutter speed. Enjoy! :P
Creative Devices Assignment
I have always been drawn to photography, and have intrinsically been using photographic creative devices whenever I’ve had a camera in my control, but learning about how to actually employ them has already made me better at taking pictures. Now that I have some knowledge on photography in general, I was able to capture six of the best images with people in them that I’ve ever taken. I know photography is an important skill to have as a journalist, and I can’t wait to continue to improve!
1. When I took this photo, I was focused on capturing several creative devices: silhouette, framing and juxtaposition. The silhouette did not turn out as nicely as I would have liked, which I can hopefully improve next time by choosing more appropriate natural lighting in which to take the photo. Though I still believe the image constitutes a silhouette. The framing was interesting for me due to the many lines intersecting the image plane, which are from the window’s literal framing. The juxtaposition can be seen in how small the human walking by is in comparison to the larger view of Ohio State’s campus.
2. While wandering around Hopkins Hall hoping to find a good photo, I became inspired after walking by a graduate student in the ceramics studio. I have always considered photography a form of art, so I thought, why not make a work of art of someone making a work of art? The creative devices I hoped to employ were action and details. I knew to acquire a good image while the clay was quickly being spun and formed by the student’s hands, I had to make sure everything was in focus. I also think the image may employ the rule of thirds and introducing color into a monochromatic scheme, if only on a small scale.
3. While eating at a small Japanese restaurant, Kikyo, with my roommate, I saw an opportunity for a photo when I looked at one of the workers sitting down and texting for her break. So I quickly grabbed my iPhone, zoomed in, and somehow managed to take this photo without the woman ever noticing. As you can see, she is very entranced by whatever she’s doing on her phone, which I believe captures emotion. The image also uses the rule of thirds and diagonal lines, seen in the angled blinds in the window behind the main subject.
4. The first thing I thought when I checked out the DSLR Canon was, “I really want to take a photo at night,” because my iPhone can never seem to do the trick. So the very first night I had it, my best friend and I went walking around our neighborhood (which is slightly off campus) and I was able to get this interesting image of two people outside of a house, clearly fascinated by something. The creative devices most noticeable here are patterns and texture in the bricks, emotion in the subjects’ curious fascination and an unusual perspective. I know the framing is slightly tilted, but I think it works here.
5. I know you’re thinking “there aren’t people in this photo,” but I beg to differ! This may be a stretch – but there are people inside the construction machines operating them at the time of this shot. I sacrificed not having a clearly visible human subject in lieu of the strong emotion that I believe this image captures, at least for me, and construction/construction vehicles themselves exist directly because of humans. The clear S-curves and C-curves formed by the tree branches and the tops of the trees in the distance also drew me to take this image. Lighting and the rule of thirds also play a key role.
6. The sixth and final image was taken on my way to the Veterinary Medicine Academic Building at Ohio State, which you can see in the distance. I chose to take a picture from the end of this long bridge in order to employ the creative device, vanishing point, which I think it does a nice job of showing. In my eyes, there is also a dominant foreground and contributing background as well as diagonal lines, formed by the structure of the bridge. Overall, considering this was my first formal photography assignment in life, I am satisfied with these images and had a lot of fun.