Learning to take Photographs in Contrast: Photography + Digital Manipulation

The fall semester is in session and my students are hard at work learning to use DSLR cameras in Contrast: Photography + Digital Manipulation. The first goal for the class has been to get oriented with the camera; learning the basics of controlling aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to affect the depth of field, motion blur, and grain – all while getting a balanced exposure.

The images below reflect the class’ first studies – reflecting a wide range of personalities and concepts. Here are some of the highlights:

Tori Adachi's photograph of leaves — Tori Adachi’s photograph of leaves

Tori was interested in the variegated colors of this plant, but also captured a certain flawed beauty – notice the steady rhythm of the caterpillar bites.

Margaret Citron's photograph of the door stop in her dorm room — Margaret Citron’s photograph of the door stop in her dorm room

Margaret created this wonderfully abstract and almost bodily image, simply by turning her camera towards the door stop in her dorm room.

Reid Bruner's photograph of a butterfly — Reid Bruner’s photograph of a butterfly

Reid used shallow depth of field to focus our attention on the sharp details of this monarch butterfly.

Bekah Pollard's photograph of a bundle of wires found in an alley — Bekah Pollard’s photograph of a bundle of wires found in an alley

Bekah found this bundle of wires in the alley behind her sorority house, and became captivated by the juxtaposition of the bright wires and the swirling, tangled mess.

Mary Pennington's photograph of a sink stop — Mary Pennington’s photograph of a sink stop

Mary created this elegant image of a rather mundane item, sitting on the window sill above her kitchen sink.

Kimberly Bradford's photograph at of a wine glass — Kimberly Bradford’s photograph at of a wine glass

Kimberly took advantage of the camera’s ability to freeze the distorted ripples of wine in this glass.

Josh Gaal's portrait of a fraternity brother — Josh Gaal’s portrait of a fraternity brother

Josh has had a strong interest in portrait photography, so it’s no surprise that he wanted to capture a member of his fraternity.

Jordan Lightner's portrait of a friend — Jordan Lightner’s portrait of a friend

Jordan described this photograph as one that just makes her smile; a playful moment with a good friend.

Danny Pobereyko's photograph of a melting ice cream cone — Danny Pobereyko’s photograph of a melting ice cream cone

Danny confronted us with this image that mixed ‘sweet’ and ‘uncomfortable.’

Brooke Dominguez's photograph by the canal — Brooke Dominguez’s photograph by the canal

Brooke was captivated by the writing on this post she found, walking along the canal.

Britt Garrett's photograph of sheets — Britt Garrett’s photograph of sheets

Britt took dozens of pictures of these bright, striped sheets – creating an abstract terrain.

Abbi Miles' photograph of faded initials carved into a tree trunk — Abbi Miles’ photograph of faded initials carved into a tree trunk

Abbi was interested in this tree, whose bark had once clearly shown the initials of a couple in love.

Anne Gouty's photo at the IMA gardens — Anne Gouty’s photo at the IMA gardens

Anne took this picture of a rustic figure at the IMA sculpture gardens.