Social Issue Project Proposal

I plan to do my project on Environmental Pollution because I think this is a really prevalent issue in our society today because everyday I walk out my front door and see trash all over the roads and ground and it ruins our beautiful Earth. I believe that in this day and age we take too much from the Earth without giving enough back to it and eventually this will catch up with us. Just going around and polluting the world isn't healthy for us or the generations to come. We need to understand that the world can't sustain our activities if they continue the way they are going. I can motivate people about cutting back on the pollution happening by showing how much pollution really happens every day and how devastating it is to the environment. Also by explaining how many types of Environmental Pollution their are, such as air pollution, water pollution, energy pollution, or just simply Earth pollution.

Facts On Pollution:

1. Pollution is one of the biggest global killers, affecting over 100 million people worldwide everyday.
2. 14 million pounds of garbage are dumped into the ocean every year. Most of this trash is plastic.
3. Over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals are killed each year by pollution.
4. Approximately 40% of the lakes in America are too polluted for fishing, aquatic life, or swimming.
5. Each year 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, storm water, and industrial waste are dumped into US waters.
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-pollution
6. More than 1 million people worldwide don't have access to clean drinking water.
7. 5,000 people die every day from drinking unsafe water.
8. Children contribute to 10% of the worlds pollution but are prone to 40% of global diseases.
9. Nearly 3 million kids under the age of 5 die every year due to environmental factors like pollution.
10. Almost 80% of urban waste in India is dumped in the Ganges River.
11. In India, the Ganges River water is gradually becoming septic, especially due to the dumping of half burnt bodies and enshrouded babies.
http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/various-pollution-facts.php

Social Issue Ad Campaign Examples and A List Of Social Issues

I like this ad because of the creativity that they used. I would not have thought about using a book to show not to smoke.

I like this ad because I care about the environment a lot and the amount of trees we cut down is insane to how many we plant. The world can't sustain the abuse we put on it and I think doing a public service announcement on how to help the environment is a good idea.

I also like this ad because of the issue behind it. We can't just pollute the environment and keep taking things from it and expect it to be perfect still. We need to realize that we have to help the environment and not just keep destroying it. 

I really like these ads because it shows that some animals are killed just for their furs and skins which is not right at all. The ad slogan was "They weren't born to be worn". I really like the concept behind these ads.

Ideas For Social Issue Ad:

- Environment Concerns (Deforestation, Pollution, Animal Abuse, Animal Extinction, Animal Exploitation etc...)

- Smoking

- Bullying (physical, emotional, cyber, etc...)

- Abuse/Harassment

- Texting While Driving

- Drinking and Driving

- Drug Abuse

- Diversity (family, social groups, culture, ethnicity, etc...)

- Abortion 

- Tattoos

- Smoking (in general, around children, etc...)

- Gun Rights

- Cliques 

- Stereotypes

- Police Brutality

- Cancer Awareness

- Discrimination (clothing, gay bashing, gender, ethnicity, etc...)

- Child Soldiers

- Teen Pregnancy

- Slave Workers

- Getting Active (playing outside, getting healthy, etc...)

- Technology Dependance

- Hunger/Poverty

- Health Concerns (food you eat, eating disorders, personal health, etc...)

- Religion

- Food Industry

- Child Abuse

- Domestic Violence

- Divorce/Child Support

- Stress

- Mental Issues (depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, ADHD, etc...)

- Terrorism 

- Video Games

- Immigration 

Photojournalism- From Mud To Masterpiece: The Everyday Life Of Clay

How can an artistic medium be so beautiful when it is found simply by digging deep into the Earth? Although it doesn't seem like something that can be made into art, it is one of the Cumberland     Valley Potters' favorite mediums to use. During 2nd period Advanced Pottery Class, all the amateur potters are hard at work making their latest masterpieces. although there is so much you can         make and do with clay, Olivia Bittings' favorite part about pottery class is simply "the process of starting with a ball of clay and turning it into a beautiful, personalized piece of art." There are so many different ways to personalize pottery. For example, there are additive and reductive processes that can be used to add or remove clay from a form to allow textures, patterns, and designs to be seen on the piece. Not to mention just deciding whether to hand build or throw the form to begin with!

(On the bisque wear shelf in the Kiln Room you can find an array of thrown and hand built forms.)

Even though making a piece that is unique, structurally sound, and also pleasing to look at is hard, "My favorite part about pottery is how good you feel when you finally make that perfect piece" says Josh Stewart, an AP Pottery student. 

(Josh Stewart glazing his finished tea pot form.)

It is obvious that creating pottery masterpieces is not the easiest thing in the world, and to Colton Gsell, "Just throwing is the hardest part about pottery." But creating beautiful pottery, no matter how challenging it may be, is worth doing to all the students in room 166 every day. 

Trimming a piece after throwing it allows you to make the form lighter and more visually appealing.

Casey Waken throwing with white stoneware.

Wedging the clay before you throw with it helps it get to the correct consistency.

Olivia Bitting glazing low fire textiles.

This form was made by both throwing and hand building processes.

The pottery tool cabinet is what all the students rely of to sculpt their clay masterpieces.

During 9th period Pottery Class, Ms. King helps Rachel Curner, a new potter, develop her throwing skills.

Glaze textiles are made to test the color of the glaze before it is used on a finished piece.

The Kiln Room is where all pottery goes to be fired.

Pottery Photos

               
                                                                         

Photojournalism Shooting Assignment

This project mixed my two favorite subjects, Photo and Pottery! I really enjoyed taking these shots because I love pottery and I love taking pictures. I just all around really liked this project, the way my shots turned out, and I enjoyed myself while taking the shots as well.(:

Student Yearbook Guide

Processing The News

This article was talking about taking photojournalism pictures and then editing them. It talks about how much editing is too much editing to still be considered a photojournalism picture. It says that people don't really realize how big the digital world is and how much people can really change an image and still make it look natural and real, which is extremely true. Something interesting I learned from this article is that the reason many photographers edit their pictures is because they see flaws that can be fixed by the photoshop tools they have. However, in photojournalism the flaws that the photographer would usually fix are the things that make the story more interesting so they shouldn't "fix" them at all. Instead they should tell the story from the original picture that comes from the camera because it makes for a more interesting story. Thats also one thing I took from this article. Usually I like to edit my pictures a lot and take out every flaw I see, but for this photojournalism project I won't because the flaws will show the true story I'm trying to capture. By not over editing my pictures they will look and be more real and will tell the true story better than pictures with a lot of photoshop fixes done to them. 

Photojournalism Project Proposal

I'm going to do my photojournalism project on Cumberland Valley Clay Club. I really like pottery class and I've always wanted to photograph the process of building pieces out of clay and throwing and things like that. I've seen other photographic pictures of pottery and throwing and they all look so interesting, especially the ones that are taken of people on the wheel while the clay in moving. I've just always liked pictures of pottery and building pottery so I can connect to the pictures I'll be taking a lot.

Pennlive Article Notes

Article: Allegheny National Forest Fits For Fall Foliage

By: Ann Witmer

Link:http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/09/allegheny_national_forest_fits.html#incart_river

Summary: This article talks about Pennsylvania's national forest, Allegheny National Forest. It talks all about the experiences you can have at this national forest and all about the trees and nature in the national forest. All the pictures that went along with this article were fantastic! They made me want to visit Allegheny National Forest! (which is kinda the point). All the views and trees look fantastic and they really capture what it would be like to be at Allegheny National Forest and to be hiking or driving on the trails and be in the forest itself. All the pictures related to what the author put in the article and how she talked about the forest. The photos below are two of my favorite photojournalism pictures from this article.

The American Teenager Project Notes

The American Teenager Project aims to stop social division among teenagers and create a sense of empathy toward the struggle of being an adolescent. After earning a degree in anthropology, Robin Bowman, the founder of The American Teenager Project, she independently studied with a Maine Photographic Workshop and Magnum Photos that lead her to become a professional photographer. Since then she has become incredibly famous. Robin's photojournalism work is different because it captures the story of the person in the photograph instead of capturing an event or news story. However, it is still photojournalism because she is telling a story with these shots.  I like how the photos are simple, all of them have a small depth of field which I like because I like the subject being really clear but the backgrounds being boring. I don't like how all the pictures are in black and white and the fact that they are very plain. There's not a lot of differentiation between the shots. I also think some of the photos are really strangely posed which I also dislike.

 This one is my favorite one I found on Robin's website.

 I thought this one was really nice even though it's really simple.

 This is one of the photos that I think is posed awkwardly, I don't enjoy this one as much. 

Expression Panel Sketch

Portraiture

My model was my brother's girlfriend, Irie. She's a really giggley nature lover so all the shots are of her smiling and laughing outside. I don't love portrait photography so I didn't really love this project, but it was fun to take pretty pictures of one of my friends. While I didn't like the project too much, I do like most my end results. I think some of them turned out really really well. My model and everybody else I showed the pictures to really loved them, they all said I did a great job with the shot and capturing her personality in the pictures. One tip I would give to someone doing this project is to find a model that really wants to be your model, otherwise it's not going to be as much fun as it could be and your shots won't turn out as good as you'd like. The most challenging aspect of this project was taking pictures that I was happy with because I'm a perfectionist. Also, finding poses that looked good and natural was challenging. I think that I got good angles and nice backgrounds in the pictures even though I had some challenges to overcome. 

Portraiture Shooting Assignment

I didn't really enjoy this project because I don't like photographing people. My main focus in photography is taking pictures of nature because nature doesn't feel awkward about getting it's picture taken, a lot of the time people do. If I would've found a better model that did like getting her picture taken more I may have enjoyed the project more. It was just challenging for me to find pictures I took that I really liked, when I photograph nature I like almost all the pictures I take. This project was more challenging then I thought it would be. I didn't have the most fun with it but I liked the challenge it gave me and I do like some of the shots that came out of it. 

Actions Screenshots

Senior Portrait Examples

                                                            Photo by: Rae Leythman
                                                          Type: Candid/Smile/Laugh
I like this because this girl obviously has a strong love for her dog and it's just really cute that she got pictures done with her dog. This really shows her personality.

                                                            Photo by: Bonnie Burman
                                                                      Type: Candid
I like the prop used. This picture shows a lot about who the girl is, what she's interested in, and what she does in her free time. It's also a really nice location to shoot in.

                                                              Photo by: Jared Platt
                                                                  Type: Serious
I like this picture because it's very simplistic but it displays the model very well, and in black and white. And I usually don't like many black and white photos.

Photo by: Sarah Prall

Type: Serious

I like the pose in this picture and that the background is blurred completely. The sun is also in the perfect spot that it gives the angelic look around her hair which is nice.

                                                             Photo by: Tom Schmidt

Type: Serious

I like this shot because the clothes she's wearing and the location they shot in do not match at all, but it makes the shot look pretty interesting. I also like the pose.

Photo by: Tom Schmidt

Type: Candid/Smile

I like these photos because you almost can't have one without the other, it's just a nice progression of shots. I also like that it's shot inside a studio and not at some random location. These pictures really showcase her personality and what she likes to do, she interacted really well in these photos.

Photo by: Kevin Beasley

Type: Smile

I like this picture because it's shot in an elevator, which is a unique location. I also really like the crossed leg pose with the arm to the side, it looks very classy. 

Photo by: Karen Becker

Type: Smile

I like this picture because the model is not in focus, but even though he's blurry you can still tell a lot about him from this. He's obviously really into football and you should always try to get some of the models personality into the shots.

Photo by: Slava G. Ivanov

Type: Candid

I like this shot because it's more focused on the location and the horse then the model himself. I also like the fact that it's an action shot.

Photo by: Cayupe

Type: Candid/Laugh

This picture is interesting because the model is in water and she also splashed the water to make a rainy type look to the shot. I like the pose, the location, and the idea of this photo. 

Senior Portrait Article Notes

• use lighting effects/unusual angles to make shots more interesting
• getting to know the person and their personality is even more important when taking senior pictures, you want to show who they are through the photo
• have the model bring their own props/change of clothes/have a location choice
• take photos who they envision them
• seniors tend to want edgy, editorial, magazine looking shots
• while you want to please the teenager, you also want to please the family, parents, grandparents... so don't take their wants too far
• don't go traditional, make it interesting 

Recap Elaine Gates

Portrait Photography is not my favorite thing but Elaine gave us some tips that might make it more enjoyable for me. Elaine said that to take good portraits you first have to have a model thats willing to take pictures with you. If the model feels awkward or uncomfortable in front of the camera then the portraits will not turn out as good as someone who likes getting photographed. To make people feel less awkward Elaine said that she tells her models that they're just 'going for a walk' and in doing this she finds interesting locations to shoot at and the models relax more. Also, the angles on a portrait are one of the most important things about taking the shot. If the angle doesn't flatter the model the picture won't turn out good and the person won't like the shot. You never really want to take a portrait from bellow the model. This will make the person look really big and usually people don't like to look gigantic compared to the background or other aspects of the picture. Taking pictures slightly above the model makes them look smaller, which is good, and for some reason they also look better from this angle. It's all about finding angles that flatter your model. During the photo shoot with the person be sure to be looking at minor flaws in the pictures that you can fix right then and there, like fly away hairs, rolled up shirts, trash in the background, etc... The last really important thing Elaine said to us was to try to capture the person interacting with the camera or showing their personality. This is important especially in pictures of children and senior pictures. I really liked all of Elaine's pictures she showed us so I'm going to use these tips to try to make my portraits better than they are. 

HDR

I'm officially obsessed with HDR Photography and the way they make images look!!! This project made me think more about my subject matter rather than just snapping a photo because it's cool. 

I chose Hempt Farms for this shot because I drive past it every morning coming to school and I always think it looks beautiful when the sun is rising. If the sun wasn't rising in this picture I feel it wouldn't be as dynamic and interesting as it is. I focused on the leading lines in this shot because the fence goes right in the front of the picture and also runs all through it making many different lines throughout it. (ISO:200, F/22, Shutter Speed: 1/50, 1/200, 1/13)

This picture is of my favorite roller coaster at Hershey Park, the Fahrenheit. I took a picture of the roller coaster from a different point of view because it's already such a complex thing and using a different view point to look at it makes it even more interesting. If there was more light used in this picture you may not be able to see the shadows and reflections of the roller coaster so I like that there isn't a large source of light in it. (ISO:200, F/22, Shutter Speed: 1/50, 1/200, 1/13)

This is a weeping willow tree against water. Weeping willows are my favorite kind of trees so I'm proud of this shot because of how awesome the tree looks against the background and water. The light in the background creates awesome reflections in the ripples of the water. I also like the fence in the back and how it creates leading lines throughout the photo. This picture is my symmetrical balance picture because everything about it is very symmetrical. (ISO:200, F/22. Shutter Speed: 8'', 1/5, 3.2'')

I tried to be artsy with my framing shots. This shot was taken from my tire swings in my backyard. The sunglasses are framing my side yard, some of my house, and my neighbors rows of trees. I sit in my backyard under this tree and on these tire swings a lot so thats why I chose to take a shot here. The sun coming through the trees gives a really good effect in the sunglasses and on them. (ISO:200, F/22, Shutter Speed: .4'', 1/10, 1.6'')

This is above my roof looking from my porch. I sit on my porch a lot and look at the sky because it's one of my favorite things. One day before school the clouds and tree looked really nice because of the sun rise. I like this picture because its asymmetrically balanced but still looks balanced because of the clouds on one side and the tree on the other. (ISO:200, F/22, Shutter Speed: 1/15, 1/15, 1/60)

The other morning coming to school my car broke down next to Hempt Farms. It made me really angry but I got this great repetition shot of a corn field against the sun rise. (ISO:200, F/22, Shutter Speed: 1/50, 1/200, 1/13)