Final Project Photos

For my final project I really wanted to do something with flowers, because I enjoy photographing flowers and nature. However, I didn’t want to just go outside and take pictures of flowers in nature, I wanted to do something different than what I have done before. So, I decided to do do some flower photography in the studio with a model. I researched different types of in-studio flower photography, and when I found an image I really liked I decided I would attempt to make my final project images similar to that one.

Before any photoshop work, I worked with the lighting in the studio and my camera settings to make my photos evenly exposed and dramatically lit. I used a medium shutter speed, low ISO, and medium aperture for all of my images. Adjusting my settings to this allowed me to evenly expose my images by allowing the correct amount of light into the camera, while also using a tripod to avoid any movement blur because I wanted my images to be extremely sharp. With a low ISO, I was able to have little to no noise in my work. To light my pictures, I used one light with a softbox to the right of my model’s hands, making sure to keep the light at the same power and not move my model so I could get each image as similar to all the others as possible.

After doing this with each image, I opened them into Photoshop and used the clone stamp tool to make all of the background a pure, even black. This was a very tedious process because it was difficult to make the whole background even and not streaky, but I turned my computer screen’s brightness up all the way and was able to see places in each image I hadn’t gone over, or anywhere that didn’t appear to be evenly edited. Once I did this the editing began to take less time, and I finished my body of work.

For some reason, my work looks really really streaky in these photo's but they didn't look streaky while I was editing them, and they aren't streaky on my prints.

Artist I referenced- https://www.haroldfeinstein.com/portfolio/flowers/

Planets and Transformations

Planets:

These are my two planets. The first one is a panorama of a rainbow, and the second one is one of my spirographs. I don't really love either of these planets ,but they were the best that I was able to create with the pictures I had. I wish that the first planet (the rainbow one) had been able to be aligned so the rainbows were going around it like a circle rather than straight lines cutting through it. I like the spirograph one, I just wish that the outside of the planet wasn't plain black. If I had had time I think I would've definitely done a little bit of landscape shooting to create better planets!

Transformations:

Aperture: f /8.0

Shutter Speed: 1/200

ISO: 200

This is an alien transformation of my best friend Gabby. This is a photo from the magazine shoots I did with her, and since her face was expressionless and straight on to the camera, I decided it would make a good picture to transform. I adjusted the color of her hair and eyes in photoshop, and I also created little devil horns. I adjusted the shapes and sizes of her eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth/lips. I decided to make her hair such a bright color because both of my planets are very colorful and bright. I am really happy with how this transformation turned out!

Shutter Speed: f / 5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/100

ISO: 100

This is a transformation of a landscape in Maine. I didn't do very much to transform this other than adjust the colors a lot in photoshop. I tried to find a rainbow brush to put in to tie it with my rainbow planet, but I couldn't find any realistic looking rainbow brushes. I decided to continue with the theme of colors, and I really liked how the purple water looked in this image. If I could change this at all, I would try and fine cool brushes to put in it.

Solar System:

This is me, Jazmin, and Mikayla's solar system. I really really like how all of our planets look together, and the bushes we used look really good. If we had more time I think we would have done more with sun brushes and lighting, but I think that even without a lot of lighting here it still turned out really well! I like the layout of the various elements we incorporated. I'm really happy with our solar system!

Zoo Pictures

 Favorite Pictures:

Final Image and Mosaic:

Going to the zoo was a really fun experience! I really enjoyed being able to see and photograph all of these different animals, especially ones that I had never seen in person before. This had been my first time at a zoo since I was very little, and when I went before I was not focusing on taking pictures, so it was a fairly new experience to me. Taking pictures of the animals was fun, but also a little difficult at times. The bright sunlight made getting an even exposure a little harder, but I was still able to get some photos that I really like. My favorite picture I took was definitely the chameleon picture I used for my final print and mosaic. I love how sharp the chameleon's face and eyes are, and how it gets more blurry in the background so your eyes are drawn to it's face. Overall I'm pretty happy with how my zoo photos came out, and I'm glad I got to go on the trip!

Journal #16 (Random)

Aperture: low

Shutter Speed: fast

ISO: 400

I took this picture of a bird in my backyard. I was trying to get a picture of it flying, but this was the closest I got. I used a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, and a low aperture to blur the background. I wish this picture was a little bit brighter and I'd gotten the bird in full flight away from the line it was sitting on, but other than that I like how it came out!

Journal #15 (Random)

Aperture: lower

Shutter Speed: higher

ISO: fairly low

I took this picture at Allen Brothers in Bellows Falls. I was walking around and thought these flowers were really pretty, so I decided to photograph them. I took this picture with my phone, I can tell it has a lower aperture because the dirt in the background isn't fully in focus, and a fast shutter speed because there's no blur. I really like the colors in this picture, and I wish I could've taken it with a DSLR.

Journal #14 (Y+Z)

Y- Yellow (ish)

Aperture: lower

Shutter Speed: high

ISO: low

I took this picture of a flower with my phone, and I noticed that the little tiny things inside of the flower are sort of yellow, and it would be a good picture to use for my journal. I really like the details in this picture, and how in focus the smallest details are. If I could retake this I would want to try it with an DSLR camera to make it better quality.

Z- Zebra

Aperture: lower

Shutter Speed: higher

ISO: fairly low

I took this picture of a zebra at our zoo trip. I like how its colors stand out against the green grass. I wish that the zebra had been closer, so I could've gotten a better close up image. I also wish it was just a little bit more in focus, but other than that I'm mostly I'm happy with how this image came out.

Science Photography

Biology/Earth Science/Geology

Shutter Speed: 1/400

ISO: 800

This is a focus stacked picture of a rock.  To create this picture, I had to use a tripod and a reverse ring with my lens, and I found the focus stacking technique a little bit frustrating, but I do like how this image came out. I really like the details in the different sections of the rock, and especially how the different colors are all sharp and provide a contrast with one another.  If I could retake this picture, I would be sure to get the parts of the rock in back very focus as well.

Physics

Aperture: f / 13

Shutter: 1/200

ISO: 200

I took this picture using a flash to the left of the skull, and a trigger to make sure I got a shot as the splash was created. I really like how this picture came out, especially all the bubbles that you can see both in and right above the water. I really like how the flash and fast shutter speed was able to capture the skull's splash . I would've liked to try this high speed type of photography with a different object, but I do still like this image.

Aperture: f / 18

Shutter Speed: 1/200

ISO: 200

This is my favorite picture from the science unit. The original color of the paint was a light purple, but in Photoshop I made it this vibrant blue instead because I liked how much it popped against the background. I really like how high up the paint extends, and how many different areas of paint there are at the bottom of the photo. I wish that had been multiple tall strands of paint, but I still think that this photo came out really well. The only thing I'd wish I had done differently is trying to get an image with two colors of paint.

Astronomy

Aperture: f / 4.0

Shutter Speed: bulb (about an hour)

ISO: 400

I took this picture in my backyard. I tried to get a star trail photo ad I left my camera out for about an hour, but it sadly didn't get exactly the type of picture I was hoping for. However I still think that the stars I was able to capture are pretty interesting. This picture was originally pretty dark, also I had to brighten it a lot in Bridge and Photoshop. That made it really noisy, but other than the noise it turned out pretty well. An artist I found who does a lot of work with amazing star and night time photography is Dave Morrow, this is a link to his nighttime work: http://photos.davemorrowphotography.com/Under-the-Stars

Light

Aperture: f / 5.6

Shutter Speed: 25.0

ISO: 100

This is a Spirograph which was taken in one of the computer labs in the library. I believe my group used 3 glowsticks for this picture, and I really like the different patterns that were formed. I also think that the glow illuminating around all the hard lines is really interesting! To take this picture I used a tripod, and a 25 second shutter speed to allow time for the glow sticks to move around and create these patterns.  I wish that I could've gotten the lights to be a tiny bit sharper, but overall I'm happy with how it came out!

Reaction (sort of)

Link to my reaction video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8-c8isqWSc

I took this video with my iPhone of myself blowing out a candle in my house. I like how the flame slowly moves and disappears into black. I also think it's really cool how you can see some smoke slowly rising up from the candle after it has been blown out. I wish that I could've lit the video differently, because even though I like how dark it becomes when the candle light is gone, I wish you could see the smoke more clearly. I also wish that the video was a little bit sharper.

Time Lapse

Link to my time lapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHaEihMJnhg

This is a time lapse I took with my phone outside of my grandma's house. I really like the element of the cars going by, and also how much you see the clouds moving. I think its also cool how the wind was blowing the apple tree branches in the yard. I set my phone up on the railing of my grandma's deck and left it for around 45 minutes in order to get this time lapse, and I really like how it came out.

Journal #13- (W + X)

W- Win

This is a photo of two track medals I have for winning events at the Connecticut Valley Conference Championship meet that is held every year. I took this photo with my phone and used flash to make the lighting better. I think that it has a high shutter speed because it is very sharp, and a lower aperture. If I could change anything about this picture, I would try and make the lighting better to avoid the reflection of the flash on the medals.

X

This is a photo of the front of my friend Gabby's track jersey. I thought that the crossing swords sort of resembled an X, and I decided it would be good for this journal. I used my phone to take this picture, and I used the natural lighting outside to light it. It has a high shutter speed and lower aperture. The only thing I think I would change about this picture would be to try and avoid showing the wrinkles in the shirt.

Journal #12- U + V

U- Untied

Shutter Speed: fast

Aperture: low

ISO: low 

I took this picture of a shoe I found left in the courtyard. I used fast shutter speed because the sun was very bright, a low aperture to create a blurry background, and a low ISO to avoid noise. I really like the lighting in this picture and also the purple color of the shoe.

V- Violet

Shutter Speed: high

Aperture: low

ISO: low

I took this picture of some flowers I found outside. I used a high shutter speed to limit the amount of light that came into the camera, and a low aperture so just the flower was in focus. The low ISO reduces noise. I really like the color in the photo and also how the one flower is in focus while the other ones in the background are blurry.

Journal #11- S +T

S- Seat

Aperture: f / 5.0

Shutter Speed: 1/640

ISO: 100

This is a picture of one of the seats in the courtyard. I used a low aperture to get just the seat in focus, and a fast shutter speed because it was very bright outside. The low ISO was to reduce any possible noise in the picture. I really like how sharp the chair is, and I also think the shadows caused by the sun are kind of cool.

 T- Tree

Aperture: f / 5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/640

ISO: 100

This image is of a tree branch in the courtyard. I thought the flowers blossoming in the branches were very pretty and would be a good subject to photograph. I used a low aperture so just the flowers would be focused, and a high shutter speed because of the large amount of light present from the sun. The low ISO reduces noise. I really like the vibrant colors in this picture, and how in focus the flowers are compared to the background. 

Journal #10 (Q + R)

R- Race

Aperture: f / 4.5

Shutter Speed: 1/250

ISO: 100

This was a picture I took during my magazine cover shooting.  I didn't use this photo for my cover because I didn't really like how I was looking down on my model, but I thought it would be good for a race journal. The low aperture is so just my model is in focus, the higher shutter speed is to  freeze any movement, and the low ISO is to reduce any noise in the shot. I really like the intense expression on my model's face in this picture.

Q- Quarter 

Aperture: f / 5.6

Shutter Speed: 1/200

ISO: 100

I took these pictures in my house. I originally was going to take a plain picture of the quarter just laying on the table, but then I decided that it would be cool to spin it and see if I could freeze the action of it. I used a low aperture and high shutter speed to freeze the action, and I used a flash too. The low ISO is to reduce noise. The only thing I would change about this photo would be to take it somewhere with a nicer background and surface, maybe in the studio.

Journal #9 (O +P)

O-Orange

f / 5.6

1/125

ISO 100

I took this picture while my mom and I were in New York recently. We were talking about how cool we thought the orange fire hydrants were, and I thought they could be perfect for my journal. I used a low aperture to blur out the background, and a higher shutter speed to avoid any potential blur from me moving. The ISO is low to avoid noise.  

P- Pebbles

f / 5.6

1/200

ISO 100

I took this picture in a dirt parking lot near Lake Ontario during my New York trip. I thought that all the different pebbles on the ground were interesting and would make a really great subject to photograph. I used a lower aperture to get the pebbles in the foreground more in focus than the ones in the background, and a medium shutter speed to make sure the photo wasn't blurred at all. The lower ISO was to reduce noise in the shot. If I could change something about this picture, I would get at a different vantage point to the pebbles, maybe closer to the ground.

Journal #8 (M + N)

M- Mad

Aperture: f / 8.0

Shutter Speed: 1/200

ISO: 200

I took this picture of my friend Gabby while we were practicing with different types of lighting for my inside shoots. I told her to try and make a mad or intense expression, and this is what she first did. Her face ended up changing to a more intense expression by the end of out shoot, but I still think this picture shows a good mad or upset expression. I used a lower shutter speed and aperture so the photo would be underexposed without the flashes I used on the right side of the model. 

N- Nature

f / 5.6

1/125

ISO 800

This picture was taken in my backyard. The grass everywhere was all basically dead, except for this one sort of green clump which I thought would be good to photograph for a nature photo. I used  a lower aperture so the one grass clump would be mostly in focus, and a medium shutter speed to make sure there wasn't any blur from me accidentally moving the camera. My ISO is very high because it was pretty dark outside when I took this picture.

Magazine Shoots

Cover

I decided to make my cover be from Sports Illustrated, because I really love to play sports and I thought it would allow for some really fun athlete photographing. My cover actually didn't turn out at all how I had originally planned, but I really like the final product. I was originally going to use hard lights on either side of the model, but the flash kit wasn't workng, so I ended up just using natural light. I really like how the lighting ended up coming out, and the intensity in my models face is exactly how I was imagining my picture, so I'm really happy with that too. Once I took the picture, I edited the lighting to make the exposure of the model better, and I took the color out of everything except for her and the track. In photoshop, I used many different text layers fort all the text on the cover. Getting the word "Illustrated" behind my model was the most difficult part, but I'm really happy with how it all ended up coming out! I referenced a photographer named Walter Looss, who does a lot of both studio athlete photography and on location photography for Sports Illustrated magazine. His website- http://walteriooss.com

Advertisement

My advertisement is for a company that sells lots of track and field equiptment, M-F Athletic. I took this in the studio with two lights on either side of the relay baton. The hardest part about lighting this photo was to get it bright enough that you could read the writing on the baton, but not have it so bright that there was a big glare on the metal. I did the most work on this picture in photoshop. First I brightened it so the baton itself was very clear and stood out more. Then, because the lettering on the baton I used was very faded, I had to go along every word and paint black back in to make it look new. There were also many scratches on the baton, so I used the spot healing brush and clone stamp tool to get rid of those. Overall I'm pretty pleased with how this ad photo came out!

Inside Shoots

To take this photo, I used one hard light on the right side of Gabby. I really wanted to create a hard shadow on the left half of her face. The shadow isn't quite as prominint as I had hoped for, but I still like how it came out. I fixed the lighting a little bit in bridge, so the right side of the models face was lit better, and in photoshop, I fixed her hair because there was one big strand sticking out on the right of the picture, and I also fixed some blemishes on the model's skin. I really like how symmetrical this shot came out, and I like the meoodel's expression.

To light this portrait, I had two lights on either side of my model, and then another light behind her illuminating her hair. After I took it, I brightened up the picture just a tiny bit, to make sure the model's face was well lit. In photshop, I whitened the model's teeth, fixed a little bit of the frizz in her hair, and took away some blemishes on her face. I really like how this portrait came out, and my practice with studio lighting helped me a lot to take this shot.

Article:

Carpenter Leads Colonel Girls to First MVL Victory, Continues Basketball Career in College

On Friday, February 10th, the Brattleboro Union High School Colonel girls basketball team played their first Maple Valley League game in Manchester Vermont, against the Burr and Burton Bulldogs. They pulled off a 54-41 victory over the hosts, and Brattleboro senior Gabby Carpenter led the way for the Colonel girls. With 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals, she was a huge contributor to a great start of the MVL tournament for her and her teammates. The Lady Colonels would go on to have a 4 and 2 record in the tournament.

Carpenter had an outstanding season with the Colonels. Being a five year varsity player, she grew to be a key to the Colonels success, and did an outstanding job captaining her team throughout the season. The 5’11” center was a top scorer in many games during the winter season, and she recently was chosen to be a member of the Vermont Senior Allstars game, and participated in that game on March 25th. Soon she will be continuing her basketball career at Castleton College in Castleton, Vermont.

The Castleton Spartans head coach Tim Barrett has made Carpenter his latest recruit,  and she has officially committed to attend in the fall. Barrett was present at numerous Colonels matches during the season, and made the decision fairly early on that he wanted to include Carpenter as the newest member to his college team. Her skill and effort will inevitably help the Castleton Spartans in their 2017-2018 season.

Sports Illustrated March 2017

Danielle Wood