This is week 21 of Photo 52.2 and this week we are looking at shooting from below. Last week we shot from above and it was wonderful seeing all the different perspectives. To see all the images of shooting from below, click HERE.
Here is my shot for this week, shooting from below.
This is week 20 of Photo 52.2. Our journey through the concepts of perspective is drawing to a close. After weeks of considering what are perhaps less traditional concepts of perspective - wide angle and long lenses, aspect ratio - we are spending our final two weeks on physical perspective in the form of camera position. This week, we are shooting from above. From standing atop buildings to standing over children, this is a fun assignment with a lot of room to be creative as we capture what all there is to see when looking down. Click HERE to see all our images together in one grid.
The shot I chose for this week was taken on top of a rock looking down on Wolman Rink in Central Park the night after a huge snowstorm covered the park in gorgeous white snow.
Welcome to Week 19 of p52.2 : Framed.
This week we are looking at alternate aspect ratios and how they can impact the image. The aspect ratio of an image is the relationship between its height and width - effectively defining how square or rectangular the image is. Most DSLR cameras use an aspect ratio of 3:2 or more commonly known as 6:4. By changing the aspect ratio we can use the height and width of the image to strengthen the composition, play with the perspective or create a more balanced image. This week are playing with a square or 1:1 aspect ratio. The square aspect has gained hugely popularity recently with the increasing use of iphoneography and the use of Instagram. Square aspect ratios encourage simplicity in the composition which can result in very powerful images. Center based compositions and utilizing symmetry work very effectively in square format leading the eye either directly to the center or providing lines for the eye to follow.
Please click HERE to see all of this week's images together.
Below is my choice for this week's 1:1 ratio shot. I included the shot utilizing a different ratio as well so you can see the difference.
Welcome to Week 18 of p52.2 : Framed.
This week we are looking at alternate aspect ratios and how they can impact the image. The aspect ratio of an image is the relationship between its height and width - effectively defining how square or rectangular the image is. Most DSLR cameras use an aspect ratio of 3:2 or more commonly known as 6:4. By changing the aspect ratio we can use the height and width of the image to strengthen the composition, play with the perspective or create a more balanced image. This week are using aspect ratios that are more commonly found on mediium and large format cameras, for example 5:4, 7:6, 16:9.
Click here to see all of this week's images in a grid. Here is my choice for this week. I turned this image into a 5:4 ratio to simplify the composition and draw the viewer's eyes to the baby without losing them in additional background elements.
Welcome to Week Seventeen of p52.2 : Framed. We are continuing our focus on Perspective, and finishing up our first month examining the way choice of lens alters one’s viewpoint. This week we are utilizing various types of specialty lenses – telephoto, fisheye, macro, lensbaby, etc. – and seeking to be inspired by the unique qualities of these lenses or seeking ways to use those lenses creatively. Here are some descriptions of some specialty lenses:
• The telephoto or long lens is often used for portraits, as we discussed in prior weeks, or for sports and action shots, when one can’t get very close to the action.
• Fisheye lenses are ultra wide-angle lenses that create visual distortion, so the image is circular rather than rectilinear. These lenses allow an angle of view that is greater than 100 degrees - sometimes even allowing a 180 degree point of view!
• A macro lens allows you to get very, very close to your subject and may be used to capture details barely noticed with the naked eye.
• The tilt-shift lens is designed to allow the photographer to tilt the plane of focus and shift the position of the subject without moving the camera back. It is useful when photographing architecture, when one may want to avoid the convergence of parallel lines, though many photographers have utilized it when shooting portraits.
• The lensbaby (LINK: http://lensbaby.com/) brand of lenses are designed to give a creative effect, where one portion of the frame will be in focus, while the rest is blurred. In some cases, the lensbaby will mimic the effect of the tilt-shift lens.
As the saying goes, restriction breeds creativity. The narrow purposes of these specialty lenses can inspire the photographer to rethink how she might approach an otherwise familiar situation. Please take a look at how each of us chose to take advantage of the characteristics of these specialty lenses HERE
chose to use my lensbaby lens for this week's perspective week. Last weekend, artists from Okamato Studio carved sculptures of various monuments in Central Park. Their largest was the Angel of Bethesda and the original monument is standing directly behind the ice sculpture. I also included a few others I shot around the park.
This is week 16 of Photo 52.2. We are continuing our focus on Perspective, with the first month examining the way choice of lens alters one’s viewpoint. This week and next we will be challenging the “traditional” use of lenses – this week seeking to utilize a wide-angle lens in a portrait or other non-traditional use. Typically longer lens lengths are marketed for portraits, as they avoid distorting the subject and allow the photographer to maintain focus on the person and blur away any distracting background.
Choosing a wide angle lens for a portrait requires the photographer to consider the consequences of the deeper depth of field and distortion when composing the image. Items that are placed toward the edge of the frame often appear larger, which must be considered, and care must be taken that the background contributes to the photographer’s story, as it is unlikely to be out of the depth of field. Using the wide angle lens in such an instance has significant advantages, however – the photographer will often be close to her subject so that they may interact more directly, as well as utilize the subject’s environment in her composition. The effect can be to draw the viewer into the scene and strongly engage them in the scene. Please take a look at how each of us chose to take advantage of the characteristics of a wide angle lens in nontraditional ways HERE.
My choice is a shot I took on the Dumbo Ride in Disney World. I was sitting right next to Harper and used my rented 24-70mm and shot her at 24mm so her face is distorted. It's not a typical portraiture shot but I love it and every time we look at these photos we can't stop laughing, which makes it all the better.
This is my monthly letters to our Daughters blog circle with wonderful photographer friends all over the country who write letters to their girls. After reading mine, continue on the circle and read what Laura Martin Mood had to say to her darling girl HERE
Dear Drew and Harper,
Happy New Year! Hard to believe another year has come and gone. This past Christmas, we spent a week in Wisconsin and on Saturday, December 28th, we boarded a plane and you thought we were heading back to NYC. Drew, you started to question why we weren't landing in Chicago on the way home and where we were going to land next if it wasn't NYC. Even as we departed the plane and the humidity shot up about 100%, you still didn't question where we were going. It's clear that we travel quite a bit so landing in different airports isn't such a foreign happenstance! After we waited for our stroller, I told you both that you had one final present left to open. Your eyes lit up and I told you there was a bag on the side of the chair. You ran over and opened it up to find two Minnie mouse ear hats with your names embroidered on the back. I could see your minds asking what these were for and I think the first photo below says it all. "Do you know where the Princesses live, Harper?" "Did you ever want to go to Disney world?" "Well… we aren't going home. Instead, we are spending the next four days in Disney World!!! We are in Orlando, Florida!" Pure elation!
We finally made it back to our hotel room and were fast asleep by 9 pm. We spent the next four days living and breathing Disney and having just the best time. We got so lucky and practically had the park to ourselves the first day as the weather was a little cool and slightly rainy. It was awesome and we tore up Disney! The next day we weren't as lucky as the sun came out and the park was packed. Christmas/New Year's is the busiest time of the year we learned.
I have been wanting to take you both to Disney for a few years now and because Harper, you are so in love with princesses and we know this stage will not last forever, we felt like now would be a great time. I loved seeing the princesses through your eyes, Harper. You truly believe that they all live in Cinderella's castle and that these are the "real life princesses." You couldn't keep your eyes off of your favorite, Rapunzel, when we met her and had to go back a second day to get her autograph in our book. Drew, you certainly know the truth but were so great about seeing all the girls and characters and playing along. You never really were into princesses too much, but it didn't bother you a bit. The magic of Disney makes everything about it special.
I remember both times I went to Disney World with my grandmother. Once by myself when I was probably about 6 and then again with my brother Nick when he was about 6 and I was 12. While things certainly feel and look different than when I was a kid, you both still shared so many of my favorite rides- the monorail (such a bummer you can no longer sit in the very front car), Dumbo, Tea Cups, Peter Pan's ride, It's a small world and while I remember loving Pirates of the Caribbean, neither of you liked that one at all!!
My photos below are nothing special, but do give a taste of the fun we had. I actually can't wait to go back again in a couple years. I don't know how we kept Disney a secret for so long, but am glad we did. Seeing your reaction was well worth it!
Here's to many more magical events and experiences in 2014.
I love you both and enjoy the memories!
Love, Mommy
This is week 15 of our Photo 52.2 Blog circle and this month we are continuing our focus on Perspective, with the first month examining the way choice of lens alters one’s viewpoint. This week we are seeking to isolate our subject, whether through the use of a telephoto lens or otherwise.
Telephoto lenses bring distant subjects close by magnifying the scene and, consequently, we are able to view only a smaller portion of it at a time. Moreover, telephoto lenses tend to create a shallow depth of field and compress the background, leaving less environment surrounding a subject, and that environment is often quite blurred. For this reason, portrait artists often use longer focal lengths, so that their subject remains prominent in the frame and other elements are reduced. The consequence, of course, is that the photographer then has fewer elements with which to tell her story.
This week I chose photos I took on a very snowy day in Wisconsin. I saw these red berries amongst white-out conditions and used my new favorite 70-200 2.8 lens to isolate the berries covered in snow. I included another photo of more of the background as well. I was still isolating the berries but this offers a different perspective.
To see all my friends' photos together in one grid, click HERE.
This is week 14 of our Photo 52.2 blog circle: Framed. It is a new year, a new month, and a new topic on Who We Become. For the first two months we will be spotlighting Perspective, with four weeks examining the way your choice of lens can alter your viewpoint, and the second four focusing more on the camera and photographer.
This week we are looking at the perspective of inclusion. Wide angle lenses allow our camera to see wider than the eye can, and therefore allow us to include a great deal of environment along with our subject. They are typically the lens of choice for a landscape photographer. Wide angle lenses tend to flatten our subject into the environment, however, so that most everything seems about the same distance away. and just like flattening the globe into a 2 dimensional map, a great deal of distortion can result, particularly towards the edges of the frame. A savvy photographer turns these supposed consequences into advantages. Maneuvering through these choices allows us each to develop a unique perspective.
Click HERE to see all of this week's inclusion submissions together.
Here is my choice for this week. This was taken at 24mm and you can see the distortion a bit along the corners, but it allowed me to capture much more of the gorgeous sky and sunset over the freshly fallen snow than the eye can see, enhancing the beautiful landscape (in my mind.)
Madison, Wisconsin winter sunset.
Last January, at the suggestion of our own Stacey Vukelj, our group of intrepid photographers dubbed 2013 "The Year of Awesome." And an awesome year it was. We completed our 52-week collaborative blog project devoted to the in-depth exploration of light. We launched this very website you are now perusing, What We Become, a collaborative photo blog devoted to our collective creative development.
Mostly, we got out of our respective comfort zones, grew in our craft, and - best of all - had fun!
For this final week of December, our theme is "Photographer's Choice". Some images will be a 2013 personal favorite. Some will be a continuation of our month-long exploration of lines. All images will be a reflection of where we are in our photographic journey. Click here to see all the image we chose as our final image of 2013 HERE.
This is week 12 of our year-long study on composition and our fourth week studying lines. This week we are looking at curves. Curves can be playful, graceful, lingering, sometimes even sexy. In photography, a curved line encourages the eye to meander and explore. Arcs and semi-circles are a variation on curved lines. These types of lines can help to frame or isolate the subject of an image. S-shaped lines are still another variation and are used frequently in visual arts for their sense of grace, balance and beauty.
Check out this week's offering to see our collective take on Curved Lines HERE
Ceiling at Radio City Music Hall during the Rockettes
This is week 11 of our Photo 52.2 blog circle studying composition. This week we are looking at diagonal lines.
There is a sense of movement and immediacy when diagonal lines are effectively captured in a photograph. When used thoughtfully, they can imbue an image with tension and energy. Diagonal lines can give a sense of soaring structure, or add remarkable depth to an image. As is the case with other kinds of lines, they help direct the eye and encourage the viewer to explore the frame.
Diagonal lines can add a sense of motion and anticipation. We anticipate you will very much enjoy our collective take this week on the use of diagonal lines.
Click HERE to see all my friends' photos of diagonals in one grid.
Please follow along the blog and see what my friend Colie had to say to her sweet daughter HERE
Drew & Harper:
Just a sweet note to let you two know how much I love you both. Nothing makes me prouder than looking at these photos of you two smiling and having fun and being sisters together. You are each other's best friend and I hope one day you may call me one as well. Thank you for accommodating me and my endless need to take photos of you. I hope when you get older, you will follow in my footsteps and document your children's lives. It is so important for generations to come. I love you both and am so excited for what everyday brings as your Mommy.
xo
Lines lend structure to a photograph, leading our eye through the image They create a feeling of movement, rhythm and flow.
For our second week on this topic, we are exploring the creative use of horizontal or vertical lines in our images. Although there are no hard and fast rules, each type of line typically inspires a different kind of feeling in the viewer. For horizontal lines, there is a tendency towards peacefulness, serenity and stability. Think of a classic shot of a desert horizon at sunset, a tranquil lake at dawn, or a magnificent row of tulips. Vertical lines imply something more dynamic, suggesting growth and power. Towering buildings, massive trees, even a small person shot from a low angle can impart and sense of strength and grandeur.
Check out this week's images here for our collective exploration of horizontal and vertical lines.
The start of a new month means a new topic for our year-long study of composition. For December we will be exploring the creative use of lines to prompt visual interest and help forge a connection between viewer and subject.
The use of leading lines in photography is a compelling way to enhance the composition of an image. Lines help to create a visual narrative by telling the viewer what is the main subject of the image. In many instances, they encourage us to explore further by leading our eye through the frame. In some cases, they can even direct our eye out of the frame.
Depending on the photographer's use of lines and intent, they can create depth and dimension, or impart tension or serenity. Lines are everywhere to be found: fences and roads, stairways and walls. Even the crook of an extended arm or a shaft of light can create a leading line. Check out this week's images for more examples of where leading lines can take you here:
This is Week 8 of our Photo 52.2 study on framing. We have come to the end of our month on balance, which is just as well. With the holidays approaching, many of us are struggling to balance our time, much less our compositions. Our efforts this week centered around using any or all of the objectives we have practiced this month - balance using negative space and frame placement, balance with objects or with other people. We hope you enjoy our diverse interpretations HERE
It's our Letters to Our Daughters blog circle time. After reading my letter, please follow along the circle and see what my friend, Nicole Johnson wrote to her darling daughter, Chloe HERE.
It's time for another letter to my sweet girls. This month I am writing a letter to Drew... It's been a really big month for you sweet pea: you lost your first tooth! You have been telling us over and over again how loose your tooth was and I kept telling you "hmm mmm… it does feel a little loose" when it wasn't budging at all. Almost every single girl and boy in your class have lost their teeth and you were just desperate for the tooth fairy to come. And then about two weeks ago you somehow fell in the cafeteria at school and knocked your tooth and when I picked you up, your smile was as big as your face and you told me "Mom! I have a loose tooth!" and it was so exciting getting ready for the potential of a tooth fairy. But, then we kept waiting and waiting and your tooth just kept hanging in there. Two whole weeks went by and still nothing! Your Dad and I were about to leave for Italy for a mini holiday and I was sure your tooth would fall out when we were away. The night before we were leaving, you woke up and walked out of your room at 9:30 pm and and said "Mom, I lost my tooth!" You weren't sure where it was so I searched your bed but I knew you had likely swallowed it. Sure enough, first tooth gone and it was swallowed. "Do you think the tooth fairy will still come?" Tooth fairies don't care if you have the tooth or not, they just know your tooth is gone and they always come. Sure enough, a mini letter in a mini envelope from the tooth fairy appeared under your pillow with $2! With that $2 came your new smile!
New smile!
Maybe it's because you knew you were getting a little older or maybe it's just because this is the kind of person you are, but I have witnessed excessive kindness coming from you lately. On Halloween, Harper was sick and didn't feel up to going trick or treating, but you came back with your loot of candy and gave Harper anything she wanted. Then, the next day at school, during your free time you asked all your friends in class to make a picture or write a note to Harper because you felt so badly she missed trick or treating. When I picked you up, you had a hand made envelope with a stack of letters and drawings from at least 10 of your friends. I was blown away and Harper was grinning ear to ear.
And then last week at your book fair, you decided to spend your money on a book not for you - but for Harper. You could hardly wait to get home to give it to Harper, but first wanted to spend a few minutes on the steps of the NY Historical Society to do a little reading. Your reading is so fantastic and I love that you want to read everything you can now - even if its a topic you aren't that keen on like Sofia the First.
I'm sad to see your lose your baby tooth because I know it's one more milestone you crossed. But, every time I say that, you do something else that makes us so proud. You are turning into quite the little bilingual speaker and love to quiz yourself and your dad and I are so worried that in just a few short years you and Harper will be able to speak to each other without your Dad or I knowing what you are talking about! You have so much energy and love for all your friends and family. It's really contagious. I felt so lucky to spend an afternoon with you just walking around Central Park.
I love you, Drew. And I do hope you wear more dresses and wear your beautiful curls down more often. Until then, I will sit back and admire you and your new smile.
Love you always and forever,
Mommy
This is our 7th week of Photo 52.2 and our third week focusing on balance. This week we sought to utilize negative space to provide balance, or imbalance, to our images. Sometimes it is so easy to get caught up in filling the frame that we forget what an effective and deceptively simple tool empty space can be. This doesn't mean the space must be open sky or a blank wall, but in whatever form it takes, it lends a sense of scope and may even act as the primary or secondary subject within the frame.
For this week, I chose an image I shot in Milan last week on a mini holiday. This was taken on the roof top of the cathedral in the Milan center. This cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete- it's the fifth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in the Italian state territory. There are over 2000 statues on the roof, all portraying saints, prophets, sibyls and other characters of the Bible. It was an incredible view and we had an incredible night.
To see all of this week's photos in one matrix, click HERE
Last week, our objective was to achieve balance in the frame using two or more people. This week, we tried to create a counterweight to our subject using an object of some kind. Size, perspective and relationship of the object to the subject all feature in creating an appealing balance – or perhaps intentionally creating the sensation of being off-balance. In my attempt, I am using the beautiful fall trees to balance my photo. We hope you enjoy our collection here
We are kicking off week two by looking at the concept of balance within the frame of an image. As in life, balance in photography can often feel elusive. For many of us, when the day to day details are not coming together well, we feel little off-kilter or out of sorts. Conversely, we revel in the harmonious feeling that descends when it all comes together. Similarly, there is something very appealing about a well-balanced image, even if it is not immediately apparent that a dynamic balance is what makes the shot work. Our goal this week was to balance people in an image. This may mean two subjects, or simply finding a way to make another person or persons act as the counterweight to the main subject. We all agree that it was quite a challenge.
Here is my take below. To see all the images together, click HERE
