Portraits

While doing this assignment, I felt like such a professional photographer; I had time slots booked for a bunch of different models. I used a portrait lens and a very low f-stop (1.8, mostly) to create the blurred background effect that makes the subject's face stand out as the focus of the photo. I tried to not just photograph classic, smiling faces. Instead, my goal was to capture emotion through varying facial expressions.

NYC - Portraits

NYC - Legs

NYC - 9/11 Memorial

NYC - Brooklyn Bridge

NYC - Times Square at Night

NYC - Apple Store

NYC - Grand Central Station

NYC - Highline Walk

NYC Reflection

       For me, the highlight of the trip was most definitely our dinner at John’s Pizza. It is by far my favorite restaurant in New York, and I loved being able to share it with everyone else in the group. Another highlight was staying in Chinatown. This is because we were able to see the stands set up on the street with fresh fish, fruits, and vegetables each time we came or went from the hotel. The food being sold from the stands are quite different from what you may find in a typical grocery store in Maine, so it was very interesting to see this exotic variety. I also really enjoyed photographing Grand Central Station. I thought that the lighting in the building was really cool, and I enjoyed playing around with my shutter speed while trying to capture the blurred motion of all of the people rushing by.

       Of the many things I learned about in New York, ISO manipulation stands out. Before the trip, ISO was one of those things that I just left alone because I was unsure about it. I thought changing it would mess up my photographs. I now know that ISO is a crucial element of camera settings. It can allow you to take clear photos at various times of day or weather situations. For example, when it was sunny on Saturday, I changed my ISO from Friday’s 400 to 200. When we were photographing Times Square at night, I set my ISO as high as it would go (1600).

       One thing in particular I would like to remember is the importance of adjusting my camera’s ISO. This way I can account for the natural brightness or darkness of any day or night. I would also like to remember that adjusting the manual settings of my camera for each photograph has become a much quicker and more efficient process for me. When I first began photographing with manual settings, the process was long and cumbersome. Now, it is much easier, and hopefully will continue to become even more automatic. I would like to remember this when I experiment with new aspects of photography in the future; this will remind myself that even though a process may seem frustrating and impossible at first, with practice it will become much easier.

Words

"Ringside"

I took a deep breath and opened the door. The smell hit me like a book in the face- sweat, equipment, and testosterone. Mainly sweat. The intimidating rap music playing was slightly dulled out by the methodical pounding of fists against bags. The walls were plastered with a century’s worth of posters, articles, and photographs, many yellowed by the passing of time. Raised up above the concrete floor was the centerpiece of the gym: the ring. It had an almost heavenly aura, glowing from the impact of the harsh ceiling lights.