5 Websites

Christian Richter is a fine art architecture and a photographer who grew up in East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, there were multiple abandoned houses. Since then, he enjoys taking pictures of staircases from abandoned houses. I really like the different angles he took the photographs and the old looking color really adds value to these abandoned houses. Even though abandoned houses may seem scary or ugly, Richter's photographs really showed me how magnificent it really is and the history behind them all.

a. I really like the color of the staircase and the angle Richter took the photo. I like how Richter left the staircase in his original state such as the dirt on the staircase, the chipped walls, the cob webs because it adds value to the photograph and tells a story of the abandoned house itself. 

b. The composition rule I see in this photograph is Framing because the spiral of the staircase causes the viewer to focus at the end of the staircase. 

c. Once again, Christian Richter takes photographs of staircases in multiple abandoned homes. 

d. I think it would be cool to travel to different places to see unique abandoned houses. His photographs really inspired me to take pictures that are my own and that people might not see on a daily basis, just like staircases. 

Rachel Susan is a contemporary artist who was born in Brooklyn. She works with biologists and travels all over the world to capture pictures of mostly of nature. However, the main focus of her photography career is taking pictures of the oldest living things in the world. It was interesting to me how old the living things were on her blog. Her pictures include a variety of color and subjects (plants). The dedication she put in to travel to different places in search of old things really inspired me. 

a. I thought it was really neat to see a path in the middle of dead white bark from trees. The grasses and bushes growing around the dead bark adds color to the photograph. I also really like perspective in which she took the picture. 

b. The composition rule I see in this photo is Rule of Thirds. If we were to divide the photograph in nine squares, the path would be perfectly aligned with its intersecting points. The horizon is mainly found in the top horizontal third while the left vertical third is the boundary for the starting point of the pathway. 

c.  Rachel's photographs really encouraged me to take pictures of my own. She taught me that photography does not have to be complicated and have the perfect prompts and subjects in them. Photography can just be as simple as taking pictures of old things like what she enjoys doing.


Nasim Mansurov enjoys visiting her home in Colorado. She enjoys taking photographs of the Rocky Mountains, canyons, plains, and deserts. After photographing in Colorado for 10 years, he decided to show his work and the places he has visited. He recommends places to go by displaying his photographs from Colorado. I personally think it is a great idea to show your work to benefit those around you.

a. I love the reflection of the sunset as well as the colors that are displayed. The ducks swimming in the corner also add some value to the photograph.
b. This photograph of the ducks on the lake shows Rule of Thirds best because the ducks are aligned with the guide lines and their intersecting points.
c. Nasim's work was very appealing. All his photographs were in focus and had very good use of color. Also, all of his pictures are different and are taken in different positions which in my opinion is very neat and doesn't keep the viewer bored.
d. I learned that photography can actually inspire people to visit places and can be a good source to inform the public about information or places to visit.
e. Nasim's work relates to photography because all his photographs represent different composition rules.


Tarek Mawad is a visual artist who was born in Germany. He works in an artist collective called 3hund. Throughout his career his knowledge has expanded and has specialized in 3D animation, projection mapping, and photography. His work as well as his coworkers spent six weeks illuminating different objects in a forest with a powerful projector and then photographing the results. They work with a computer, projector, and a DSLR on a slider.


a. I chose this photo because I liked how the photo was in focus and the illumination of the mushrooms. This photo would probably follow Framing because the dark background makes the mushrooms stand out with their glow.
b. Tarek and his coworkers made a video displaying their work in the forest of the illuminating objects. There were glowing mushrooms as you see above, glowing frogs, leaves, beetles, tree bark, and cobwebs.
c. I am completely astonished of Tarek's and his coworkers' work and the effort they put in. It's inspiring to me because I know projecting different objects and projecting the perfect amount of light is not an easy job. You have to have a lot of patience which is something I personally have to work on.


Nasim Mansurov is the author and founder of Photography Life. However, there are many others who is a part of the team. Nasim spent most of his time dealing with technology instruments, however soon realized that his true passion was photography. At first, he took pictures of his first born and family members "to preserve memories," but now takes pictures of anything.


a. In this photograph, you see the rarest pine trees in the world. Therefore, what was inspiring to me, was that Nasim, took this photo with vibrant colors in the background to "invite the viewer" and show a new perspective of the trees.
b. After mentioning what his goal for the picture above, I would say he accomplished it. As the viewer, I chose this photo because the vibrant colors made the subject(s) stand out more. Also, the picture is in focus and it's easy for the viewer to see and understand the main subject of the photograph.
c. On the website, there were a variety of topics and tips. Of course I cannot look at all their posts, but from what I saw, I think it was very well thought out and the pictures were beautiful and creative, taken in different perspectives and angles.
d. From the photographs on the website I learned that a photographer can change the rarest and most unpopular objects into the most beautiful piece of art. They can actually make the objects worth while and valuable which is very inspiring to me.
e. The website relates to photography because they all apply to the different composition rules I learned in the beginning of the school year. 

Prompt Shoot #3

Picture follows circles and numbers prompt.



Picture follows circles prompt.

Local Austin Photographer

Jackie Lee Young is a portrait photographer from Austin, Texas. She specifically enjoys taking pictures of music festivals, travel, and fashion. She attended Saint Edwards University and received her BA in literature and photography. This year she visited many music festivals and captured multiple pictures of artists, performers, and attendees.



Jackie took this picture during ACL. This photograph follows the composition rule Framing because it keeps the viewer's focus on the framed subject. The white background makes the singer stand out.



This picture was also captured during ACL. This photograph also follows the rule Framing because the red background makes her face stand out because of her blonde hair.



This picture could follow the composition rule Balance because there are equal people on each side of the photograph doing the same thing - holding up their hands and singing along. However, Jackie could of avoided an arm looking like it is coming out from a girl's head on the right.



This picture follows the composition rule Balance because there are equal amount of shadows on each side of the picture. This picture can also show Framing because Jackie could of included the people and the background. However, she focused on the shadows of the people.



This picture can show the Rule of Thirds. The phone is the main focus of the picture and is aligned with its imaginary intersecting points.

Mural Project

My group and I decided to take pictures of Austin, Texas. We wanted to capture photographs that represent Austin and show what makes Austin unique and its own.

Magazines Part II

Image Based cover magazines are seen most often. They usually consist of few people. Most celebrities are are on the covers smiling at the camera. They are normally the ones who are selling the magazine. Some of these magazines are uniquely displayed. Such as the subject is posing differently, or the cover has landscapes, food, or animals. The main focus of these magazines is the photograph. It is like a background and makes sense with the topic of the magazine. An example of Illustration Based cover magazines is The New Yorker. The magazines that have an illustration cover consist of funny or rare photographs. The background picture that is computer generated is the biggest focus of the magazine. A Type Based cover magazine consists of powerful and meaningful text instead of photographs. The attract the viewer through the caption or title. Concept Based cover magazines are a mixture of all cover magazines mentioned above. They make the covers funny and easy to understand and follow the message of the magazine.

The relationship between words and photographs on a cover of a magazine is to have both included in order to construct an appealing and engaging cover. This is important because the main focus is to captivate the reader's attention so that they can buy the magazine.

My Favorite Cover

Favorite Portrait



The New York Times Magazine, November 24, The Flight Risk 

Photographer: Martin Schoeller
Designer: Arem Duplessis
"For this cover story on the U.S. women's ski-jumping team, we featured the olympic hopeful Sarah Hendrickson as photographed by Martin Schoeller. Schoeller captures the competitive spirit of Hendrickson, who wears her competition gear, in her body posture and intense gaze."

Critique: This is my favorite portrait because I like the use of colors and how the subject stands out from the background. The magazine explains the competitive spirit Sarah Hendrickson carries with her when she competed in the olympics. She portrays emotion and the title brings attention to the viewer. The whole cover in general is well organized. There is not too much information and it is not all cluttered. Everything is in focus and it is easy to read. The attire she is wearing creates creativity where as if she just dressed normally. In most portraits the subject is smiling. However, I like how Hendrickson is not quite smiling painting an anxious mood. Overall, the magazine is a successful portrait and includes all the magazine tips to think about when creating the cover of a magazine from the last two posts.

Best Covers

1. Formal



2. Formal



3. Informal



4. Informal



6. Formal



7. Formal



8. Formal



9. Environmental



10. Formal



11. Formal



12. Formal



13. Informal



14. Formal



15. Formal



16. Informal



17. Informal

Magazine Tips

Five things that I will keep in mind while creating the front cover of my magazine is that the cover should be emotionally irresistible, arouse curiosity, easy to read, intellectually stimulating/compelling, and has good use of colors or patterns. The product should look like you took your time and put effort in.

American Soldier

A. I think the most powerful image from the Denver Post was when sergeant John Eldridge uses his walking stick and plays with one of the soldiers with it to encourage them during field training exercises. When the soldiers are in stressful or risky situations (war/training), an encouragement or a laugh from a superior almost always relieves the stress and the nerves. This picture also really showed unity and a strong relationship built among the soldiers.
B. The images show the environment and situations they experience as soldiers. It is easy to identify the mood and emotion displayed from the image/subject. The fact that most of the photos are black and white also factor in to create the mood of the image.
C. The captions help illustrate and understand the action that is occurring in each image. They also may provide information that cannot be identified by the image. Rather than just a couple of words, it greatly enhances the experience of the soldiers.
D. Ian Fisher was enlisted in the army at age 17. He signed up for the violence spiking up in Iraq who wanted to fight for "God and [his] country." Throughout his experience as a soldier, Fisher has faced and overcame many injuries and obstacles from the Army and himself. He has built multiple relationships with the other soldiers. Fisher's Drill Sergeant states that he got attached to Fisher during their 14 week training. After a few weeks of hard training, Fisher returns home and explains to his father that he has a drug addiction and later tell his commander. Fisher then comes home from Iraq, has a celebration, and gets engaged to his girlfriend, Devin.
E. Where Ian is present and is the main focus of the photograph, the first sentence of the caption is written in present tense, while the second sentence is in past tense.
F.
1)The captions are normally 2-3 sentences.
2) The first sentence describes who is in the picture, where it takes place, when did it take place, why the photograph was taken, and what is going on.
3) The second sentence tells the viewer the background information that cannot be identified or implied by the photograph.
4) The third sentence may contain a quote and just gives even more details about the photograph.
5) Some captions do have quotes embedded in them.
6) Captions do not have four sentences.
G. I believe it is possible to tell a complete story with just pictures and captions because the pictures demonstrate the action that is occurring and the captions provide more details and background information that may not be shown just by the photograph.
H. I think people bother writing stories because they provide more information and action that can attract the reader's attention. Individuals can acquire more information from a story than just a picture and a caption.