Dramatic Portrait

Yesterday's challenge from the folks at Photochallenge.org was PORTRAIT. For my Theatre and Photography class, I took "Dramatic Portraits" as well as "Portraits of Actors." For this dramatic portrait of Ryan, I was inspired by early portrait photographers, such as Napoleon Sarony, who used painted backdrops and accessories that referenced the subjects' professions. Early photographs required long exposure times, and so the subjects only adopted poses that could be held (although they sometimes had help from contraptions such as head braces!) I posed Ryan in a corner, surrounded by a wall of math, peering out from behind a stack of math books. If I remember correctly, I think I bumped up the color saturation and contrast because it made Ryan look a bit more run down. For those that know that Ryan, this portrait should be self-explanatory. :-P

Sidewalk

For a while now, I have wanted to take pictures of 30th Street, the street I live on. It is a fantastic street full of shops, cute houses, and more beer varieties than just about any street in the country.

Today, Ryan and I walked down 30th Street (as well as some adjacent streets) to try to take pictures responding to the some of the photo challenges from photochallenge.com: Simple, Control, Shadow, Road, and Sidewalk.

This was the best of many shots I took of sidewalks, but... something is not quite right. I like the lolling cat in the foreground, highlighting the lazy inactivity of the sidewalk. I also like the sidewalk receding into the plants and trees in the background, with the endless, wavelike shadows of the powerlines. But the vast, middle is a bit distracting. Perhaps I should have stepped back a bit so that the cat was further into the picture and away from the borders. This would have given me more room to crop. Photography is a tricky business.

Spoon (not as good as Lauren's)

Spoon

"Catchlights" by Lauren

Colander

My cousin Ryan C. has been photographing various kitchen items in response to the challenges from Photochallenge.org. We have decided to informally take on a few of the photo challenges from the site to hone our skills of composition and selection.

"Bad Kitty" by Lauren