J2150 Blog: Website Design

Here are 250 quick website design tips:

http://sixrevisions.com/web_design/250-quick-web-design-tips-part-1/

 

I recently redid my own website, http://www.annapetrowphotography.com

I think the most helpful thing you can do in term of deciding what you want your blog or website to look like is to look around at other ones and pick and choose your favorite aspects of each. I really wanted a clean and organized site, but I also wanted to be able to have lots of content on it.

After looking at Isaac Alongi’s website, I decided to follow his lead and use a galleries approach. Isaac is a local photographer in Kansas City and he gets some of the best business in the area. Part of that is doubtlessly due to his website traffic and the appeal his website has to his customers. Take a look here:

http://www.isaacalongistudios.com/

I like how he subdivided the different kinds of photography he works at, because I also work in a lot of different areas. I’ve traveled a lot and photographed in different places, but I didn’t want an overarching “Travel” gallery to drag on too long and risk losing the interest of the viewer, so similar to how Isaac set up his (in galleries such as Weddings), I made a separate gallery for different locations.

Another approach that I’ve used before is just using a variety- sort of a portfolio approach. I still like being able to hook your audience with a wide array of subject matter, so I made my opening gallery that way. I like the style of Studio B Photography’s page, which is also a studio in Kansas City. One of the photographers there– Jodi– is a good friend of mine, and her work is great. They also keep their fans updated by using a Facebook page, where they upload just a few photos from all the shoots they do. I think it’s a great marketing strategy. Here’s there portfolio site:

http://photostudiob.com/Portfolio.php

There are many out there, so it’s good to look around! But in my opinion the best thing you can do is change it up once in awhile, so that you always have something new to show.

J2150 Week 2

This is the website of a photographer named Zack Campari and a videographer named Drea Copper who have been working for years on a project called California Is A Place. They’ve been traveling around the state telling all kinds of different stories to essential paint a picture of the population of California. He’s featured a lot of different groups and lifestyles so far:

http://californiaisaplace.com/cali/

My favorite of theirs so far is definitely the piece called Scrapertown, a story about a group of kids in Oakland. Growing up in mostly violent environments, these kids decided to find a different outlet for their time- scraper bikes. There are rules: you have to be at least 7 years old, keep your grades up, but most of all, make an awesome bike. They tell the story of how these kids managed to create a new kind of street credit in a notoriously violent town.

The combination of still photo, photo time-lapse, video, and audio interview (as well as music) is outstanding. They really bring a small and seemingly inconsequential story to life. Take a look:

http://californiaisaplace.com/cali/#scrapertown

 

J2150 Week 1

This week we’re learning about how to work with dSLRs and what makes photojournalism- since that’s my major and I’ve already taken a couple of classes in the journalism school for photo-j, this is going to be a good way to start the semester for me. I loved seeing the video at the start of class- it featured a lot of work from journalists I admire, and gave due credit to them for the hard work they do. I’m excited to start getting more into the convergence side of things, which is exactly what this course will teach me. Some of my favorite examples of this are from the New York Times piece called One in 8 Million. The staff photographers worked to create a portrait of the people that make up New York City through sound and images.

See some here:

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/

Another piece I really enjoyed this year was from Magnum, called The Places We Live. It puts together sound and seamless images to give at 360 degree view of a families’ homes in places all over the world.

http://theplaceswelive.com/

Audio Slideshow Research

Here are some links to some great multimedia work. Our final project is coming up, and these are some good examples of seamless audio that goes well with the photography.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/#/joshua_febres

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/12/world/americas/13FORTNATIONAL_SS/index.html

 

Not sure how I feel about this last one- the music was way too editorial and at times the text was slightly overdramatic, but I was really amazed by the access the photographer got:

Multiple Flash

I was paired with Alyssa for this project, and we went to Rockbridge High School to photograph the girl’s basketball team because we wanted to take advantage of the power of multiple flash to stop action. Here is my select with caption:

 

The girls basketball team at Rockbridge High school goes over pick and passing drills at Monday night’s practice. The team is currently in preseason– their first game will take place during th SJA Turkey Shootout on November 25 at St. Joseph’s academy.

 

I shot this image from up on a stage. A flash on a stand was to my left, and Alyssa was holding a flash to my right so that we could angle it towards their faces depending on where the action was taking place. Here’s a lighting diagram:

 

Painting with Light

My team shot this image using flash in a completely dark room on the camera bulb setting. We also incorporated flashlights with red and purple gels.

 

Leisha Ritter and Shelly Englehart have been dancing together for seven years. They’ve competed in all kinds of dance– ballet, hip-hop, jazz and modern. The grew up in St. Louis, where they attended the same high school and particpated in the dance team. Here at the University of Missouri, the girls have worked together on dances for competitions on campus such as Rockin’ Against Multiple Sclerosis for two years.

 

Here’s a lighting diagram:

Fill/Balancing

Kansas City resident Jessye Anderson digs in to some cornmeal pancakes at Genessee Royale in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, Missouri. Anderson has been coming to the restaurant since it opened. She said she loves to explore and find new, local places to eat. Genessee is just that- they serve breakfast made with all fresh, organic ingredients. However, Anderson always comes alone. “My husband says these places are too froo-froo for him,” she laughed. “He’s more of a greasy diner guy.”

 

Here’s a lighting diagram for this shot:

 

 

 

 

Color Correction

Just when I thought I had a handle on single flash, flourescent lighting and the color correction assignment showed up to change my mind! I had a really difficult time working the flash with the gels- it’s a lot to deal with at once, and unfortunately my outtakes reflect that. But I am pretty happy with my  select, and the man I met while doing this assignment was a really interesting guy. Here he is:

John Dane Wilkerson browses around The Market Place, an antique mall on the Business Loop. He is from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, so Columbia is quite a drive for him. However, he comes back every three months for a check-up on the stint in his heart at the University Hospital. He credits the hospital with giving his son his life back, who had a car accident in 1993. After the accident, Wilkerson and his son spent a lot of time in Columbia for his son’s rehabilitation. That was when Wilkerson discovered The Market Place—a goldmine in his eyes. “If I could buy everything I wanted here I’d have to go home with a hitch and a tractor,” he said. Today he said he was looking for an ooga horn. “Do you know what an ooga horn is?” he asked. Before I could reply—“Oooooooga!” he exclaimed.

 

And here’s the lighting diagram for that image:

Single Flash

This was my first time getting to use a flash with TTL, and it made my life a lot easier! I’m really excited that I own a flash now, and this assignment was a good way to get back into using it. I shot the Occupy Columbia movement and Iron Tiger tattoo using both direct and bounce flash. Below are my selects:

 

Jeff Gowin takes a break on the pavement in front of City Hall after ten hours spent mostly standing. Gowin has been protesting with Occupy Columbia for weeks in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement taking over New York City. According to Gowin, being in a smaller city has not held their group back- last week, they marched in Kansas City, and next week they are marching on the state capitol in Jefferson City. “We’re getting a lot of support,” Gowin said. “People honk, yell, bring us food, and most importantly, come join us out here.”

 

Collin Apache looks on as Lars Van Zandt gives Steve Minardi a tattoo in his studio at Iron Tiger on Tenth Street in downtown Columbia. An hour and a half into the tattoo with at least an hour to go, Van Zandt complained of an aching back. Minardi, however, said he didn’t need a break. Van Zandt has been tattooing at Iron Tiger for four years. He was planning on a move to Las Angeles for work next month, but decided to stay at Iron Tiger. “Life has a way of changing on you last minute,” Van Zandt said.

 

Here are some lighting diagrams to show how the photos were taken (in the same order as posted above):

 

Metal & Glass

For our metal and glass project, I was assigned to shooting the glass portion. I bought a few different containers, but ended up picking the thin rectangular vase as my favorite. Bobby and I had such a hard time lighting the peacock feather inside the glass while eliminating glare. It took a lot of time and lots of little adjustments, but we finally got it right and I’m happy with the end result!

This is straight out of camera (we aren’t allowed to edit for this class), and unfortunately my sensor is dirty so there are a few dust spots.

 

 

The contrasting textures and elements of a peacock feather and a rectangular glass vase are lit using a bright field scenario, as shown by the dark edges of the glass against a white backdrop.