Artist Statement

Overall I think my portfolio is very nice. In my portfolio you will find new camera tricks that I have never used before. Some of the camera tricks consist of Shutter speed, ISO, Fill in Flash, and lots of other camera tricks. The reason I feel that I did well on my portfolio is because think that I did my projects well and all of my posts well. My favorite overall project was definitely the “Social Issue”. The reason that my social issue was my favorite overall project is because it has a deep meaning and I think it has a lot to do with the environment around me.
Over this last semester I have learned a lot more than last semester. I think that I have learned more now because we have learned more camera tricks this semester than last semester. I feel that I was a lot more successful this semester also. I was very successful with coming up with real creative ideas for all of my projects. I was also successful with putting up a lot more post this semester than last semester.
I had many struggles this semester with finishing my projects on time although I still turn them. I think the reason that I would turn stuff in late was because I like to get my project exactly how I want them. I could improve this by thinking of what I want to create before the project actually comes up. One of my influences to do good in this class was definitely me being competitive, so basically I was influenced by my other classmates. I think I have seen growth because all for my projects have got a lot better as this semester went on. Overall I feel like I learned a lot in this class and enjoyed it very much.

Personal Metaphor "I'm like a bird I want to fly away"

My personal metaphor is “I’m like a bird I want to fly away”. One of the reasons I chose this metaphor is because I find the song very interesting. Another reason that I chose this metaphor is because at times I feel like I am stressed out and I would like to just get away. So basically that when I’m stressed out I just want to spend time alone. My opinion on my project is that I did very well. I think I did well because it took time, not necessarily just Photoshop time, but it took time to get all of the right pictures for the project. I think something that I could have done better would have been to figure out how to space my project out more because it seems like it’s a big space in the top right corner. The only thing that was difficult to me was trying to figure out a way to make myself look more like a bird. I think overall I did very well on my project. I like how the background and the words coordinate well.

Surrealism

Once upon a time there was a young black man named Christopher Beasley. He was from Watts, California and was gang related. He did not like the fact that he was involved in gangs so he wanted to do something that will change his life up. He started thinking of different ideas and ways that he can get out. He finally figured out a way, he wanted to run for president. So one day when he was on his way home from his job he saw something on the television at a store that mad him upset. The reporter at the local news station reported that there will be an Arabian Presidential candidate running against him. Chris knew that this was going to be a problem simply because he knew that Alex Khadi (the Arabian candidate) could get cheaper prices on gas than him. Chris Beasley had to come up with something fast and good. After days of thinking of the master plan, he finally got it. His plan was to build some stair up to the top of the Watts towers so that he could put a vote for him sign up there. The only problem with that plan was that he didn’t know what materials to use. So he started thinking of different materials and he finally figured it out. He was going to use some dice for the ladder, but instead of a ladder he was going to make some stairs. So the next day was when it all started, Chris went to the liquor store around the corner and bought a cart full of dice. He couldn’t afford any glue so he had to use some duck tape. So as he started to tape the dice together he realized that there was a giant hand coming out of the sky. It was the hand of a black Jesus and he then told me no don’t do it because they will judge you because of the dice in the hood. So Chris Beasley ended up not doing it because he didn’t want to fit into the stereotypes.

Senior Portfolio Show

After taking a look at all of my other peers Senior Portfolio's programs, I think I did very well on being creative by putting all of the class names that might be displayed at the Senior portfolio show. If I could of did something better I could have got a better picture to put on the front cover. I really struggled on thinking of class names and thinking of different ideas to make my program more interesting. I think that I did better on this program because it is more creative than my Graduation program.

Graudation Program

After observing all of my peers Graduation programs, I think that placing stuff in the right places. If I could do something different on my program I would have made the diploma on the cover look like it was more into the program instead of looking like it was just copy and pasted on it. I think it was harder than I thought it would be because it was hard to think of good ideas. I think the most important part about graphic design is the visual art you put on it because that determines if it looks nice or not. If I could give some advice I would say that you should think of some ideas in advance.

Group Collaboration

I found that the most difficult thing about taking these pictures was the timing. I think that the timing was hard because everybody had to pose at the same exact time. If I could do something differently I would have thought of some more detailed ideas.

Artistic Statement

This is my first semester portfolio for my 6th hour class which is Digital Photography class. In this portfolio you will find numerous photographs that were edited in class. These are pictures of me and some of my partner Alejandro. I feel that I have done very well on my semester portfolio although I think a few of the pictures could have been better. I think that I have got a lot better from the beginning of class until now. I think that I have better pictures than others but overall they are all really good.
Over the course of the semester I have learned how to put special effects on pictures. I also learned how to use a lot of effects on photoshop. I feel that I was most successful doing the Social Issue. The reason why I feel most successful doing the Social Issue is because it is something that has a lot to do with me. I struggled a lot with keeping up with the rest of the class. I think the reason that I couldn't really keep up with the rest of the class is because I like to talk a lot.
I could improve on paying attention more to what the teacher is saying to do because I was lost a lot of the time. I have seen a lot of improvement on putting effects on the picutres that I have taken. I would like to say that I like this class because I like the way the pictures look with special effects on them.

Lyrics

The lyrics I chose for this project are "Number One Spot" by Ludacris. "Whoa! Don't slip up or get got! (Why not man?)I'm comin for that number one spot! (Alright)Rappers swearin they on top! (Nuh uh, uh uh)But I'm comin' for they number one spot! (Alright man)Scheme scheme, plot plot (say WHAT?)I'm comin for that number one spot! (Woo, hey)Keep it goin it won't stop! (What you doin man?)I'm comin for that number one spot!" I Chose these lyrics because I think that Ludacris is the best rapper ever. I chose these lyrics because they are funny and I am the funny type of guy. I also chose these lyrics because he is saying that he is trying to be number one at what he does and that I what I am trying to do. These lyrics mean a lot to me because this is one of my most favorite songs of all time.

Social Issue

"Does Color Really Matter" is what my social issue is. My social issue has a lot to do with being raciest to a certain group of people. It affects me because people always judge me before they know me just because I am black. It affects a lot of people around me because a lot of them are black too. So when people see a group of black kids it's always got to be that they are going to do something bad.

I chose this statement because it was an easy statement to come up with. I also chose this statement because it has a lot to do with me and people who are close to me. I chose to do this picture because the book already has the word color on it but it's not in color. So I wanted to make the word color in black and white and make the rest of the words in color. I also think I did a swell job on this picture.

Critique: The "Guardian"

There is a man standing on two branches that are balancing on a tree stump. He has a large number of branches coming out of his back and his arms. The background is very dark and gloomy. He has this look on his face like he is angry and he wants to jump down but something is holding him back. It looks like He is in the middle of a forrest that has been all chopped down. I think that this is a good piece of art because I think it is very creative with the way they made all of the branches come out of the arms.

"The Scream": My Interpretation

My hypothesis about this picture is that the person in the picture is showing great fear. There is an ugly man behind him so the person screams from fear. The colors in the picture are very dark and shallow, so therefore that makes the picture very scary. My spidey senses tell me that the man looks like Alejandro in the face, actually it was Alejandro. So Alejandro is basically the reason why this picture is oh so scary.

Adjustment Layers

In this exercise we learned about Adjustment layers. Adjustment layers allow you to add adjustments to your image on separate layers instead of directly to the image itself. This comes in handy during long complicated projects. In Photoshop every tool is specifically designed to help improve your photo. However, here we took some artistic liberties and explored adjustments creatively.

Self Potraits

For our Self-Portrait project we were to take three self-portraits. They were all to be in black and white, and they were all to capture a mood of some sort. We were also challenged to be as artistic as possible, and stay as far away from normal, cliche portraits that we see on personal pages etc. as possible.One had to use the rule of thirds as the base for the composition; One had to incorporate leading lines, and one had to be taken from a more extreme angle. I think I did very well. Some of the ideas consist of me in a trash can, me on a top flight security car, and riding a horse. The one that I think was the best is the one in the trash can because it has a very extreme angle. Something that could be done better next time is to look at the camera in all the pictures.

Contact Sheet

I feel that my contact sheet came pretty darn jazzy. I think that I did all of the names of the pictures rather well. Something that I can do better next time is making the pictures a little bit bigger so that no white spots would be showing. Out of all the Compositional tricks, I have to say that the best one was Extreme Angles. The trick that I enjoyed using was cropping trick because I got to put my name on it and that was off the chain.

Compositional Trick # 5: Cropping

Cropping is a trick that photographers do all the time, even if they don't realize it. Every time a photographer chooses to cut something out of his/her frame, before they snap the photo, that is in essence cropping. We also have learned tools on Photoshop that allow us to crop an image after we have taken it. When cropping in Photoshop it is possible to improve our composition or change it completely. I changed the composition of the photo by just focusing. I like this picture better because it has my name on the side. I used the crop tool to make the pciture smaller. I also used the crop tool again to put a white background on the picture.

Compositional Trick # 4: Extreme Angles

Extreme Angles is a camera trick that is used to improve your picture by making the picture in an unusual angle. There is no button that you push to do this trick. You just have to set the camera at an unusual angle.

Compositional Trick # 3: Macro

The Macro feautre on the camera is basically an enhancement button. Macro has two different enhancements that it performs, one is Texture and the other is one is Depth of Field. Texture is basically getting up close to an object just enough to see the texture

Compositional Trick # 2: Leading Lines

Leading lines improves the focus of the picture. Leading lines is basically when there is a line that is leading to the Emphasis. There is no button for leading lines you just have to focus on an object that has leading lines into it.

Compositional Trick # 1: The Rule of Thirds

Rule of Thirds is basically when you have to make your photograph better. Rule of Thirds is done by simply pushing a button on the camera. When you push the button a grid pops up on the screen which look like a tic-tac-toe board.