Straight Photography
Pictures that show the world as it is, pictures that are not manipulated.
Seagull by Mr. OlejarzSubject Matter - What is a picture about?
I took this picture of a seagull. You could say that this picture is about the seagull. The picture is also about other things, the ocean, the land and the seagull's relationship to the ocean and land. The picture could also be about the loneliness of the seagull or perhaps the seagull is just looking for something to eat.
 Mountain and Shack by Mr. Olejarz |
 Edward Weston. Pepper #30. 1930. |
Composition
"By varying the position of his camera, his camera angle, or the focal length of his lens, the photographer can achieve an infinite number of varied compositions with a single stationary subject." Edward Weston, 1886-1958
What the above quote means is that you can stand in one spot and take many different pictures of the same thing. If you take a picture of a shed the shed may be on the left, center or right side of your picture. You may zoom in or zoom out. Another way to vary the composition of a picture is by cropping it. You can easily use the Crop Tool to select a smaller area of your picture. This changes the composition of your picture.
William Henry Fox Talbot
Flowers, Leaves, and Stem c. 1838
Light and Shadow
Henry Fox Talbot, 1800-1877, one of the earliest photographers, described photography as a process of "fixing shadows."
Photography began in 1839 and the earliest photos were made by capturing light and shadow on light sensitive metal plates. These early images were not in color; they were more like black and white pictures. Artists and scientists tried to find a way to add color to the earliest pictures. Many artists simply added color by painting directly on a photograph. It was not until 1935 that Kodak introduced color film. Today's film cameras capture pictures by exposing light sensitive film to light. Digital cameras translate light and shadow into binary code and computers use that information to produce a picture.
Maine Morning by Mr. OlejarzWindows, Mirrors and Reflections
A photograph may be a window on the world that tells us about our world and/or the people in it. A photograph may also be a mirror, reflecting our surroundings, our lives and/or our feelings. Photographs preserve memories and help us see things in a new way.
Straight Photography Assigments
Digital Imaging Index
Mr.Olejarz - Main Index
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