Photography Blog Post #2 - "Aperture and Depth of Field"

For today's blog, please respond to the following questions:

1. Discuss the different subjects you chose to photograph. Why did these subjects appeal to you and why did they seem appropriate for this specific assignment?
2. Analyze a series of photographs that show various depths of field.  What technique do you like the most? Why? How do you think the aperture affects the feeling of an image?
3. Discuss why you chose this set of photos over the other 3 sets you took (why do you like it, how does it fit the requirement)?
4. Explain the camera setting/modes you used and why! You must include the f/stop and shutter speed numbers with an accurate explanation of how the aperture values affected each photo for full credit! Remember to discuss the concept of “everything in focus” vs. “one thing in focus” and how your camera settings affected this for each photo.
5. What skills did you learn and use completing the Photoshop element of this project?  Be specific and thoroughly outline each of the tools you used to create your final product.
6. What decisions did you make and/or challenges did you encounter while physically taking the photo. If your answer reads, “I did not make any decisions or encounter any challenges,” you will not receive credit. Be a conscious and intentional photographer, and remember, “You don’t take a good photograph, you make it.” –Ansel Adams

A reminder to post your completed photoshop assignment on your blog along with 3 of the 6 images shot, one that clearly shows “everything in focus” and one that clearly shows the same subject with “one thing in focus.” Then pick an image between the two that shows the transition. Refer to the image I posted as an example.

Blog for the Block Day and Friday!

Alright everyone - read carefully!!  I've made the decision that I am going to allow you to continue using the cameras today (block) day but I am not particularly pleased with the past two days.  Yesterday in 3rd period a few students were reported as going into a classroom taking pictures - as you can imagine I am not happy about that.  In 2nd period on Tuesday the following was very disappointing:

• Students didn’t return in time to upload photos - you need to be back in class with a minimum of 10 minutes to upload your photos and put your cameras away neatly.
• One student left their memory card in the computer - your SD card always needs to be placed back in your camera before returning it to the closet
• One camera was left on desk - that is not a safe place for a $1,000 piece of equipment!!  
• Lens caps were left off while not shooting images.
• Some students students were not using the class time well to complete assignments.  Photos, Blog and Photoshop Assignment are due Friday by the end of class.
• Lastly, my personal materials brought to class for you to photograph were left scattered around room for me to clean up.

I hope you can understand why this would be upsetting for me, especially when I am trusting you with valuable equipment AND to represent the program well when out of class.  I expect that each of you have read the above and will respect these expectations today - especially with Ms. Solomon here in my place while I am at SAP.  My only reason for allowing cameras out today is because I don't want to penalize those of you who respected and followed the instructions and who waited patiently Tuesday for your turn to take the cameras out.

Please work well today, use the instructions and tutorial videos posted in Schoology and don't forget to respond to the blog (thoroughly) with the required images!

Thanks!

Photography Blog Post #1 - "Pop Art"

For today's blog, please respond to the following questions:

• What is Pop Art?
• Pick one artist, research them and discuss their work.  Why is this artist’s work considered Pop Art?  Why did you pick this artist and why do you like his/her work? (this discussion should be ~5 sentences)
• What would you say are some of the most iconic images in the 21st century?  Think about marketing, mass media, consumer products, etc that everyone your age is familiar with.  Were you able to capture one of these images in one or more of your twenty photos? (this discussion should also be ~5 sentences)
• How did you choose the photo that you used in your Photoshop project?  What about it made it your best photo for this project?
• What skills did you learn and use completing the Photoshop element of this project?  Be specific and thoroughly outline each of the tools you used and what adjustments it allowed for - in other words, what filters did you use for each of the nine grids in your Photoshop assignment
• What did you learn and enjoy about this project?  Discuss both the Photoshop tools you worked with and the experience you had with the camera itself as you took photos.  Were there things you realized about the photo taking process as you completed the project?

For this course you will be posting one blog each week.  The expectation is that the blog will be thorough and well thought out.  Remember at the top of your blog you should have 4 images. Your 3 best original images and then your "Pop Art" Photoshop Assignment.  Please spend some time formatting the blog as aesthetics will factor into your grade.

Adobe Flash Quiz

Please click on the following link and complete today's 30 question quiz at goo.gl/xVDxZK!  Happy End of the first quarter!  As soon as you have completed the quiz, please confirm the following:

• Any/all missing assignments have been submitted
• Blog is 100% up to date!

Mid-Term Exam Questions/Terminology to Review

If you feel comfortable with the following questions you'll be happy with your results on Friday's quiz without a doubt :)

• What is Adobe Flash? 
• When we talk about the "stage" in Adobe Flash, what are we referring to? 
• What does it mean when you save work as a .fla file? 
• What does it mean when you save work as a .swf file? 
• What is the "toolbar" used for in Adobe Flash? 
• What is the benefit of creating your drawings to symbols? 
• What is the timeline in Adobe Flash? 
• What is a tween in Adobe Flash? 
• What is a keyframe in Adobe Flash? 
• Why is it important to work with many layers within a single animation? 
• If you have multiple layers, which would be considered the background? 
• What is a "frame" in Adobe Flash? 
• What is a "frame" in Adobe Flash? 
• What is a "motion guide" in Adobe Flash? 
• Which is the best example of a time we used a motion guide in this class? 
• What do you use to organize your work into layers and frames so you can create animations?
• Name the main working flash file where you create your flash content and flash animations.
• What would you call a frame that has no drawing on it? 
• What is an animation on an invisible line? 
• A type of animation where you tell the computer what is to happen at the beginning and end and let the computer figure out what happens in between. 
• What is an animation where object change in each frame? To know if a shape tween is created successfully - Click Control > _____________. 
• The main working area in flash where you will create and manipulate art work is ... 
• You use the selection tool to click on some objects on the stage. You see a blue box around your object. Which panel gives you the information of whether what you selected is a symbol - text - movie clip - etc.? 
• What does the selection tool allow you to do? 
• What does the free transform tool allow you to do? 
• What does the free transform tool allow you to do? 
• Which project did you find the most fun this quarter. Be sure to specifically address the project and 3 reasons you enjoyed working on it. 
• Name 3 specific challenges that you faced during the quarter. Describe how you were able to overcome those challenges. Be specific. 
• In your own words, describe what Adobe Flash is and how it helped you grow as a student. Think about the challenges you faced and problem solving skills you developed as a result. What does it mean when you save work as a .fla file? What does the free transform tool allow you to do? 

Final Block Day of Quarter 1

Here is your agenda for today - our final block day of the 1st quarter:

• No blog post - check to make sure you have responded to all blogs since Q1 Progress (6-11 posts depending on how you completed blogs for Picasa and Google Sites Assignments):
1. Windmill Assignment
2. Butterfly Effect Assignment
3. Car Driving Assignment
4. What is a Mentor (9/29)
5. Reminiscing on Mentor Meeting #1 (10/5)
6. Gearing up for Graduation and College (10/7)
• Complete any assignments that are still marked as missing in the grade-book.  Today is your final chance!
• To receive credit for any assignment marked missing, you must email it to me at crubin@seq.org
• Work on any missing assignment for any class - you have to check your School Loop - if assignments are highlighted (like below) MAKE THEM UP!

• Quarter Ends Friday.  My grades will be finalized Thursday night with the exception of your blog and edutyping.  We begin our photography/Photoshop unit on Monday!

Gearing up for Graduation and College!! (Should have been posted 10/7)

Good Morning!  Somehow I overlooked posting this blog last week when we reviewed our grades!!!  A few weeks ago we took a moment with our mentor to brainstorm goals for the future.  While it is fun to look to the future and envision our hopes and dreams, there are also specific requirements that exist to accomplish some of the goals you have expressed interest in achieving.  Above is an image that demonstrates one such example - the different requirements that have been established if you want to "graduate," attend a "CSU" or "UC."  Today's blog is going to be a bit longer than normal but I am going to ask you to really take a moment and analyze each of the questions posed below.  

• Question 1:  Do you think it's ever too early to start planning for High School Graduation/College?  Why or why not?  Why would starting to plan early important and/or how could it be helpful for you?
• Question 2:  What is the difference between a "California State University," the "University of California," and a "Private University?"  Describe the different requirements to get into these schools, a few examples of the schools that fall into each category, and which might appeal most to you from your knowledge of each and why it would appeal to you.  
• Question 3:  Based on your completion of the chart highlighting courses completed, what are you currently on track for?  Are you headed towards high school graduation?  CSU eligibility? UC eligibility?  Explain whether you are happy about your progress and what you can/want/have to do to accomplish your goals.  In particular, what courses do you need to take to be eligible for the school(s) you want to attend?  Do you feel like you still have time to get on the path you want to be on?
• Question 4: This week you will be taking the PSAT.  Why do you think the school has decided to offer this exam to every 10th and 11th grader at the school - keep in mind, this is not free!  We pay for each test given!  How does it benefit you? How does it benefit the school?  Why is taking full advantage of a test like this so important and how could it help you get into college?

Thanks for a thoughtful response.  While I will enjoy reading them, the post is even a better opportunity for you to reflect on where you stand academically and realize what your realistic goals are as you approach high school graduation and make college/career plans!

October Begins

Good Morning and Happy Monday - October 5th. Shockingly we are two weeks away from the end of the first quarter and YES, that includes this week! I honestly can't believe it.

I'd like to begin today by reminiscing about Friday's mentor meeting. Please respond to the following:

• What did you think of the mentor event as a whole? Was it what you expected? Why or why not?
• What did you enjoy about the mentor meeting?
• Was there anything that you did not enjoy about the mentor meeting?
• Do you feel like you made a good first impression on your mentor? What would you have changed about your interaction, if anything?
• Did your mentor make a good first impression on you? Why or why not? What could they have done differently if anything?
• Now that you have gotten a taste of the program and who you'll be working with this year, what specifically do you want to get out of it?

Thanks for your honest and, of course, thoughtful feedback. After completing the blog, we are going to walk through how to animate our car driving so that you have an outstanding finished product by the end of the day tomorrow!

Lastly - as I mentioned at the start of the post, we are incredibly close to the end of the quarter. We do have a few more assignments that need to get done before the quarter ends on October 16th but I want to make sure everyone is successfully completing each assignment. Today, please work on completing your car driving (due by 10/8 at the latest):

Once complete, please also post this animation to your blog and respond to the following questions:

• Describe the assignment you just completed. What was the task and what needed to be done in order for you to successfully complete the assignment?
• What new skills did you learn from completing this assignment? Be specific and use correct names for the different tools you needed to use to complete the assignment. ie Classic Motion Guide, Keyframes, symbols, etc. Reread the assignment description or watch the tutorial to remind yourself
• Was the assignment easy to complete? Did you have any trouble? What did you have trouble with and how did you resolve the issue? What was the most fun aspect of the project and the most challenging?
• In this assignment you made a car drive with rotating wheels, you used a pan and zoom effect and even incorporated a shape tween.  What other ideas do you have for animations you could now successfully create using similar tools to the ones used in this project?

Thanks for doing a great job!!
Mr. Rubin