Free Write

For my free write today I chose to write a review/commentary piece about the movie, "Where to Invade Next."This film was directed by Michael Moore, documentary filmmaker and political activist. I saw an early screening of this movie about a month ago and ever since I've been fired up about the issues it discussed. Some of the topics relate to education, drugs, government spending, police officers, prison, and proper employee hour and benefits. "Where to Invade Next" begins with a hilarious scene featuring important US government officials asking Moore to "invade countries and steal some ideas to help improve America. Moore visited Italy, France, Finland, Slovenia, Portugal, Iceland, etc. 

He discovered affordable and healthy school lunches in France. They were served on real silverware and the kids were taught table manners. France also has a very informative class for high schoolers, sex ed. The teachers go very in depth with the subject and the curriculum even has a formal textbook. France's teen pregnancy rate is much lower than ours in the United States. In Finland, Moore planted his flag and claimed their principles on education. He talked about brining back the ideas of no homework and enjoying youth while you still have it. The schools in Finland stopped teaching to standardized and focused on the quality of education. School hours are shorter and the classes are more interesting. The students get to take classes like art and poetry. The school Moore visited claims that all schools in Finland are like this because there are no private schools. Wealthier families let their kids grow up along side everyone else so they invest in public schools.

When Moore traveled to Italy, he talked to big business owners who let him in on the employee's schedule and benefits. When he found out that the Italian workers get about 11 paid weeks off a year, Moore was astonished. He asked them why they received such generous time off and one of the CEO replied, "I get a nice vacation, why shouldn't they?" The American values we have instilled in our country have evolved into beliefs that only concern profit. This movie opened my eyes to the changes  our government needs to make.

Three Pillars of Photography

Aperture

Photo at F2.8:

Photo at F16 or higher:




















1. What part of the body should we closely relate aperture? The pupil in your eye.
2. Finish this sentence - the smaller the Aperture the bigger the f-stop, the higher the Aperture the smaller the f-stop.
3. In your own words tell me how aperture impacts Depth of Field? Depending on how big or small the f-number is, the depth of field will be blurry or sharp. The smaller aperture, (large f-number) will cause both the foreground and background to be sharp and focused. The bigger aperture (smaller f-number) will result in a blurry background.


Shutter Speed

High Shutter Speed:

Low Shutter Speed:

1. If you were assigned to shoot at Bulldogs and Hotdogs night, which was a few months ago, what shutter speeds do you think you would have to shoot at the following events that night I would like you to answer the question for the following two situations:

At the beginning while the sun was still up and the courtyard had reasonable good light...

a.) a booth in the middle of the yard near the Tree- Low Shutter Speed
b.) a food booth outside under one of the big red awnings - Low Shutter Speed
 c.) the Stars performance inside the gym- High Shutter Speed
d.) students dancing near the center of the courtyard- High Shutter Speed
e.) people streaming in from the front doors- High Shutter Speed
f.) the basketball booth where students are shooting basketballs at a hoop- High Shutter Speed

Towards the end when there is no sun and has gotten dark enough that you can't see from one end of the courtyard to the other...

a.) a booth in the middle of the yard near the Tree- Low Shutter speed

b.) a food booth outside under one of the big red awnings- Low Shutter speed

c.) the Stars performance inside the gym- High Shutter Speed

d.) students dancing near the center of the courtyard- Low Shutter speed

e.) people streaming in from the front doors- Low Shutter speed

f.) the basketball booth where students are shooting basketballs at a hoop- Low Shutter speed

2. List the three settings your camera has regarding setting shutter speed (these are found at #5 on the Shutter Speed website. Explain how each works - DO NOT COPY AND PASTE, use your own words.

• If you shoot in Aperture Priority mode the camera will automatically set the shutter speed, and you'll decide the lens aperture.
• When your in shutter priority mode the camera sets the aperture and you set the shutter speed
• You can set both the shutter speed and the aperture when the camera is set to manual mode

ISO

ISO 200:

ISO 3200 or 6400:












1. What are the advantages of shoot at a higher ISO at a sporting event like basketball or a night football game? It helps with the low lighting at night or outdoors, to minimize grain.
2. What suggestions did the author make about using a low ISO?
3. What suggestions did the author make about using a high ISO?



DSLR Camera
*Make sure you set the camera on MANUAL setting at the top

List the aperture settings available on this camera-
List the shutter speed settings available on this camera-
List the ISO settings available on this camera-

Photoshop-Prompt Shoot 1

METAL

SQUARE

HAPPY

BOWIE

Photo Manipulation and Ethics

Story
A. Summarize the main points of the story in 2-4 sentences.
The photographers and photo editors of the world are using Photoshop and touch ups to not only perfect an image, but to change the outcome of events. In the article you learn about a few circumstances where editing of photos was taken a little to far. For example, the media branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards released an image of an Iranian missile test launch in July 2008. The editing made it look like a complete success, when in reality one of the missiles failed.

B. Explain why you think this type of photo editing is unethical or acceptable.
I think this type of editing is unethical because it rewrites history. No one should be able to publish manipulated photos that make outcomes and end results different that what they really are.
Photos
A. Post the manipulation (this means get that image and post it on your blog) that you think was the most unethical, and explain why you think it was unethical. If you do not know what the word ethic or unethical means, look them up on the internet. It is very important you know what those two words mean.


 I think this photo was the most unethical because this event didn't happen at all. I could've, but there was no photographer present, so there should be no record.

B. Post the manipulation that you consider the least unethical, and explain why you think it is not as bad as others.

I think this photo is the least unethical because it's common touch up. The edits made are for superficial, aesthetically pleasing purposes only. It is kind of offensive to her, but it does no harm to the public.

Prompt Shoot

METAL

SQUARE

HAPPY

BOWIE

CE 4.2

1. How many students attend an AISD school? Page A1 "Austin district no longer...."
There are 83,591 students who attend AISD schools.
2. How (not how much) will Big Ben State Park potentially grow by 578 acres? Page B1 "Big Bend State Park..."
They are poised to swap land with an adjacent land owner.
3. What are the Pantone colors of the year? Page SA2 "New top Pantone colors..."
Blue and pink
4. Do you know anyone who colors? What do you think about this new trend? Page D1 "Coloring Craze"
I think this new trend could be very therapeutic to a lot of people. In fact, my aunt gave out these adult coloring books at Christmas and my mom has really benefitted from it.
5. Which of these would you like to attend this weekend if you could? WHY? Page D2 "The Long Weekend"
I would go to the Institutions Theater's "Beyonce's Wild West." I love Beyonce songs and this sounds like the perfect girl power sing along.

According to the article on page 1 "Scientists: 2015 is hottest year ever recorded" global warming isn't slowing down. Read the article and respond to the prompts below"

1. What is the major cause of global warming, according to the article?
Emissions of greenhouse gases is the main cause of global warming according to the article.
2. What are some consequences of higher global temperature?
Consequences of higher global temperatures include more water and flooding along the Mississippi River.
3. Do you worry about global warming? If I think about it hard enough it will stress me out. I can get obsessive about these types of things, so I try not to worry and just proceed with everyday life. That could be considered apart of the problem. Global warming is large scale. It's our world and it concerns man kind. This issue lays worry inside of everyone, it's choosing to acknowledge it that effect us.
4. What do you think can we do as a society to slow global warming?
I think it is destined to happen eventually, but we could vote for representatives and candidates who offer suggestions and solutions for global warming. 
5. Do you think global warming is major issue in our world today?
I think global warming is a major issue in our world today, however we don't really talk about it. Global warming is an unspoken concern for most people. But as a society we need to start thinking about new generations to come and try to put forth some kind of effort to delay it.

Photography Composition

Simplicity



The Rule of Thirds




Lines



Balance



Framing




Avoiding Mergers




Symmetry and Patterns (repetition)

Viewpoint

Create Depth




Cropping