Jump! Using effective composition and lighting in social studies-minded photography

James Houston Brown and 3rd hour geo, CMHS
Originally uploaded by trudeau.

Quiz on rules of photography and notable photogs Th, Jan 12. Sample questions -

* You try to capture your friend as she jumps from the diving board and springs through the air in an arc toward the water. Kinetic action!
* Four of your friends are standing in a group, waiting for you to shoot with your new camera. You realize the composition is somewhat boring. "At the count of three," you say, "everyone jump!" In 3 shots you've captured them in mid-air. Your shot has verve and style because you have captured the Decisive Moment.
* You look great tonight! Let me shoot your portrait on that sofa. Sit next to the lamp. You're using Side Lighting.
* "I've got to capture your eyes; they're gorgeous." To do that I'm going to follow Mr. T's most important rule: Get Close.
* "Throw your arms over each other's shoulders," you say, ready with the camera to catch the smiles that follow this command. You are happy that you decided to Link the Bodies.
* Graphy is the Greek word for __.
Writing!
* Photos is the Greek root which refers to __.
Light!
* Clarence John Laughlin is one of the most famouis photographers from the city of __.
New Orleans.
* Yosemite Park is in the __ mountains.
Sierra Nevada.

Thanks to Dakota Johnson for bringing in a 1940's Kodak Brownie camera. Made of bakelite, the camera used non-cartridge roll film and the photog viewed the scene by looking down upon the camera into the viewfinder.

Thanks to Chris Jay of Robinson Film center for visiting Picasso Digital Arts club and talking about LaFilmFest.org. It is a contest hosted by the RFC and Centenary College for student videos. He loaned us "The Ninja Mummy," an entertaining 7-minute video story made by kids at Renzi Center.

While Clarence John Laughlin is one of Louisiana's most famous photographers, perhaps even better known to historians is turn-of-the-century French Quarter resident E.J. Bellocq. His photos of the prostitutes of Storyville, New Orleans legal red light district of the 1890's (closed by request of the Federal government about 1914), constituted a touching historic record. He gained the trust of the working girls and did not take salacious photos. While some of the models are undraped, many of them were fully clothed and looked quite sober.

C.C. Lockwood is one of Louisiana's most prominent contemporary photogs. His specialty is wildlife, especially the coast and Atchafalaya basin, and he has won the Ansel Adams award for conservation photography. Please see his posters and books at cclockwood.com.