Documentary and Photojournalism

David Guttenfelder

Boots On The Ground

I choose this image by David Guttenfelder because I feel as though it is a good example of photojournalism. This is a picture of U.S. soldiers who are taking cover after coming under attack at a location in Afghanistan. By looking at this picture it gives you an insight to the conditions that soldiers are living in on top of everything else that they have to deal with while deployed.

Early 20th Century Fine Art Photography in the US

Brett Weston

This is a photograph by Brett Weston, who is the son of the Edward Weston, a co-founder of Group f64. I choose this photograph because I thought it was a good example of what the American photographers were doing in the early 20th Century. Photographers were taking pictures that were sharp, in focus, had extreme vantage points, used framing, and different camera angles. The f64 group used the smallest aperture which then gave them a maximum depth of field and therefore maximum detail. The vantage point allows for the trees to frame the picture and it also has a very large depth of field. This picture is very sharp and very detailed, it almost feels as though you're standing right in the water looking down the tree line.

Exploration & Landscape

I found this picture to be innovative for several reasons. I Like how the photographer used the trees in a couple different ways. I feel like the two big trees in the foreground really break up all the negative space of the sky and also the way they frame the center and highest point of the mountain. If you look closely, the background trees have formed a path that helps lead the eye down towards the mountain. The picture seems to have been taken at dawn by the way the fog is still lifting. I think the fog also plays a key roll in the picture, it helps break up the rough textures of the trees and mountain giving the picture a nice balanced feel.

This is a picture of downtown Milwaukee at the end of the 19th century(photographer unknown). This picture really grabs my attention because I'm a big fan of old pictures of towns. I come from a mining town and I've always loved looking at pictures of the area from years ago, how it all looked back then and comparing it to what that same "picture" would look like today.
I especially like how it's a snapshot of downtown Milwaukee and yet it captures so much. I like how it looks as though time has been frozen for a moment. You can tell the streets are full of people and everyone has somewhere to be, but yet it's as though everyone stopped for a split second. I think the vantage point played a key role in this picture. It looks as though the it was taken from a few stories up and shooting straight across the street. At first my eyes go straight to the front building and then follows the buildings back towards the right. It feels like the two streets have framed in those buildings, like they're the focal point of the picture.

Introduction

I am an United States Air Force Vet and just recently moved to the area to be with my husband. I love the outdoors and look forward to taking great pictures of the things I see.

This is my first semester here at NOVA and I'm working towards my photography dergree. I love art and pictures, so I thought what a better thing to go to school for. I move around a lot and have lived around the world, so with this degree I will be able to work wherever I go. I'm looking forward to exploring my options as a photographer.