Captain’s Log…I’ve been sailing on the S.S.DS106 for 5 weeks now. So far so good. My crew continues to remain productive through these weekly storms, and no one has given up yet. This week for sure I thought we were going to have someone jump overboard because of the treacherous Photography Typhoon, but alas, all of the sailors stood their ground and fought through. This is why the crew is composed of only the most dedicated individuals who keep moving forward, no matter how rough the waters get.
This week I waved good-bye to my beloved audio week and shyly said hello to photography. At the beginning of the week I was worried because I felt that my digital camera wasn’t up to professional standards. But thanks to the following tips I learned from the storyfy collection, I learned that I didn’t need a professional camera to take beautiful pictures.
Tips that Helped Me This Week
1. Take your camera EVERYWHERE You Go! (http://www.photoble.com/photography-tips-tricks/tips-to-become-a-better-photographer)
Seriously, you’ll never know when you’ll stumble on something great as you’re walking to and from class. As I was walking to the dining hall, I saw this young deer grazing and was thinking “Man, I wish I had my camera. Oh wait! I do have it.” I would’ve never caught the picture below if I didn’t have it on me 
2.Explore Different Angles (http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/photography/articles/952.aspx)
Taking photos at an angle is better in most cases than taking them head on. It adds a whole new perspective on life. The image below was taken in my room at my parent’s house. …I dont know what sort of label to give this image, all I know is that I like it.
3. It’s All About Light and Contrast (http://darcynorman.net/2008/12/20/on-following-the-light/)
I think this tip helped me the most because it made me think about what a photograph is in the first place. The article explains how “Photography literally means “the process of drawing with light”,” not just taking pictures of random people and things. So I decided that anything could be considered a great photograph if the lighting gives it a stunning effect.I took this picture on a foggy day near one of UMW’s bus stops. In this photo, the eye is instantly drawn to the brightest street lamp. 
Photoblitz Assignment
This was pretty fun! I ignored everyone’s strange looks as I strolled around Campus Walk snapping only the best shots! Found Here!
I really enjoyed this assignment because it reminded me of a scavenger hunt, which I’m usually a pro at! I ended up getting weird looks from people within those 20 minutes because I had walked around the whole area at least 5 times searching for the perfect locations. Great photographers don’t give a duck if they get stared at, as long as they get the perfect shot!
Daily Creates
I now don’t spend as much time on Daily Creates as I did in Week 1; spending only about 10-15 minutes on them. The 3 I did this week were: “A drawing of a place I’ve been, but never want to go back to,” “A picture of something new and shiny,” and “Cut something up and piece it back together.”
This is a drawing of my old high school. I couldn’t wait to graduate, and I do NOT want to go back there! These halls contained so much drama that you’d always get sucked into it without even trying!
Crispy, red apples! Shiny AND new! Don’t mind if I do.
In this picture I cut a piece of paper in half and then folded them back into each other in the shape of a ninja star (or what you call a “shuriken”) I used to make these alot in middle school because I was obsessed with an anime called Naruto.
Photoset of Best Shots
Check out the best of the best here!
Visual Assignments
This week we also had to do 10 stars worth of Visual Assignments. These ended being much more fun than the Daily Creates, and I started and completed most of them on Sunday! The ones I did were all 2 stars and here they are!
Valentines Day Caption Challenge
Cropped Signs
I think out of all 5 of these, Makeup Your Pet was my favorite because I made my dad angry for turning the dog into a drag queen! Priceless!
Comment Groups
As usual my comment group continues to shine with unimaginable Ds106 wisdom. It’s fun sharing advice with those who need it. I commented on Sarah’s Color Splash assignment giving her some advice about colorizing her photos in GIMP instead of a limited phone app. This advice ended up becoming a graphic tutorial for the rest of the class.
I learned this week that taking a picture does not just mean lifting the camera and shooting willy-nilly. You have to have some idea of what you want to capture in your photo to make it stand out. Sure this week taught me a lot of interesting facts about photography and optimizing photos, but I’m kind of glad it’s over. Between the photoblitzing and visual assignments, I’m pooped! I did however enjoy seeing others creativity this week when they tackled their photo assignments and shared them on Twitter. These people never cease to amaze me. Oh! And I also forgot to mention that we selected our Radio Show groups this week! My wonderful group is composed of Nancy, Chelsea, Jennifer, Watkins, and myself and together we are…..uh….we’re still trying to decide on a name…(I myself really like the name “Digital Dynamite“) Oh well! We’ll figure it out!
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