Imaginative Arts Journeyman Month 4

 

We've reached one of my favorite topics in photography: How to take beautiful candids. I take and share photos all year long and do you know the ones that get the most response from family and friends? The candids. 

It's no wonder that these are the favorites; seeing people laughing or caught in a beautiful moment or living a joyful life evokes feelings in the viewer. They see themselves in that moment or remember a similar experience or FEEL a bit of the feelings that are captured in the photo. 

The key to candids is being prepared to take a picture. Figure out your lighting, your settings, pay attention to your background and where you want to stand and then let the people do their thing while you unobtrusively take photos of it :) When the light + the action + the emotion are all top notch you'll find that you captured some of your all time favorite photos. 

ASSIGNMENT #1: READ THIS ARTICLE ABOUT CANDID PHOTOGRAPHY

Now all candids don't have to be this action packed, but those are some of my favorites :) 

Another type of candid is what I call the "faux candid." This simply means YOU set up an opportunity to capture people acting naturally ... but it's fake ... but it's not :D For example, asking the person you are taking pictures of to DO something or to INTERACT with others in some way can create a much more interesting photo. In the picture of Melody with her cousin it was easier to ask them to give each other a huge hug then to try to get a non-cheesy/fake, holding-still-smile. A snapshot became a little bit better by turning it into a faux candid. 

I ALWAYS work faux candids into photo sessions and they add a lot of variety so you can capture more than just posed and styled photos. Ask the people in the photo to hug, to laugh, to jump, to walk .... there are so many options! What actions can you add to the list?

ASSIGNMENT #2: Make a list of TEN photo action/interaction prompts you can use when taking photos. Sorry, you don't get to use hug, laugh, jump or walk since I already shared those! 

We'll be sharing our ideas in class. 

ASSIGNMENT #3

Take a GREAT candid photo of someone. Pay attention to your light and composition, we are building on our skills so don't leave those out. 

Before noon on Wednesday email me your BEST photo. If you send me more than one I'll pick the one I think is the best for the slideshow. 

There will be winners and the way to win is to show a photo that had thoughtful/intentional lovely light, solid composition and a great candid. Go for the gold and shoot for having ALL THREE elements in your photos!

Imaginative Arts Apprentice

Study/Learn: 

Choose one of these 10 things questions to answer from the book, "Percy Jackson." Be prepared to share your answers.

1. Percy says his mother was the best person ever and he’d never heard her raise her voice or say one unkind word to anyone. Do you think that’s realistic? Why or why not?
2. Mr. Brunner (Chiron) made things like Roman armor interesting to his students. If you could acquaint others with something you’re passionate about, what would it be and how would you introduce it to them?
3. A deleted scene was released when the Percy Jackson facebook page reached one million “likes.” The scene involved an initiation of Percy into camp life. The Camp Half-Blood campers picked up Percy and made him kiss the boar head on the Ares cabin before dumping him into the lake. Have you ever been the “new kid” someplace? If so, what was your experience like?
4. Chiron says, about the effects of Mist: “Remarkable, really, the lengths humans will go to fit things into their version of reality.” How is that true in the story? What about in real life?
5. Were you surprised when it’s discovered that Percy is Poseidon’s son? Give examples from the text where hints were dropped.
6. Imagine you’re a half-blood. Write an account describing your arrival at Camp Half-Blood and how you would come to learn which god is your parent.
7. There are many humorous passages in the book. Describe some of your favorites.
8.  Author Rick Riordan’s website contains classroom activities based on the book. One of his suggestions is to write character letters, where students write letters from one character to another. For instance, he says: “Clarisse wrote her dad Ares, telling him to stop being a bully. Percy wrote a letter to his mom, promising to save her. Grover wrote a letter to Chiron, explaining why he should get his seeker’s license to find Pan.” Which characters would you have exchange letters and what would the letters say
9. Do you sympathize with the betrayal Luke felt? Why or why not?
10. A movie based on the book was released in February of 2010. It was titled Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The film’s plot deviates from the book’s but is still considered a faithful adaptation. Watch the movie for yourself and compare it to the book.

Know/Understand:

• Get together with your culture groups either in person, or on zoom, or on the phone, or whatever.  
• You should have all the final touches to your culture completed before coming to class.  
• Bring all of your culture pieces that you have created.
• Someone from your group needs to bring a shovel.  (I'm sure Martin's have a couple shovels, but not 6!  So bring one!)

Become/Serve: It's almost Valentine's Day!  I love celebrating holidays.  I love dressing up for occasions.  I love serving. I love you!  

Do one of the following:

1. Find a scripture about love.  Write it out in your best handwriting on a nice piece of paper and bring it to display on the wall.
2. Write a note to a family member telling them how much you love and appreciate them.
3. Show someone that you love them by completing an act of service.  Make cookies, make their bed, heart attack someone's door, etc.  Maybe you can do this for someone lonely in your neighborhood, for a sibling, or for a friend.