Time Lapse Video

I have shared many time-lapse videos on this blog over the past couple of years, but I have never shared a time-lapse video created by one of our students.  A small handful of students have toyed around with time-lapse photography but only two advanced students have used this incredibly time-intensive technique as their curricular focus for the semester.

Isaac Hockenbarger is just about ready to finish his junior year at Topeka West and has been working with time-lapse photography during the past semester.  Isaac combines hundreds of individual photographs together in a video-editing program to create his videos.  After the video is complete he adds background music as a final touch.  For the final critique of the semester Isaac created his video using a Lomokino camera.  The Lomokino shoots 144 frames on a roll of 35mm film, creating a vintage-effect of past Super 8 video cameras.  A total of almost 400 frames were used in creating this video. 

Issac's final video was by far the best of the semester and I am extremely excited to share it with you!

Congratulations!!

Every year, for the past several years, an invitation to submit art work to the Annual Congressional Art Competition has arrived in my mailbox at Topeka West.  And every year I think "Eh, my students are too busy." or "Their work has been included in enough competitions for the year." or "Best of West is right around the corner and we need the work."  Well, this year I decided to change all of that negative-thinking and I set out with a purpose to get my students involved...especially the junior/senior advanced students.  So I mentally picked out a few pieces, asked the students to fill out the appropriate paperwork, and a couple of weeks ago I delivered 22 photographs to Congresswoman Lynn Jenkin's office here in Topeka.

Time went by and just a few days ago I received an email stating that two Topeka West students had placed in the top 4!  Seven different schools participated in this competition with a total of seventy-some pieces being judged.  So having two pieces place in the top four is quite the accomplishment!

Junior Kyler Collins and senior Bryce Maes placed 2nd and 4th respectively.  See their winning pieces below and be sure to tell them congratulations when you run into them on campus!

 Kyler Collins, junior     2nd Place

Bryce Maes, senior     4th place

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Update:  Today, May 1st, Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (along with USD 501's superintendent Dr. Julie Ford, Topeka West's principal Jeanne Carton, and other distinguished guests) stopped by the photography class room to personally congratulate Kyler and Bryce.  What a fantastic opportunity for these students and for Topeka West!

New Work: Advanced Photography

Even though I have been involved with the photography program at Topeka West for over 16 years, the creativity and dedication of the advanced students always continues to amaze me!  During class the students are always sharing information, helping one another, and critiquing each others' latest creations.  I am so incredibly proud of the level of work that the students are completing and thoroughly enjoy "showing off" their stuff!  This round of images is no exception....take a look and see for yourself.

 Eric Pasley, senior

 Danielle Phelps, junior

 Alex Lewis, junior

 Jon Brooks, senior

 Rita Kerschman, junior

 Emily Ferlemann, senior

 Samantha Wise, senior

 Klayton Edwards, junior

 Genevieve Akins, sophomore

 Ashia Gordon, junior

 Trina Chitwood, sophomore

 McKenzie Steinbock, sophomore

 Sarah Press, senior

 Shelby Heydon, senior

 Tharin Brown, junior

Megan Ayers, senior

 

Instagram Shooting Challenge @ Gizmodo

Instagram Shooting Challenge Winner:  Blake

Still haven't downloaded Instagram?  Now that the app is also available for the Android OS, Instagram's user base has grown exponentially over the past couple of weeks.  Though others are concerned about Zuckerburg's recent acquisition of Instagram, it hasn't swayed hardcore users like those who recently submitted to Gizmodo's Instagram Shooting Challenge!

Get ready to view almost 200 amazing Instagram images in seven different galleries!  What a collection!  Click below to get started:

Gallery 1
Gallery 2
Gallery 3
Gallery 4
Gallery 5
Gallery 6
Gallery 7

Skateboard Photographer Michael Burnett Shares Tips & Techniques

In this two-part video series, photographer Michael Burnett shares his tips and techniques to improve quality and composition.  Though Burnett's photography focuses mostly on skateboarding, his ideas can easily be carried into all aspects of photography.  Both videos are chock-full of information and fantastic images!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Instagram is Now Available on Android OS!

Finally, after a year of playful teasing on Instagram's part, iTunes most popular mobile photography app is available on the Android operating system.  Download your (FREE!) version of Instagram on Google Play....and follow me!!

Unwanted Distractions Eliminated with Remove!

Imaging technology company Scalado has recently introduced a new photography app that every photographer has always wanted.  The new app, titled Remove, eliminates distracting elements from your digital photographs!  The app works by taking multiple frames of the same picture and merging the still elements while removing the moving elements.  The app also allows for manual removal of objects.  Originally designed for mobile phones only supporting the Android OS, let's hope that this new technology will be available to all digital cameras soon!

Thanks to Jonathan and Cody for bringing this app to my attention....and you can read a full review of the app at Engadget.

New Work: Advanced Photography

Yet another amazing round of critiques with this semester's advanced photography students!  I believe you will certainly enjoy the variety of techniques and subjects in this post.  And, as always, feel free to 1.) visit C building to see the actual art work in the windows of C307 and 2.) leave a comment at the end of the post if a certain image moves you to do so!

 Ashia Gordon, junior

 Carson Taggart, junior

 Jon Brooks, senior

 Natalie Bender, senior

 Megan Ayers, senior

 Barbora Krnacova, junior

 Johnny Hays, junior

 Emily Ferlemann, senior

 Thomas Pugh, junior

 Justin Sly, senior

 Caitlin Ables, junior

 Patrick Lacy, junior

 Aubrey Thompson, sophomore

 Kody Wade, senior

 Samantha Wise, senior

 Sydney Barlow, junior

Haley Pooler, junior

 

Photopic Sky Survey

[via Skysurvey.org] "And so it was with this blueprint that I worked my way through the sky, frame by frame, night after night. The click-clack of the shutters opening and closing became a staccato soundtrack for the many nights spent under the stars. Occasionally, the routine would be pierced by a bright meteor or the cry of a jackal, each compelling a feeling of eerie beauty that seemed to hang in the air. It was an experience that will stay with me a lifetime."  --Nick Risinger

Created by photographer Nick Risinger, the Photopic Sky Survey is a 5,000 megapixel photograph of the night sky stitched together from 37,440 exposures!  Risinger's journey covered 45,000 miles by air and an additional 15,000 miles by land.  The dedication and passion for photography to create such an image is awe-inspiring!!  The sky survey is a 360º panorama of the entire night sky that includes informational graphics of constellations and star names.  To experience the Photopic Sky Survey in all of its glory click ----> here (and be sure to go full screen!).

(WARNING:  some links may not be accessible through the Topeka Public Schools network!!)

Phone•ography

Phoneography.

Whether you have heard the word or not it is, by millions of people, a notable art form that is demanding to be recognized.  Nearly 30 million iPhones were sold last quarter along with another 3 million Android phones.  These smartphones are equipped with cameras that range anywhere between 5 to 8 megapixels.  That kind of resolution is competing with most point-and-shoot digital cameras and some low-end DSLRs!  Phoneography is not a new concept.  The idea was first presented on the Photosynthesis blog back in August of 2009:  Don't Have a Camera?  Use Your Cellphone!

Especially over the past year I have read many accounts online where more "traditional" photographers are challenging the concepts of phoneography.  Without quoting any singular person, the more negative attitudes can be summed up as grouping all phoneographers together as "Hipsters who slap a digital filter over an image and call it photography!"  The attitudes about what is, what isn't, and what can be considered photography will be constantly challenged...just as 35 mm film challenged those that were shooting medium format or the onset of digital photography challenged those that are still shooting film.  But for those photographers (such as myself) that have embraced this changing technology you definitely need to check out Photojojo's 10 Tips to Make Your Phone Photos Amazing!

And, while your there, be sure to also check out Photojojo's new blog Photojojo ♥s Phoneography!

Eric Cahan: Sky Series

Photographer Eric Cahan's Sky Series photographs are a way of cataloging his visual experience.  It is hard to believe that very little post-editing is used to create his images.  "The actual process is done with colored resin filters I make myself and hold in front of the lens before I shoot a picture. When a color filter is used against a blue sky, it always alters the color of the sky. I know the colors I am trying to conjure and choose the filter accordingly. Many factors affect the capturing and manipulating of light and shadow, which is why I work at sunrise and sunset and also, invariably, at the water’s edge.  My mission is to capture light.  Light is the true subject of this series: its constant mystery, the way it shifts and colors everything around it in nature.” 

 Punta Cana Dominican Republic, Sunrise 6:58 am                                 Eric Cahan

 Gouvneur Beach, St. Barts, Sunrise 6:34 am                                                   Eric Cahan

 Sag Harbor, NY, sunset 7:33 pm                                                            Eric Cahan

 Los Angeles, CA, sunset 6:16 pm                                                 Eric Cahan

 Fort Pond Bay, Montauk, NY, sunset 8:10 pm                                        Eric Cahan

Inspired by the Impressionists' ideals of capturing a fleeting moment in time, Cahan's work is "meant to capture a moment in nature, asking and empowering the viewer to be fully present, involved, and uplifted. I want the viewer to be drawn in, and be completely absorbed by, rather than separate from, that fleeting moment in time.” 

To see more of Eric Cahan's Sky Series, go to ericcahan.com.

New Work: Advanced Photography

WOW!  What a spectacular start to the spring semester!  There is an amazing group of students enrolled in Advanced Photography this semester, spread out over three classes.  Their work is so solid and mature for the first critique.  I'm extremely excited to see what they will produce over the remaining months!!

 Patrick Lacy, junior

 Samantha Wise, senior

 Jon Brooks, senior

 Genevieve Akins, sophomore

 Brittney Childers, junior

 Danielle Phelps, junior

 Carson Taggart, junior

 Kelsey Haflich, senior

 Payton Templeton, sophomore

 Natalie Bender, senior

 Kyler Collins, junior

 Sarah Press, senior

 Taryn Wilkerson, junior

 Kody Wade, senior

Mitch Montague, senior

Jared Scrinopskie, sophomore