Photography Through the Lens of an IPhone

I really enjoyed this class overall; because it was a very engaging class and always had something to do but not too stressful. With this pandemic going on things got a little switched up and around and was moved to a fully online class which is completely different. It’s not what I had signed up for, but I managed to get through it only stressing A LOT. This class was a class that I had to end up retaking, but I defiantly enjoyed this time around way better and was more engaging. This class was set up to post our assignments a different way than I have done things before. We made our own blogs and posted each assignment on there not only for the teacher but for each of our classmates could see it as well. This was neat, and we could see each other’s writing and learn from them as well. I have never used a blog until this class and was difficult to get everything set up and started. It took me a while to learn how to manage my blog and work everything correctly. Not only did we use the blog to post our assignments, but we had to do an entire blog for our final project. I think with this lock down and everything being online I got behind because I didn’t have to be in class, and I would just do the assignments on my own time.  I would just say, “oh I’ll do it tomorrow” and keep getting more and more behind which caused me too to fall way behind. But, just recently I got serious and got completely caught up in all three of my class and fished each one of them.  

With always having a passion for photography this quarantine has really gotten me out and exploring more often than normal. My first year of college 2020 was going well but then everything went a different way than anyone would have ever expect. Spring break got extended by an extra two weeks! College and all schools were put into complete online way of teaching and was to be that way for a few weeks. Then Minnesota was put into a lockdown until who knows when because it kept getting extended. I have been off work since March 15^th and won’t go back until at least the first of June. When I signed up for classes I specifically did not want to take online classes at all, so I didn’t sign up for them. Now I’m stuck with all them being fully online because of Covid-19. It’s not what I wanted to do but I’m trying my best to keep up and learn how to do everything online. I did get behind a bit in all my classes, but I have worked extremely hard the last week and a half to get back on track.  

With being in quarantine I can’t go out and about and do photoshoots with my friends, so I decided to master the art of self-timer photography. Simply I would do my hair up or style in a way that I normally wouldn’t do just for the fun of it. Then I would decide if I wanted to add a little bit of makeup or not, because I normally don’t wear any makeup. And finally, pick out a cute outfit and lastly the place I would do my own photoshoot. The outcomes of these turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. I normally post them on my Facebook page so my relatives can see them and it’s also just a positive vibe during these hard times. Below this post I will have a few of my self-timer photoshoot pictures posted. 

This project was fun to create a blog in something that you have a strong interest in and get to know your topic more. You also get to share you know with everyone in the class. Some things that I saw in my classmate’s blogs where that they were very well laid out and organized. It was also easy to find their posts for each week. Most blogs also caption and descriptions with visual pictures about their topic. If they got information from a specific website or person, they would have a link posted at the end of each post. I knew exactly who’s blog was whose and what each one was about. The blogs were set up was very well and each one was organized. On each blog for the most part I was able to go able to go back and find each post from each week.  

This is my journey using my iPhone to take landscape photography. I have always loved the concept of photography ever since I was a little girl. I would always use my grandma’s camera on vacations and take pictures of anything and everything. I knew even being a little girl that they weren’t going to be the best because ninety percent of the time they turned out blurry. I also had no Idea what I was doing, I just clicked that button and assumed it was all good. Growing up I still enjoyed photography and even too this day I still do. I haven’t really been able to afford a very nice camera or in that case my dream camera, but I make do with what I got. A few months ago, I got the iPhone XS which has a way better camera then my old phone. I have started to play a bit more with that and figure how to take good pictures with my iPhone. I have also decided that this project would be a good idea to write about my journey and reflect on it, not only for you buy for myself as well. With being in quarantine and being in a state lockdown has really influenced me to get outside and take photos! 

For my little brothers 13^th birthday we went on a little road trip to a very small township called Bucksnort to see the waterfall and I instantly pulled out my phone and tried to capture some amazing photos and below this post will be the outcomes. Landscape photography is my favorite type of photography to do because of how outstanding the views are? Pictures of waterfalls are a more difficult type of photography to master because it’s not a still picture. I also love taking pictures of a river or a beautiful sight that just has depth behind it. 

Water Fall in Bucksnort, MN

Welcome to “Phonography Through the Lens of an iPhone” blog! Here in my blog I will be describing my journey and adventure of iPhone photography along with some of my own person work. So here are some of the blogs that I have choose as mentor blogs.  

The first mentor blog I looked at was “Maddysdigitaldiary.” I chose her blog as one of my mentor blogs because her blog is very eye appealing and shows all of her latest photography at the top of her blog. The way her blog is very organized as well. I choose her blog also because of the types of photography she posts and goes into detail about. Some of the topics of photography she’s uses is landscape nature. I have also taken some camera quality photos of landscape nature on my iPhone of nature.  

The second blog I have chosen as one of my mentor blogs is “KerryL29.” I really enjoyed looking at his blog because of the way it is set up. Though out his blog it shows his photography journey and the stories behind them. With every blog post that includes his work he explains the detail and the stories behind each picture that he has taken. One of his blog posts that intrigued me the most was “Just Do It.” This post stuck out too me because he is saying don’t hold back on photography, if you see something interesting or cool take a picture. It may only last a few seconds and you can always delete it later. Always take 3-4 snapshots of that one pose or object that you are concentrating on because some might not turn outright.  

The third mentor blog I have chosen is “Absolutely Olivia.” The post of hers that I really investigated the most is “How to Take the PERFECT self-timer photo.” With quarantine going on and having nothing too really do but try and keep yourself busy I have decided to do self-timer photoshoots. It’s a lot of fun and gets you some cool new pictures! Her post shows her experiences and step by step directions on how to do it. I love being outside and doing photoshoots with my friends but with the lock down and everything being closed and can’t really be hang out with friends and be out and about unless needed. So, I have done of few self-timer photoshoots in my back yard. 

“Who Needs Color, anyway?” is a blog post by Dave Ply. This post written on Dave Ply’s blog is all about the beauty behind black and white photography. Sometimes the beauty of photography is way more beautiful in black and white. Sometimes color takes away from the photos and with color being gone it may have more of a focus. With black and white photography, it may have the main object in more of a perspective.