Photography by Margaret Bourke-White

(Gandhi with spinning wheel - Margaret Bourke-White, LIFE)

(Buchenwald - Margaret Bourke-White, 1945)

(Semionova, Premiere Ballerina - Margaret Bourke-White, 1931)

(Statue of Liberty - Margaret Bourke-White, 1930)

(Portrait of Margaret Bourke-White)

As I was doing research about historical photographers, I came across the many works done by Margaret Bourke-White. After reading about her and viewing her photographs I decided that she was the photographer that I wanted to further delve into and learn more about her and photographs. The diversity of Margaret Bourke-White's photographs were amazing and it was evident that she was a true artist. The first photograph is of Gandhi with a spinning wheel and was striking because of the simplicity, yet power that the image portrayed of this great leader. In the second photograph, Margaret Bourke-White took a photograph of the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp. This photo demonstrates the rawness and the cruel acts that were occurring at that time, as well as demonstrates the ability of Margaret Bourke-White as a photographer. The third photograph is of a Russian ballerina and displays an informal photo that I thought was soft and sweet, as well as showing a different side of Margaret Bourke-White. The Statue of Liberty is the fourth picture and was taken in 1930 and I think that it shows great depth and creativity. A self portrait of Margaret Bourke-White is the last photo and displays masterful use of depth perception by focusing on her and the background being blurred. It was difficult, for me, to select just a few photos because there were so many amazing photographs by this great artist.

Indoor Photo

This is the altered photo, that to me, looks more natural. For this picture, I changed the brightness and contrast to lighten the picture. Also, I cropped the picture in order to place more emphasis on Willy's face and less on the curtain behind him and the carpet in front of him. In addition, I played with the saturation and hue of the colors in the picture. This is the end result and I really like how it turned out after manipulating the various editing tools to make it look more natural.

This is the original indoor photo without a flash that I took of one of my dogs "Willy". As one can see it is darker, as well as more dull than the altered photo using "GIMP". This photo is not vibrant and the features of Willy do not stand out.

Letters on Canvas

For this assignment I went around my home and selected items that resembled the letters in my first name and used photoshop clone "GIMP" to create a banner that spelled my name. For the first "A" I used the legs from a portable table. The "L" was two intersecting beams from my fence. For my first "I", a decorative wall hanging was chosen. My sunglasses that were on my end table had the opportunity to become the "C". The second "I" was the beam that supports my grape vine and I thought that it added a nice element to the banner. Lastly, I just happed to have a flat iron on my bathroom counter that resembled an "A". This was one of my favorite assignments because I was able to bring out the creative side in me.

Un-cropped and Cropped Pictures

In this picture, there are some "extra stuff" outside the focus of the picture which takes away from the picture. In the left hand bottom corner there is an edge of the comforter and in the upper right top hand corner there are a pile of pillows. Using Picasa some of the extraneous information is eliminated via cropping and places more focus on Willy, my dog, and less on on the bedding.

This is the picture after cropping using Picasa and the focus is more on Willy and less on the surrounding bedding. My goal for this assignment was to place emphasis on Willy and less on the pillows and comforter. Willy is the sole focus of the picture as a result of cropping and emphasizes the color of his coat.

Dark and Lightened Picture

For this assignment I selected a photo that I thought could be further enhanced by lightening the picture. Although this picture was not taken at night the colors seemed a bit dark and I used Picasa to lighten it up as one can see in the following picture.

This is the picture after using Picasa to lighten it. As you can see the colors are more vibrant, as well as bright. The ledge really stands out and the grass is more defined and is greener. Also, the building in the background is more noticeable and the two colors of the building are more prominent. Lastly, as a result of lightening the picture there is more contrast and depth in the picture.

In order to create my logo I used pictures from previous assignments. I used the picture from the aquarium as the background for my logo because of the similar colors which allowed the pictures in the film strip to stand out. Also, I used word art for the my title which I thought added an additional creative element to my logo. Overall, I had fun creating my logo and I think it turned out well.