School's Out

Wayne State University students stay active

Sports Photography is not as easy as it looks! Not only does the photographer have to deal with movement but also with poor lighting conditions! Indoor sports are absolutely my least favorite thing to shoot. For this assignment my schedule did not allow for me to catch a real game with fans or coaches so I went to the Wayne State gym to see if I could capture students playing sports. The basketball courts are always full of students like these in the photographs below. Eric Strange and Jamonte Horton practice with a game of one on one before the rest of the players gather into teams for a scrimmage.

Although there was no coach or fans to shoot, I did find another person of some authority inside of the gym. Richard Mendoza has been working at the WSU gym for the past three years. That night I caught him tossing a towel to a student when he was working behind the desk by the locker rooms. Although it is not a sports shot, it was a part of my sports shooting experience. I captured the stopped action of the interaction, which is what shooting sports is about. There was movement and a moment. So I diversified my photos a bit with this shot of Richard.   

Wayne State University students Eric Stange (Left) and Jamonte Horton (Right) play a little one on one before a scrimmage. (photos by Gabriela Aguirre)

Eric Strange and Jamonte Horton play a little one on one before a scrimmage.

WSU student and gym employee Richard Mendoza tosses a towel to another WSU student.

Learning lighting on my Feature photo hunt

To find an event was a tad difficult for me to shoot this time. I caught the tail end of the Art Achievement Awards so my chance for good photo ops was limited. The only thing left to photo graph when I go there were people talking in big groups so I decided to photograph the people working the event (Camera people, photographers, DJs) . I took pictures of them tearing down and putting away the equipment. I had some problems with lighting on my camera at the time. I was trying to use a wide depth of field but also capture any motion. Because my fstop and shutter speed were turned up my ISO was at the highest setting so many of my pictures came out with a lot of noise.

I decided to post a couple extra pictures from my enterprise photo experience because it made for more interesting pictures. I walked along Wayne State’s campus for a couple hours before I walked into the art building and found what I was looking for. I walked into a ceramics class where the students were working on Still life projects. Even though these projects seemed to be in their beginning stages the work was still enjoyable to shoot.

Jena Arslamn, a Wayne State student, works on her still life project for her ceramics class. (Photos by Gabriela Aguirre)

Another Wayne State student, Tiara Hill works on her ceramic still life. 

David Romas, the DJ for the Arts Achievement Awards, shuts down his gear as the awards come to a close. 

Camera woman, Lanise Pannell tearing down the camera equipment from the event. 

Camera man, Chris Scalice tears down his equipment.  

Camera Controls 2

On adventures we go. It's a dreary, cold February afternoon in Michigan. The Sun goes down by 5:30 and we struggle to get every shot we need before dark. Well, I struggle. I struggle with getting just the right settings using my ISO, Shutter Speed and Aperture to adjust to the changing light conditions. The secret is to set your ISO and then set either your shutter speed or fstop. Meter off of something grey to set the other setting and voila! Ready? Set? Shoot!

SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD                                                                                   ISO 1600, Aperture 3.5, Shutter 1/500

WIDE DEPTH OF FIELD                                                                                                 ISO 3200, Aperture 13, Shutter 1/20

SILHOUETTE                                                                                                                 ISO 6400, Aperture 5.0, Shutter 1/800

STOPPED ACTION                                                                                                        ISO 400, Aperture 3.5, Shutter 1/500

BLURRED ACTION                                                                                                         ISO 1600, Aperture 8.0 Shutter 1/25

PANNED ACTION                                                                                                             ISO 1600, Aperture 13, Shutter 1/60

EXTREME PERSPECTIVE                                                                                            ISO 800, Aperture 3.5, Shutter 1/500

RULE OF THIRDS                                                                                                            ISO 800, Aperture 3.5 Shutter 1/800

REFLECTION SHOT                                                                                                         ISO 800, Aperture 13, Shutter 1/40

EXTREME LIGHTING                                                                                                         ISO 800, Aperture 13, Shutter 1/40

Feature Photo Adventure

Some people hate getting their picture taken and others love it. Truth is, no matter if you like it or not, everyone wants to be remembered or recognized in some way. So when a stranger with a nice looking camera asks if he or she can take your picture for an assignment, you are likely to grant them permission. However, the job of the photographer to ask this of you is a tad awkward and uncomfortable. This is what I experienced on my feature photo assignment as I walked the streets of Detroit surrounding Wayne State University to find an unplanned moment in time I could capture with my DSLR.

I began by walking the perimeters of campus, hoping to find a random skate boarder or students playing volleyball. Not too far into my unsuccessful walk, I ran into an old friend who told me I needed to go further from campus to capture some of these spontaneous photographs. As we parted ways he pointed me towards Third Street where my enterprise photo journey began. The further I walked, the more courageous I became. I started striking up long, personal conversations with everyone I got pictures of; A man painting a wall, a father and son changing their front door, even a man just walking down the street that came from Africa. My final stop was a construction site on my walk back to campus. The men were very friendly but their work was uninterrupted by my presence which made for the best enterprise photo on my walk. 

Construction workers from left Fernando, Wes, and Phil work on apartments by Wayne State University on an unusually hot Wednesday afternoon in November. (WSUpj photos by Gabriela Aguirre)

My event photo was less of a smooth sailing experience. Plans changed last minute and I was not able to shoot what I had originally planned. Thankfully, I found an event last minute when I heard a man with a microphone speaking from the basement of the Student Center. I immediately grabbed my camera, ran down the stairs, and found a hypnosis session was about to take place.  It was a better event photo shooting experience than I had planned. It didn’t feel like work, It was just fun.

Wayne State University students from left Gabrielle Hoults, Keerthana Palani and Ali Shahin are told to do their best impression of a Martian in outer space during a hypnosis session in the Wayne State Student Center basement on Wednesday.  

Getting to know my Canon T5i

Learning to shoot in manual mode on a DSLR camera for the first time has been nothing short of a challenge for me this past month. Lighting is constantly changing at every angle and this has forced me to really spend some quality time with my 3 new best buds; ISO, F-stop, and Shutter Speed. Getting them to work together nicely not only produces a great image but also sets a specific tone, a mood, an ambiance. You get the picture (no pun intended). My goal is to continue to grow in the art of reciprocity to create a image that evokes an emotion and a response in the viewer. As a photojournalist, this art form must be perfected to a tee so as to be able to capture as many quality images, in a short time span and on short notice, as possible. Wish me luck!

The Journey Starts Here: A Camera Controls Assignment



Panned Action: ISO: 400 Aperture: 4.0 Shutter: 1/125

 

 

Wide Depth of Field: ISO: 200 Aperture: 4.5 Shutter: 1/200

 

 

Sense of Place: ISO: 400 Aperture: 4.5 Shutter: 1/640

 

 

Window Lighting: ISO: 400 Aperture: 3.5 Shutter: 1/200

 

 

Rule of Thirds: ISO: 400 Aperture: 4.0 Shutter: 1/50

 

Extreme Perspective: ISO: 400 Aperture: 4.0 Shutter: 1/50

 

Silhouette: ISO: 3200 Aperture: 3.5 Shutter: 1/400

 

Stopped Action: ISO: 800 Aperture: 3.5 Shutter: 1/1600

 

Blurred Action: ISO: 400 Aperture: 11 Shutter: 1/50

 

 

Shallow Depth of Field: ISO: 400 Aperture: 4.5 Shutter: 1/250

The First Amendment: My Cave Painting

The First Amendment

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."  



Throughout the entire evolution of human existence, one aspect of life has always remained in our nature. Story telling. Early peoples did this through cave paintings, whereas our generation now has media and its various outlets which greatly expanded the universe of storytelling.  Story telling through cave painting was important to not only pass on the history of the cave men and women but also to leave a mark on the world, however insignificant, and say "I was here."

The First Amendment allows our generation to leave our mark in this way as well by protecting the rights each person has to free speech, press, religion, assembly, and petition.  "Sometimes it's just adding one voice to many voices or sometimes, it's blazing a trail." As a collegiate photojournalism student it is my right to show truth and expression through the art of photography, leaving a modern day cave painting on the world.