Coeur d’Alene High School Photography Blog

Today- If guest teacher Mr. Pafford has something for you to do or has a presentation, do what he says, listen to him, and follow his instruction. He is the man today. If he does not have anything, you are to spend the day either working on Photoshop or looking at photography websites. Be doing something photography related- you can always grab a photography magazine from the bookshelf next to the book chair, just remember to put them back neatly!

Remember- anyone mentioned for anything other than being a perfect student will get 5 days of lunchroom cleanup duty, so BE GOOD.

For today’s post- As cheesy as it sounds, what are you thankful for?

Here is my blog post- I am thankful first and foremost for my family. Even though my knuckle-head kids drive me crazy sometimes….okay, quite often, they truely are the reason for everything that I do. I of course am thankful for my wife. Without her, there is no telling where I would be in my life right now, but I can guarantee you that I would not be a teacher (so you can blame her!). I am thankful for living in such a great area. I am sure that many of you can not wait to get out of Coeur d’Alene or even the 208, but I can tell you after living in other parts of this country that the Pacific Northwest, in particular North Idaho, is the greatest place to live. So much to offer to us and we can feel safe being out and about. If we forget to lock our doors, not a big worry. We can feel safe at school, safe on the streets, and safe driving down the roads. I am thankful for each and everyone of my students. Even though I am sure that my heart attack will be caused by the stress of my career, the stress is caused because (even though I don’t always show it) I DO care about each of you and want you to succeed. It stresses me out when you don’t make the right choices and don’t do your homework. Lastly, I am thankful for brownies that have large chocolate chunks in them and my students that bring me brownies (especially those that have promised me some and will be bringing them to me next week).      (Hopefully this was not too cheesy- it is all the truth)- Now, what are you thnkful for?

Today- You need to finish your “Your Choice” and get it turned in ASAP. We will then gather around the campfire, a.k.a. the big screen, and look at your motion and clone photos. Be ready to talk about them and tell us what you did!

BREAK ASSIGNMENT- Take lots and lots and lots of photos of all that you are doing. Take lots. Did I mention to that you should take lots of photos? As in hundreds? Because if I didn’t mention it I will now- take lots of photos over break.We will be creating a photomosaic out of all your photos.

For today’s post- If you could change three things about this class, what would they be and why? Be honest, you are not going to hurt my feelings (unless you start talking about my dog that died when I was just a little boy, but that has nothing to do with the class so I don’t know why you would be talking about it anyways).

Today- Download your weekend “Your Choice” photo and work on it today.Try to get it all finished today. You will have a few minutes tomorrow, not much though.

IF YOU DID NOT DO WELL ON THE EXPOSURE TEST, YOU CAN COME IN MONDAY OR TUESDAY BEFORE OR AFTER SCHOOL AND TAKE ANOTHER TEST. WHATEVER THE NEW SCORE IS WILL THE BE THE SCORE THAT GOES IN THE GRADE BOOK.

For today’s post- Want to see some amazing wildlife photos? The National Wildlife Federation has posted its 2009 Photo Contest Winners.Very cool stuff! Take a look and tell me which one is your favorite? Why? Was it shot with a slow shutter speed or a fast shutter speed? What type of lens do you think it was shot with- normal, telephoto, wide angle or macro? Why do you say this? What else can you tell me about these photos? -Note that one was shot by a resident of Spokane Valley! Cool!

Subharghya Das
Mysore, India
First Place, Mammals, Amateur

TODAY- EXPOSURE TEST. I will hand back your tet from yesterday, answer any questions that you may have, and then we will take the test. REMINDER- NO TALKING until EVERYONE is done and I say that everyone is done and you may talk quietly. If you do not follow these directions, you WILL receive a zero on the test. Please, do not make me give you a zero!

Because of all the tests this week, your weekend assignment is open. Shoot what you want! (As long as it is school appropriate!)

For today’s post- Today we are going to watch a quick video about an AMAZING and very inspirational photographer by the name of Sheffield Quigley. I don’t want to say too much, I will let the video talk. For those watching at home, the video is HERE.

After watching this, give me your feedback. What do you think of the types of photos that Quigley invented and are now shot almost everyday? Talk to me, give me feedback on this video- the more the better! What does it make you think of? Does his work remind you of anyone else’s that we have studied?

Today- We will be having the test over the 3 columns- ISOs, Shutter Speeds, and Apertures. Take your time on them, it is not a race. Make sure you do not forget any in the middle or all after it will be wrong. Do not add an extra in the middle or all after it will be wrong. As always NO TALKING while ANY test is out. If you are talking while even one test is out, you will receive a zero on the test. It is worth 100 points.

We will also be reviewing for the Exposure test tomorrow. You will need to know the 3 columns and how to find equivalent exposures. Today you will receive a worksheet like the others that you will work on during class, at the end of class we will discuss it.

For today’s post- What do hands and faces tell us about a person? Take a look HERE at a project that photogrpaher Julian Stratenschulte worked on exploring this question. So, what do hands and faces tell us about these people? Pick one or two or three of the people in the first photo, what type of life do you think they had? Easy, hard, rich, poor, hard worker, party animals? What do you think they did for a living? Home-maker, doctor, dentist, etc? How important are the photos of the hands in this series?