Cougars' Perspective

Monday, September 28, 2020

Faces

Let's FACE it. It's a busy time of year. Grades are due. Sports are back (finally!!). And life is a bit crazy. But -- there's always time to post some winning photos! Congratulations to the winners of the "Faces" Challenge.

FIRST PLACE

RAVEN CARROLL

SECOND PLACE

AMANDA DELEON

THIRD PLACE

CAMILA MARTINEZ

FOURTH PLACE

KATARINA GONZALEZ

FIFTH PLACE

DAVID SMALL

Monday, September 21, 2020

Military Pride

Military Pride is not reserved for Veteran's Day, the 4th of July, and Memorial Day. It's not just fanfare, flags, and fireworks. Military Pride is the day in/day out, 24/365 grit and loyalty to country and family. And military kids know this better than most. They understand symbolism and sacrifice; loneliness and loss; commitment and connection. This photo challenge gave students the opportunity to demonstrate the different faces of Military Pride and its relationship to their lives.

FIRST PLACE: CAMILA MARTINEZ

Excellent composition and strong technique. Creative approach to the theme.

SECOND PLACE: DAVID SMALL

Great angle/perspective. Strong focus and exposure on the foreground.

THIRD PLACE: DRAVEN SAUCEDO

Good job filling the frame and incorporating a background. Be careful to keep enough light in all elements of the image.

FOURTH PLACE: FINLEY HUNTING

Creative approach to the theme. Strong emotional response. Image might be stronger with a few stops down in exposure and perhaps all of the hand in the frame.

FIFTH PLACE: MORGAN HOLLINGSHED

Good job filling the frame with a variety of objects to tell the story. Exposure is a little dark.

Monday, September 14, 2020

So Sweet

This week's challenge "So Sweet" had photographers capturing their cravings. While most images were very straightforward focusing on a variety of sugary treats, a few photographers thought outside the box and tried to focus on character rather than calories. While there were many notable contenders, winning entries not only had a clever idea, but also a clean focus, even exposure and white balance, and strong composition. There was more than one entry that would have placed if the white balance would have been correct, or the lighting/exposure more purposeful.

Congratulations to this week's winners:

FIRST PLACE: ARABELLA RAVNELL (Striking image; thoughtful composition. Technically excellent focus, exposure, white balance)

SECOND PLACE: CAMILA MARTINEZ (Thoughtful concept and composition. Good use of long exposure lighting technique)

THIRD PLACE: ARI PANDURO (Creative concept, strong focus on the foreground)

FOURTH PLACE: KAYDENCE COBB (Unique subject; creative angle and composition)

FIFTH PLACE: TYLER VICK (Striking composition and color. Technical skill capturing sugar pour)

Monday, September 7, 2020

In Hot Water

Congratulations to this week's challenge winners. Whether literally or figuaratively, these photographers did a great job capturing the idea of "In Hot Water".

First Place: Katarina Gonzalez

Second Place: Camila Martinez

Third Place: Angelina Rodriguez

Fourth Place: Aaron Mayo

Fifth Place: Raven Carroll

Saturday, August 29, 2020

You Can!

You can't come to school.

You can't use an iMac.

You can't access Adobe.

You can't be in the studio

But most importantly . . .

You can't GIVE UP!

Armed with cell phones and kitchen utensils, Chrome-books and backyard backgrounds, this year's photography classes have chosen to say "I Can!". Embracing the first photo challenges of the year, Cougar photographers have stepped up and shown that they are not limited by their circumstance and that they, indeed, CAN produce exceptional work in exceptional times.

Enjoy this week's Challenge Winners:

Color:

1ST : CAMILA MARTINEZ

2ND: SOPHIA ALANIZ

3RD: MANDI DELEON

4TH: KAYDENCE COBB

5TH: ADAM DJURIC

Circle(s):

1ST: TOMMY BANNON

2ND: ALEX MARTINEZ-CEPEDA

3RD: ARABELLA RAVNELL

4TH: CASSIDY DIMMER

5TH: EMILY GIARDINE

Space:

1ST: DYLAN CURTIS

2ND: SOPHIA ALANIZ

3RD: ADAM DJURIC

4TH: YAHIL SOSTRE

5TH: KAYDENCE COBB

Fill the Frame:

1ST: DAVID SMALL

2ND: TOMMY BANNON

3RD: EMILY GIARDINE

4TH: CAMILA MARTINEZ

5TH: ALICIA ELIZALDE

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Photo Choice Challenge #1

Learn photography. Except I won't be there to help you with camera settings. Or help you sort and review your 80 images down to 3. Or sit with you while you edit to review applications and tools.

Learn photography. Except you may not have the right lenses. Or a DSLR camera. Or a computer with the editing software you know.

Learn photography. Except you can't leave your house. Or bring in models. Or collaborate with classmates.

And they still did.

As we continue forward with remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are all finding ways to do what we must, and these kids are doing it spectacularly. Last week, photography students were given a choice board to complete projects in photography, design, and post-production. Almost all choices could be modified for cell phone/app production. Here is the first round of their work:

Single Color Series: