Szarkowski

Szarkowski found that there are five elements photographers are aware of:

⌠ Thing ⌡ - The thing is the subject of the photo. Although the photographer is, at first, capturing a piece of reality, the captured image will survive the original subject and become the remembered reality.

⌠ Detail ⌡- To focus on detail is to isolate a fragment and document it, giving it significance. Photographs of the trivial force the viewer to take a second look at something they would normally overlook or ignore.

⌠ Frame ⌡- Creating a relationship between figures is one way of framing a photograph. Selecting what will and won't be in the photo, which is the central act of photography, forces viewers to focus on the picture edge and is also a way of framing.

⌠ Time ⌡- All photos capture a piece of time, which is always the present.

⌠ Vantage Point ⌡ - Photos that give us the sense of the scene while withholding the narrative are making use of vantage point. Examples of vantage point include the backs of people and bird's eye view.

⌠ Favorite Elements ⌡
I think that I work best with thing, frame, and time. I often find I want my photos to be focused on something, whether it's a person, animal, landscape, or object. Abstract photos are interesting in their own way, but too many of them can become boring.

When I take photos, I find myself framing the subject, sometimes without even realizing it. As for time, if a certain lighting or unusual weather conditions stands out, I feel that it's more worthwhile to take a picture.

Light

I think all times of day can be beautiful depending on the weather and location, but without a doubt, my favorite time of day is night. Whether the lighting is the moon and stars or just lots of artificial light, everything looks and feels more exciting. At night, places and objects lose clarity, so all you see of a place from a distance is a haze of light or the illuminated moon.

This particular photo is of a port in Buenos Aires, Argentina. During the light hours, the port is unimpressive and gray, like an area you'd see in any city in the world. When I revisited the area at night, the lights from the cranes, surrounding buildings, and walkway reflected in the water and brought the place to life.

Camera

The camera I'm using for this class is the Canon Powershot SD750. It takes very clear, crisp shots in good lighting, but in low lighting or in the dark, photos sometimes come out grainy. It has 7.1 megapixels, 3x optical zoom, and uses a lithium ion battery. I bought this camera with the intention of using it for travel and capturing random moments. I like that it's ultra compact, so I can easily carry it with me and it also captures short movie clips, which is a nice bonus.