Through the Lens (2013 Version)

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The mechanics and art of photography unveil an intriguing metaphor for thinking about learning and our world view. For a photographer, the operation of cameras-- exploiting apertures, shutter speeds, optics, -- coexist with the artistic skills of pre-visualization, framing, composition. It is no longer a field dominated by pros with expensive gear, we can all make photographic art. Taking the metaphor farther, creating an engaging learning experience is much more than point and shoot or flipping the settings into automatic mode. Photography is a beautiful example of how you can get better at doing something just by regularly doing (and sharing) your craft. Regular acts of photography, such as the Daily Create, are a model of informal learning that works.

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Looking Through the Lens

Alan Levine cogdogblog.com

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by Adam Melancon: http://flickr.com/photos/melancon/2629905708/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Martin Gommel: http://flickr.com/photos/kwerfeldein/2104791931/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Hossein Ghodsi: http://flickr.com/photos/mhghodsi/3049527437/

BS

cc licensed ( BY ND ) flickr photo by Chuck “Caveman” Coker: http://flickr.com/photos/caveman_92223/2866407172/

I Exist

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by Vincepal: http://flickr.com/photos/vincepal/3750617746/

I Exist

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by rokoto: http://flickr.com/photos/monkey_gastello/180031608/

I Exist

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Felipe Morin: http://flickr.com/photos/metabolico/442924577/

"Also interesting is that the shots that people seem to post to Instagram – graffiti, flying pigeons, stuff around the neighborhood – are not the kind of photos you see on Facebook. Instagram has created a new niche – making photographers out of people who were not photographers before.”“More On Instagram (or why Facebook hasn’t won everything)”(http://thenextweb.com/location/2010/12/30/more-on-instagram-or-why-facebook-hasn%E2%80%99t-won-everything/)

Who has a camera?

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by davidcwong: http://flickr.com/photos/davewong/2548952137/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by davemmett: http://flickr.com/photos/davemmett/3022383314/

• Find someone you don’t know• Take photo with mobile device• email to

island42words@photos.flickr.com

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are needed to see this picture.

Challenge!

flickr.com/photos/cogdogroo

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by 96dpi: http://flickr.com/photos/96dpi/3371440496/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by jónr: http://flickr.com/photos/jonragnarsson/280131282/

“When it comes to the artistic value of images and proclamations of self importance, let me be very blunt: where there is no artist, there is no art. No matter how beautiful or powerful the feats of nature you photograph, if all you do is record them using photographic media without introducing your own sensibilities into the final product, they are not art!Your images should provide viewers with an experience they could not have had, and would never have seen or felt, if it were not for your sharing it with them.”Guy Tal, (http://guytal.com/wordpress/2011/05/dont-be-an-idiot/)

Caught Checking In to Morrison Hotel

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by cogdogblog: http://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/5702001885/

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are needed to see this picture.

http://cogdogblog.com/2011/10/19/animated-gifs-your-photos/

cameras / metaphors

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Derek K. Miller: http://flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2740346077/

aperture

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Derek K. Miller: http://flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2741115576/

cc licensed ( BY ND ) flickr photo by -=RoBeE=-: http://flickr.com/photos/robertszlivka/2741653860/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by i k o: http://flickr.com/photos/emiliano-iko/4748043421/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Paolo Margari: http://flickr.com/photos/paolomargari/3484863724/

cc licensed ( BY SD ) flickr photo by mugley: http://flickr.com/photos/mugley/2928281873/

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by kevindooley: http://flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/2787381665/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by deVos: http://flickr.com/photos/devos/8250950/

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Derek K. Miller: http://flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2741115576/

shutter speed

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Derek K. Miller: http://flickr.com/photos/penmachine/3588299260/

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Chris_Moody: http://flickr.com/photos/zpyder/1081930640/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by L.Brumm Photography and Design: http://flickr.com/photos/lbrummphoto/4315487404/

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Liam Wilde: http://flickr.com/photos/bean_baker/3893043940/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Express Monorail: http://flickr.com/photos/expressmonorail/4314559132/

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by angela7dreams: http://flickr.com/photos/angela7/2781433789/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by ohad*: http://flickr.com/photos/ohadby/41058122/

cc licensed ( BY SD ) flickr photo by TheGiantVermin: http://flickr.com/photos/tudor/664156379/

iso

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Derek K. Miller: http://flickr.com/photos/penmachine/2741115576/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by tomquah: http://flickr.com/photos/tomquah/3915654642/

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by greenkozi: http://flickr.com/photos/themacinator/3334790211/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by imNicholas: http://flickr.com/photos/imnicholas/5013500139/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by imNicholas: http://flickr.com/photos/imnicholas/5013500139/

composition

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Thomas Hawk:http://flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/2354086423/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by L.Brumm Photography and Design: http://flickr.com/photos/lbrummphoto/4278144872/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Andrea Costa Photography: http://flickr.com/photos/ac_theart/3505959936/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by Michelle Brea (busy-away): http://flickr.com/photos/itsallaboutmich/840084501/

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by kevindooley: http://flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/1905508309/

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by kevindooley: http://flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/2172001078/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by deVos: http://flickr.com/photos/devos/86878315/

cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by cogdogblog: http://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/8483752277/

cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by cogdogblog: http://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/8484847046/

what’s wrong?

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by cogdogblog: http://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/5432699692/

If you mash up this photo a dog will bark at yoy!

"It has changed me more as a father than it has as a photographer. There are lots of difficult things you go through as the parent of special needs child. Yet to see his photo showcased prominently on something I care deeply about, such as Flickr, and to see him being praised by my friends and colleagues gives me a sense of pride for my son. Also his images has been used for campaigns and posters for Autism. This photo has produced some redemptive and endearing qualities since I posted it online."Kris Krug from “Story of a Portrait from flickr Homepage”(http://madaboutportraits.blogspot.com/2011/02/story-of-portrait-from-flickr-homepage.html)

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by kk: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/14443265/

story

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by pasukaru76 (out of town): http://flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/4218226857/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by Bill Liao: http://flickr.com/photos/liao/154355830/

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by pcgn7: http://flickr.com/photos/21204781@N07/2501994750/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by chuck_heston: http://flickr.com/photos/chuckheston/383386494/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by Juergen Kurlvink: http://flickr.com/photos/kurlvink/2554907553/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by freestone: http://flickr.com/photos/freestone/183376463/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Pay No Mind: http://flickr.com/photos/paynomind/65010034/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by AndWhyNot: http://flickr.com/photos/andwhynot/2946734025/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by ashley rose,: http://flickr.com/photos/ashleyrosex/3042780224/

context

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by Felipe Morin: http://flickr.com/photos/metabolico/460873307/

do photos tell the truth?

The Lusitania

"Without a caption, without a context, without some idea about what the picture is a picture of, I can’t answer. I simply cannot talk about the photograph as being true or false independently of beliefs about the picture. A captionless photograph, stripped of all context, is virtually meaningless. I need to know more.And yet, this idea that photographs can be true or false independent of context is so ingrained in our thinking that we are reluctant to part with it."Errol Morris, “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire”(http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/pictures-are-supposed-to-be-worth-a-thousand-words)

“I’m not a good photographer”

cc licensed ( BY SD ) flickr photo by Ernst Vikne: http://flickr.com/photos/iboy/4532497884/

cc licensed ( BY NC ND ) flickr photo by imNicholas: http://flickr.com/photos/imnicholas/5013500139/

Try. Reflect. Share.

Repeat...

365 photoshttp://www.flickr.com/groups/366photos/

2013

1006

"Photography is an art and a craft. Getting better at both requires practice—lots of practice. The Daily Shoot is a simple daily routine to motivate and inspire you to practice your photography, and share your results! It’s not a contest and there are no prizes. It's simply about encouraging you to pick up your camera and make photographs.That's it. There aren't any other rules. You aren't going to get demerits if you miss a few days, nor will you get gold stars for doing every assignment. We're just here to help you with a little nudge every day. The rest is up to you!"The Daily Shoot, (http://dailyshoot.com/)

Oct 2011

tdc.ds106.us

John King

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by john.king: http://flickr.com/photos/johnking/5251126461/

cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by john.king: http://flickr.com/photos/johnking/5425668561/

"The intelligent, polite and talented DS photographers expand my creativity by showing so many possible good approaches to the same photographic problem.

Commenting on other photos and having my own photos commented on is yet another enhancement to the learning.”John King, (http://flickr.com/photos/johnking/)

Jabiz Raisdana

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Intrepid Flame: http://flickr.com/photos/intrepidflame/426620305/

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Intrepid Flame: http://flickr.com/photos/intrepidflame/5380534348/

"Daily shoot has really forced me to look more closely at my world and experiment more with my photography. I am trying different angles, lighting and composition. By shooting everyday, I am also able to see when I fall into a rut or a pattern thus forcing me to try new things.”Jabiz Raisdana, (http://flickr.com/photos/intrepidflame/)

Audrey Williams

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by AJ Wms: http://flickr.com/photos/ajwms/292988246/

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by AJ Wms: http://flickr.com/photos/ajwms/306635688/

"'Forcing' yourself to take a photo every day means you have your camera with you at all times and you start to look at objects and events with a more artful eye. I find it that I frame shots in my head even if I am not going to actually press the shutter button.

I have always loved photography but this kind of project actually made me fall in love with photography all over again.”Audrey Williams, (http://flickr.com/photos/ajwms/)

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Galagon Wagon: http://flickr.com/photos/galagonwagon/5429505007/

“I remember walking around campus that day thinking about preparedness, looking for preparedness, wondering what preparedness was. No luck.That evening, though, I was thinking about how Leatherman’s were an example of preparedness, and then I remembered an old pocketknife my grandfather had given me. I tried to think of how I could make it interesting. It needed… atmosphere. It needed… lighting. But just shooting it with a flash turned out bland, so I figured out how to get the flash focused on a small area of the scene (it’s called a snoot).It’s clear, I think, that absent the constraint of needing to take a certain kind of picture that night, I probably wouldn’t have ever headed down the path which resulted in the picture, nor would I have gained further practice in photography.”Galagon Wagon, (http://galagonwagon.com/2011/02/the-daily-shoot-and-creativity/)

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Intrepid Flame: http://flickr.com/photos/intrepidflame/5348740810/

“Despite knowing that photographing water is difficult, I walked around our campus after school looking for it; I should have been looking for liquids. Then I saw it.

Beautiful, dense, thick buckets of mud. A blend of earth and water and gas and everything mushed together. I have always loved mud, so with great pleasure I snapped a round of shots. I am glad I didn't go with a more traditional glistening form of liquid, and I tried something a bit different.” Jabiz Raisdana, (http://intrepidflame.blogspot.com/2011/01/state-of-matter.html)

strangers

cc licensed ( BY SD ) flickr photo by bionicteaching: http://flickr.com/photos/bionicteaching/5436986582/

“I often see people and think that I’d like to take their portrait. It sounds creepy in my head as I write that but I promise it’s a fairly widespread idea (http://www.100strangers.com). I just happen to think certain people look interesting but I don’t ever do anything about it. I worry my social skills are not up to it. But you see a photo at the top of this post. A photo I took of a stranger. That may not seem like a big deal to many of you but it took some serious psyching up for me to do that. It’s not the best picture but it does represent something I’m glad I did.”Tom Woodward, (http://bionicteaching.com/?cat=254)

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by electrovert: http://flickr.com/photos/58873944@N07/5417153345/

“The assignment’s taken me on some pretty unexpected adventures. Almost everyday I’ve started with a completely different idea (or no idea) of what I was going to photograph, then stumbled upon something extraordinary. It’s forced me to think about things in new ways and it’s shown me that sometimes it’s easier to make art when you take a more hands-on approach and don’t overthink it.” Matt Martin, (http://blog.electrovert.net/?p=69)

motivation matters

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by Faithful Chant [ back ]: http://flickr.com/photos/chant3/3252597528/

shared space matters

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by kennymatic: http://flickr.com/photos/kwl/4555399660/

learning with others matters

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by teliko82: http://flickr.com/photos/teliko82/2189579308/

learning by doing matters

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by Thomas Hawk: http://flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/155589939/

daily ______ ?cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by striatic:

http://flickr.com/photos/striatic/241843728/

• Retake your photo• Make it say “Excited to be here!”• email to

island42words@photos.flickr.com

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Challenge #2!

flickr.com/photos/cogdogroo

cc licensed ( BY NC ) flickr photo by 96dpi: http://flickr.com/photos/96dpi/3371440496/

cogdogblog.comcc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo by woodleywonderworks:

http://flickr.com/photos/wwworks/4759535950/

make some artcc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by Ernesto JT:

http://flickr.com/photos/auggie/405845898/