P2: Scene (Landscape)

Title: Dockside
Tags: dock, lake, water
Reflection: I selected this photograph for Project 2. It meets the requirements of the assignment in that it utilized a mode other than the portrait mode used for Project 1. For this shot, I used the landscape mode. It allowed me to photograph a distant scene while keeping everything in focus. To improve the original shot, I would have framed it better so that it did not show as much grass as I did at the bottom. It looks better in this edited version because it creates a better balance between the height of the grass at the bottom and the heights of the trees at the top. In the edited photo they appear to be in better proportion to each other.

I valued this assignment for many reasons. First, it forced me to explore my camera and the modes further. It also required me to get up and get some exercise while searching for a great landscape to photograph. Through this assignment, I learned more about the importance of looking at the world through the camera’s viewfinder in order to determine what would make a nice picture. As I read in our text, what the eye sees is different from what the camera captures. Without using the viewfinder, I may not have realized how nice this photo would be.

I think photos taken in the landscape mode could be used to enhance instruction across the curriculum. I could use landscape photos to teach my kindergarten students about landforms, plants and trees, and community places (such as the newly renovated hospital in LaGrange). We could even match the community places with the portraits of the community helpers who work in them! I could also add landscape photos to my picture file to pull out to teach vocabulary words or to offer possible story topics. I could use landscape photos to have my students compare heights of objects in math. There are many opportunities in my classroom where landscape photos would come in handy!