An Oak Tree

Trey McIntyre Project

2010-01-22T15:47:00.000-08:00

I was asked by the Trey McIntyre Project to let you know:

students that tickets are only $10 dollars, and that our only show in Boise this spring will be February 13, 2010

I have heard it is pretty amazing.

Congrats

2009-05-09T09:50:00.001-07:00

We are done with the semester for the most part. Just next week to survive and then we are done. Congrats to everyone on their photos during the critique. I loved what everyone brought and had to say about their work. Great job everyone.

Volume 2

2009-05-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

I am loving Photo Mix Volume 2 tonight. "Photography" by Starting Line = good stuff.

2009-05-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Rock Chuck

Good Luck to everyone!

2009-05-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

I hope you are all doing well and your finals aren't making you bonkers.

obvious

2009-05-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner! There is a photographer, Jared Flood, in NYC, and he's also a knitter and knitwear designer, and I think the light quality and atmosphere of his photographs is amazing. I feel he also catches his subjects in subtle yet intimate moments. I've been following him for about a year and a half now, and his work is beautiful.

the end

2009-05-01T14:44:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that we are at the end of the semester already? It seems as if this semester has flown by. I look forward to seeing what everyone has done for their final asignment. See you all Friday.

2009-04-28T10:35:00.000-07:00

For an assignment about adornment: the cup as an accessory. I think this is pretty. I love the look on her face. I asked if I could take a picture, and she didn't know what to do with any of it.

2009-04-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

I procured 2 photography books this weekend. They are old how to books from 1970. They are just Time Life books, but they are really pretty. One is about color, the other light. Light in 1970 sure was beautiful.

This photograph is from Ernst Holtzer. He took photos all across Persia when he was working for the German government constructing telegraph lines all through the country. His work was discovered many years after his death by a granddaughter who opened his trunks after they had been subjected to flooding and found all his glass negatives in perfect condition.

This photo by Ronald Mesaros was taken at sunrise. The idea is that the girl in the photograph doesn't know the danger she is in, and when the sun rises the danger will be gone.

Whats next

2009-04-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

I will not be in class tomorrow. I have come down with a summer cold/flu. Would someone email me with what we are going to be doing for the rest of the semester? Thanks.

This Week

2009-04-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

I liked seeing what everyone showed on Wed. I was pleased with myself that I was able to recognize some of the artists that were being based off of.

Today is a great day for going out and taking photos. I have decided to take pictures of rocks...more to the point I am going to take pictures of rock walls. This can show the different patterns, textures and colors that nature has provided for us to enjoy. I am also going to take some shots of large bolders that have been unusally shaped by nature over time. I plan on taking some shots out at Arrowrock Dam, Swan Falls and Lucky Peak. If anyone has any other ideas of great rock places let me know.

I took the kids to see Monsters Vs. Aliens the other day and it was a great movie for the whole family. If you followed any of the older to newer monsters or aliens movies then you will get the many references that they show throughout. It was a very funny movie with some big named actors doing the voices.

See you all Wed.

More "in the style of.." Photos

2009-04-16T15:38:00.000-07:00

I am posting a couple pics that didn't make it to print for the "in the style of..." assignment but I thought they still deserve to be seen. So the pics below are mine but check out Brad Carlile.

Anyway here is a couple more and a couple of my favs.

my post

2009-04-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed learning more about the loving yourself projects. I have finally found the artist that I am going to do my assignment on. At least that stress is off my plate...now it is just about how to set up my different shots.

Hope that everyone will have a great Easter tomorrow, I have to go shred some carrots for my carrot cake. See you all on Wed.

Totally impressed

2009-04-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

I absolutely loved listening to Harold Fletcher talk this evening. I am totally impressed with how he makes art so accessible to so many diverse people. And to be able to just walk up and knock on a stranger's door because he is curious about their lawn ornament, and then proceed to make an incredibly beautiful neighborhood installation project out of that interaction? Genius.

After listening to all he had to say, I couldn't help but think that he makes the phrase "life is art" really come to life in a unique and beautiful way.

For anyone who didn't make it to his talk, I strongly recommend looking his work up.

Harrell Fletcher

2009-04-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

Room New A in the SUB, Thursday at 6pm. The room may have recently been names the Grand Ballroom.

Why mess with PERFECTION!??!?!

2009-04-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

So let's talk about The Fast and the Furious franchise. I should preface by saying, "Vinnie D, you my boi!!!!!" That aside I feel like all these sequels will have to fall short of the original and I will tell you why. 1. THE fast and THE furious implies that the story will be told about a select group of badass' that are both fast and furious-AWESOME...but 2. The sequel, 2 fast 2 furious seems like a movie about a group of people toiling in excess, and anyone who toils in the excess of speed and furiousness cannot have a proper hero, heroin, or even anti hero. So I'm forced to conclude that the premise of the movie is flawed. 3. Fast and the Furious 3-Tokyo Drift obviously takes place in some foreign land and is therefore UNamerican. Here in America we drive cars, we dont drift them. 4. Finally the recent installment "Fast and Furious" lacks either the qualifier "the" or "2" which implies that everyone in the movie is both Fast and Furious with no 'normal' people set opposite them to emphasize how cool they are so...boring....right. Who wants to watch a movie where everyone plays the same character??

Think about it?

2009-04-07T10:53:00.000-07:00

I am always on the lookout for new colour combinations. My first inclination is to add turquoise to this, but I've been doing that. Lime is another go-to, so convince me to do otherwise. What colour(s) do I pair with this?

Balloons, Revisited.

2009-04-07T02:36:00.000-07:00

(The person who took this is this nineteen year old Andrew Hefter who's stuff I find to be pretty rad. His website is http://andrewhefter.com/index.php.)

Before in a post I had said I liked balloons. Yeah.

Anyways! For an art project in my Foundations class, I am releasing approximately 71 balloons. The launch is going down today (April 7th) at around 2:45 p.m in front of the BSU library. Come have a visit, take pictures, enjoy the sunshine, hold a balloon or two, it'll be a good time!

Boise

2009-04-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what photographer's style I want to emulate, but I went out to take pictures around my favorite places in Boise this weekend because the weather's been nice. :)

Where are your favorite places around here to take pictures? I like going to the place I stargaze up 8th St., the tallest parking deck downtown, the lake behind Veteran's Memorial Park, Camel's Back Park, and Freak Alley.

R. Grey Jewelry Gallery

2009-04-02T23:47:00.000-07:00

The advanced art metals students are participating in a fund raising event for studio tools and visiting artists. We collaborated and produced a number of wearable art pieces that are on display at R. Grey through April 25th. The items are being sold via silent auction, and 100% of the proceeds go back to the studio. Check it out!

Boise Art Museum

2009-04-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

If you have not had a chance to go to the BAM you should make an effort since there is an Ansel Adams exhibit. It is going until the end of next month.

Working Methods

2009-04-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

In this assignment you are to study and emulate another artist's "working method." This can be done in many ways. I would encourage you to try to imagine a project that your artist might do. WWMAD? = what would my artist do?
Due April 15.

Shen Wei
Wolfgang Tillmans
Jeff Wall
Sophie Calle
Jean-Marc Bustamante
Collier Schorr
Miranda July
Harrell Fletcher
Melanie Schiff
Walid Raad

Nice travel photos

2009-03-31T16:20:00.000-07:00

With the economy and homework, I don't anticipate traveling too much in the near future. I found a nice travel photo website that has some quality shots (kind of like calendars but way better) Anyway, sometimes it's nice to just look at photos from somewhere other than home and that you don't have to explain to your mother.

Go on a virtual vacation....http://www.photoburst.net

2009-03-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

not sure if anyone has been watching the news. The floods in North Dakota just have a spot close to my heart for all the people that are fighting to keep their homes there. My dad lives right between the two major towns that have been flooded. I've been keeping close touch with him to make sure everything is o.k.

What I did photographically for Spring Break

2009-03-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

I had created an aircraft noseart illustration for a friend of mine's spray plane last semester in ART 461. I had it produced as a vinyl decal at the BSU print shop with the same products used for vehicle wraps. I traveled to Wasco, OR (6 hours away on I-84) Wednesday and installed it on his airplane. We spent Thursday capturing these pictures. Brian flew and I climbed to the top of the airport beacon tower for my picture taking so I could shoot down on him and get the bright white airplane against a darker background. This also allowed the water he was spraying to show better too.

For my most successful shots I set the camera on Shutter Priority. The camera then selects the best F stop for the light and I choose the shutter speed. I wanted to create movement by panning with the passing airplane to keep it in focus and not blurred while allowing the background to blur. Another thing to consider was capturing the movement of the propeller arc so the engine didn't appear stopped in mid flight. So these are photographed witht he shutter set about 1/60th of second. Had a lot of fun!

I love Safeway Sandwiches and ate two of em during the drive. If you ever get to Baker City you can get one at the Safeway there. They are better than any Quiznos or Subway or whatever.

I was also photographing old neon signs in the old communitites along the way.

Photoshop

2009-03-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

Nick Newman showed me this today. Nice montage.

Common sense people

2009-03-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

Hey just in case you get sick, please don't come to school or any public place for that matter. Spreading bugs is evil. I am very sick because people decided to come to school carrying contagious bugs. BLAH!

Melanie Schiff

2009-03-13T08:34:00.001-07:00

Change of plans!!!
Melanie will be coming to our Friday (the 20th) class. We will have class at the normal time on Wednesday, March 18th.

if you were wanting to know

2009-03-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

Ryan Mcginley's camera/film stats:
Film-kodak portra 400 nc and vc film and also fuji 1600
Cameras-Leica r8 with a 35mm lens, and a 28-70mm lens; Yashica t4 mostly without the flash

This Week

2009-03-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

I will not be in class this week as my father-in-law died this morning. The funeral is Friday. Jon I will have to reschedule my presentation that was to be Friday. I should see you next week.

sportsman show

2009-03-08T08:44:00.000-07:00

If there is anyone else that likes to be in the outdoors you should go and see the sportsman expo down at the fair grounds. Adults are $5 and kids 12 and under are free. There is a fishing pond for the kids and a really cool trailer that has hides and heads from several animals that the kids can touch.

See you all at the next class.

Heather

This is my post.

2009-03-06T07:40:00.001-08:00

Have a nice day.

Cold Missouri Waters

2009-03-05T08:33:00.000-08:00

After critique, I kept thinking about this song about the Mann Gulch Fire of 1949. I found this you tube video which has really good sound quality for the song. I love this song, and I really like Cry Cry Cry, the project who does this great cover.

2009-03-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

toys from jeweler Margaux Lange

Real carnage during make a picture

2009-03-04T01:51:00.000-08:00

Someone broke both my windows in my truck using a beer bottle, likely launched from a potato gun, this weekend aparently just for fun. Darn evil doers. Minus the glass everywhere, half of it imbedded into the plastic in my truck (like my stick shift), it also leaves me without windows in the rain and thus, lacking my own transportation. I had planned to print my pictures at school before this happened, but now I am stuck at home late using at least an Epson Stylus, but not one as good as the lab. I hope you all will understand if I am tired in the critique, I hadn't planned on being the victim of a felony. I will post some pictures when I get the chance of the real carnage that happened during make a picture. I can't wait to see what ideas everyone came up with for this assignment though at the critique!

Final two Photos for Make a Picture

2009-03-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

Finally finished the Make a Picture assignment this morning at 4am. I'm beat. I was photographing the city scape at 2am. No one but me and cabbies and the bar flies in downtown Boise. The ships were photographed in my garage.

Imperial Shuttle departs

2009-03-02T00:52:00.000-08:00

The latest in the series. The Imperial Shuttle is actually a very small Christmas tree ornament. I photographed it in the same cardboard box by hanging it with fishing line. The engines really do light up. I used incense again. It made very straight smoke columns that reminded me of huge flood lights. I photographed the stormtrooper on location at Bronco Stadium. It was positioned on the tailgate of my pickup with my camera on a tripod. Photoshop brought them all together. The lights pointing at the belly of the shuttle is several exposures of the smoke as it drifted up from the incense.

More Star Wars photo work

2009-03-01T01:44:00.000-08:00

I set up my one 12" Stormtrooper figure in the same box I used for the Falcon hanger. I created a line of about 5 LED lights set in holes in the top of the box to simulate a corridor. The camera was set on a tripod and manually focused on the Stormtrooper which I placed about four feet from the camera. I took an exposure.

Without changing the manual focus or lighting I moved the Stormtrooper away from the camera deeper into the box and took another exposure. I did this again several times. Finally, I brought the Stormtrooper closer to the camera then the first exposure for several more exposures.

Once in Photoshop I open each file, and copy-paste it into one document so there is no chance at accidentally scaling it. Copy-paste also stacks the images perfectly over each other. I use layer masks to hide the background in each shot except the one on the bottom layer which also happens to have the stormtrooper at the farthest distance from the camera.

Photographing the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy

2009-02-28T20:31:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share the process I used for one of my Make a Picture photos. I had to dirty up my Millennium Falcon to make it more believable. It looked too clean and flat like the x-wing photo I've included. I spent quite a bit of time painting it today. I brushed on a thick mix of pathalo blue, burnt umber with a touch of black and let it almost dry. I wiped the surfaces clean leaving paint in the panel lines and details. Finally I added some further details such as grease and rust stains. I also created a dark hanger by painting the inside of a huge cardboard box with black tempura paint. I cut holes in the top and lowered in several LED flashlights to take the shot. Burnt LOTS of incense to create some atmosphere and haze for the lights to reflect off of. Photographed it in my garage after sunset this evening.

Greg

Bedtime Stories

2009-02-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

I just got done watching this movie with my kids and it was very funny. Anyone who watched it would get a kick out if it. Adam Sandler was great and the movie even had a good message to pass on to the kids. This is a must buy when it comes out. Have a great weekend and see you next class.

Heather

Reminders

2009-02-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

Remember to come to class at 4 pm instead of in the morning if possible on March 18th for Melanie Schiff!!!
Also please come to her talk Thursday March 19th at 6 PM.

Making

2009-02-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

I got a kick out of making these pictures. It was a lot of fun going out to the desert and getting dirty building the scenes for these shots. I look forward to seeing what everyone is bringing to the next class.

Heather

Presentations

2009-02-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

We need to start thinking about presentations. Here is a list of artists that I suggest. You may choose from this list or come up with an artist on your own. Either way, I would like you to tell me who you've chosen.
Tacita Dean: Filmmaker?photographer, and more.
Sophie Calle: Performance, photo, installation...
Jeff Wall: Photographer (uses digital)
The Atlas Group: One artist, not a group, not exactly what the website says. Look into it. Very interesting...
Ryan McGinley: Photographs his naked friends running around, aparently partying and otherwise enjoying themselves. Warning: nudity.
Francis Alys: Performance (bare in mind that the final out come or at least the documentation in performance is often photography)
Philip Lorca DiCorcia: Photographer (Fine Art and commercial. Maybe we should discuss this term Fine Art Photography?)
Thomas Ruff: Photographer lately using digital photography ind emphasises the digital quality through pixelization...
Roni Horn: Photography, sculpture, installation...
Larry Sultan: Photographer
Alec Soth: Photographer (I would say documentary)
Todd Hido: Photographer (atmospheric)

More later. Battery dying.

I Like Balloons.

2009-02-26T08:55:00.000-08:00

I tried to take pictures using balloons and it didn't really work out.

(Although I want to try it again sometime!)

Here's a random picture from that day.

Critique changed!!!!!

2009-02-25T10:25:00.001-08:00

Wednesday - not Friday. Friday I will demo the Hasselblad.

Chris Natrop

2009-02-25T09:11:00.000-08:00

I've been really inspired by paper artists while working on this current assignment. In my search for ideas, I came across this artist who does amazing installations with cut paper. I can't imagine the patience and precision needed to make such elaborate work.

This is a must watch clip

2009-02-25T08:46:00.000-08:00

A must watch clip from Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Everything is Amazing. Nobody is happy.

SUB Gallery

2009-02-23T21:43:00.000-08:00

After class on Friday, I went down to the SUB and checked out the photography student gallery. I don't know if it is still there, but if so, it is worth checking out.

another paper artist

2009-02-23T09:14:00.000-08:00

Matthew Sporzynski. We didn't look at him, did we?

...

2009-02-22T10:02:00.000-08:00

I watched this documentary the other day that was well worth checking out. It was called ''Annie Leibowitz: life through a lens." Maybe mentioning Annie Leibowitz in a photography class is a little cliche but it was really interesting and she does a lot of things that pertain to our current assignment that are really cool. Check it out if you can.

For anyone still looking for a camera

2009-02-21T19:29:00.000-08:00

I keep getting these Costco email coupons and I couldn't help but notice this good deal on a Nikon D60 bundle. If you don't have a membership, let me know and I'd be happy to take you. It says the price is good through the end of the month.

create instead of take

2009-02-20T10:22:00.000-08:00

This assignment is starting to get very expensive, but I think that it is one of the funnest assignments that I have done so far. I went home and told my hubby about it and he started to name off different ideas...the biggest one that he wanted to do was Star Wars. I stopped that idea...figured that Greg was going to do it instead.

Heather

Florian Slotawa

2009-02-17T09:44:00.000-08:00

2009-02-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

Making Fashion Pictures in the 80's

When I first started photography I got to work for a local modeling agency, we had a ball playing with makeup, outfits and locations. I usually did stuff for the models portfolios. We would come up with all kinds of "fashion" things to do (like who really kneels on rocks in the middle of the pond in their swimsuit?) Hope I don't offend anyone that has done that before... Anyway, I am looking forward to trying my hand at making other types of pictures this next few weeks. p.s. For the KONY ad I got paid $75, I had to sew their patch onto my jacket and I did her makeup, hair and made the print to go to press. That is small town. But it was fun.

Guy Maddin

2009-02-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite modern b&w "silent" movies is Brand Upon the Brain by Guy Maddin, a Canadian filmmaker. (It's partially narrated by Isabella Rossellini, hence not completely silent.) It's beautifully shot and kinda twisted. Just about every frame looks like it could be its own still photograph.

He's done a bunch of feature-length and short films as well. Another good one is The Saddest Music in the World. (Also with Isabella Rossellini and Mark McKinney from Kids in the Hall.)

Blind spot

2009-02-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

I like it! Worth the $40 for 3 issues. Issue 38 favs:

"Chen and Efret, Israel" by Rineke Dijkstra

Selections from "Cars" by Rob Reynolds

"Self-portrait" by Taryn Simon

I liked these because they were fun and surprising. There was lots of serious, sad stuff that makes you think also, but I'm too tired for that today. This one photo came from Rineke's series of this set of twins spanning a six year period. The Google just didn't work for me to get any other of the photos, so get Blind Spot and see for yourself.

Assingment

2009-02-13T10:41:00.000-08:00

Due, Friday Feb, 27.

Making a Picture Instead of Taking a Picture

2009-02-12T18:29:00.001-08:00

You will create a situation to photograph. You will see examples from the very elaborate (installation) to the not-so elaborate (drawings). You could create a small diorama or turn an entire room into an installation. Other approaches are to make photographs that become objects themselves like Heinecken’s puzzle pieces or the Starn’s photographs.
If you are a photographer used to going out into the world and finding things/events to photograph this is your chance to work in a new way.

Five Prints Due
Artist: Jeff Wall, Gregory Crewdson, Sandy Skoglund, Patrick Nagatani, Thomas Demand, Doug and Mike Starn, Vic Muniz, Robert Heinecken, Robert Park Harrison.

”There is a vast difference between taking a picture and Making a Photograph.”

Robert Heinecken

Air Hockey Table

2009-02-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

Does any one want to buy an air hockey table? It is about 6 ft long and 3 ft wide. I am selling it for $50. Let me know if you want it. I don't have room for it anymore.

Heather

Mathmatics with Soul and Beat

2009-02-11T07:46:00.001-08:00

Listen to this if you are rusty on your times tables.

From Graphic Design last Semester

2009-02-11T00:56:00.001-08:00

This is a digital photo of my ART 388 Graphic Design Studio III assignment last semester. I wrapped a Cessna airplane with colored vinyl and cut letters. No Photoshop involved here. I basically covered the existing stripes completely with a similar color of sign vinyl and then laid the cut vinyl letters over it.

"keep the greasy side down" was the last thing my first flight instructor told me before I soloed for the first time in October 1996. Fun project.

Greg

Take all the dam pictures you want.

2009-02-10T06:48:00.000-08:00

I've been using my camera quite a bit recently. I've posted a few photos I've taken since the beginning of the semester for various reasons. Me climbing the ladder is a reference image for a drawing assignment in ART 311. Dam photos for a Graphic Design assignment in ART 488 are of Arrowrock Dam. I've been experimenting with shooting at night. Included night photos and image of dog and owner were taken specifically for Digital Photography Wrong assignment. Can't wait to see what everyone brings to the table Wednesday morning for Wrong critique.

Greg

Salty Dog

2009-02-09T17:19:00.001-08:00

this is a picture of my dad. I took it when I went to visit over Christmas. It really captures him and I was so excited that he agreed to sit still long enough. It still needs work but I'm excited and I wanted to share.

Sharpening

2009-02-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

Filter>
Sharpen>
Unsharp mask

Set Radius

Set the Amount between 400 and 500 then...

back off the slider until the sharpening effect looks noticeable but subtle.
Leave the Threshold at zero unless necessary.
Please refer to the previous sharpen post.

Tip: Use the Preview button to see the before and after effect.

My Art Space

2009-02-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

A great place to get inspiration and see what other artists of all genres are doing is myartspace.com. It's free and you can have a gallery to show your work plus you can sign up for a newsletter that simply sends you a daily piece of art from someone's gallery, I like the daily artist because I get to see things I wouldn't normally search for. myartspace.com

Albert Watson

2009-02-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

I was at Barnes & Noble last year looking through books and I came across a book of Albert Watson's work and was immediately fascinated, I sat in the aisle and slowly flipped through the entire thing. If I had to say who my favorite photographer was, he's up there. He does mostly fashion photography.

Even more amazing, he's blind in one eye.

changes

2009-02-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

It always amazes me that I will start out with an assignment with one idea and then by the end I have completely changed my mind. This is what happened to me at the last class. I was reviewing my photos and started to pull out some that I liked and discovered that I was looking at my new assignment. The funny thing is that when I was taking these pictures I was just goofing off with the camera. Who would have thought.

Face the new photographic portrait

2009-02-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

I just got this book

been wanting it for a while.

I really like real photographic portraits. One of my favorites is a self portrait of an artist that has since died. It is called "I'm too sad to tell you."

Anyway, portraits of real people that aren't perfect and posed are so cool. "Flattery is unwholesome. It is contrary to truth." The Photographic News London, 1870. Sadly enough, there were no portraits of rats.

clear glass jars wanted

2009-02-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

I am working on a project and I need clear glass jars with lids, think spaghetti sauce and mayonnaise. Any size and shape are welcome. I will not be able to return the jars. The project will be entered in the student show, so keep your eyes peeled and wish your jars luck!

Sharpening Intro

2009-02-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

(I will go over this in class so if this sounds confusing, wait)

Why?: To counteract the blurries in both input and output stages.

With What?: Unsharp Mask
It sounds like the last thing you would want to do but it actually makes sense; it has its origins in a traditional photographic technique for enhancing sharpness.
The things we see as edges are areas of high contrast between adjacent pixels. The higher the contrast, the sharper the edges appear. So to increase sharpness you need to increase the contrast along the edges.
What happens is we make the lights lighter and the darks darker along the edges thus creating a halo. The halo is the secret to successful sharpening and the Achille’s heel depending on the size and intensity of the halo, and where it appears on the image. Photoshop lets you precisely control the size of the halo but there is no single magic setting that works for all images: so you need to know how he control works, but also what you are trying to achieve in the image.

Amount
High amounts produce intense halos with many pixels driven to pure white or deep solid black. Amount has no effect on the width of the halos.
As you increase Amount settings, the blips around big tonal shifts (edges) can be pushed all the way to black and white. At that point, increasing Amount has no effect whatsoever – you can’t get more white than white. Worse, the all white halos often stand out as artifacts and can look really dumb.
Photoshop experts recommend starting by setting Amount much higher than you eventually want it – between 400 and 500 – until you see the Radius. Then adjust down from there, depending on the image.

Radius
Radius is the first thing to consider when you are setting up sharpening: it sets the width of the halo that the filter creates around edges. The wider the halo, the more obvious the sharpening effect. Choosing the correct Radius is probably the most important choice in avoiding unnaturally oversharpened look, and there are several factors to take into account when you choose, starting with the content of the image itself, the output method, the intended size.
Note that a Radius value of 1.0 does not result in a single pixel radius. In fact, the halo is often between four and six pixels wide for the whole light and dark cycle – two or three pixels on each side of the tonal shift. However, it varies in width depending on the content of the image.

Threshold
Unsharp Mask only evaluates contrast differences: It does not know whether those differences represent real edges you want to sharpen, or areas of texture that you don’t want to sharpen. The threshold control lets you specify how far apart two pixels’ tonal values have to be (on a scale from 0 to 255) before the filter affects them. For example, if a Threshold is set to 3, and two adjacent pixels have values of 122 and 124 (a difference of two), they’re unaffected.
You can use Threshold to make the filter ignore relatively slight differences between pixels in smooth, low contrast areas while still creating a halo around details that have high-contrast edges. And, to some extent at least, you can use it to avoid exaggerating noisy pixels in shadow areas. Low Threshold values (0 to 4) result in a sharper looking image overall (because fewer areas are excluded). High values (above 10) result in less sharpening, but often produce unnatural looking transitions between the sharpened and unsharpened areas. Typically start out with a zero Threshold value, and increase only if necessary.

2009-02-03T00:29:00.001-08:00

cute

You ain't livin' till you livin' in 3D son

2009-01-31T17:12:00.000-08:00

I went and saw My Bloody Valentine in 3D on Friday night, and had a lot of fun. The movie itself was just a straight 80's style slasher flick and I enjoyed it, so if you are into that kind of thing, I would recommend it. The blood and gore was fun yes, but the real fun thing about this movie was that it was in 3D. I haven't seen a 3D movie in 18 years so I was very entertained. Maybe My Bloody Valentine is not your taste but I would definitely recommend going and seeing a 3D movie very soon, it was worth the 12$ and free(after the 12$) pair of high quality, plastic framed, 3D glasses. very cool. I was also curious if anyone knew how they go about making a movie in 3D.

I get Polaroids with a little help from my friends...

2009-01-30T09:14:00.000-08:00

So, I'm always looking for Polaroid 600 film, which gets more and more scarce as the days go by. Aside from ebay, if anyone runs across any film here in Boise and aren't planning on buying it for themselves, you could email me or let me know in class where you saw it!?? Right? Yeah, you could do that.

A Sunset to share

2009-01-29T23:24:00.001-08:00

Okay, this is not a recent photo but I thought I'd share and get some feedback. I was working in manual with my Nikon D50 and really trying to capture with different shutter speeds and ap settings. The original file was a jpg for what ever reason. I haven't done any tweaking to the colors. It was pretty cool!

Taken in the alley behind our home on E Jefferson here in Boise.

Greg

Chattanooga

2009-01-29T21:48:00.001-08:00

I love this camera. It is so much fun to shoot. I can't wait till the next check out day so that I can play with a different camera. I think that the lab fee was worth it just so that I could play with all the different cameras this year. Can't wait till I get my hands on Cheyenne.

Late tomorrow

2009-01-29T19:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, I finally got my photos to where I can load them into photoshop. Niiiiice camera, but gee whiz, it may take the whole semester to learn to use it! I did not shoot my photos in raw format. Sorry, Jon, didn't get that far, but the cuteness will make up for that. I have to take 4 "people" to the humane society tomorrow...don't open til 8, so I may be a little late. Please save me a seat in the front row so I can see...and stay out of my chair! Sorry for the disruption. I hate being late.

2009-01-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

I had the opportunity to go to the Sundance Film Festival last weekend. I saw three great films, check them out. The first one Mary and Max was total eye candy. You will most likely be hearing about The Cove here soon it is a must see documentary on Dolphin slaughter's in Taiji, Japan. Horrifying. The 3rd one Carmo Hit the Road was entertaining but will most likely be a DVD selection. Check them out for their cinematography. All quite well done.

2009-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Gabriel Orozco.

A Year of Sunsets

2009-01-28T07:46:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of our first assignment... A Year of Sunsets

Michael Craig-Martin

2009-01-28T07:39:00.000-08:00

The above piece is called "An Oak Tree." That is where I got the idea or the name of our blog.

s.t.o.p. motion

2009-01-27T17:46:00.001-08:00

This is fun to watch.

Wrong

2009-01-27T16:52:00.000-08:00

The first assignment is do something photographically that you have been told not to do. That thing can be a rule such as "do not shoot into the sun" or subjects like rainbows or sunsets or bathrooms, boyfriends or girlfriends. Maybe pets or beaches.
The important thing is to be the exception to the rule. Make a good project while breaking these rules.
5 prints due February 11.