Set 2: Analyzing the Selections

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Contact Sheet

The Yellow Selection

These selected photographs were effective and looked favorable; they were in focus and had the composition I envisioned. Moreover, another fundamental reason I have chosen them is that it not only follows my chosen artist’s style but also align with my vision and view of capturing trees.

The Green Selection

This group of photos was selected because they were favorable and further aligned with my vision- to capture the pureness of this world through trees. These photos fit my definition of pure as most express simplicity and quietness, depicting the essence of these flowers and trees. Additionally, they had to be abstract, shown through formal elements, such as shape (shape of trees) and tone (the contrast created through black and white).

The Red Selection

The Red selection is where I stricten my standards, only using photos that could depict my vision to the maximum. Additionally, considering that these could be in my final triptych, I also looked for photos that could be in similar sets of threes. This led me to my final decision- I will use the two photos with the flowers, while for my triptych, I think I will incorporate one of the two tree photos. Overall, this final red selection had favorable, yet unexpected results. This is because although the flowers and their branches go well with the whole tree scenery, I did not intend to take photos of flowers, as I thought the season had not arrived yet. However, when seeing the flowers bloom outside my backyard, I knew that I could incorporate that into my triptych. Therefore, although the flower photos did not really follow my chosen artist’s style of solely taking photos of trees, I did appreciate the results (and although my chosen artist did not focus on flowers, I guess they do count as trees because they grow on them!).

Set 2: Take and Evaluate Pictures

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1. Select an Artist

Martin Vorel is a photographer living in Prague. His photos have various characteristics: nature, black and white, high contrast, silhouette, shapes, and nature. From this, he is a primarily minimalistic photographer, taking subjects such as nature and architecture. Also, his photos are in black and white, which creates a high-tone contrast. However, some of his photographs, like the ones on the very left and right, intend to create high contrast to convey the silhouette’s aim.

Additionally, I have chosen his photos because it follows my new vision of how we can capture pictures that show the purity of this world through trees. Vorel uses black and white, high contrast, and tress to express calmness, and I also aim to do that for my new set.

“We live in a world that urges us to become more and more involved in things. Things we don’t even need. Things that don’t make us happy. This is one of the reasons why I take minimalist photographs. I try to make my photographs look calm and simple and to show the viewer the very essence of things around us.”

-Martin Vorel

This quotation is significant to my views and why I want to take black and white and pure, maybe not minimalistic, photographs. Moreover, I can personally relate to this. Countless things surround us, waiting for us to discover and achieve. However, this may lead to a harmful cycle, pressuring one to believe that the more you perform, the better. I also want to use my photos to convey the message of valuing our everyday objects more than constantly discovering new ones.

 

2. Respond to an image

Silhouette of a Lonely Tree and Roe Deer

I have chosen this picture due to various reasons. I enjoy its composition, following the rule of thirds, while I also want a high contrast between the sky and the ground; it’s very minimalistic. However, one thing I found unusual is how between the two trees, a perfect representation of nature, there lies a tall factory that is releasing smoke. The two subjects contrast and combine in a surprising yet favorable scenery.

One formal element greatly emphasized is tone. The tone is the color, ranging from white to black, of a photo, and this is depicted as the black trees, factory, and ground behind a pure white environment. I think this was a great and important choice because it further emphasized the details of the branches on the tree. Furthermore, the use of tone was also crucial in the sense of creating a minimal, quiet, and calm atmosphere.

This photograph, along with other of his works, can be considered abstract. This is because it utilizes a variety of formal elements, such as tone, pattern, and line, to emphasize detail. Also, most of his pictures of minimalistic, leading viewers too often to need clarification about the message of the photo. On the other hand, some of his photographs are in silhouette form, bringing the audience to an unusual aspect.

As indicated above, I like his style and hope to bring this to my own set. I like his photos of subjects being in nature, primarily trees, I like how he uses black and white to create contrast, and I like his minimal style. I aim to adapt his style to my photography, applying each of his concepts I enjoy to my own perspective

 

3. Revise your vision

My last vision:

My vision is to express the concept that in this busy and complex world, we must value pure and natural elements. Life is short; we must slow down and glance at the true beauties this world has to offer before regretting it. To achieve this, I will take photos in the style of Harry Callahan, including black and white, high contrast, and detail, and the subject must be natural or everyday elements. I am particularly inspired by Chicago and will try to take pictures similar to that, conveying the purity, natural, and silence of the world.

I am fond of this vision; I like how my message originates from my urge to slow down and glance at this world’s true beauty before regretting it. I also plan on applying similar statements and views to my new vision. However, currently looking at Martin Vorel and aiming to apply his style, I will make some minor changes.

This is my new and final vision!!:

My vision is to express that in this world, there are countless tasks and opportunities surrounding us, waiting for us to discover and achieve. However, this also brings harmful effects, pressuring one another into thinking that the more you accomplish, the better. Yet, life is short, and we must slow down to glance at the pure objects this complex world offers us. Therefore, I hope to urge my audience to value everyday objects more than constantly discovering new ones. To complete my aim, I will take photos of Martin Vorel’s style, including black and white, trees, and pure(defined to me as not minimalistic but creates a calm atmosphere). I am particularly inspired by his work, “Silhouette of a Lonely Tree and Roe Deer,” and hope to apply the style, expressing the purity and essence of the world.

Set 1: Analyzing the Selections

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All Photos

The Yellow Selection

I chose them because they looked pleasing, and they also aligned with a part of my vision, mentioning taking photos of objects we see every day, such as trees, buildings, water, etc. Also, these were effective photos; they had the shutter speed, aperture, aperture, composition, and distance from the subject that I desired.

The Green Selection

The Green Selection is where I used photos from my previous selection to pick ones that aligned with my vision. This selection was not just about the subject, but about how I can show my vision— to convey the purity and detail of this world.

The Red Selection

The Red selection is where I tighten my standards, only using photos that I thought could demonstrate my vision to the maximum. Also, considering this could be in my final triptych, I looked for photos that belonged to similar sets. For my next shoot, I will have to work on further tightening my standards. I think I had an unclear view of what my subject would be, primarily due to the lack of places to take pictures in school. This led to a vague selection of photos, leading to me not being the most satifisied with this set.

 

Additionally, for my next set, from the lessons I have learned from this set, I will make some changes. I think I will do something with a low shutter speed, creating an obscure view. Something like this-

This keeps the distinct black and white contrast, yet the tone difference is not to emphasize detail on shapes and patterns, but to create the feeling of uncertainty.

Here are some of my other ideas:

Flowers

Trees again!

Nick Ares – Abstract Tree Blur

 

Engineering Design Project: Reflect and Share

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Our Carousel Candle, a decoration that can also be used as a stress reduction tool, is a design that combines both the Chinese culture of the trotting horse lamp and ISB elements (the dragon figures that are spun). Precisely, it converts thermal energy, the heat from the candles, to kinetic energy, the spinning figures. Moreover, our targetted audiences are members of our ISB community that are in middle school or above since our product deals with fire. In particular, we’ve noticed that there have been high levels of stress in our school, which, therefore, motivated us to create something that could help our peers cope with stress, but also simply have something in your house that could represent our dragon pride.

Throughout the whole process, our views remained extremely similar. Our design consists of two pieces, the inner candle, and the outer case.

The inner case would be formed from four candles attached on a wooden platform, in which in the middle, would be a hole where a wooden stick would be placed. On the top of the stick, a spinning platform, with long-long figures would be on it. This is the key to our design, in which when the candles are lightened, a convection current will occur, causing the figures to spin.

Next, to further stabilize the stick on both ends(the primary focus in that if it is stabilized perfectly, the figures will be enabled to spin), like the trotting horse lamp, we have created an outer case. This will be formed by combing four pieces of wood together, creating a rectangular figure, while also breaking rectangular holes in them covered with paper.

The paper was the only change we made. Originally, we wanted to use half-transparent paper, so that looking at the outside, we could see the shadows of the spinning figures instead of the figure itself. However, we were not able to find it; therefore, we decided to use fully transparent paper.

From the whole process, I have learned valuable lessons due to my failure of the figures not able to automatically spin when the fire has lighted.  I learned the importance of planning carefully and ensuring everything is in exact detail. This is because I assumed that strong convection currents can just simply occur, yet did not dive deep to comprehend how the measurements can affect the current. Instead, if I knew the exact sizes and ensured that it will lead to the figured moving, we would have succeeded.

Use the rubric & your own success criteria to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the product. (impact of the design on audience and environment)

Based on the Rubric:

Strengths- clear view and impact on the intended audience, analysis of precedents, documented design process, and effectively used the success criteria to present explanations,

Weaknesses- not enough detailed (in the sense that we did not do enough research to know that the convection current would be strong enough), and the impact on the environment was not as effective(there were some parts that aren’t environmentally friendly, such as using wood, although it is reusable).

Based on own success criteria: (if it is able to spin without the lighted handles manually; it won’t be too loose to fall down, and it will not be too tight that it will be stuck)

Strengths: we did meet it, and we further ensured this by also adding a hole to allow the stick to be stabilized on both ends.

Weakness: However, we assumed that when it would occur, there would be no more barriers in which the figures could not spin automatically (after lighting the candles), ignoring the whole part of the convection current.

Ultimately, I am proud of our organization, we were able to effectively manage our time during the four classes, despite my absence due to another commitment. Also, I am proud that I learned how to use the laser-cut in such a short amount of time-from designing on the computer, to actually viewing the process, these were all steps that were brand new to me. Lastly, I am proud of the inspiration and meaning behind our Carousel Candle; we hope to spread Chinese culture to the ISB students. However, there were also various challenges. One of the most obvious ones, as previously mentioned, is our misconceptions and neglect of the convention current. If we had spent more time researching the current and the spinning step of our product, it would have made this project more memorable. Yet, I enjoyed the process and cherished our time working in the design lab.

 

 

Set 1: Take and Evaluate Pictures

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1.Select an Artist

Harry Callahan was a well-respected American photographer during the mid-1900s, whose photos depicted the details of nature while also experimenting with double exposures. There are primarily five characteristics that shape his photos, including everyday objects, nature, black and white, high contrast, and shapes. Due to these elements, the feeling I get is one of a quiet and pure atmosphere. This is because in his photos, the use of black and white, along with the majority being in high contrast, expresses a calm, yet sometimes uncertain feeling, while the simple compositions indicate purity. When I see his photos, it’s as if the whole world has come to a halt.

Moreover, I have chosen his work because it directly aligns with my vision of how we can capture pictures that show the purity of this complex world. Callahan uses black and white, high contrast, and everyday objects perfectly to show calmness, which is what I am also aiming to do in line with my vision.

“I like the simple things. I don’t know why. I’m that way. I came from a simple place.”

– Harry Callahan

I have chosen this quote by him because it gives a solid reason in which why he likes simple things. Additionally, I can also personally relate to this; I also enjoy simple yet detailed sceneries, but for a specific reason, but I enjoy how you can show, instead of tell messages.

 

2. Respond to an image

Chicago, 1950

I like its composition; the innumerable branches create an interesting contrast with the clean and pure setting. This was also something I found surprising about this photograph, the background seems too pure to be real, while the photograph itself looks like a drawing.

Tone, one of the formal elements, is depicted importantly in this photograph. The tone is defined as brightness, ranging from black to white. This is demonstrated here as the black trees lay on a white setting. In my opinion, the author intentionally created this high contrast to capture the details of the tree branches

This photograph, along with other Harry Callahan photographs, can be referred to be abstract because it goes into a great emphasis on the shape created through the tone of black and white. Also, some photos he has taken are double-exposed and can align with the definition of abstract as it leads the viewers to an unusual perspective.

I am fond of this style. As previously mentioned, I like the feeling it gives me as an audience- a calm, yet uncertain feeling, and a pure, also halted world. Furthermore, I like how they are all taken in black and white, this adds to the calm and uncertain feeling. Calm in the sense that it allows a deeper focus on the focus and shapes and lines, while uncertain in that the message is not clear, leaving the viewers to be confused. Lastly, I like the extreme details Callahan puts into detail in these everyday objects. It shows me a different perspective, one that depicts the beauty of everyday objects, objects that are not considered “artistically valued” or aesthetic.

I will adapt Callahan’s style in my photographs in several ways. First, my photos will also be in black and white to focus on the details and fundamental formal elements, which links to my message of capturing the purity of the world. Next, it will be focused on everyday objects, primarily nature, such as trees, leaves, buildings, etc. Lastly, inspired my Callahan, I will aim to create my photos in great detail.

 

3. Revise your vision

Original Statement of Intent: Nature’s Gift

The message of my triptych will be through my showcase of nature sceneries in our everyday life, my viewers can comprehend the message that in this complex world, we must emphasize the pure and natural elements. We should not be pressured and be too attached to living at a quick pace. Life is short; we must slow down and glance at the true beauties this world has to offer before regretting it. I will express my message in my photos, which will be abstract landscape photos. Specifically, all my photographs will be in black and white. This is because, without any color, it can help me focus more on my message and theme of purity, focusing solely on the lines and shapes. Furthermore, for inspiration, I will find photographers that primarily focus on pure compositions; it does not have to be minimalistic but should focus on nature, such as trees, water, clouds, etc. Lastly, recently realizing the importance of time, I hope through photography and this project, I can also experience my message. In high school, with countless assessments and work, everything goes by so quickly. I want to cherish my high school moments as best as possible, and I hope that in the distant future when I look back at my memories during this period, I can think of the enjoyable memories with friends and not just the repeating assessments and grades.

Overall, I think my original statement is good and has similar ideas. I want to maintain to capture the pure, natural, everyday subjects of life, while I also hope I can comprehend my message of enjoying nature and our surroundings before we regret it. However, now analyzing Callahan’s style, I want to add some of his techniques. In particular, one thing I want to alter in my final vision is to also take the photos in detail, emphasizing the purity of the subjects.

Now, this is my final vision:

My vision is to express the concept that in this busy and complex world, we must value pure and natural elements. Life is short; we must slow down and glance at the true beauties this world has to offer before regretting it. To achieve this, I will take photos in the style of Harry Callahan, including black and white, high contrast, and detail, and the subject must be natural or everyday elements. I am particularly inspired by Chicago and will try to take pictures similar to that, conveying the purity, natural, and silence of the world.

Engineering Design Project: Create and Improve

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Reflect on your prototype. What were some strengths? What needs refinement?

Initially, I feared the laser cut process- whether the wooden stick would be able to fit perfectly and still be stabilized on the cutting platform. However, this unexpectedly worked out well, yet a struggle we are currently facing is how to allow it to spin. The reason behind this is not that the wooden stick was too tight, but in my opinion, because the convection current that allowed the figure to move was not strong enough.

We would like to fix this by attempting to increase the length of the string attached to the formation while also re-printing the figures in a smaller size. (if time allows!)

Furthermore, we infer that the object attached to the spinning platform is too heavy (taking the hot glue, string, and figures’ weight all into account) may also be another reason why it’s spinning.

Despite our misconceptions, the other parts went through successfully despite this failure. As previously mentioned, we were able to work well with the laser cut and construct all the pieces together.

Moreover, one thing that was significantly altered from our plan was the paper used for the outer case. Originally, we wanted it to be half-transparent so that the shadows of the figures could be seen. However, we could not find this type of paper, and it was too late to buy it online. Therefore, we decided to use transparent sheets, which still worked well

 

Front View

Front View

Feedback From Peers:

Judy: “I suggest increasing the thermal energy below so that there would be more convection pushing the air. I would also suggest maybe opening the top of the lantern or make a little more opened area on the top so that cold air can actually flow in, helping the convection to be completed.”

Lily: “A positive is that your plan was similarly applied to the real product. However, because it failed to spin, I suggest you to use lighter-weight materials so that it is easier to be moved. ”

Sophie: “Some design feedback or wonderings I have is that maybe a change in the material should be reconsidered. Also, if it really has worked, when the candle is lit, would it damage the plastic and wood around the sides? If so, is this product reusable? With paper, wood, and plastic around the flame, how would it be safe for your users, especially since the purpose is to help reduce stress?”

Candy: “I like your inspiration and concept of combining Chinese culture with ISB elements. However, a thing you should focus on is the convection current. I think you should allow the outer case to be more sealed so that the heat will not flow away.”

Summary of what was mentioned above: 

  • A conflicting idea of increasing the convection current by opening the lid, or sealing the lid.
  • Reduce the weight of the materials
  • Also, to answer Sophie’s question: No, the candles will not damage their surroundings because we have intentionally hot-glued their holder far away from the case; therefore, it is reusable. Also, we have also considered the safety issue, so we set our targetted audience to middle school users and above, whom we expect will safely work with fire.

Birds-eye View

Because our final class is set in our normal classroom, the things we could achieve were limited. Therefore, we could not make any changes. However, here are some changes we would like to implement if time allows.

  1. Remove the transparent paper on the lid to invite cold air in (creating a strong convection current)
  2. Increase the length of the string(easier for convection current to stimulate), while re-print the figures smaller(decrease weight) 

 

Vision and Mind Map

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Mind Map

Nature’s Gift

The message of my triptych will be through my showcase of nature sceneries in our everyday life, my viewers can comprehend the message that in this complex world, we must emphasize the pure and natural elements. We should not be pressured and be too attached to living at a quick pace. Life is short; we must slow down and glance at the true beauties this world has to offer before regretting it. I will express my message in my photos, which will be abstract landscape photos. Specifically, all my photographs will be in black and white. This is because, without any color, it can help me focus more on my message and theme of purity, focusing solely on the lines and shapes. Furthermore, for inspiration, I will find photographers that primarily focus on pure compositions; it does not have to be minimalistic but should focus on nature, such as trees, water, clouds, etc. Lastly, recently realizing the importance of time, I hope through photography and this project, I can also experience my message. In high school, with countless assessments and work, everything goes by so quickly. I want to cherish my high school moments as best as possible, and I hope that in the distant future when I look back at my memories during this period, I can think of the enjoyable memories with friends and not just the repeating assessments and grades.

Engineering Design Project: Develop and Plan

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Explain how you used your design thinking practices to arrive at this iteration of your device

The transition from our initial view of our product to the plan has extremely similar ideas.

In our initial view, we planned on creating a candle that would combine both Chinese cultures, using the trotting horse lantern, with ISB elements of long long. This was also applied to our final plan.

Yet, there were also various other components added, including measurements, materials, how each material will be attached to one another, etc. For example, in our initial view, we only thought of creating an outer case made of wood. For our final plan, we specified our thoughts, deciding to laser-cut the wood into zig-zag shapes so that each one of them can fit into the other, combining.

Share your design concepts (photos, measurements, materials, techniques needed for construction)

Materials:

1 wood stick

6 pieces of wood that are laser cut

1 transparent paper

2 A4 paper

4 candles

4 pieces of 5cm string

hot glue gun

1 cardboard

As demonstrated in the plan below, the main technique that we will need to know (as we do not have prior knowledge about it) is how to use the laser cut machine.

Develop a detailed plan for creating the preferred design, including success criteria

As our plan has already been approved by Mr. Landrum, our plan now will be how to effectively apply our ideas to real materials.

  1. Gather all material stated above
  2. Create the inner candle first- this is because all the details are there; therefore, I can always adjust the outer case (measurements) if needed to fit the inside
  3. I will start from the base and move upwards- first, based on the candle size, I will create holders for them(cut cardboard and hot glued) to ensure that the candle will not move and form accidents, and based on the holder size, the size of the wooden platforms will be decided as they have to correspond
  4. Create a hole on the platform that allows the 40cm wood stick to perfectly stick in; to make it not drop, but also to allow it to have moving space
  5. Cut a round sheet of paper with a diameter of 15cm, which will be cut and folded rectangularly; this will ensure that the heat is able to go up, creating the spinning movement
  6. Print out four long-long or dragon figures- cut the figures
  7. Cut a small hole in them to allow the 5cm strings to attach to the spinning platform – now the inner case should be completed!
  8. Laser-cut the 4 pieces of wood. based on measurements stated in the plan
  9. Hot glue the 4 pieces of transparent paper to the four pieces of wood
  10. Laser cut another two-stripped wood (used in the inner design) so that the spinning stick can have something upwards of it attached, further ensuring its stability.
  11. Now, hopefully, the carousel candle will work by spinning when the candles have lightened!!

Lastly, the success criteria are to ensure that when the inside candle construction has acheived, when I manually spin the device, it will spin. It will not be too loose that it will fall down, and it will not be too tight that it will not be able to spin (by making sure the spinning platform and the stick attached to the base will be the correct tightness). This is important to our ultimate goal of when the candles are lit, the figures can spin automatically, because if the stick is in an unstabilized position, the figure will be unable to move.

 

 

Photo Safari

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Photo Safari

1-7 was effective because they had simple structures and compositions that were easy to find in real life. Therefore, I could find a variety of examples for each group, and lastly choose my favorite ones, increasing the chances of finding a high-quality photo.

On the other hand, 8-11 was more ineffective because they required slightly more complex compositions, making it harder to find in reality. Thus, I could only find one for each drawing, and that had to be my final photo because I simply had no choice.

Critique – Paul Strand

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When taking this photo, I think that Paul Strand emphasized three elements: the shapes formed by lines, the repeating patterns, and the contrast between black and white.

If I were the photographer, I would name this photo Light and Shadow. This is fully shown in the photo, where the illuminated light creates shadows, forming a clear contrast between black and white and producing an interesting pattern.

One unusual component of this is the setting; the photographer took it from a unique perspective and an environment that I do not know the location of.

The formal elements in this photo link together, creating a visually appealing view. The lines from the shadows create rectangular and triangular shapes, while the repetition creates a pattern. Moreover, although it is not the focus, the shades create texture, and the concrete table surface implies a smooth and hard surface; the true focus in this photo, I think, is the tone, in which there is a clear contrast between the shadowed and not shadowed parts. This is also my favorite part of this photograph. I like how the shadows can unconsciously create interesting patterns that consciousness cannot produce.