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Task 1: 4 Formal Elements Study (Unit: 1: 1.1 and 1.2)

At first I was completely clueless about the 4 Formal Elements but when I did the activity about gathering 10 images for each element (Line, Texture, Shape and Colour) and giving a brief description of why they inspire you, really gave me a good understanding of what they meant. For example Karl gave some well known photographers names to get us started, This really helped me as I haven't studied Formal Elements before. Before this Task on Formal Elements I didn't know a single thing about what I was about to learn, But after a few minutes I easily picked it up and I knew what my goal was. I felt like I gained a lot more confidence during the lesson, This gave me a feel of independence as I rarely asked for help and I didn't feel like I was stuck on any of the tasks.

The skills that I used were how to identify a good photograph that would easily categorise into one of the Formal Elements and also inspire myself. I completed the task by doing research and being patient as I needed to find the right photograph for each specific element. Some of the images were definitely difficult to describe on why they inspired me, some I could barely describe. But I tried to find images that inspired me and would be easy to write about. I am proud that even though the minimum images for each element was 10, It felt easy to say that was enough and move onto the next one I added some extra images.

I presented my work outcomes by using padlet, this was easy to use as you can organise the different elements that you researched during the lesson as you can clearly see the Title of each image and the descriptions of them all.

To improve I could've given some lengthier descriptions on some of the images, but I wanted to stay on top of time. Some images could've been better but I didn't want to get stuck behind. From this lesson I've learned that I need to find the best pictures I can find and not try to rush the work.

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Task 2: Replicate Formal Elements (Unit: 1: 1.1 and 1.2)

Know: This week I got a good opportunity to practice taking photos of the formal elements we have been studying the past week. This was very helpful because this helped many people as if they were not sure about what a formal element is, after taking a picture Karl would verify and give some feedback to help us improve. For example Karl gave me some advice on how to take a photo that was more similar to the one that I've chosen. This past week has really helped me learn a lot more about formal elements in whole, I now know how to take images that represent different elements and the meanings behind them. This week has really helped me because it has given me a lot of skills that I can take a long way with photography. The Photo Shop tool definition task really helped me get a great understanding of the common tools and there uses, now I can resort to that if I need to quickly look at it. Also since they have been saved in my documents there is no way I can lose it.

Do: The new skills I have applied is how to take a good photograph with a clear use of formal elements/message. Also getting used to describing the images I have taken, comparing them to each other also noticing the differences between them, This was sometimes difficult for the images that were quite similar. I did struggle a bit with trying to find a good location to take pictures of as I had a time limit but I got some decent photos with the time provided. I completed the task by going out on the campus looking around for good use of formal elements, e.g. Line, Shape, Texture and Shape. Some where easier to find than others like colour as the only colour that would be easy to find was on flowers. I am very proud of the images I took for colour as they are some very nice close up shots with the background out of focus, I did this to show that the colour of the flower was the main subject. I also liked how the colour of the flower stood out from all the blurry green behind it.

Show: I presented my work outcomes by using Adobe spark. Adobe spark presents the images with a very professional look as it was made by Adobe and they are well known for creating good software and websites. (link: https://spark.adobe.com/page/jPzRMGXOFLNfU/). It is fairly easy to use as it provides good features for the layout of your images.

Improve: My improvements I can work on is work on taking more images to show my skills as I have now got a very good understanding of the 4 Formal elements. I also feel like during the end of the photo taking I was taking some really good pictures unlike the ones I was taking at the beginning of the task. At the beginning I was a bit confused on how to capture good examples of the elements within a picture. But I did really enjoy taking these pictures and I feel like I have done a good amount of work and I am proud of myself as I also did a good job of organising the images into certain folders so I don't waste time looking around on the computer for lost images. I am also happy with the quality of my images that I took even though I wasn't using professional cameras. Also another note is during the next week take mental notes of what I can include in the next diary entry as this week I cannot remember everything from this week.

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Task 3: Photography Workshops (Unit 2: 1.1 and 1.2)

Know: In the past week I there has been ups in my work because one of my tasks was to make a 1 minute video for each: A DSLR camera, Tripod and lighting and Photo Shop. The goal was to make a 1 minute video of each hardware/software and explain what it's uses are and teach the basics to the camera. It feels like since I did the computer work first I have left these video to the last minute so therefore I now have to rush these videos as they are due in today at 5 PM. Even though my videos wont be the same quality as my other class members I plan to have these done by the deadline even if it means staying in at lunchtime or coming after my English lesson. Also I am extremely happy that Karl has taught me how to use Photo Shop, even though it is just the basics it feels like I can take these skills a very long way depending on how I use them. Asking Karl when I was stuck was the key to learning the basics because after asking he gave me a good few minutes just focused on what exactly I want to get out of an image. For example I was having trouble using the Lasso tool but Karl taught me how to use it and how to add onto the selection and similar tools that do a better job of selecting parts of the image. There was also this lengthy task when I was given a big list of all of the Photo Shop tools, My job however was to give a definition of chosen 30 tools. This took my a whole lesson to do as the finding out the names of the tools was a little bit fiddly at first but soon I got into the swing of things and I started working at a fast pace.

Do: The new skills I applied within this week was to really put my new Photo Shop skills practice, The class and I did this by been giving a task were we had gather images and show use of increased saturation, black and white and finally the use of selection. Then we had to upload the before and after images to Padlet. I feel like this was very useful since if we forget what one of the tools meant we now have that page where you can see the before and after results to refresh your memory about the tool. Also this week the class and I finally got to use some DSLR cameras. Karl showed us the basics of the cameras like the features, buttons and what they do. Karl also told us a little bit about some of the things that we wouldn't have understood upon first glance for example the L.V, at first I didn't know what it meant but now I know that it stands for "Live View". It feels like not only do you learn new skills that apply to practical work but today it feels like I have learnt how to improve my visual diary since Delta felt the need to project my outstanding work of last weeks entry to the class therefore making it feel like there is some type of competition against me for the best diary entry. After this happening there has been some moments where I have gotten a bit stuck because of the pressure that was on me.

Show: We presented our work using Padlet, since we have used Padlet many times before it was very easy to do since we already knew what we were doing regarding the work. I enjoy using Padlet because the layout makes it very easy to navigate through it (Screenshot below). There was also the opportunity to use Adobe Spark again since Karl told the class that they have a video showing feature. This would have been nice to use if I did have the videos recorded but sadly I didn't. If I had to decide between Adobe Spark or another website/software I would have chosen Adobe Spark because of it's outstanding features that it holds within it. There was definitely barriers in my work as I had to resort to my plan B of taking photographs of the equipment and just annotate them and tell the features and functions through. I was worried that these computers wont be able to render a simple video but I am hoping for the best and if not I can go onto the macs in the open plan

Improve: I have to say that my biggest improvement this week will be the videos that I was supposed to do at the beginning of this week but kind of got stuck up in the Photo Shop work. But even though I may not get all of the videos done there is a good chance they I will get at least 1 video completed maybe 2 although they might not be the highest of quality. If a task like this pops up in the future I will think in my head how long they will roughly take since I have learnt from my errors this week. The skills I have used this week is now learning the basics of Photo Shop and learning the minor thing or two from using Padlet once again. Also as I am typing this weeks entry I think I should apply the rule of comparing the entry that you are typing to last weeks entry or your best one regarding to your opinion, so this will make sure that my entries are at there best. After Delta showed my work to the class it feels like I have gained some more confidence in my work as she said if I stay at this level each week I could get a distinction, of course that is my whole level 2 year goes to plan.

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Task 4: Plan Shoot (Unit 1: 1.2)

Know: In the past week in media I have been doing a lot of filling out of sheets provided by me through showbie. I have been sketching rooms for risk assessments, planning and other things. I have been planning for where I can shoot my formal elements photographs for the final task. I have also been mentally preparing for the 2 minute presentation that I have found that we need to do next week as I haven't got huge experience in presenting to people, but I think it will go well for me. This week I have been put to the test of independence as I have done all of the tasks without getting stuck or asking for help, I think I achieved this as I just looked at showbie saw a list of documents and filled them out. This now makes me feel like I am ahead so I can now do my diary a day earlier so the next day (Friday 06/10/2017) I can take my time and now I have extra time to do other tasks given to me by Delta and also if some other task comes up I now have the time that it would have taken to do my diary of the week to do it. This independence has given me a big speed boost it feels like as I have a lot of time to put into my work. Also I have received a message on showbie that I have to come in early tomorrow so I now have a huge amount of time to catch up on any work I need to. This week has taught me how to use my independence which has definitely benefited me.

Do: My new skill of independence and speed in my work has helped me a lot this week and I am very proud that I have actually stayed on top of my task unlike last week when I felt very confused and behind. I completed my task by Karl and Delta providing me templates that I had to fill out, I felt this was easy to do because of the template provided questions that I simply just had to answer. I enjoyed doing this task as I can just get on with my tasks by myself. The tasks also made me think a little bit because the template asked questions that I didn't really think about, they asked me questions like what is the budget of the shoot? and the risk assessment of the location that I have planned to shoot at.
There was a barrier that I hit and I kinda got stuck on was one of the templates I have to fill out asked me the date and time which I am not 100% sure of yet. My successful outcomes were my completing my work very easily. I am proud of the templates that I completed very independently.

Show: I presented my work by uploading the work documents by uploading them on showbie to the correct task folder (Screenshot Below). I like this way because there cannot be anyway that it is lost and is set in one location and doesn't risk anything going wrong with a website going down.

Improve: My improvements that I need to work on are to work on the organisation as sometimes it takes me a while to find my work, also I need to get used to saving my work in the correct folder. Before I have been saving in my documents but now I should be saving in my student area so that if I need my tutor to find a certain document they can access it on any computer with my login. Also I think I could've have made my plan more detailed but I am not at the stage where if I don't add more detail I will be completely clueless on the day of the shoot, It will be purely just so I can re-assure myself if I need to. Also another skill that I have used this week is to not over think some of the little things in my task as I risk tripping up and getting behind on my work.

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Task 5: Final Shoot & Presentation (Unit 2: 1.2)

Know:
The activity that helped me the most was when I went out to take pictures, this was my time to prove that I have a good knowledge of the 4 formal elements. Getting feedback from my tutors after they saw the image really helped me. I also learned some new techniques on Photoshop like how to make a contact sheet. At first it looked quite difficult to do but I asked and got some help to reassure me that I was on the right track. I am proud that I got all the images that I wanted also some extra ones for some of the Formal Elements.

Do:
The new skills I applied were how to recognised to a good image to take for my final 4 images. Also I feel like I did a good job of staying on top of my work and not getting stuck behind. There were a few barriers in my work especially when yesterday Karl gave me a camera then I went out to take photos but the cameras quality was absolutely horrible. So I had to take some images on my phone and some on the camera, But at least I can use those images to show an examples of some errors that I ran into doing this task.

Show:
I presented my work outcomes by uploading them to Showbie again like last week. Also I used a bit of Padlet when I used to show all my work at once like my mind map, production plan (Screenshot Below). Also for my presentation next week I will be displaying my work on Powerpoint which I cannot supply a screenshot of.

Improve:
For improve I am a bit confused because I have been so focused on taking photographs I haven't had time to remember the highlights of my week or think back to the things that I could have improved. But I guess I should've tested the camera before I went out which would have been a good idea. Also I have improved the layout of my diary to make it more satisfying to look at.

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Task 6: Evaluation and Reflection (Unit 1 &2: 1.3 & 1.3)

Know: The task that helped my skills was definitely when I had to go out and take 40 images, 10 for each formal element. This really put my skills to the test as I would ask my tutors for feedback and they would criticise where needed. This would help me as it gave me a fresh idea in my head on what to improve on. The task that helped my knowledge was when Karl told the class to gather 10 images off of the internet that represent the 4 formal elements (Line, Colour, Shape, Texture). I decided to gather images specifically from Michael Kenna which is a photographer that specialises in taking photographs that represent line. As I said earlier it helped me as I was given feedback which allowed me to realise if I had made a mistake or didn't include anything that I needed too. The thing I experienced that I hadn't of done before was definitely the presentation as I have never done a presentation before in my life I am very happy that it went as well as it did. I am glad I was put through this task in media there is a lot of presentations that need to be done, that task was like a warm up to what there will be in the future. Also this is was my first going through a proper plan using good equipment to take images.

Do: The new skills that I presented was the skill of how to take a good image, I presented this multiple times all the way through this unit as most of the tasks involved gathering/taking photographs and writing about them or even comparing them to other images. There were a few barrier that I encountered but not enough to drive me insane, which I am happy about. Whenever I encountered a "barrier" I just used common sense to get over it wasn't really a challenge at all if I am being honest. I am proud that I have completed all the work that I was given, and not getting super stressed over deadlines and such. Although the few hiccups in my progress the unit has been very fun to experience.

Show: I presented my photographs by creating contact sheets using Photoshop thanks to Karl he taught us how to create these contact sheets and told us a little bit about there purpose and the features. (Evidence Below). These contact sheets were ideal for this task as you can take as many images as you want and Photoshop will adapt and create as many contact sheets as needed. I do not know my tutors response as they haven't given me a 1 to 1 conversation, apart from that I have been given feedback on Showbie which is similar to a 1 to 1 conversation but it is just on a screen.

Improve: The last improvement I could think of for this last lesson is just to make this diary entry for this week as long as I can. But if the question was "What improvements do you need to work on for your next unit?" I would say do my work there and then instead of having the habit of saying "I'll do it tomorrow" until the deadline is the next day as I have learned from my mistakes in the past of doing so. I have received a lot of feedback on showbie that I cannot show in one whole thing as I have received a lot of comments paragraphs and sentences that sums up the whole use of the word feedback for me anyways. Overall I have really enjoyed this photography unit as I have learned a huge amount of skills that I can improve and work on to better myself when I go out into the real world of working. For example I have learned how to present, improvise when things go wrong, working in groups, planning, using equipment, teaching others what equipment does and the biggest one using Photoshop. I am certainly thinking already on the ways that I will be able to use these skills in further projects excluding the skills that I already know about editing I am super confident that I will be doing well in this course for sure.