Photo Journal

The categories I chose were Urban, Nature, Long-Exposure, Architecture and Candid. I ended up taking almost 500 photos as I tend to take a lot of duplicates trying to get the best shot. These are my 10 favorites; I took 2 from each category. ( I made some comments on some of them in addition to my analysis at the end) 

Urban 

(This one intrigues me because it comes across as a reflection on urban living, but without reading into it, it is merely a recycling container. The viewer can take whatever view he/she likes; I also like the prevalence of lines)

Nature

 (This one has my favorite color combination of the ones collected here; it hold an essence of Fall) 

(I love the calming affect this photo has with the combination of the sleeping duck and the still baby blue water with the single ring; it is extremely peaceful)

Long-Exposure 

 (This was the best of the metro photos to come out; I love how you can see the outline of the train but in lights only)

Architecture 

 (This was a photo of a cute white dorm on GW's campus but just with a few edits it now looks like a haunted house)

Candid

 (She's just so cute and looks so curious as to what I'm doing)

Personally I think that the photo with the mom and the baby is the best. I like this one because the baby seemed to notice me taking the shot even though mother didn't. I also like how warm the photo is with the bright colors, and how your eye is immediately drawn to the baby's face as she stares at you. The shot makes use of the rule of thirds, lines and varying aspects of contrast. The diagonal line of the chair back is a leading line right to the mother and baby, so as your eye travels it always comes back to the main focus in the frame. The contrast comes in the form of both color and blurriness versus sharpness. The people in the photo are lit up by the sun behind them, and are much sharper than the trees in the background.