Digital Ethics

Copyright: Do It Right The First Time by David Wells

I read a brief article on copyright and use of digital media. the article is written by David Wells. Wells is the principal at Westford Elementary in Westford, VT. His article discusses the use of media for educational purposes. He proposes that as teachers we should not take an all or nothing approach when it comes to copyright. Many times teachers either don't take copyright into consideration when working with children, or they avoid any use of other people's work. Wells believes that this approach does not teach students the proper creative uses of media. He gives examples of how media can be used creatively without violating copyright laws and discusses fair use. He also lists several sources to find works where the creator has given permission for its use. One of these is an organization called Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org). This site helps artists license their works and decide how they are allowed to be used by others. This article was helpful in showing that there are ways to use resources created by others in a way that does not violate copyright laws.

Link To Article: Copyright: Do It Right The First Time

Showing Motion

In this photo I used a high shutter speed. I was trying to stop the motion of the snowflakes falling. Some flakes are clear and some blurry. I believe this is because of the varying distances and angles of each flake.

In this series I was trying to stop the motion of my dog and the falling snow. I like the effect in the first two where the snowflakes stand out against his black fur. In the bottom two I was trying to pan along with him to make the background blurry, but I think I needed a slower shutter speed.

In the above series I was moving the camera with a slower shutter speed to create the blurring. I liked how the birdhouse photo turned out with the image still recognizable, but the streaks leading into the image. I got this effect from twisting the zoom on the camera lens.

I used a faster shutter speed to stop the motion in this photo. Her hands are blurry, but the rest of her is fairly clear. I found these shots tricky because her movements were both horizontal and rotational.

In this shot I was trying a slower shutter speed and trying to pan along with her movements, but again with the rotation I was not able to get her clear and the background blurry. I think that I will try this on something that is moving at a consistent rate on one plane, like a car driving by, to practice.

My timing was a bit off, but it is kind of interesting to have her leaping in from the edge. She is more clear in this one since her movements were more linear.

The Cutting Edge

These photos are a bit blurry as I only had my iphone on an evening drive home. I was experimenting with placement of the horizon and also with the road placement off to one side of the frame. I do like how the road draws your eye off into the horizon. 

In these pictures I was trying to use the contrast of the trees in silhouette to the light of the setting sun, while keeping the horizon line in the lower third of the frame. 

This is a series of shots getting closer to the subject. I take a lot of macro shots of flowers, leaves and other things I see in nature. The shots from a distance are ones I would probably not taken. I like the first one with the blurred reflection and the window panes in the background, but the close shot is still more interesting with the details of the petals and stamen.

  Here are a few other shots with the main focus off to the side and with the horizon in the upper third. I really like the second shot which gives you the feeling that you are standing on the tracks. The depth of field is clear enough that it brings your eye way off into the distance of the horizon.

Here are several portraits of my daughter. I was trying to express her personality without showing her face. In the top photo she is too far away and there is too much going on on the edges of the frame- although that is her personality (stuff everywhere...).  In the bottom photo I think that I captured her with her drawing in focus, the ducky footy PJs and the fuzzy rug.  I also like the accent of the shadow around her head. I usually would not have taken a picture of her without showing her face and I would not have had her pose like this, but I like the resulting glimpse into her everyday life. 

In these shots of sailboats resting for the winter in Malletts Bay, I was focusing on framing the shots. In the top photo I left the center open with the masts circling the open center. In the bottom shot I was drawn in by the repeating shapes and contrast to the sky.

In these pictures of a silo in Colchester, I used the trees to frame the shot and make it more interesting to the eye. I also took the picture from a low angle and kept the horizon in the background down in the bottom third of the frame.

This is my favorite type of photo to take- man made buildings and items being reclaimed by nature!