Jocker+E+-+Texture

__**Final image:**__

__**Image 1:**__ __**Image 2:**__
 * __Image 3:__** [[image:jocker-texture3.jpg width="397" height="271"]]

__**10 Changes that were made:**__
 * 1) The first change that was made was cutting out the figure from its original image. I used the rectangular tool, dragged it over the figure, and cut it out of the picture.
 * 2) The following change was pasting the figure onto the background image. After it was pasted, I used the lasso tool around the edge of the image to further crop it. Next, I refined the rough edges--also with the lasso tool. To do to this, I circled the imperfections and deleted them.
 * 3) After pasting the figure onto the background image, I cut out the leaves from its original image. I used the magic wand tool to select the background and deleted it.
 * 4) Then I pasted the leaves onto the same image with the figure.
 * 5) Next, I adjusted the contrast and the lighting, so that the texture on the leaves would be even more visible and so that it would match the lighting that the rest of the image had.
 * 6) Some of the background from its original image was still in certain spots of the leaves, so I went in again with the magic wand tool, selecting the old background and deleting it.
 * 7) I didn't like how the stadium lights were in the background of the image; I felt that it messed with the somber, mournful feel that I was going for. So, I used the magic wand tool, selected the lights, and removed them.
 * 8) This left a significant hole in the background of the image, so I used the dropper tool, selected the same color of the background and colored in the blank, missing sections.
 * 9) By leaving the now colored and filled spaces how they were before, it looked too fake and unnatural. To fix this, I blended the colors out with the smudge tool.
 * 10) Finally, I slightly blurred the leaves because I wanted the figure in the mid-ground to stand out more than the leaves. I made sure not to blur the image too much, as to still be able to see some of the texture on the leaves.

__** Artist Statement: **__ Andrew Wyeth, a realist painter from the mid-19th century, once said: “I search for the realness, the real feeling of a subject, all the texture around it... I always want to see the third dimension of something...I want to come alive with the object”. For our first assignment, this is exactly what we did. We sought out the many textures and figures in nature available to us, took pictures of them, and turned them into one beautiful, cohesive image with meaning, with life.

We were required to take at least three different photos, each with different compositional techniques, such as leading lines, framing, and more, as well as textures, and combine them. The three images that I utilized were one of a figure walking away from the camera, one of leaves, and one of a simple, yet pleasant scene with the sun through the clouds over a graveyard.

Whilst walking around the graveyard, taking pictures, I saw all of the flowers placed near the headstones. It made me think of the families that had come to place the flowers for their loved ones. This thought inspired me to depict a sorrowful scene of a girl, walking through a cemetery to visit someone she had loved very dearly.

In terms of composition and arrangement of the elements in the photo, I made sure to use the compositional techniques of framing, rule of thirds, and leading lines. The leaves in the foreground of the image frame the girl walking towards her loved one. The girl and as well as the leaves were purposefully placed on the thirds of the image to create a more interesting scene. Finally, leading lines can be seen in the leaves, as they guide the eye down towards the gazebo, as well as the gazebo itself, which leads the viewer to the girl.

In regards to craftsmanship, I overall think that I did a fine job, considering I have never used photoshop before. In general, I think that I did well on making sure that every element in the photo had a purpose and looked like it belonged through proper changes to exposure and contrast. I also think that the lines and edges around each element that was pasted into the final image were clean. Although I do think that the photo was a little bit too dark. If I were to do this assignment again, I would definitely lighten up the image so that some of the elements, especially the girl, could have been seen better.

In the end, I believe that I learned a lot from this first project. I was able to get my feet wet with Photoshop and create an image that I was proud of. Just like Andrew Wyeth, I believe that I used texture to convey the “...real feeling of a subject”.