Kraus - Composition

  

1. The purpose of this work was to crop out the sky to put emphasis on the road. I did this by using the crop tool in my toolbar. In this chapter Kraus wants us to learn the idea of composition. Every position of an element should have a purpose and support the theme of the visual. Here we have an unequal amount of road versus sky. This crop job forces the viewer to pay attention to the road. I think it is actually more visually pleasing than an equal amount of road and sky. I also think when deciding what to crop in an image the editor must decide what they want the focus of the piece to be first. I think this piece was successful in drawing the viewer’s attention to the road however before I cropped it the focus on the visual was unclear. 

2.The purpose of this piece of work was the opposite of picture number one. Here I cropped out the road to put emphasis on the sky. Since I decided that I wanted the sky to be the emphasis, it was necessary to crop out the more of the road and leave more sky. I did this using the crop tool in my toolbar. Before cropping the picture my focus was unclear, now it is clear that the sky is the focus. I think this picture successfully demonstrates my goal. I will keep using this method of cropping to show emphasis in the future.  
 

3.The purpose of this Golden Section Ruler is to create a guideline for measurements within their compositions. The division of the two colors can be determined by using the Fibonacci sequence. For this ruler, I divided the section into a 13” long line and then within that line I added an 8” mark. I then separated the two pieces by using the fill button, and paint can making one section black and one section pink. My piece of work transformed from a basic rectangle to a golden section ruler. I think this tool will be very helpful when I need to divide a piece of work into golden sections in the future.

Google Earth & Geospatial Projects on the Shenandoah Valley Event

Mapping Historical Resources, Harrisonburg, VA. - Kevin Borg

 Borg decided to use representational images of Harrisonburg, Virginia for his presentation. He did this through blue print maps. These visuals came from the Sand board map company. His goal is to give students and citizens of the community a better understanding of the area. The images that he presented represent the history and geography of Harrisonburg. The images are an accurate representation of the area; you can use Google earth to look at the area in the past and the present. I was able to get a better understanding of the subject, by this feature on Google earth. Google earth and photo shop are most likely where the images came from. He used a projection screen to display them. The size of this display screen affects the quality of the images, as well as the mega pixel capacity of the equipment. Images from 1912 were not represented in this presentation. The public view on these images was not included in this presentation either. Some vocabulary that I learned from Borg was GIS, which is a map making program, and Geo tip which is a tip file with location embedded in it.

Interactive Geologic Maps of Virginia and the Sheandoah Valley Region- Steve Whitmeyer

Whitmeyer chose to use representational images of Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley for his presentation. His goal is to integrate as much geologic and mineral information into his map as possible. Whitmeyer, his team, undergraduate students, and Google earth is where the images came from. I believe the purpose of this map is to create a geologic template of Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley for both the past and the future. Whitmeyer’s target audience is students and the citizens of this area. These maps will help them become more aware of Virginia as a whole. People can also figure out details on Google earth that they usually would need to travel to find out. For example, people can now find caverns on these geologic maps from their home. The maps are an accurate representation of the area. You can see Virginia in the past and the present day in great depth. The maps are color coded with detailed information. This presentation increased my understanding on the topic by showing me different types of rocks in the area. For example, I now know that sandstone is located on Massanutten. Google earth pro is most likely where the images came from, and he displayed them on a projection screen. The quality of the images shown is affected by the size of the display screen and the equipment’s mega pixel capacity. Whitmeyer did not mention whose voices are heard and unheard in the presentation nor did he touch on how the meanings of the visuals are affected by what is not shown. During his presentation I did learn a couple new vocabulary words. The first is geologic maps, which are maps that are color coded to show great depth of an area. People can also explore the areas past and present day data on these maps. The second new term I learned is cross sections, which is a vertical slice in the ground to show what is going on in the third dimension.