Perhaps the most difficult thing for shooting this event was the fact that there was no nice close-up seating for nice close-up shots. I stood along the fence (one of the few places left, I guess graduating is a big deal or something...) and zoomed in to the best of my camera's ability to get more intimate shots. Everybody's seen the expansive, far off pictures of the sea of robes and hats, and I wanted to show some other parts of Commencement that not everyone thinks of right away. That, I thought, would be far more interesting. I think I managed to get some interesting ones, mostly snapping pictures when someone came somewhat close. Some of my favorites include the picture of the little kid looking down into the sea of grads, the old woman carrying flowers down the stairs, the violinist coming in late strolling across the field, Mr. Mason's awesome hat, of course, and of Mr. Lampman and others standing by the fence, Mr. Lampman drinking water. I think that these show some interesting facets to the event that most people wouldn't notice. My favorite overall, though, was of one teacher, dressed in black robes, sitting on the bench by herself beside the "Saline Hornets" sign. I'm not entirely sure why, but I felt like it evoked some unique feeling that other pictures would not. Overall, my pictures turned out a lot better than I originally thought they would...perhaps I've learned something from this class? That's strange.
Shutter speed: 1/250
Aperture f-number: f7.3
ISO rating: 50
