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Innocent Skydiver Accidentally Destroys Downtown

“Bungee Jumping at the Peal Qatar” by SJByles is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

“Innocent Skydiver Accidentally Destroys Downtown” by Aedan Bennett is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

I chose an image from Creative Commons because I wanted to see if I could change a stranger’s photo to mean something completely different. The original photo is of a bungee jumper over the water in Qatar and he is the focal point of the image along with the long rope above him that contrasts plainly with the open sky of the top half of the original.

In the second image, he is transformed into a giant skydiver who finds himself hurtling down towards the city below him, about to destroy it. By cropping out the rope and removing the top half of the image, the image lacks context and while, of course, no one would read this new image as a giant skydiver, it shows the way cropping and framing are important to give context for the photos you take, especially about who the subjects are and what they are doing.

A Quiet Moment Reframed

“Autumn Cemetery Landscape” by Jennifer Gayle CC BY-NC 4.0

“Autumn Reflection in a Cemetery” by Jennifer Gayle CC BY-NC 4.0

I took this photo during a quiet visit to a cemetery in upstate New York, and I wanted the crop to highlight a reflective moment rather than the entire landscape. In the original image, the subject felt a little lost in the wide scene. Cropping the photo allowed me to shift the focus by placing the subject off center and adjusting the frame for better balance. The final image feels calmer and more intentional, using simple composition choices, such as the rule of thirds and reduced visual distractions, to draw attention to the mood of the moment.

Desert Lollipop

I took the original photo (left) last year while on a trip to Utah. We were driving to the Salt Flats and had plenty of time to kill during the long car ride. I spent a decent portion of that time borrowing my younger brother’s camera and messing around with the different settings. For many pictures, I used my lollipop as a subject.

For the revision of the photo (right), I decided to crop the photo to un-center the lollipop using the rule of thirds. I feel like this actually serves to highlight the lollipop as the subject, even though it’s no longer in the middle. An additional benefit is that it crops out unnecessary details and simplifies the background by getting rid of most of the car window frame in the original picture’s right bottom corner. I also brightened the picture just the tiniest bit. Overall, I think the new photo is much clearer.

Original: “Lollipop Test Image” by Alyssa Mitchinson licensed by CC BY-NC 4.0.

Derivative: “Desert Lollipop” by Alyssa Mitchinson licensed by CC BY-NC 4.0.

February 3, 2026 by Alyssa Mitchinson Spring 2026 Student Posts 3

Pasture Bedtime

“Vaughn Field ME” by Danielle Pluhacek CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

I took this photo (top photo) of my son a decade ago! He was running in a big field attached to the local playground we used to go to when we were in Maine. We would go after dinner to get as much energy out as we could before bed, because at three, there was a lot of extra energy! He was chasing my cousin and had no time to stop for a picture; which was just fine with me because I love a good candid any day. In the photo I took, he was in full motion and he is almost dead center, and because the sun was setting, there was a pretty good shadow on him. I used the rule of thirds to crop, (bottom photo) keeping in mind that he had to have somewhere to run to, so I put him in the upper left so he remains in motion and we still get the point of view that I really wanted. I also added a retro filter to stylize it, which I think enhances the sunset colors dramatically without looking artificial.

February 2, 2026 by Danielle Pluhacek Spring 2026 Student Posts 4

Game Night

Late Night Sabbath Dinner, by Calvin Whalen, licensed under CC-BY 4.0

I had to capture a photograph of my roommate losing it at a game of Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe two of our guests were playing. If you’re familiar with Tic-Tac-Toe at all, you may notice that the X’s player—Carson on the left—is losing considerably. If you’re familiar with Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe, you should know that under two of those O’s—played by Jorvyn to the right—there was absolutely no contest, which is why Marsh in the back is laughing on the floor. Of course, cropping him out or making him a subject changes the tone of the image.

(left) Hard at Play, by Calvin Whalen, licensed under CC-BY 4.0. (right) Does He Know What He’s Doing?, by Calvin Whalen, licensed under CC-BY 4.0

February 2, 2026 by Ella Whalen Spring 2026 Student Posts 2

The Impossibly Large Tree

Father at the Park, 2022, Ana Vega, licensed under CC BY 4.0

The Imposing Tree, 2022, Ana Vega, licensed under CC BY 4.0

I took this photograph of my father in 2022 while visiting family in Mexico. My compositional choice was to emphasize the tree in the background by cropping the image so that the tree’s horizontal extent is obscured. By hiding the tree’s full width, the already massive trunk appears even larger than it truly is. Without seeing the original image, the viewer is led to assume that the tree extends far beyond the frame.

This intentional manipulation of scale leaves the tree’s true size up to the viewer’s imagination. With only a portion of the trunk visible, the viewer is free to speculate just how enormous the tree might be. I find this open-endedness genuinely fun, inviting curiosity and encouraging the viewer to construct their own sense of wonder.

February 2, 2026 by Ana Vega Student Posts 3

Restoring a Family Portrait

“A Very Serious Family Portrait, Needing Restoration”, 2021 by Jazmin Jimenez, licensed under CC BY 4.0

“A Very Serious Family Portrait, Restored”, 2026 by Jazmin Jimenez, licensed under CC BY 4.0

On the left, I have a caricature portrait of my parents and me that we had done at the South Florida Fair in January 2021. I recently discovered that my mom had stored the original, physical copy, and it is now ruined. Luckily, I had a photo of it, though it isn’t perfect. This assignment was the perfect moment for me to edit it into the photo on the right. I had to crop the photo, eliminating the excess around the art piece and making it look almost as great as the original. We might not have the physical copy, but now the art is, in a way, digitally preserved for my family to keep. I also auto-edited the image to make the colors pop out better, since the picture of the portrait was taken a few phones ago, and the quality wasn’t great either. There was no need to apply the golden rule, since the aim was to create a digital archive of a damaged portrait. This was achieved by cropping out the area outside the portrait and brightening the colors that were less vibrant than the original.

February 2, 2026 by Jazmin Jimenez Spring 2026 3

Focus

Focus by Savannah Whitby CC by 4.0 Focus 2.0 by Savannah Whitby CC by 4.0

This photo was taken while shopping at Marshalls. My daughter was so locked in on what she was watching on my friend’s cell phone that she couldn’t be bothered to notice we were ready to leave. I have always liked the reflection from the mirror in this photo but felt my friend and I didn’t really need to be in photo since we are distracting from her focus. I removed us and made her more of the focal point of the photo.

February 2, 2026 by Savannah Whitby Spring 2026 Student Posts 3

Bear Hunt

Where am I?? 2023 by Oi Kwan Lui, Licensed under CC By 4.0

Peek-a-boo!! 2026 by Oi Kwan Lui, Licensed under CC By 4.0

I snapped this photo while riding the lift up the mountaintop during my 2023 trip to Tennessee. The view below was already stunning, but spotting a bear wandering through the trees made the moment unforgettable.

After cropping the image to the golden ratio, the bear appears slightly larger. I chose not to adjust the colors because every edit made the picture darker, and the bear practically disappeared into the shadows. Keeping the original preserved the clarity and the atmosphere of the scene. The warm fall foliage—deep oranges, golds, and fading greens—creates a beautiful backdrop that captures the crisp, quiet feeling of autumn in the mountains.

February 2, 2026 by Oi Kwan Lui Spring 2026 Student Posts 4

Creating Focus

“The Rush of the Day” by Christina Mumpower, licensed under CC BY 4.0

“The Tower” by Christina Mumpower, licensed under CC BY 4.0

My teenager and I decided that the coldest day of the season, January 31st, 2026, would be a fantastic day to go to DisneyWorld. I took the picture on the left at Disney’s Hollywood Studios while walking toward The Tower of Terror. The original picture has no focal point, emotional impact, and no story is being told.

I wanted to focus on creating a focal point. The tower itself was an easy selection, but I wanted to make sure it was dynamic. Instead of centering the tower, I made sure to use the rule of thirds and put it in the upper right corner. This also accomplished cropping out unnecessary details, such as the signs and stalls off to the side.

February 2, 2026 by Christina Mumpower Spring 2026 Student Posts 3