EARTH SCIENCE PROJECT CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY

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1 NAME SECTION DATE EARTH SCIENCE PROJECT CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY DATE DUE: PURPOSE The purpose of this long-term project is to give you the opportunity to observe and take pictures of the various clouds that form where you live. Depending on the scheduling for this project, you will be able to study the types of clouds that can form in your area as you learn about clouds in Chapter 19. It is likely that you and your classmate will show the broad variety of cloud types better than any textbook or online reference. DESCRIPTION You will create a digital photo presentation of various cloud formations containing ten distinctive cloud types. Use the cloud infographic on pages 466 and 467 of your textbook to help identify the clouds in your photos. You must take all the photos! PRESENTATION AND GRADING A major portion of your grade will depend on the identification of cloud types and the design of your presentation. You should develop your presentation using a program like Microsoft PowerPoint, OpenOffice Impress, Prezi, Corel Presentations, MimioStudio, or Google Slides. Pay attention to the layout, fonts, colors, and organization of each slide. SUGGESTIONS Use your textbook, field guides, a library, or online resources to help you identify the clouds in your photos. Objectives Identify different types of clouds. Classify clouds O Often there will be more than one cloud type visible in a photograph. Label the clouds right on the image with image editing software, or you may number or letter the clouds and use a legend. Meteorologists often try to place clouds in subcategories (e.g., cumulus fractus). Do this whenever possible. To be scientifically valuable, include a log of your work as part of your presentation. For each photograph, document information such as the photographer s name, date, time, geographic location, direction facing, and any other information about your image that you feel is valuable. Slide backgrounds should be simple without distracting images or colors. Use a master slide to arrange common elements found on each of the slides in the presentation. Weather is not always cooperative, so think about taking cloud photos whenever you are outside. And even if you have your ten photographs well ahead of schedule, you may later find an opportunity to see some rare cloud types that you will want to shoot. EARTH SCIENCE PROJECT: CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY 1

2 The completed project must be submitted no later than the date stated on page 1. SUGGESTIONS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY Although nearly any digital camera will do, one that has some form of exposure indicator or exposure control is better because photos of the sky tend to be overexposed (too washed out). This happens because of reflected light from the clouds and atmospheric moisture. Pick partly cloudy days and attempt to photograph your cloud formation against a solid blue sky. The silhouette effect will improve the quality of your picture. Avoid photographing clouds on overcast days unless you are trying to obtain an example of stratus or nimbostratus clouds. Color photos are more pleasing to the eye and practically all digital cameras take color photos by default. However, digital cameras with selectable image modes can take black and white (B&W) images. These images often show the forms of clouds more clearly. For experienced photographers with complicated cameras, installing a clear daylight filter or a yellow sky filter will dramatically improve the contrast of your photos in B&W. The latter filter will make the clear blue sky appear nearly black in a B&W photo. Have fun! EARTH SCIENCE PROJECT: CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY 2

3 NAME SECTION DATE GRADING SHEET CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY Graded Item Possible Total Following Instructions 20 Presentation (neatness and organization) 20 Variety of Clouds (as determined by teacher) (20) % of required varieties % of required varieties % of required varieties % of required varieties % of required varieties 4 Correct Cloud Identification (40) % % % % % 8 < 10% 0 Total Points 100 Grade Remarks: GRADING SHEET: CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY

4 TEACHER GUIDE EARTH SCIENCE PROJECT CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT PLANNING You should plan this project to begin as you finish learning about cloud types and have it due toward the end of Chapter 20, Storms and Weather Prediction, in Earth Science 5th Edition. This will give your students enough time to take their photographs, plan their presentation design, and build the final project. Depending on your local climate, you may need more or less time for the project. If you live in a particularly arid or rainy region where you rarely have clouds or are subjected to weeks of drizzly overcast, you may have to modify the instructions and grading guide. You are the best judge of when to carry out the photographic part of the project. Ten photographs is a good number to require for this project. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE We have attempted to keep the technical requirements for this project as simple as possible. At the same time, the project will give students an opportunity early in their educational career to create a formal presentation using standard presentation software and techniques BJU Press. Reproduction prohibited. CAMERA Almost any digital camera can be used for this project. Probably the most convenient to use will be the ubiquitous cell-phone camera. You might remind students that most modern cell phones have the ability of selecting the resolution of photos. They should set up their cameras to take photos in the 2 5 megapixel range. Less than this and the image will look pixelated. More than this and the presentation file size may be too large to load and display on some computers or tablets. Some students may have access to more complex cameras. While capable of producing excellent photos in the hands of knowledgeable users, their complexity could be a detriment to inexperienced photographers. Photos should be taken at normal zoom. Also see the student instructions for information on exposure controls and filters to enhance cloud photographs. PRESENTATION SOFTWARE AND SLIDE COMPOSITION This guide is not intended to provide exhaustive instructions for using Microsoft PowerPoint or other presentation software. Students should be given a basic introduction either in class or after class as necessary. Things to consider include the following: Discuss with your students how a digital presentation works (e.g., each page is a slide ; slides are arranged in order and actuated by a keyboard or mouse control; slides contain text and images, etc.). You should definitely address text and slide transitions. TEACHER GUIDE: CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT 1

5 There should be a title slide containing the student s name. This slide could also contain the project title and the due date of the project. The slides displaying the clouds and log information come next. The presentation may finish with an ending slide. As mentioned in the student guide, each cloud slide should contain information and the cloud photograph itself. To keep the design consistent, students should create a master slide. Have them search the software Help menu to learn how to do this. After your first year doing this project, you can show students examples of some of the better projects from earlier classes. LOGS AND PHOTO METADATA Students should keep a log of their photographic work. You may either specify what information you want them to record or simply leave it up to the student and then grade each student on the effort taken to record the data BJU Press. Reproduction prohibited. You may want to make your students aware that many digital cameras automatically record information about the photograph each time one is taken. This type of data is called metadata and can be very useful for creating a photo log. Certain kinds of digital photos (e.g., JPG and TIF) store metadata in a format called EXIF (exchangeable image file format). Such metadata includes but is not limited to camera identity, time, date, speed, ISO (the effective digital film speed), exposure length, zoom, and so on. If the camera is GPS enabled, the EXIF data can include latitude and longitude, elevation, directional bearing, and even speed if the camera is capable of sensing those parameters. How do you access this information? An EXIF reader is required. Conveniently, there are a growing number of EXIF reader software available on the Internet, and many are free. Overall, the important thing is to encourage your students to enjoy the act of seeking knowledge. Don t get bogged down in the technical aspects of the project. If necessary, change it into a hard-copy project print out the pages and bind them in a folder. Alter the guide as you see fit. And have fun! TEACHER GUIDE: CLOUD PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT 2