Digital "Hidden" Pictures

Objectives:
1. The student will be able to capture a digital image found in nature or at home to represent a creature or inanimate object that has to stay hidden or camoflaged to escape harm or death.
2. The student will able to apply computer skills to alter the photos to emphasis the hidden object.

Technology Resourses:
Digital Camera, Adobe Photoshop Elements (any version)

Background Information:
I used this activity as a culminating project after reading Among the Hidden, by Margaret Peterson Haddix. The students had to have basic digital camera skills.

1. The students recieved this handout:

In the novel,Among the Hidden, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, Luke Garner is a shadow child. He is an illegal 3rd child that has to remain hidden from society to stay safe. What other creatures in the environment have to hide in order to escape harm or even death? Use a digital camera to capture such an image. The image should include the hidden item as well as the surroundings that might offer camouflage or protection.
Be creative! The creature could be an inanimate object hidden from human consumption or destruction. Return the digital file to school where we will use Adobe Photoshop Elements to alter the image to highlight “The Hidden”.


2. Students were given a week to bring in their digital file.

3. My classroom only had access to 2 computers with Adobe Photoshop Elements installed, so I used a data projector to model the steps needed to complete their assignment. Then over the next several days, I has the students, 2 at a time, alter their photos, changing the image to black & white, then adding color back only to the "hidden" image. Those 2 students would then shadow the next two students if assistance was needed.

4. Open Adobe Photoshop Elements and open the digital file. On the tool bar at the top, select Layers & then duplicate layer. This action will give you 2 exact photos sitting on top of each other. Next you will change the top layer to black & white. There are many ways to do this, but I prefer to use the hue & saturation option. Select Enhance from the tool bar and then hue & saturation. (Shortcut - ctrl + u) Slide the Hue arrow all the way to the left. Do the same with the saturation arrow. Your top layer should now be black & white. Still working with the top layer, choose the eraser tool on the side menu. Erase only the part that is hiding.This allows the color from the bottom layer to show through. Example: Easter egg hiding in a tree. Background of the picture will be black & white, but the "hidden" egg will be color. Save the photo as a jpeg, so you can print them. I used Sam's Club.

5. Print a 4x6 of the original photo and a 5x7 of the altered picture.
6. The student will create a "catchy" title for their picture. It should also include a sentence that explains why their creature or object might be hiding. Example: I photographed by accident one day a mouse running across the sidewalk underneath a car. He was crouched down by the tire. I had a student name my photo and his title was "Zoom, Zoom Mouse". His sentence read "A mouse could be hiding from human predators behind a tire." Another student named her photo "The Green, Lean, Hiding Machine" It was of a lizard on a blade of tall grass. Her sentence was "The green lizard is hiding from predators like foxes, cats, people, etc. by hiding in the grass.
7. Display the photos. I found it was important to display both photos so that you could really see how well the object was hidden in the original picture. Faculty members can judge them on how effectively they capture the "hidden" theme. I awarded prizes to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place. The photos were so creative, that I also felt the need to award prizes to 2 honorable mentions. I used my bonus point from Scholastic Book Club to let the winners select books. 1st place- $15, 2nd - $10, 3rd - $5. The honorable mentions recieved $3.