Prompts 8, 9, 10

“My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph.” ~Richard Avedon

The person behind the camera can change the feel of a photograph with many different trechniques. What one photographs is what one feels. Therefore, it's always more about the photographer.

 

“You don't take a photograph, you make it.” ~Ansel Adams



Photography is an art. Art is a creation. Therefore, photography is a creation.
 

“All photographs are there to remind us of what we forget. In this - as in other ways - they are the opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter remembers. Because each one of us forgets different things, a photo more than a painting may change its meaning according to who is looking at it.” ~John Berger


Photographs capture a time that will forever be history. But that history can be viewed differently from one person to the next. People can come together to from a story which has many parts.

Latest Wedding Video...

Here is my latest wedding video...I tried some new things...some worked...some didn't. I learned a good deal from this one though...back to the drawing board for the next one.

http://www.vimeo.com/19173454

In Class Assignment

Bryce - Take 1

Bryce - Take 2

 

Contemporary Photographer: Dawoud Bey

Biography

Birthdate: 1953 in New York City’s Jamaica, Queens

Current Residency: Chicago, Illinois

Education: B.F.A. in Photography from Empire State College, M.F.A. from Yale University School of Art

Creation: Unknown

Significance

Dawoud Bey’s “Class Pictures” is a significant series because it reveals the inner workings of teenagers. One can decide what happens in one’s life during teenage years. Teenage life can be hectic, scary, unsettling and any emotion imaginable.  Bey wanted to convey the complexity of a high school teenager, which is something almost all people go through. Each student was asked to reveal something about themselves for the photo. The texts and photos juxtaposed create quite the expressions.

Composition

All of Bey’s photos from this particular series tend to have similar framing, lighting, contrast and balance. Bey didn’t want to make drastic changes from one photo to the next. He wanted to keep certain aspects consistent. However, the posing of the subjects is what differs the most between the photos. The different poses help identify the student’s personalities.

Concept

The concept is quite simple: Bey took portraits of high school teenagers paired with self-written statements by each student.  However, it is very complex. Bey wanted to reveal something unknown to others about each subject. But how much can a portrait actually reveal?

Method

There weren’t any special techniques or processes employed for this series.

Goal

This is simple: to showcase the inner complex workings of a teenager’s world.

Opinion

I’m not one to write smart articulate coherent opinions about ones work. In fact, I don’t care to write my thoughts about ones work at all. So, when I do, I keep my statements simple and to the point.

Bey’s work in this series is magnificent. He has taken a range of teenagers and captured them in their simplest form. One can look at the photos and see the range of personalities and life styles present.  However, since each subject was asked to write a statement about themselves it suddenly becomes complex and personal. One may feel suddenly close to them, even though one has never met them. One is transported into their world and once you step out of their world you compare it to yours. One realizes how different one’s life can be at such an important age. But in the end, how much can a photo reveal about one’s self?

For this series and all of his work please visit his web page at:

http://work.colum.edu/~jkeats/bey/

Recreation 2

Alexander Rodchenko: Portrait of my Mother

Aaron Young: Self Portrait

Alexander Rodchenko:

Born: December 5th 1891 in St. Petersburg, Russia

Education: Kazan School of Art & Stroganov Institute in Moscow

Portraitof my Mother Created 1924

(Wikipedia) Rodchenko was an artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. He was one of the founders of constructivism and Russian design. His photography was socially engaged, formally innovative and opposed to a painterly aesthetic. He took photos from odd angles to shock the viewer. Rodchenko was quoted saying "One has to take several different shots of a subject, from different points of view and in different situations, as if one examined it in the round rather than looked through the same key-hole again and again."

Rodchenko self portrait of his mother is slightly different than his other work. It's a little more straight forward for the angle and it looks more natural. For being an older photo the contrast is quite high and the lighting is seems more natural. 

For this particular photo I am not sure what Rodchenko was attempting. I'm not sure he was trying to shock the viewer. I believe he was merely taking a self portrait of his mother from a slightly above angle. He did capture what many older Russian women of that time period looked like.

Honestly, it is a very simple photo and I like it. It's of his own mother and he captured her in a simple way. I'm sure it spoke to her personality. It feels honest and I like honesty.

Recreation:

I was attempting to mimic much of what Rodchenko did in his photo. I was attempting to get similar lighting, contrast and balance. I wanted to change the perspective a little to be slightly more straight on so as not to copy his work exactly. I was attempting to bring out the shapes of my face a little more than his photo. I wear glasses/contacts myself and wanted to show I did. However, I wanted the viewer to look for it and make it unclear if I really did or not. His photo is simple and I wanted to keep mine simple as well. So, I borrowed his elements and applied it to my photo. Simple as that.

Prompts 5, 6 & 7

5: “I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul.” ~Mary Ellen Mark




I'm a believer in honesty, even in photography. A photographer should let one know this information. Because once the moment passes and the photographer has captured it...all is gone. Only the photographer has that moment. What happens in that moment is all up to the photographer. He or she can alter it in a way to tell the wrong story or they can keep it the same to tell the truth. The photographer is now the soul possessor of that person and time.

6: In your opinion, when is it beneficial, ethical, or appropriate to digitally alter photographic portraits? When do you think it is inappropriate or ethically wrong?

It is only appropriate and ethical when one needs to remove or add something in the photo that isn't part of the human. If one changes the shape, weight, etc. of the human to make it fake and not what the human really represents, then it is wrong. If the portrait isn't real, I don't want it. Isn't the point of a portrait suppose to be capturing what is real?

7: Pay close attention to the types and number of photographic portraits you see in one day. Where did you see them? How do you think that the content of the portrait changes based on the context in which you see the image (news, facebook, magazine, advertisement, television, youtube, etc)? In other words, what is the difference between the portraits you see on facebook vs. those on the news? What is the difference between the “viewpoint” of the photographer in each situation? What is the difference between their “intents”?

I've see portraits on facebook, on walls, in restaurants, and the news. The main difference from what one sees on facebook compared to the news is quality. Facebook has no rules for anything. If you have a crappy photo of yourself, no one cares. If you have a crappy photo of yourself on the news, someone will care. There are rules and standards for certain categories. The news has a professional and positive image. The viewpoint of the photographer on facebook has no meaning. In two weeks no one gives a crap what your profile picture was. They weren't going for a certain viewpoint. They had no intent. They just wanted someone to comment on it. The news intent is to show professionalism. To show these people know what they are talking about. It shows they have respect and conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. Man...did any of that make sense?

Assignment 1: Final Images

Composition: I wanted to get a different perspective of the sink than what one is used to everyday. I also wanted to keep the lighting toward the focus of the the image to emphasize the details.

Concept, Method & Motivation: This image isn't about anything specifically. However, one could argue it's about preserving water. I knew I wanted to get close to the sink and have a shallow depth of field. I also wanted to use the bathrooms own lighting. In doing this I wanted to capture a view one most certainly never uses while at a sink.

Context: This particular photo isn't drawn from any specific photographer or artists. It's about the simplicity of an everyday object and the view one rarely sees.
Interpretation: Others saw it as an everyday item, but represented in an eerie and dark way.
Evaluation: Students didn't comment on any changes to be made. And honestly, I am happy with the way it is. However, maybe instead of streaming water only have dripping water.
Extension: It would be interesting to take everyday objects and capture them from angles the human eye never does. This would allow one to see the world from a different perspective.

Composition: I wanted to frame the pin the emphasize the stripes and wanted high contrast to further emphasize the stripes.

Concept, Method & Motivation: The image is about the abuse a bowling pin takes for the enjoyment of humans. I wanted to light the pin in a way to show the wear and tear while keeping a darker feel. I've gone bowling numerous times and never have been able to look at a pin closely. I wanted to see one up-close and learn about it.

Context: As with the last photo, this isn't drawn from any specific artists or photographer. However, realizing the abuse a pin takes makes me realize the cycle of a pin. Their created, abused and then eventually destroyed by humans seeking entertainment and enjoyment.
Interpretation: Some students saw the stripes as American symbolism. Other students saw the pin as a prisoner due to the stripes, text and detail of the scratch marks.
Evaluation: I believe the idea of a prisoner is working, which was a little related to my overall goal. However, the idea of American symbolism would have to be done in a much different matter.
Extension: I would love to go to a real bowling alley and capture the life a pin. Every angle. Every moment.

Composition: I wanted to frame the pin as a whole and at an angle to convey it falling down.

Concept, Method & Motivation: This particular image is about seeing a bowling pin up-close and realizing the beauty it possess. I knew bowling pins always take a beating and wanted to light it to convey the darkness of bowling pins. But at the same time, the pin is a beautiful creation and wanted to people to realize that.

Context: This image doesn't relate to any particular artist or photographer but it does shed light on a bowling pin. Who created the bowling pin? Why did they shape it this way? It's a part of the game humans take for granted during their entertainment.
Interpretation: Students saw the pin as a model. They felt it was modeling for the camera.
Evaluation: I do feel the model analogy is working with the angle, but the lighting could possibly be profound from a certain direction. However, this might lose the naturalness and simplicity of the photo.
Extension: Again, I would love to go to a real bowling alley and capture a bowling pin at it's finest.