Class Crit Portraits

Assignment 2-2 Inspiration

http://www.mapplethorpe.org/portfolios/

Robert Mapplethorpe was a highly stylized photographer from the 1970's.  He shot mostly in medium format and liked to shoot pictures of men and flowers.  He liked interesting and organic forms which is why these were his favorite subjects.  The human body has so many interesting valleys, curves, shadows, and confusing components.  He also liked to exaggerate the form of his subjects with extreme high contrast.  Most of his work makes you question what you are looking at, or why he would want to photograph something the way that he did.  He really enjoyed to take photographs of things that were unexpected, or had never been photographed.  With that beings said,  he applied this shocking or never before seen technique to the familiar human body form, to produce a very unique and innovative style for the time.

The photo that i choose to recreate was Robert Mapplethorpe"s self portrait.  It is a very interesting picture of robert since he is almost entirely absent from the frame besides where his body comes in from the the very corner of the frame.  I wanted to do a self portrait and was very attracted to the white background in his portrait.  I also felt like i had similar hair and body type to robert, which is another reason i choose to attempt this photo.  My background was very limited in size, so i had to take the photos much closer then i would have liked.  I tried to capture how Mapplethorpe used high contrast lighting and the use of the interesting form of the body as subject

Blog #7

#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”?


It is pretty obvious to see the great deal of contrast between the pictures on facebook and of those in the news.  Pictures you see on facebook are never very well thought out.  They are simply just a point and shoot.  I feel as if most pictures put on facebook generally show the person as how they want to look, or feel they're looking best.  There are also a lot of profile pictures shot by the person/photographer.  Generally they are trying to not look like they are posing when they obviously are, and it comes off devastatingly cheesy.  Portraits that you appear on the news are obviously at a professional level.  There is always extravagant lighting that helps benefit the subject or invoke drama.  Both types of photographs are heavily controlled by either the celebrity or person who owns the profile.  Neither may reflect any emotions or actually portray who a person, but rather just come off as aesthetically pleasing to the subject.

Blog #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? 


I think it is the right decision to digitally alter photographic portraits when you are working for a client, doing a project,  or basically anything that is sent to the news.  Photography is an art form, so i believe the artist should have the freedom to produce anything they desire.  However, I feel like when you report a story to the news it should be as accurate as you can report it.  That includes any photographic evidence that would accompany a write up.

Blog Entry #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 don't agree with this statement at all.  You have as much a right to photograph someone as you do to look at them.  You can loose so much organic beauty by simply alerting the subject of your presence or intentions.  There are certain situations where you can work with a subject to achieve better results, but there are already way to many photos out there with fake expressions or cheesy poses.  I believe the best way to get a great photo is by putting in extra effort and planning.

Assignment 2(0): Recreate

The image that i chose to recreate was Nancy Burson's he/she images. They are a set of portraits that use a heavy cast shadow to cover most of the subjects face so you can't tell the sex of the subject.  In my picture I went for the same heavy cast shadow but tried to hid the subjects expression instead.  I shot this at bluesfest in Oldtown Lansing, and the heavy shadow was created by an overhead light on stage.

 

Inspiration:

Assignment 1:Explore

                                                                                       

Photo #1 Symmetry

1.) Composition

a.) Framing - In the frame, I choose to shoot from the very bottom of the pole with my camera flush to the pole pointing up.  I did it this way because i thought it was an interesting perspective.  The pole was also very tall, and when framed in this manner, i felt like it would immerse the viewer and make them feel like they were at the base of the light looking up as well.  Hopefully it achieves a feeling of being short.

b.) Lighting - The lighting is natural light that took place right around sunset.  I believe it helped add to the shot shot since there was still some light in the sky to create a nice contrast between the metal and the sky.  The slight dark tint of the night sky also helps add to contrast of the photo allowing the light given off by lights to shine.

c.) Visual Design Elements -  When i took this photo, i noticed it was quite plain, so i knew i wanted a very strong emphasis on both line and shape.  It was real important to center the light and have the beam leading off the page on both bottom corners. This would really help lead you into the photo and to the interesting shapes up top.  The square lights at the top are to focal point of the photo, so it was real important that they were bold in order to stand out and add contrast to the photo.

2.) Aboutness & Movtivations & Method

In creating this image I really wanted to take an every day object and highlight it's symmetry and beauty. The image is very symmetrical and mimics itself quite beautifully.  In order to create this image, i stood at the base of the light and pointed my camera directly up.

3.) Context: I think this image demonstrates symmetry very well.  I didn't have any inspiration to go off of, besides cruising around east lansing looking for unique symmetry.

4.) Interpretation:  Everyone one in class seemed to enjoy this photo and said it was interesting and fun to look at it.

5.) Evaluation: Based on critique, the photo illustrates symmetry quite well.

6.) Extension: I think symmetry is a very cool subject matter to search for.  I feel that BW photos are great for showing symmetry, repetition, and unique patterns.  I like interesting shapes and patterns so i will continue to search for them.

Photo #2 Profile

For this photo I wanted to get an interesting perspective of the monster, in a more playful enviorment, which is what led me to the playground.  I decided to frame the photo in this manner because i really thought that it was cool how the curve on the monsters head, along with his body shape seemed to mimic that of the merry go round bars in the background.  The point-of-view was something i considered to great extent as well.  Even though the monster is just a toy, I didn't want him to feel miniature or toy like,  so i shot at a real close kind of upward angle to eliminate the feeling.  The contrast isn't great enough to me, due to the bright sunlight during the time i was shooting.  I would have liked for the sky to not be as blown out at it got, along with greater shadows or darks on the merry go round.

In creating this image i wanted a rather playful enviornment, almost as if the toy monster was in his natural habitat, if you will.  Like i mentioned earlier i was really drawn to the similar shapes the arches of the merry go round made.

I didn't really get any critique on my photos in class but, through my own personal critique i wish that the monster was slightly to the left more to mimic the bar above his head.  I think i would have looked really neat if the monsters horn looked as if it were connected to the merry go round.

This photo like my first one really dealt with interesting shapes and making connections to them. This is something i really enjoy looking for and will continue to do.

Photo 3 Doppelganger

For this photo i really wanted to achieve a cool affect mimicking the monster on the wall by using a very long shutter speed.  Within the frame i wanted to make sure some lighting crept in, as to show the proximity of the basement.  Since the monster is "the basement monster" it was important to make sure that it wasn't seen as an ally.  This is where the placement of background objects also came into play.  I removed alot from the frame before shooting, but didn't mind the window, or stereo since they were relevant in the basement, but didn't overload the photo.  The focus was really important to me because i want the surreal object to appear real, and the real object to appear less then.  I believe i achieved this affect with the my transparent silhouette, however i wish more of my arms and feet were visible within the frame.  In creating this image I really hoped that the viewer would kind of see it as an illusion with parody. I think the image achieves this to a degree, however i wish it would come of as more "artsy" and less of a technical shutter speed shot.  I really didn't favor this photo to much, but based on class critique i decided to include it as one of my three finals.  I really enjoy street art and graffiti and plan to try and create and photograph more in the future. 

Blog Entry #4

“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera.” ~Lewis Hine

Do you agree or disagree with this quote? Why? Describe situations when photographic images reveal “the story” (as compared to words). Describe situations when words reveal “the story” (as compared to images).

I can relate to this quote on a very personal level.  For one I am a very visual person so photos always help support and enhance any story.  Being a skateboarder,  photography is extremely important.  A photo/video is the only way to document or prove if something has been done.  If it isn't filmed then quite frankly it is just here-say.  Photos help set the standard of what has and can be achieved on various types of landscapes and technicalities of difficulty.  Normally in Skateboarding magazines there will be long articles that describe a various trip that professionals go on.  This includes encounters with locals, sights, and the skating of course.  The pictures however are the entire purpose of the trip that tend to highlight and even help paint a picture for the rest of the text you have to read.  Skateboarding has a standard of "seeing is believing" and I believe this standard extends well outside of skateboarding.  

A story can be more affective in situations that require lots of details, or events that lead up to a significant moment. For example, a political rally would be a great situation where a story is much better suited.  A photo could show the politician, or the size of the crowd, however the content of the speech, or the moods/reaction of the crowd just wouldn't translate as well through a photograph.

Blog Entry #3

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”

 ~Duane Michals. 

 Do you agree or disagree with this quote? Why?

I would have to agree with Duane Michals, in that photography deals with the appearance of an object.  It can be framed, manipulated, and shot in infinite ways.  You can look at any given photo and have no idea what you are looking at, however it can be appealing or visually communicate something powerful.  I also agree with the second part of Duane's quote "nothing is what it appears to be" , this is true as well, because you are never looking at a real object when you are viewing a photo,  you are simply viewing a photo of something.  It's always 2-d object either physically or digitally.  This parallels Rene Magritte's famous painting of a pipe, which has a clever caption of "this is not a pipe", because it is in fact a painting and not an object.

Assignment 0

For Assignment 0, I used "The Lathe" taken by Paul Strand in 1923.  The photo is very dark and has beautiful highlights which help bring out all the interesting curves and components on the machine.  Paul Strand's interest when photographing was how light envelopes and creates form.  For my photograph I chose to apply those same principles and also tried to find a subject that had a industrial feel to it.  The furnace I chose was a very interesting object that had some very interesting forms and reflections to play with.

Describe what the word “photograph” means to you.

The word photograph, to me,  means a visual taken by a camera, viewed in either a physical or digital form, that allows you to connect and experience anything in the world through the eyes of  the photographer.  It can manipulated in any way shape or form by the artist, and be interpreted in an infinite amount of ways by the viewer.

Imagine a world with no photographs. Describe what this world would be like.

A world without photographs would be terribly dull.  Everything would be much more literal, and all based in text.  More people would keep journals to keep track of their lives and memories.
People may take a different approach to life, and not rush as much, because they would want to live "in the moment" more since there would be no way to look back upon it.
The advertising industry would be completely different without visuals as they too would have to try and communicate only through sound or text.  In response to this people may become more involved with what they were purchasing.  I also believe a world without photographs may also lead to a lot of skepticism since photographs are a great way document and verify that not only something happened but that it exists none the less.