Can you think of anything that:

1) Should not be photographed? Why?

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of things that should not be photographed are things that depict pain or death. The argument could be made that war, and pain must be portrayed, because the world is not as peaceful as people like to believe. However I think that there is enough pain in the world that people should not be reminded of it constantly. 

2) cannot be photographed? Why?

Truth. I dont think that Truth can be photographed. We never know the entire story behind a photograph. And so therefore even Lies, because for all we know everything we see in pictures could be a lie.

3) you do not want to photograph? Why?

I would not ever want to photograph an image of a person that is truely feeling pain. Pain is a feeling that I do not want my photographs to project. Photography is made to treasure  our memories, but a memory of pain is not something I would want to create.

Assignment 3 - In Progress Critique

Chip Forelli

I chose Chip Forelli because I thought that the smoothness in all of his photography is really quite frankly, astounding. His photographs look like they are painted, or drawn. There is something very interesting about his photographs. 

Forelli has won numerous awards in his 25 + years as a photographer. His work has also been featured in photographic magazines such as Lenswork and Rangefinder. He is known to be an advertising photographer and has done work for BMW,  AT&T, Landrover and many others...

Probably my favorite photographer that we have learned about so far. 

Chip Forelli's Website

Blog Promts 16, 17 & 18

16.  “Photography can only represent the present. Once photographed, the subject becomes part of the past.” Berenice Abbott


I agree with this quote. Im not sure if Abbott meant this in a negative way, but i certainly don' think this is a negative thing. I think that's part of the beauty of photography. Because, it captures the past. Things cant always remain as they once were. Photography to me is a tool of our memory. 


17.  “Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer—and often the supreme disappointment.” ~Ansel Adams


I think that Ansel Adams means that it is important to capture landscape photography as it is in nature, because maybe he feels that the viewer would be disappointed in the image if it was not accurate to it's setting.  It's well known that Ansel Adams used to spend hours waiting for all the parts in his images to come together (clouds, sunlight, shadows, etc...) to form the perfect picture. So I could definitely see why he would put such an importance on getting the perfect image. Perhaps Ansel Adams felt as if other photographers were not doing the landscapes they shot justice. Seeing that Adams had a very good level of patience, maybe he felt that other landscape photographers did not put in the same hard work he did. 


18.  “I think photographs should be provocative and not tell you what you already know. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce somebody's face in a photograph. The magic is in seeing people in new ways.” Duane Michals


I think that Michals has a point, but I think that there is a different point to consider. Not everything is done for abstractions sake. Sometimes the beauty is in true representation.  I think you can still see someone in a new way, while seeing a reproduction of someone's face. A great photograph keeps that magic no matter how many times you look at the picture, and no matter if it's abstract or not. I think that it is necessary to have both, a representative view and an abstract view, and I dont think either of him is better or more important than the other, nor that one requires more skill than the other. The only thing that changes between abstraction and representation, may be the message that becomes conveyed to the viewer, but then again, that is always subjective anyway. 

Blog Post # 15

15____In-Camera Collage: Collage brings together two or more items that were previously separate. The resulting piece usually visually references the fact that they were once separate entities. Imagine an important place in your past. Imagine an important place in your present. Imagine who you were in both of these past and present places. Describe how you might use a slow shutter speed and/or double exposure to capture two moments in one image that tell a new narrative about these important places and how they relate to who you are and were.


I would portray myself in my old house, that I lived in when I was in high school, and portray myself in a second image in my new house. I would use a show shutter speed to create some blur, but i would use a tripod and keep the background still.  And I would be moving around. Mainly because I feel like my life was a total roller-coaster back then. And maybe I would tilt the camera a little bit, to add to the feeling. 


In the picture of my house now, I would use show shutter speed because I would want to capture more light... I would also use a straight on shot and keep still. I feel like my life is just a whole lot more balanced...and I really wouldn't  change a thing.

Blog Prompt 14

#14____Unknown vs. Familiar Space: When photography was invented, it became a way to document and reveal the specific aspects of both familiar and faraway places. Imagine a familiar place. Imagine a faraway place. How would you use photographs to convey the difference? Can you imagine any places that have been “touched” very little by humans? How might you photograph them?

 I think if I were to take a picture of a familiar place i would do my best to capture as much detail as possible. But in the unknown picture I would maybe have a little less depth of field. Keep a few things blurry. Maybe use a little burning around the edges, to make it look dream like. And lighten the highlights to add the same effect.


I guess it would depend though on the image. If I could i might try to capture more in focus. Like, if I was looking at a town from a forest or a hill, maybe i would try to use some brush or grass in the image. 


A place that has been touched very little by humans? Maybe something underwater. I think it would be very cool to capture an underwater image. I would photograph it from low vantage point, maybe even looking up. 

Blog #13

#13____Human-Made Space: In the past, photographers who were interested in how humans impacted the natural landscape grouped together to form the New Topographics. “"New Topographics" signaled the emergence of a new photographic approach to landscape: romanticization gave way to cooler appraisal, focused on the everyday built environment and more attuned to conceptual concerns of the broader art field.” http://www.lacma.org/art/ExhibTopo.aspx

As someone who takes interest in the enviroment and photography, I could see myself being a part of this approach. I think people tend to ignore the things that we do to this planet. I think this type of photograph could really help to spread the awareness of our actions. 

When people saw the BP oil spill in the gulf, earlier this year they were mortified. I think that people would have the same kind of feeling if they save what coal mines looked like. How we just take as much land as we want, not caring what effect it has on something.  

I think if i were to create a piece of "land art it would be consisting of a man made object, in the form of a natural thing. Maybe take a picture of streets, and how they look like weeds. Take a picture of trash nestled into what may look like a tree, or a nest. 

Or maybe even pick up trash from a landfill and create it into a mountain-scape from far way, but when you get closer you see the trash stacked against itself.  

Blog #12

#12 Memory of a Photograph: Which photograph from your past do you remember most? Describe this photograph. Describe how it makes you feel when you remember/think about this photograph. How have you changed? How has the place in this photograph changed? What would a reenactment of this photograph look like? Would you act or look differently if you reenacted this scene today? 

The picture that comes into my head, is a picture of me and some high school friends dancing in the rain. I think this picture is important to me, because it represents a very liberating time of our lives. I remember that we were seniors in high school, and it was towards the end of the year. We were standing outside and out of nowhere it started raining. It was warm outside and we just ran and danced around in it, and grabbed a camera and snapped a picture. It's a picture we all have. And every once in a while we like to remind ourselves of that feeling of freedom and how we felt totally untouchable. I know that the end of high school meant the begining of something completely unaware, and liberating. 

I think we have all kind of forgotten this feeling since then. I think that we have all gotten very caught up in the our every day lives since then, and none of us really keep in touch. One of us ended up getting all tattooed up, and some of us chopped off all our hair. I think it would be interesting to recreate this picture, with our hair and faces all wet from the rain... but maybe in a few more years, when we can once again feel liberated.  

Memory

Memory

My Memory Comes from when I used to go to work with my mom, when I was a little girl. We used to wait for the subway train and there was a set of stairs and I used to just run up and down and up and down, sliding things off the railing. The background in this image is a set of stairs on campus, I walk by every now and then. It reminded me of when I was a little girl, in the subway station. I wanted to show the motion of me walking around, because it shows a passing of time, which was the point behind me running up and down the stairs in the first place.

Composition:

I used a large depth of field, high contrast and interesting framing, as well as lighting. 

Idea:

My idea for this picture was to create an interesting portrait that would show the subject from a different angle, rather than just straight on. I think that the depth of field and contrast allow you to keep your focus on the subject. 

Method:

For this image, i directed the subject to lay on the bed, kind of hanging off. I directed my light source right at her and experimented with the angles of the camera. 

Motivations:

I wanted to capture the subject from an interesting angle. I feel like when most people think of a portrait they think it has to mean a straight on capture. But i like the idea of playing with the different angles, because I feel that they can portray different emotions in the image. 

Context:

I think that this image speaks a little bit on fatigue. The subject looks like she is relaxing. 

PART 2:

Some people interpreted this image as somewhat sexual, others thought that she looked emotionally torn. People felt that this image worked in terms of perspective, depth of field, and the way the girls hair was falling, as well as the lighting. The group that all of the picture could belong in a series.

Composition:

I wanted to frame subject so that we could see the shadows of her back. I also wanted a high contrast image to emphasize those shadows. 

Idea:

My idea for this picture was to capture the beauty in women. I think there is more to our beauty than just our breasts and butts. And I wanted the shadows to really emphasize the curves.

Method:

A tripod. A lamp. And A LOT of timed pictures, checking and re-adjusting, until I got what i was looking for.

Motivation:

I think that a lot of stress is put on women to have these perfect proportions, but I think that it tends to be forgotten, by men and women, that there is so much more of our bodies to find beautiful. I think that the way that the light is hitting the curves and muscles in the back, and the way it creates shadows in her fingers and light in the hair, is a representation of the beauty we take for granted.

Context:

I think this image could be used for a True Beauty Campaign, such as the ones that are being led by Dove. 

PART 2:

The group felt that this image was portraying feminism, and reminded them of a ballet dancer, or fatigue, the way the girl is holding her shoulder.  The group felt that the image worked in terms of contrast. They thought that this might be a good jumping off point for a series exploring the beauty of women, and I couldnt agree more. The only suggestion made, was to lighten it up a little.

Composition:

I used depth of field, contrast and perspective to create a grungy angry looking picture.

Idea:

My idea was to capture a my little sister in a dark kind of perspective. I think that with the use of the umbrella , and the lighting, it kind of hides her face, and also her intentions. You dont really know what she is hiding.

Method:

I used the umbrella, and had my other little sister shoot water over us with a garden hose. 

I intended on using a larger f-stop, to have less depth of field, but ended up doing it backwards. I also used a high shutter speed, so that I could capture the rain drops.

Motivation:

I wanted to take a picture of my little sister that hid her personality, but in hiding it expressed it. My little sister has a tough past, with a lot of bullying, and I think that the lighting and the shadows really add to the feeling that she is angry. The rain drops add a sad feeling to this image. 

Context:

I think this image could be used in a anti-bullying or child abuse campaign. 

PART 2:

The group felt that there was a definite unknown quality to the image and the girl. The felt that this image was one of a troublemaker. They felt that the composition, contrast and the way the subject fills the frame where all good. But maybe more focus could be used.  There were no print suggestions, but people thought that this image could be in a series, telling the girls story.

Composition

I used perspective to create an interesting piece; Contrast to accentuate the shadows and highlights in the girls face; and movement, because her arm leads you to look at her face.

Idea:

The Idea behind this image was to create something with little  depth of field. I had shot a picture about 5 years ago, with my little sister and her feet crossed behind her, and wanted to re create something similar.  Kind of a "Now" and "Then" kind of image. 

Method:

I used a previos photograph I had taken for the inspiration behind this image. I just told the girl to face the light coming from the window, and to lay her arm out towards the camera. 

Motivation:

I thought it might be neat to recreate the photograph of the same girl i had taken 5 years earlier. I wish i had the image to compare the two. I just know that the older photograph is very scratched and grainy. 

Context:

I think this image could be used to portray how children grow. I think this image has some emotion to it. Like the girl almost has something on her mind. 

PART 2:

The group thought that this image had a lazy feel to it, and a little sad, like the girl had something to talk about. The group liked the way that the arm was drawing in their attention.  They felt that this image could be a jumping off point to a series about little kids, and what they go through.  Suggestion included making the image less blurry, to make the highlights stand out a little more, and to maybe crop the face.

Blog # 11 Memory of a Place

Try to imagine a place from your past. Do you have pictures of this place? Describe this place as you remember it. What might a photograph look like of this place if you were to go back and photograph it? What would it look like in the past? What would it look like to you today? Where are you standing in this place? What other items are in this place? What colors do you see? Are there other people or are you alone? Make a “written photograph” of this place using words/description. 

I imagined a place from my childhood; my grandfathers attic. It was my favorite place when I was little because it had all of my father's old toys, and a hammock and a ping pong table.  And I used to just spend hours in there playing....

Unfortunately I have no pictures of the attic. I remember the way the dust used to swirl in the windows, and how you could really see it in the light. And the ladder you would have to pull down in order to climb up into the attic. The ping pong table was right in the middle, and I used to fill the hammock with stuffed animals. And sometimes I would set up a game of checkers, and make it look like the animals were playing checkers.  And there was a lamp hanging over the ping pong table. 

I think that if I were to take a picture of this attic today, I would climb up the ladder, turn around just as my head was peeking up and snap a picture, with the ping pong table above me, the light on, and the dust swirling in the sunlight, underneith the windows. And the hammock in the back, slightly in focus. That way it would remind me of when I was little, looking up at everything.  

Blog # 10

“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


I agree with this, because a photograph can remind us of how something looked. I mean a photograph is literally a graph of light. In Paintings, we often go off memory and things can get lost in translation. I think that paintings are more subjective than photographs are, both when being created and when being viewed. But of course there are a thousand different ways to photograph something.

Assignment 2- Critique Part 2