Blog Prompts #2

5.  The Edward Steichen quote is very relatable to me.  It is basically saying that photography shows the essence of life and the world, and everything else involved in it.  Photographs show everything imaginable, and leave the mind to imagine anything else.
6.  I think it is beneficial to alter photographs when it is a close up of a person or sometimes a landscape.  People may not always have clear skin, so it is nice to be able to fix blemishes or any bumps that they are self-conscious about.  And as for landscapes, it is convenient to be able to take away something man-made out of the picture if it distracts the viewer from the natural environment.
7.  On a daily basis, I can see photographs on TV, newspapers, magazines, street signs, flyers, the bus, in stores or restaurants, or basically anywhere.  These pictures all have different purposes, whether it is to get you to buy a new drink or sweater, or to persuade you to vote for someone, or, on facebook, to show your friends what you're up to this summer.
8.  The Richard Avedon quote is basically saying that what he chooses to photograph shows a lot about his personal likes.  People tend to photograph things they are interested in, and doing so allows others to see who you are.
9.  The Ansel Adams quote makes sense because a photograph, for the photographer, is what they want it to be.  They can transform an area or use an angle that highlights a certain point of view.
10.  The John Berger quote is saying that photographs remind people of memories they may have forgotten.  people take pictures of babies so that when they are older, they can see what they looked like when they were young, and this can apply to anything photographed.

Sally Mann: Contemporary Photographer

Sally Mann(1951, age 60) is an American photographer whose subject matter consists primarily of young children and landscapes.  After receiving a BFA in creative writing, she decided to pursue her love of photography with encouragement from her father.  In 1984, she published her first book, which has been followed up with many other books.  her most known one, probably, is Immediate Family, in which she photographed her young children and family members.  Although controversial, it remains one of her most popular.
She later began photographing landscapes and dead/decomposing people, publishing even more books and series.  Her current pictures include a variety of portraits and intimate family settings, which display several aspects of family, including struggle, happiness, and life/death.

Recreation Artist History

Leopold Reutlinger was just one on a family of photographers.  Growing up in the mid-1800s, he came into the family business as a third-generation photographer.  His grandfather had started his business and studio and it had been passed down to Leopold's father and then to him.  He eventually took over the studio in 1890.  The studio mass produced and also did portraits for famous people as well as advertisements or large business firms.  However, things took a turn for the worse for Leopold in 1930.  After losing an eye in a champagne cork accident, Leopold was forced into retirement after a lifetime of portraits and photographs.  He later passed away in 1937, but he is remembered through his vast array and variety of work.

Recreation 2

Original, Reutlinger, 1883

Recreation, "Sam", 2011

Assignment 1 Final Pictures

 

The flower picture focuses on the entire subject in the frame, showing detail while the background of it is slightly blurred.  I framed it because I wanted a close up of the flower instead of the entire tree so that I could put an emphasis on the petals and water droplets.  When taking this picture and the other pictures in the set, I wanted to focus on simplicity in beauty and how something so average can have beauty in it.  I am motivated by nature and I love the detail in every flower and leaf, and the uniqueness of each different petal or stem can show small differences in plain things.  Steve Sieren is a nature photographer who like me, focuses on contrast in nature and the various concepts one can get from photography.  

Other people saw this image in the way that I wanted them to, which was for the extreme detail I tried to capture.  They liked the zoom I used for it and I think they especially liked the water droplets on the petals.  The detail and shading is working in this picture, as well as the blurred background, and based on others' responses, I don't think anything wasn't working in this picture.  I would like to do more like this, with zoomed out versions of it in the future.

The picture of the car was another favorite of mine and captured exactly what I wanted it to.  I took this picture in the daylight with a slow shutter speed so that I would be able to capture the car at a certain point to appear still.  I included a large amount of scenery in this picture because I wanted people to be able to see how much I was focusing on the car and that the background would seem blurry.  The element of the sidewalk, in my opinion, makes a person's eyes travel throughout the picture by following the light subjects.  This also plays up the contrast in the photo by adding large areas of light and more blended areas of dark.  In creating this image, I wanted to give off the impression of being busy but remaining calm in those situations.  I think this image gives off the feeling of being busy while still appearing simple.  Students in class could tell that this image had a complicated or busy feel to it.  Based on the critique, I was really pleased with this picture and I don't think I would do much different to it if I were to re-do it in the future.  I am interested in this picture specifically, but I think I would enjoy doing something from nature instead.

The picture of the bark was one of my favorites because of the detail and shadows in it.  I cropped it so that you could see the front part of the tree and also the background a little.  It is zoomed in so that you can see every individual detail.  This picture is a portrait so that you can see the marks on the tree and parts of the background.  There is high contrast so the the details stand out and are easily distinctive.  In creating this image, I wanted to show people that I enjoy putting an emphasis on nature and the parts that aren't always seen as beautiful.  I think this image deals with simplicity.  It is a very casual piece, but the amount of sharpness and the ease that the picture offers gives a sense of challenge.  Students in class really enjoyed this picture for the same reasons I do.  They really like that I had sharp lines and high contrast in the photo.  Based on the critique, I think I wouldn't do much different to the picture if I were to re-shoot it.  As state earlier, I am interested in nature, so I would take more pictures like this and maybe make a series or nature portraits.

Blog Prompts #1

1. A world without photographs would be almost scary.  The walls of people's homes would be extremely bare.  It would be much harder to capture historical events because people would not be able to paint fast enough, and there probably wouldn't be enough of them. 
2.  To me, the word photograph means a moment captured on paper or film.  It is something that could be either recreational, or something that is seen as art.
3.  My immediate reaction to the Duane Michals quote is that it doesn't seem entirely true.  Photographs capture what paintings and drawings can't, and make everything, for the most part, look real.  I disagree with the quote because a photograph, to me, is usually exactly what the real thing is.
4.  The Lewis Hine quote seems very applicable to photography.  A picture does tell a story, and by doing so people don't always need to explain further.  Photographs of war or disaster are a great example of this.  They show what people can't always see first-hand, and give regular civilians a chance to look at something meaningful.

Recreation 1

  The picture I chose to recreate was Fenced In Child (1967) by Peter Magubane.  Magubane was a South African photographer who pushed limits to capture an image and received many awards for his work.  Growing up in an apartheid enveloped nation, Magubane got his start in photography from the magazine Drum.  He eventually moved on to become a freelance photographer, but in 1969 he was imprisoned and banned from photography for five years.  He was released in 1970, but arrested again in 1971, serving under a year in jail.  Over time he was assigned to several projects, and would eventually end up photographing for Time magazine and Sports Illustrated.  Today Magubane continues fulfilling his passion for photography, but with a focus on the artistic side of photography.
  His work is considered significant because of the historic moments that he captured on film.  He was witness to many important events in recent African history and managed to photograph these instances when noone else could.  Since the historical happenings and revolts in South Africa had such an impact on the world, his work has become an illustration of what people there were going through at these harsh times.

As for the more technical aspect of this individual picture, Magubane framed this picture so that it would look like the hand was trying to reach out of the frame itself.  The perspective shows unique shadows and the dark side of the hand.  This shows a lot of contrast and depth because of the dark lines and areas of light.  The emphasis being on the hand, shadows and other lines play a secondary role in this photograph.  It is well balanced in my opinion, and I like how the light is coming from the back, making the facing hand seem very dark.
  The concept in this image was to show the struggle of people, in particular, children, in Africa and the pain they were going through.  This concept also could show how they might be reaching for help or for hope.  One of the techniques he used was taking the shot straight-on.  He was slightly under the focal point, but this brought emphasis because of the shadow effect.  I believe his goal for this picture was to show viewers how people in South Africa (and all over Africa) struggled in their lives to find some normality but experienced pain along the way.
  I enjoy this because it has many aspects of pictures that I like.  One of these is the fact that is black and white.  I enjoy looking at black and white pictures because it can give any picture a more simplistic feel, even if it may be very complex.  I also like that he used shadow to emphasize the photo.  The shadow from the arm seems to stretch along the entire center of the picture and moves your eye throughout the scene.