WIP #2

My initial idea for this project was a general, national-geographic style series of nature. A lot of these photographs are so powerful in conveying the beauty of nature that it just stuns and causes me to look at it for a long period of time. Sometimes this occurs in nature as well, and I desire to achieve a photograph as how I saw it the moment that it caught my attention and awe.

In my series, I hope to achieve a sequence of photographs of nature that are conceptual, ethereal and convey the mystery and magic that exists within moments in nature.

For my central image, the bamboo, I've made a few major formal treatments that I thought would make the image for effective. The biggest changed I've made was for the overall background as well as some little details in on the bamboo. What caught my attention in this bamboo was the vibrant green and the stud-like details around the ridge of the bamboo. I toned down the highlights in the background to provide a better contrast to highlight this vibrant, smooth skin of the young bamboo.

It wasn't until I uploaded the image on my computer that I realize the dirtiness of the bamboo, and how it almost created something of a blur to the perfect gradual green gradient of the bamboo, so I edited some of the flecks of dust and freckles.

Google Reader Response 5

I follow a blog on WordPress called the Little London Observationist. As the blog suggests this blog is a spotlight on London and highlights the people, culture, places and happenings in London; it often feature the artwork that is shown in and around London by local artists. For example, earlier this month, they featured a post about Ben Wilson's Chwing Gum Art - very cool!

But more recently, a post featured photography from London street photographer Linda Wisdom. Her set is of everyday London; otherwise ordinary, she took advantage of black and white and the use of lighting to create intense moods in her photographs. I especially liked the photograph of the three men in their saris(?) ascending the stairs. The light on the center of the stair case and the glare on the railing seems to give an ethereal feeling to the photo. Adding to the dramatic lighting, is the movement we we on the white sari on the far right, that it's almost translucent adds to the other-worldliness.

You can read the post and the artist Q&A here

Ch. 4 Reading Response

Chapter four outlines the first instances of "signifiers" in photography that was in used in the criminal justice system - "photography as a means to train police in the classification and recognition of different facial features" p. 175. I believe this categorization of people using signifiers further propagated negative stereotypes and prejudice. For example, tattoos are thought and are still thought to be a signifier of criminality. These signifiers become too associated with one thing and thus are generalized into stereotypes.

I find it so amazing how conditioning works on the human psyche. In many of my psychology classes, we've talked about conditioning animals or even humans to associate one thing to another. This process is so powerful and easy, and it doesn't even matter that the conditioned item or feeling are unrelated or completely arbitrary. It just signifies how powerfully dangerous media can be in shaping our attitudes and feelings towards matters.

Do you think there should be a guide for ethics when dealing with people as photographic subjects?

Google Reading response 4

My kind of candid photo.

This picture is by one of my favorite fashion photographers of all time, Scott Schuman. His work has been featured in many fashion publications such as GQ, Vogue Italia, Vogue Paris, and he has commissioned ad campaigns for many major brands.

I absolutely adore his blog, The Sartorialist, which features mostly street photography of street fashions in New York, Italy, and Paris. He has also featured other fashions of other countries during his travels. Go check it out here!

WIP #1

I have always been able to be struck by the way nature can capture my attention. It is either by its grandness or delicate details that I am able to be entranced and inspired to capture it in the exact poignant exposure. My initial idea for this project was to just capture these stunning scenes as it has appeared in my vision.

The day photos I that I have taken are meant to be a light, airy, and refreshing – like refreshing lime and sparkling soda on a summer day. The details that I capture of nature in my pictures are meant to serve a narrative, something to tell the story about the tree, just like how wrinkles of an old lady tell viewer what she’s been through. The image of the little roots of the tree, partially submerged in the swamp, serve tell of the little miracles that happen in nature. The reflections on the surface of the water show how strong and still the tree stands even with the corrosive power of water.

The picture of the ominous clouds serves as an example of the grandness of nature. The pattern of the clouds allow for the bright sunlight to get through, creating a sense of hope despite the menacing scene. The forest scene was meant to serve a mysterious feeling, maybe causing viewer to question what had just happened at the scene.

Ch. 3 Reading Response

A bulk of the chapter talked about the history of the transformation of the popularity of photography, especially through the pioneering of Kodak cameras and photography equipment. The chapter reads: "promotional pictures had to have a universal appeal, so that people would say 'I want to take a picture like that...'" -- this is actually exactly what inspired my photography interest/ hobby in the first place. To add to that, with online photo-sharing platforms, it is much easier to get access to different media and photography types. In this way, "commercial and popular photography have exerted their influence on personal photographic styles, promoting ideas and aspirations as well as lifestyle. " (p.147) Certainly, with apps like Facebook (creating a culture of lifestyle) and instagram(creating a style of photographs), it is easy to join the culture in creating personal photos for the public.

The chapter mentioned that in "home photography", most collections of pictures were of time spent away from home. I think this is definitely true nowadays. I know that even in my family, if we go on a trip somewhere, we would always bring a camera. Most of our pictures are not of being in the home. Maybe it's more of a thing in Asia, but since where I'm from (Hong Kong) is such a tourist destination, everwhere I go - especially during the summer or December - tourists would take pictures of themselves everywhere, even if it's just outside some shop window.

With the internet and online photo-sharing advancements, as well as the camera being more accessible to everyone, how do you see a change in the culture of photography? Do you think that makes photography more or less of a "professional" art?
I only ask this because nowadays, where people say "I'm a photographer" I think it's less impressive than when people say that 30 or 50 years ago. Because 'photography' is someone a lot of people can 'pick up'

Google Reading Response #3

What amazing photographs! It was quite difficult for me to put a finger on what exactly drew me to Laura Steven's photographs. It was, and still is, the combination of narrative and lighting, I think.

In her series "Us Alone", she photographs real couples in their own homes to draw attention to the struggles that happen in relationships between men and women. I love how these photographs were done in a dark settings, but somehow, the faces of the people are lit; its as if strobe lights were used to spotlight the faces of the subjects. The style of photography is almost cinematographic.

In most pictures, the couple are physically there, sometimes even caressing each other, but their facial expression shows otherwise that they are not 'connected'.

Check out her series here.

Just a Lil Guidance

I stumbled across this really cool infographic while looking at photography-related websites. I thought it was pretty genius, and now it's a blown up make-shift poster in my room - it really helps me out! Hope it does for you too :)

PS. Check out Miguel's blog - url on the bottom of the infographic.

Google Reading Response #2

I love food blogs, because I enjoy looking at the photography of it, how by looking, you can somehow feel the crunchiness of the cucumber, the slipperiness of the skin of the fish. This is why I found photos of Aaron Graubart's "Dark Food" interesting. The set captures our food in an almost gruesome manner, but so matter-of-factly. I can see how his style in this set can be use in conjunction with a PETA or campaign for veganism.

While browsing, I've also stumbled upon Aaron Graubart's original website, where he has very impressive photographs of still life. I just love the simplicity and crispness of them!

To see the original post on LPV Magazine, click here
To see the artists' other works, including 'normal' food photography, click here.

Ch. 2 Reading Response

I have always been a fan of the National Geographic-type photography. It captures reality in such a light that the subject seems magical, mystical. I totally agree with a quote in the reading: "Documentary is thought to be art when it transcends its reference to the world" (p.73) To me, a great photograph is something that creates new meaning to the subject, provokes questions from the viewer, capturing their awe and interest.

More recently, I have been more exposed to "modern" art, and conceptual photography, where manipulation of photographs are done to convey certain meaning.I stumbled across this in my Facebook feed of a friend, who is strongly an LGBT activist, and I thought it was quite an interesting, if not powerful editorial. This, I think, really fits into 'creating' and capturing what did not naturally occur in real life, but was a set up to convey a certain message. In otherwords, photography in this sense was used as an "instrument of symbolic control" (p.83)

With the invention of the lightweight 35mm photography not only became more accessible to the community, but the photography of people became less obtrusive, and increased the range of camera angles.
I really identified with what Humphrey Spender said about his philosophy and apprehensiveness while doing photography: "my main anxiety, purpose, was to become invisible and to make my equipment invisible, which is one of the reasons I carried around an absolute minimum of equipment..." I love to photograph people, particularly candid ones where they do not know they are being watched or photographed. Thus, I always find it a challenge to photograph them without their knowing and not be a creep about it. Sometimes I really wish I could be invisible, and if not, at least I can have an 'invisible' camera mounted on my face so I can capture everything that I see discreetly (Am I a creep now? :P). Also, in general, I don't like to carry a lot of equipment because it's a hassel and it's heavy, but also, with taking pictures of people, I want quick and easy access to my get-up so I can capture these intricate moments quickly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRBARi09je8
--->fast forward to 00:30 ish. Do you think that is okay?
What are some of the boundaries that you set for yourself to achieve whatever sorts of photography you want?

Cannot something arranged or set up offer us an authentic insight into reality? (p.72)