Final images Project One

Image One: High Contrast



Composition: I tried to create high contrast, and i think it was more effective on some of the other shots, but i like the framing in this shot better. The balance isn't symmetrical,  but the subject is pretty much in the center.
Concept: This picture was meant to convey some sort of quality of nostalgia as well as drama and a hidden-ness. The idea of the mask is usually thought of as hiding something, so there could be an element of mystery in this.
Method: I took a black board and curved it between the wall and the floor, under my desk so there would be less light coming in. I then used a bright desk light shining on one side to promote highlights and contrast.
Motivations: I wanted to use the mask really badly for this assignment because I liked how it looked and the ideas it promoted. I wanted the high contrast to play on those ideas to create a sense of mystery.
Context: This photo is really not about larger issues. To me, it's meant to be a personal reflection, but the viewer could certainly take something deeper from it if they wanted to.


POST-CRIT REVIEW:
 Interpretation: The class thought the image was about drama and theater, because of the symbolism of the mask.
Evaluation: The class liked the amount of detail and contrast in the image.
Extension: The class thought it would look better, more unified, if the ribbon was more resolved, perhaps if it weren't leading off the page and more around the mask. 

Image Two: Slow Shutter Speed

Composition: I like the way that the image is separated unevenly with the scarf and the background. Since the background is so out-of-focus, it makes the viewer focus on the cloth, but since that isn't really in focus either, it makes it interesting.
Concept: I like the idea that this image evokes a sense of fleeting-ness, and a contrast between man-made and nature.
Method: I draped a scarf on a tree branch and waited for the wind to come and move it. The lighting is natural, and nothing is really in focus, which i think is interesting and nice.
Motivations: I thought it would look pretty sweet to do this, with the wind blowing the scarf. I like the way the background becomes a bunch of circles as well. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I think that it works somehow.
Context: I think this image talks about the relationship between humans and nature, which has definite social implications.

POST-CRIT REVIEW:
Interpretation: The class liked the light circles in the background, and the sense of emotion the image gave off.
Evaluation: The class thought there could have been more clarity and contrast.
Extension: Maybe to do some more with at least one place of focus in them.

Image Three: Angles

Composition:  I wanted the point of view to be very strange,  something that people aren't used to. Some of the other shots are more extreme, but i liked the focus on this one. It's almost confusing how the top is out of focus, and the bottom is in focus.
Concept: I tried to create an image with an unrealistic point-of-view. I also made the focus on the bottom lettering, which i think creates an uncomfortable feeling with the viewer, who sees the top at first but has to look down to find the focus.
Method: I used a white board as the background and had a light shining directly on the tower. I took the image from above the tower so that it would be almost distorted.
Motivation: I like to travel a lot, and many of my images have to do with things that remind my of travel, and the experiences i've had or would like to have in the future. To me, this image brings out an emotion of longing and excitement, the idea of traveling to see the leaning tower of Pisa.
Context: I think that it could have a bit to do with the representation of historical things. It could also become a commentary on the differences between the actual thing and a cheap reproduction.

POST-CRIT REVIEW:
Interpretation:The class didn't really find it too interesting, there is not much of a deeper meaning.
Evaluation:The angle on the first one is a lot nicer than the second.
Extension: The grey-tones could be fixed so that there was more contrast.

Image Four: Encounter/ Slow Shutterspeed

Composition: I tried to create movement with the placement of the hands, with one leading to another.
Concept: The idea of reaching for something, and encountering something for an instant. I wanted to look like the fingers were just brushing each other for a moment.
Method: Slow shutter speed on a timer. I set it, put my hands in place, and waited. When it went off I moved my right hand into the picture and left my left hand where it was.  I'm unhappy with the extra junk in the photo and I don't know where it came from. Hopefully I can learn how to delete it in photoshop.
Motivation: I like the imagery of hands, and I think the idea of a chance meeting, or a brief encounter for a single moment can be provoking.
Context: The idea of relationships between people is a huge area of interest. I think that a lot of photographers like to focus on this idea.

POST-CRIT REVIEW:
Evaluation: The flecks on the image should be edited out, and the contrast improved with less grey tones.
Extenstion: Suggestion to try and make a series of images with this, and to maybe have at least one hand in focus, like the other hand was moving to meet it, not both moving together.
Interpretation: The class liked the concept and the way it tried to capture a moment.

Prompts

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

 I agree with this quote. I think it's hard enough to look past appearances in person, let own from a photograph. A picture captures the appearance of something, but it is hard to capture the inner qualities of someone. Some photographs are able to do this, but the ones I take are usually shallow moments frozen in time.

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

 

I think that people are capable of telling stories in many ways. Whether with pictures, in words, or in other ways. I don't think that people who make stories with photographs are incapable of creating them with words either. Sometimes images are perfect for story-telling, because they capture moments along the way of a story. For example, a photo series of someone sneaking up on a clueless victim with a bucket of water. The photographer can capture the set-up, the action, and the reaction in segments that show the viewer exactly what was going on. 

A situation in which words are necessary to reveal the story is one where the action is purely internal. A war of thoughts is certainly more difficult to capture on film than a physical scene, although some photographers are very good at capturing emotions in portraits.

One positive side of a world without photographs would probably be that it would have the effect of making people pay more attention to things they experience. I can remember many times going to some beautiful place, and spending more time concentrating on taking a good picture than actually seeing where I was and taking it in.
Without photos, the world would be very different in many negative ways as well, and it is hard to imagine what it would be like without picturing a society that was really far behind in technological advancements. I have to picture in my head different time periods or third-world countries to try to understand it. Living without photos just makes me think of a harder way of life.

A photograph, to me, is just a way to capture a moment, person, or place in order to use it for reference later. It also has to capture it by way of light exposing something.

Ralph Steiner 'Ham and Eggs' 

Ralph Steiner 'Ham and Eggs' Re-done:

I tried to make it similar, but not too similar to Ralph Steiner's. I focused on food, and have the outlying things be ingredients to the inside thing. The first couple of shots I tried to make more formal, and tried to get more shadow on the chocolate chips, but I didn't end up liking the way it turned out.
I don't think it has the same commercial quality that Ralph Steiner's did either. Overall, I don't think it's very interesting of a picture.