what is going on in nyc in contemporary photography

Titles!

2011-05-07T14:54:00.007-04:00

I want a genius title like "Even Dwarves Started Small." How does one even come up with that? Something so wrong, that it is right. But that is too much to ask for. I think it just happens. Finding out how Herzog thought of that title would be a good story to hear.

Possible Titles:

-Hook 'Em, Sink 'Em or Hook 'Em & Sink 'Em

-Light on Surface

-Kino-Glaz/Cine-Eye/Kino-Pravda (going to Dziga Vertov's view of the eye and comparison to len which is the mechanical eye "that the camera is an instrument, much like the human eye, that is best used to explore the actual happenings of real life" but this idea is really more interesting to me than relative to my actual images/book)
-Suspended Time or Suspended in Time
-Or adding up the amount of time i roughly took them at and make that the title of the total seconds it took to compose all of these pictures (reminiscent of a like video or a photographer or one stephan told us about who said something like add up the amount of time and the photographer) but this seems played out.

I noticed that all the great documentary photo books are one word titles (not counting the 'the'): The Europeans, The Animals, The Americans. That one title thing seems too played out and too sophisticated for me at this point in time. These all don't feel right so far. though.

But while in here late one night with Eddy and Liz i was kidding around and i just blurted out "I've got some contemporary issues" and then we were like no "we've got contemporary issues" and possibly our blog book title, but I think We've Got Contemporary Issues will be my title. I like the double meaning. Although, it is more a joke to our class, than it will be to an outsider. That's OK though because the normal meaning will make sense, too.

Stephan also suggested just making a Tokyo Black and White book and just cutting out the other stuff. I was thinking like NYC and Japan (just because i like some of the spreads, especially the one of the Japanese hump and then the guy bending over on canal) but that only happens beautifully in a few spreads, so that is the reason why it probably seems majority Tokyo, too.

I will probably end up just doing Tokyo stuff. Last minute opinions on this or the title?

To Apollonia ...

2011-05-03T08:29:00.001-04:00

It’s funny that you say that because I feel exactly the same. I look at your work and Eddy’s and almost always my mouth would drop and I’d say “WOW ... ‘sigh’, this is great work - I can’t compete .. mine looks so amateurish or trying hard.” But I think that’s what happens when we get caught up with opinions and criticism (I am guilty of that). We look at other works and try to compare it to ours. A friend of mine told me, he doesn’t look at photo books because his work tend to follow it, especially if he likes the artists. I know they are there for guidance and inspirations but there are times, I also can’t help but admire it to the point that I tend to mimic their work.

I thought I was the only one feeling this way - I also do not feel excited about my work anymore. I have been sick for the past couple of days because I feel this enormous stress on my shoulder. I haven’t look at my photos for a week because I want to forget it and to be able to look at it with a fresh new set of eyes and “see what I see.”

I guess, this is a good thing, it only means that we take this seriously. We want it to mean something - not just another pretty book.

Professor, sorry I am missing class today - I am still sick.

PS: Thanks Apollonia - your title comments makes a lot of sense. I will consider ‘reverie’ and ‘atramentaceous’ - though I thought the latter is a little too harsh and people wouldn’t know what that word means :-) - but that could be the catch.. Aha!

Thoughts 2

2011-05-03T01:15:00.010-04:00

The title/image on the cover is what draws the viewer in, so it's really important. I just don't know what to do and I haven't come across any that seem right. I think of one throw it around and then quickly toss it aside for it's stupidity. If iI can't get the people to like the cover/title then they won't take a look at it's contents. I gotta hook 'em before I can sink 'em...See then I think "Hook 'Em, Sink 'Em" But then think too cheesey. Thoughts? Also have been listening to random songs for inspiration, but no luck really.

I am just at the point now because it's crunch time where I am like not even excited about my work anymore really. I look at everyone else's and I start to think "oh yeah, so cool/creative and organized/successful" and then I look at mine and it's the opposite. Just wondering if what I am doing in bringing something new to the table because it has been done before and done well by so many people. Just starting to doubt my originality. I am working really hard and maybe too much and starting to get sick of it. I am going to take a break for a but and come back with a new pair of eyes.

Also something to consider is if I should include a quotation, dedication, or a short introduction to what this book is. I ideally would just like it to be the photographs and for them to be self-explanatory, but maybe a little background is necessary. I was thinking about maybe putting it in the back if I put it at all, but I can't really take myself seriously enough to do this. I feel slightly lame writing about myself or how this came about, but it might add to it. I am still undecided. It can always be added in.

I also don't think I want to put my name on the cover. I just want it inside of it in the title page. Something Anibal also brought up when I asked him to just look at it is that I started with a double page spread. He told me that most photo books start with the one photograph on the right and a blank on the left to introduce us to it, but I liked opening with a double page spread because I think my book works the most because of the double page spreads and those were definitely the most important to me, than the overall group of photographs. It's made me think that maybe I should start and end with just one, but I am unsure of what to choose.

Also, do I start with the most ridiculous photographs or ease the viewer into them and get progressively ridiculous? Because I have both photographs that are bizarre, but also double page spreads that make a comment about our society and compare them. I am sad to take out the landscapes/still lives, but Stephan brought up a valid point in that they don't have issues. Even some good photographs don't make the cut because they don't go with the theme sadly, which I'm sure we have all come to terms with.

What I've found most difficult is going about this edit because I don't know if I should just make a large edit of photographs that go along with the theme, even if it's not the greatest photograph, or if I pick the best photographs, work with those, and then go back and look to see and find more if I need them. The problem with the first is that I have a lot of photos and just include ones even if they aren't that good and the problem with the second is that the best ones sometimes don't fit and don't work together, so then I have to go back and find more. I am probably going to try the latter approach because I am indecisive and too much at one time is, well, too much at one time for me to handle.

Happy Shiny Family

2011-05-03T00:47:00.002-04:00

So when we were talking in crit about how my book feels almost like it takes place under one roof. I honestly don't see it, but I realize thats because I know that my roommate, my parents, and my boyfriend definitely don't all live together. Also I think the fact that almost everyone is shot in a different bathroom just gives away that they are not a family. I realize that no one was saying that its exactly like they are related but more of just the general feeling that is conveyed about it. Which brings up the question, should I add the pictures of my friend zak? Those are the first pictures I took for my project (I don't have the scans on my computer or I would post them) of the sort of angsty looking teenage boy. I wanted to include them because they are some of my favorites in regards to the space. I feel like when I was using the 6x9 initially I was paying a lot more attention to the framing of my photos and more focused on the composition than the subject. Maybe they don't fit know though, but I feel like my book needs more variety. Basically I cannot decide if I should include them. On one hand they would add more diversity to my book which too me seems limited in scope. On the other hand the shooting style is not perfectly consistent and it might detract from the idea of them being one happy little family.

Wonder Thrills

2011-05-02T20:37:00.003-04:00

So I am still struggling with this whole titling my book thing. I really don't want it to sound dumb (obviously) or too cliche. And I am just really blanking on ideas. I am not sure if I even really want a title. I am thinking at this point that I might just make one of the photos that has a sign in it the cover and basically making whatever the text of that sign is the cover.

Right now on my booksmart thing on my laptop I have this as the cover, as a wrap around:

So maybe it will just be called "Wonder Thrills" -- or this will just be the cover and I won't really have a title.

I just like that the arrow would be pointing into the book and whatnot. I have another photo of this (not easily accessible at the moment) where the sign is lit up -- so that could be another option, but I kind of like how this isn't so flashy and in your face.

So yeah, that's where I'm at right now. Let me know if you have any better ideas for a title for me, I'd love to here some of your ideas!

I made a little something about photography and stuff

2011-05-02T03:49:00.004-04:00

Darling classmates,

I made a little video.

See here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udW3jND3xlY

music is a shout-out to our dear, dear Prof.

and how do we feel about this title, eh?

-Ed

Book edit is on Tuesday, The show is on Thursday

2011-05-01T16:54:00.002-04:00

...and I'm still hung up on names! I had to move the past two days so I'm a little behind... And from what I saw a few of you have some pretty kickass and nearly complete books! Envious!

my list thusfar:

These Happy Golden Years

Fishnets, Farmers, Filters

Family & Flesh & Film. or... Family Fishnets Farmers Filters. Some combination?

Farmers & Fags & Filters

After The Glitter Fades. Glitter Never Fades. God Save the Glitter?

Family Memories Glittering in the Whiskey Light

I'm also adding a quick film. Cause obviously I'm a glutton for pain.

Hope you all had a glorious weekend.

Possible Titles

2011-04-28T00:04:00.002-04:00

Ok, I finally came up with some tentative titles. Some of them are too cheesy and corny. My favorites are 'Soulbound' and 'faceless face'

thoughts anyone? please

TITLES:

My Favorite Place to be

You Are Who You Are When No One Is Looking

You Are Here, Meanwhile ....

Reverie

Atramentous (synonym of 'Black')

Faceless Face

Soulbound

Just a comment I guess...

2011-04-27T04:24:00.000-04:00

I kind of fell in love with the title Bedtime in Suburbia: A Drama in Three Acts, but
maybe tweak as 'Suburban Bedtime: On 3 acts' think about it just a friendly suggestion
literally being on something means doing something " what are you doing" or "what are you on"!
Three has a meaning 3 relates to a lot of things 3 is meaningful, yet 3 is really odd, but i like odd... jeez I'm odd, but never a foul ball there's a big difference..

A drama in suburbia doesn't fit there's no drama in suburbia maybe minor affairs as in okay a mid level schmo cheats on his wife or some banker lies oh his tax forms... To title Suburbia it does seem rather comedic it reminds of 90's Tom Hanks something in the likes of Turner & Hooch come on...

Not to judge so, I'm not judging the burbs I actually love the suburbs, but not metro area ny or jersey suburbs I'm more down the line of Carolina, Wellington, FL maybe Coral Gables. I haven't been up north unfamiliar with the New England territories I hear beautiful winters a snowboarders heaven?
However, you're on with your titles and I like that... Also nice presentation and the Frida Kahlo doll my favorite being the doll and those beads hanging from the wall reminds me of 'brujeria' white magic witchcraft bone chilling black magic women love spells pins and needles on a New Orleans voodoo rag-doll... Nostalgic maybe? Horrifying perhaps...

Okay enough with that I do have a slight confession to make... maybe my title is sort of a cliche maybe? okay it has a demanding tone my work blah my world blah my photography blah... Cliche however, cliche to my knowledge is cherry red lipstick stains on a bar napkin enclosed with a kiss " I had a great night" Cookie that's a cliche... But I like my title I also do understand I am no film noir genius Kinski (by the way great documentary shown in class a few weeks back I enjoyed it) actually what is my work I don't know maybe I was using my book title as a marketing tool for tourist to buy my book hey never know... I wouldn't mind summer sun and music and pitch my book in a street corner instead of sabrets hot dogs... I'll drop an investment hopefully make a flip... A dream huh at least I have soul with the expression of " slap me some skin soul brother" That quote right there is a part of My World's rhetoric so I hope one could at least understand where was I going with my book title... I am not begging for clemency nor I seek approval of yes you're a great photographer I'm just a student learning photography and I wouldn't mind learning forever we're students of life we learn everyday... Besides i just wanna grab everyone's attention it's pride as well hey it's better to be pride full as oppose to not knowing you're self worth... Maybe I am a man of strong words or emotions, yet i did noticed a yellow silk during winter for a tulip of the same hue to appear in April... It's just a flow expression wise just flow on...

Okay the faith and believe or belief caption Was it really hallmark'ish? the segment I had I seriously felt their energy when I photographed those moments of prayer...
I actually was moved by it a feeling unfelt before, since my adapting to society I haven't celebrated any holidays I've been stagnant from society actually a society before mid-night so, give me credit... I'm a night owl my favorite painting Edward Hopper Nighthawks I excel after midnight!!! I am a part of those shadow people those after dark bohemians I am one of those degraded version of a human being I seriously have to wear my club masters or way farers during the day... I don't wear sunglasses to look COOL... or to make a fashion statement I do however wear them to disguise my pain... Well enough of that...

Overall I really didn't mean to act all snobby with my title or unfinished book I did really sort of rushed it's more like I was using future's time clock for my enjoyment of early May fun the summer pre game; we all know that feeling, whereas, It's been gorgeous outside and I've noticed we all have been looking pretty good...

P.S do excuse many many many grammatical errors and misspellings I am plucking on my iPad (snow white) keyboard...

Working Title

2011-04-26T17:05:00.001-04:00

Here is a list if possible book titles:

The Electric Nightlight

Everyday Nightlife

Happy Shiny Family (clearly the best)

Vampires

The Suburban Nightlight: Bedtime Routines in Eastern Standard Time

Routine Suburban Nightlife

Everyday Suburban Nighttime

P.M. Eastern Standard Time

11:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time (average the times of bedtime)

Bedtime in Suburbia: A Drama in Three Acts

Nightlight in Suburbia: Bedtime Routines

Suburban Bedtime Routines: A Comedy in Three Acts

so i am sort of found of the ones in bold. the three acts one kind of corresponds with an idea i had about splitting up the book into three sections, things in the bathroom like teeth brushing, things that occur in the bed/bedroom before actually sleeping, then the final act being the actually sleeping part.

so is that a terrible idea? how do you feel about it? do you think it makes sense to split my book into sections. are these titles foolish?

Asakusa Portraits by Hiroh Kikai

2011-04-26T16:59:00.009-04:00

Hiroh Kikai's Asakusa Portraits is a book of, well, portraits taken in Asakusa, a district of northeast Tokyo. It's a place that has rich history and "feel stranded in time." It used to be known as a "place where eccentricity, indulgence, and stubborn individuality could flourish," but is now known as "a kind of urban backwater lying well outside the itinerary of foreign tourists." It used to also be Tokyo's main pleasure quarters--and all kind of pleasures of all kind, if you know what I am saying.

Hiroh Kikai began this extended street portrait series after graduating with a degree in philosophy in 1973 until this 2008 ICP/Steidl publication (Stephan's probably seen this book and "salivated"). Kikai developed his photographic approach to this series or "game rules" that has remained virtually unaltered to the present." He picks the people he wants in the busy crowd, excluding those wearing designer clothing because it "would identify too closely with specific moment in time." He uses a medium format Hasselblad with black and white film to captures the subjects personality and character.

Accompanying each photograph is a caption that seems out there and sometimes not evident from the photograph--personal traits or events that shaped their life story--which Hiroh Kikai gets from the few lines he jots down after every brief encounter. He says he wants his photographs to create a 'two-way conversation between the viewer and the picture.'

After the introduction to how this project began, we get a conversation that Hiroh Kikai had with Noriko Fuku. They are questions and answers about his background, Asakusa Portraits, and the fact that he is not really well recognized or received in Japan compared to his contemporaries and among his contemporaries. He has never has a solo exhibition in a Japanese museum. This part of the book, which is ten pages long, is really interesting because I've never seen it in another photo book. It's a personal approach to finding out more about the photographer, himself. It isn't as direct. It's not as direct either.

The photographs themselves are so stunning. They are impeccably printed. The tonal range is perfect. They are always open prints, which is what I like the most. The contrast isn't so in your face, but the darks and blacks are their. It's subtle. This is my cup of tea. I always wanted to try medium format and shoot, just to a get a feel for it, but haven't really been able to yet. I tried once but I didn't want to lug around my 35mm with me too to meter, so it never happened.

They are quite a collection of photographs--from rather plain-looking to the absolutely ridiculous. The plain ones often have the best captions, as well. Although I could not deduce whatever the caption says for the most part in the photograph, I am happy they were included. A great example is page 115. The man photographed is making a strange face, has interesting glasses, and is basically covered head to toe. This would be a pretty average portrait, however, the caption quotes something the man said to Kikai. It says, 'Today the cold has even reached my dentures.' This is a great line and adds more because he is puckering up and them I understand why the scarf rapped around his head like a woman. The caption works in conjunction with the photograph.

If and when I make a book of the 4x5 project I did (if not for me then for that sweet couple who were gracious enough to let me in their home and make those photographs), I would definitely use this approach. Some of the things he told me were just too good and made the experience I had with him even better. They definitely add even more to the photographs.

What's amazing is that Hiroh Kikai ran into the same people years later and photographed them again. It makes for an interesting comparison. An example of this is a man holding a dog Kikai photographed in 1986. He photographed the same man twenty-one years later in 2007 holding a different dog.

That being said, there are ones where the caption is far better than the photograph itself and could have been done without if the caption wasn't interesting. The caption says, "An only child who's the daughter her father always wanted." The photograph is OK, but a "filler" and not "killer" and one of the weaker ones out of the group.

The photograph beside it on page 231 is one of my favorites both for its caption and the photograph, itself. I can see some type of pain in the face he is making and the caption makes us understand why. It says, "A man who burst into tears on hearing my northeastern dialect, saying it reminded him of a late friend." It's a good example of the them working together. I also like it because I feel like I was there with him, too and am sharing in some of the moments Hiroh Kikai with all of these people.

This makes me then go on to look at the page spreads and I wonder sometimes why he chose the two portraits to be on the same page because I don't understand the connection. The double page spread on page 230 and 231 doesn't really make sense. I question if they were taken into consideration or was the goal to have them all work in the larger group. An awesome spread is on page 64 and 65. Both of the men's eyes are slightly shut. The one on the left because there is something wrong with his right eye, but the man on the right looks like he was squinting. I begin to compare to two because of this after looking at each of them.

These make me want to try to do something like this,too. This is mostly because of the different people I would get to meet and the little things I get to learn about them. However, I don't think this would have the same outcome in New York. I would probably hear far more profanities, than stories--which could be interesting to document as well, but a different project. There are some gems in here like page 43. The man is wearing old woolen long johns and his fly is open from sitting. The face is making adds to the comedy of this photograph. The spread is great, too. The photograph on page 42 is of a boy wearing a mask and there are round holes for his eyes and mouth and I see the comparison and the funny pairing.

Other great ones to check out are pages 50, 55, 75, 90, 136 155, 159, 187, and 227.

Title/Layout Issues

2011-04-26T05:55:00.009-04:00

Another Issue I have been having lately (aside from the time problem, which we are all definitely feeling) is figuring out how I should do the layout of this book. For most of you guys (not all), you project has sometime of theme or commonality linking them that is evident. I feel like the projects are definite and around one thing that it's easy to figure out a title, or I should say easier in my opinion. But with mine, and some others, I don't really have an obvious this like Coney Island or People before and in bed, so I feel like one step behind because I like see a commonality somewhat with them, but it's so much more abstract that I don't even know.

The most difficult thing right now is just figuring out how to make sense of these three different, yet similar places. Stuff is from Rome, NYC, and Tokyo and like I just don't know how to go about it layout wise, as well. Like should I just put image next to image that match, no matter what location it was taken at, or should I separate them into three different sections, to maybe emphasize and let the viewer see the similarities I see too. For example, this picture was taken in NYC in the second critique I had with him leaning over "looking" at like stuff A.K.A. garbage on the side of the street on Canal and I have a picture of another guy who a hunchback looking at stuff in a part of Tokyo that has a lot of stuff on the sidewalk that they are trying to sell that vendors put out morning and pack up every night. The hump in his back is the same shape of this guy bending over, too.

I apologize because Blogspot is being quite annoying at this point in time because it is not letting me upload anything to this site. I tried multiple times, I will try to add these in later. But back to my point... I was wondering if these should be maybe be put side by side or like mixed in with the bunch if i am trying to be a little more coy with the viewer or should it be separated totally by city and then let the viewer make the connection possibly? Creativity is so awesome, but sucks at the same time. It's the same problem I have with writing poetry and the same thrill, too. You want to be witty or clever is the lines and show how you can string them together using figurative language, i.e. alliteration rhythm, rhyme, and still have meaning. But then you also don't want to be, too much of that, because it's either and overkill and too obvious, or it's not at all and the person doesn't make the connections that the person who created sees. But that's why I like it, we will never REALLY know, we can only speculate. The trouble is finding the happy medium of the two right now. I don't even know I am doing. So, in a round about way, the title is a problem too because I don't know how to put it in words right now. I don't even know what I am doing anymore.

I was also thinking about layout wise especially how the pictures will appear. In our Saturday meeting, Ro said that when she looks at photo books, she tends to look at the one on the right the most because as you turn the page the right one in the one you see first and that my photos are strong enough to stand on its own so she was saying do it the Robert Frank way and just have one on the right and then a blank on the left for each photograph. However, I was showing Joe some of my selects on Blurb and he was saying that I should do the two page thing more and not just the one on the right. I can't remember why he said it, but I remember agreeing with him, too.

So, lots of questions and statements, I know, but any thoughts for a fellow drowning classmate?

I think my project is done!!!

2011-04-26T01:02:00.001-04:00

This book project really did take a hold of me WOW I started working on my book Thursday night all the way until today. This is not a cake walk this book was really tough, however, I am confident in my choosing and captioning of for the book “My Work, My World, & My Photography.

So, YES I think I am finished with my book… Hopefully everyone will enjoy it and understand that these photos were all taken within the span of last semester and currently this semester… I would truly hope everyone could vision, feel, and even understand what was I getting at by the segments and captioning of this book. If not then thank you for at least trying.

However, I really feel its done I really don’t have any more photos to add and I am sure that most or some will say delete a few, but I can’t… I need to add everyone I have photograph over the last year or so. I don't want to create, make, or even produce mafioso looking photographs especially with my dear friend Martino St.Bello and his crew of old timers or I hate to exploit my childhood friend Quincy Holiday and his 7 bags a day heroin addiction, yet I did ask with his permission if I could submit a few of his photo’s for my slipping into darkness segment. I just want people to understand life is no cake walk there’s pain, struggles, and of course JOY…

These characters, subjects, friends, and family that I have photograph are people just like you and I, and without any judgments on any of them I hereby am please to present their story.

Digital Manipulation

2011-04-25T14:31:00.004-04:00

A question I have been grappling with ever since I started shooting with film is: to what level should I digitally manipulate photographs I took originally on film?

Until recently, my edits of negative scans have only been corrective, editting levels, exposure, contrast and other basic fixes. However, my friend at the School of Visual Arts recently started editing a few of my photographs, completely changing them digitally. I was very surprised with the results.

Fueled by Kevin's edits, I have started to explore more dramatically affecting my film through digital means, and I'm not sure if its something I'll ever do besides for my own fun, but a few of my results I've liked quite a bit. Here's one I did with a couple shots I took on color film with my SLR:

So while I'm not sure if this has any true relevance with the class, I think it will perhaps change how I think about editing my photographs.

The Punctuation of Photobooks

2011-04-25T12:58:00.003-04:00

I recently read an article called "The Punctuation of Photography" which described the relation of punctuation in literature books to the conscious organization of photographs and other items within a photobook.

The article initially discusses Michael Schmelling's book Atlanta, a book I first encountered while reading about the history of hip hop in Atlanta. The article notes the careful use of non-photographs like setlists and fliers, as well as a dizzying array of subjects and styles utilizing black and white, color, 35mm and medium format photographs.
While the article goes on to discuss other books, I think that the analysis of Atlanta is what is relevant to me. Prior to this article I had been very apprehensive at including non-photographs into my photobook, including text besides an introductory statement, but now I am reconsidering which elements I will include. As Melanie McWhorter showed, allowing for blank space, nonphotographs and text to mix into a photobook can let it flow in a way that better reflects the point of the photos.

The weather is not my friend...

2011-04-23T23:47:00.003-04:00

Quick update on my life/progress:

SO this is the second time since I decided to focus on Coney Island that the rain has thwarted my plans to shoot on a particular day.

I am home on Long Island for the weekend and so I asked my mama if she would want to go spend the day on Coney Island with me while I took some photos. Super excited -- would've gotten to hang out with my mom while being productive.

Unfortunately, the world hates me. Besides being cold and windy, it also POURED the entire day, completely ruining my plan.

Stephan would tell me that I should've bought a water-proof disposable camera and gone anyway. I would have -- however, I also really wanted to spend some time with my mother considering I rarely see her and I really came home this weekend to be with my family. (Not to mention that I am leaving at the end of June to go to Europe until December so every minute with my family now counts.)

I am slightly freaking out now trying to figure out when I will be able to go shoot again. I think the next plausible time would be Friday which seems like so far. I still haven't had a chance to develop my photos from the last time I went to Coney so I really don't know how much more material I need yet.

Also, does anyone have any ideas for me for a title? I am struggling!

Self Portraits

2011-04-22T21:24:00.003-04:00

Something that I have been working on semi-independently from my work expressly on the book has been self-portraiture. Until recently (the past year or so) I had been relatively uninterested in taking self-portraits. However, since I started to take them with a regularity, I have really begun to understand why they're such a staple of all artforms.

Looking through the ones that I have taken, it allows for an interesting level of introspection and reflection, while giving an avenue to compose whatever image I want to make.

In the past few weeks, as I started to close the work that I was doing for the books, I began to take self-portraits with even more regularity. I'm apprehensive to include them in my book for this class because I don't think they fit with the overall aesthetic, but I've been wondering whether I want to start working towards some sort of collection or book. Or would that be too self-indulgent? Thoughts?

Confusion & Isolation

2011-04-22T21:19:00.004-04:00

Eddy, I hope I'm not too late to help with your naming, but I think "Confusion & Isolation" sounds a lot like a Joy Division greatest hits name, but not in a bad way. I think it certainly represents how I've interpreted what I've seen of your work. And in terms of using film and digital. I think that doing all-film would be easier, but possibly using the two-part title and the two different styles of film and digital to break your book into two sections would be an interesting approach.

When I think of isolation, your set up portraits come to mind, specifically the one of Michael, and confusion seems apt in regards to the scenes of large groups of people which if I remember correctly are digital, so that would be one approach to take in my opinion.

Joe Skilton's Modern Geometry

2011-04-22T18:54:00.003-04:00

In preparing to sequence photographs in my book, I’ve been researching books featuring some of my favorite photographers. Through looking into the works of some of my favorites, I found many of them collected in a book put together by Joe Skilton called Modern Geometry.

The book was his dissertation piece, and a collection of photographs by his friends that embody to them a friendly feeling. The movement of the book and organization of the images, the way that the movements from each picture work together to make a fluid page is astounding. The way that Skilton has curated this book has helped me to understand less orthodox ways to combine facing pages, as well as how to execute obvious juxtapositions.

I think a lot of what Skilton does in this book would be beneficial to most of us, and might even help you with some of your problems in sequencing, Rowena. Scans of the entire book are on his cargo collective.

Sorry for my silence

2011-04-22T18:35:00.003-04:00

Hello all,

Sorry for my quietness lately, I've had a couple of personal issues which culminated with me needing to go home on short notice. However, I am now back and ready to finish things up. I have a few posts to make, but I wanted to start with the current draft of my artistic statement/introduction for my book:

For the time that I worked on this book I have known the way that I wanted to photograph, but I did not know why what I was photographing was important to me. I understood the mood, feeling and impression that I wanted my photographs to impart, but I couldn’t figure how the aesthetic I was cultivating truly represented any of myself.

But I realized that the photographs that I have taken, the photographs that I try to take are representations of how I viewed the world as a teenager. They were the blurry-eyed depictions of memories from being fifteen, sixteen and seventeen. Photographs taken from my mind’s eye as I fell in love for the first time and snuck out from my parent’s house for the first time: a memorial to the naivety of youth.

They remind me of all the rolls of film I lost when I first wanted to learn to use a camera, and I was too proud to ask anyone to teach me and too broke to afford anything more than a $2 plastic 35mm from Goodwill. All of those rolls were taken at shows of pop punk that most of my friends from then wouldn’t be caught dead listening to now. But I still wear my Saves the Day t-shirts, and I wrote this entire thing with The Party Scene by All Time Low on repeat. I don’t think a single frame taken with that camera ever turned out, but that wasn’t the point at the time.

Every photograph in this book is a representation of the emotions I felt when I felt them for the first time. Heartbreak, being truly confused, conviction, hate, amazement, obsession. The sensation of sneaking into the best concert of my life. The first time I drove across state lines all night with no purpose. The first time I tagged a wall. The first time I stole something. These photographs all represent exploration, unfiltered interest and total ignorance. They represent a mobility I now envy, and an energy that I can no longer fathom.

Two or three years older, these photographs have allowed me to relive my youth prematurely. I’m still learning, and this book was made while trying to move into my first true home away from home, and while foaming at the mouth at buying my first medium format camera. However, on matters of life I might be a quick learner; or else I’m easily jaded, because I can still remember when I was seventeen I experienced nostalgia for the first time, in my grandmother’s kitchen standing under the night light that has been on every night since 1952. I suddenly remembered and missed when I was younger and my grandmother still lived on both floors of her house, and she had her old wooden television with the warped color that sat in front of the wood panel walls. I can remember still noting that missing this past was something different than anything I had experienced before and I turned and said to my grandmother, “I think I just felt nostalgia.” She laughed and craned her head up to look at me and said “you have a lot of life left, kid.”

The photographs remind me of how I saw the objects in life I would now pause and take a picture of before I had ever even loaded a roll of film myself. Printing these photographs again and again has given me the chance to unintentionally resolve my lingering questions of youth. So as much as this book is about youth, it is also a bit of a sham. My younger years celebrated before they’re at all over. Or maybe I have it all twisted and it’s like my brother said when I was fifteen and he told me “we peak at twenty, I’m past mine. You better not blow it.”

I have a lot to say about everyone's work and I look forward to seeing everyone Tuesday.

For once taking advice from my elder

2011-04-21T13:57:00.002-04:00

Dear, Dear Professor. You really like "Confusion & Isolation" as a show/book title? Does it sound too much like a Joy Division song?

What do you all think. I have, like, a day to decide since I'm making cards this weekend!

Ah!

"Travel"

2011-04-19T10:08:00.003-04:00

I wrote this post on my way back from meeting with a few of the classmates that saturday, so it's a little old but this is what I was thinking: Travel to me means getting from one place to another. The subway, the ramvan, my feet are all common means of travel for me. I shortly considered trying to add in those aspects but I realized that driving was a kind of travel that was somehow more special to me. As I have said, it's a big 'social' activity when I'm home and was all throughout high school for me. So I think thats why I decided it meant enough to me to document it. After looking at my pictures with the help of my classmates, I think the pictures would read best as a story, more a novel of a trip than a particular statement of a type of area. I guess it doesn’t really matter if it is upstate new york or Vermont or Kansas, just that it’s somewhere out the window, and I think that being in a car always gave me that sense that, while I’m still looking at mostly the same stuff that I have for my whole life, it’s also been a possibility of just going anywhere, that one day if we wanted to we could just not go back and watch the landscape change as we made off to a new place. I guess we all have that in one aspect of our lives, driving was just the way most accessible to me growing up. All that being said, Apollonia made a great suggestion the day we met up that really tied all of these things together. She suggested that I start with the picture from the back seat that has the “freedom” bridge through the windshield. Not only does the photo clarify the setting, it also brings this sense of openness and opportunity through seeing the world out the window, the cure of the road into the distance, and of course the word ‘freedom’ being spray painted on the bridge doesn’t hurt. I guess from looking at my work that day I realized that traveling and road trips don’t have to just be about boredom or going somewhere but also represents the freedom and fun that come along with it.

Response to the new posts I read!

2011-04-19T04:07:00.002-04:00

Response to the new posts I read!

Sorry folks! BUSY BUSY weekend… attended a wedding, as a best man and the wedding photographer YAY… However, lets say it was a multi tasking weekend and I am not the one getting married… try entertaining guest, try dancing salsa at Cuba Libre then fist pump at Harrah’s Pool Party after dark, try booking a room that the cost is legitimately fair for a weekend rate, and with my charm and grace I get upgraded to a platinum suite at Harrah’s hey I’m a tier 7 player… Also, try looking immaculate and not so COOOOOL especially when an old flame is the bride’s maid…

On the second note, I just read the new postings and I admit WOW , but I will cut straight to the chase…

Rowena you’re a great photographer I’m a fan you’re work is solid no need to over do what you are trying to do… You’re book should consist of the photographs shown in class enough said theirs a fire in you’re work don’t over do it… You’re good you have a good eye, remember you yourself should only understand your work same as the rest of us same applies to life… Rowena without passion there wouldn’t be life passion does equal good photos…

Liz - Coney Island is GREAT the concept fits you well… I admit the theater photos for the theatrics not a good idea, I prefer the Coney Island the old mystique of Coney the BIG C.I the isolation from the norm during the off season I love especially at any beach from the Long Island sounds, Jersey Shore, VA Beach my old hood hmmm love it, Cape Hatters and Kure Beach North Carolina, West Palm, and once Huntington Beach out west those were at one time my destinations and I know the feel of a beach…

Lucy ‘diamond in the sky’ Sutton – NICE photoshop/lightroom touch up you’re photos are ALIVE… My favorite shot the spainsh doll with the beads hanging from the wall it really looks GREAT and alive… GREAT JOB!!!!

“Confusion and isolation” Eddy very compelling title MONEY TITLE!! Confusion and isolation a marketing ad for the drug of choice made by Pfizer and with ingredients from a Bolivian farmer, the title just screams at me, as Edvard Munch “the scream” Second Exposure sounds like an ABC Friday sitcom featuring maybe Scott Baio or that Twilight guy… The club scene photos the underground fits my world my players underground misfits, societies vandals etc don’t let me get into details… Confusion and Isolation has to be you’re title… Do you know what isolation feels like? Normality is confusion and isolation… FREE YOUR MIND! Confusion and isolation reminds me of the verse from Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane “When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead” from the song white rabbit… NICE touch…

Genna “for better or for worse” I hope is your title it grasp the attention of an upper west-side resident making the transition to upstate NY with the thought of is it really for the better or the move to upstate NY is for the worse I wouldn’t know only you would know and that’s a decision worth trying a break from the city to live and work with the things you love most animals it shows you’re a heart full person and you’re not a tin-man show your work that you have taken and submit them in your book your photos are great whether some claim they’re brochure-like photos or cute animal pictures… But then again I’m no pro just an opinion my dear…

Nicole – quiet angel “ Drive- By shooting YES you’re on the money honey I do see the correlation to your drive by photographs and David Bradford’s photos… I myself had you in thought especially about your book title, however, that book from David Bradford you found in the library is a great find I’m sure it will inspire your work and style for the book… I in a positive head nod wow yep you found it… love the quote “he doesn’t look through the viewfinder when he shoots; he says he just feels what he is photographing… Feel just feel when photographing as a boxer with sweet science just feels it’s a rhythmic feel a zone we all have to find…

On the last note I toast to many of you being its probably crunch time and the work begins, but again I do send my best apologies only if my tone from this post is off beat, however, its probably because Martha Reeves and The Vandellas “ Heat Wave” and Louis Prima “ Just a Gigolo” was blaring in the background and I will assume most of you won’t even know who Louis Prima, or Martha Reeves and The Vandellas is, but its cool… Great postings and see ya’ll in morning!!!!

Christopher Morris

2011-04-19T02:35:00.003-04:00

Christopher Morris had the opportunity to follow the Bush campaign around and photograph it. In his book, "My America", he shares high quality, large color images from this tour. I'm having trouble finding all of the images online, but one of my favorites was taken in Philadelphia in 2004. It shows men in uniform, the first is blurred out and the two behind him are in focus and you can clearly see tears in their eyes. The intense emotion mixed with the shallow depth of field is over powering and very intimate. Another favorite of mine was taken in columbus, ohio in 2004. The photo had two windows in a brick wall. In the windows there is a very clear reflection of an airplane with 'america' so clearly and proudly written across. But also, you can see the small reflections of the faceless people preparing the president's plane for him.

At one point in the point, Morris has a series of images that focus solely on the mouths and chests of the people he is photographing, cutting out the other parts of their bodies. From these pictures, although we're missing a lot of information, we can gather who they are, because of the uniforms, formal attire, and causal clothes, and their reactions and feelings towards seeing the president. It is amazing how much you can tell about a person's feeling but looking just at their mouth. Many of the faces look serious or amazed or encouraging. I think overall I liked this collection so much because knowing that it was about the bush campaigns, I assumed it would mostly be about the president and his journey. However, Morris gives us an outside view of this journey. When we do see the president, the shot is rarely up close and intimate and personal, but far away and isolated. On the other hand, we get a good glimpse at the behind-the-scenes people that go so unnoticed in the wake of all this chaos. We also see the travels and the citizens and how they react to seeing Bush. The focus is definitely more on patriotism of the country as a whole, rather than tracking the steps of Bush.

Drive-By Shootings

2011-04-19T01:10:00.006-04:00

I found David Bradford's Drive-By Shootings in the library a month or two ago and immediately was drawn to it because of the obvious connections I thought it would have to my project. Bradford is a cab driver in New York who takes pictures as he is driving through the city. I thought it would be great for helping me find more of a direction for my photos since the concept of shooting out a car window was so similar. However, after looking through the book many times, I've come to realize his work is completely different from mine, but I still really enjoyed his work a lot. Bradford was once a successful fashion photographer who just got tired of it and decided to drive a cab instead. He doesn't look through the viewfinder when he shoots; he says he just feels what he is photographing. A lot of his work includes the inside of the car, the passengers, and the mirrors, so sometimes the focus of his work is more on the vehicle than what's outside.

Also, being that he just 'feels' what he is shooting, a lot of his pictures are blurred or at awkward angles or cut off pieces we wouldn't normally want cut off, but these ones tended to be my favorites. Not only did they keep his concept interesting but they showed a different way of looking at these otherwise 'picture-perfect city shots'.

Confusion & Isolation

2011-04-18T22:36:00.002-04:00

I must echo the sentiment of confusion expressed by my class comrades. I look at this pile of photographs-physical prints for the most part, since I have not yet scanned my images into the computer-and I feel overwhelmed. What to include, what to exclude, nevermind sequencing. Should I do a book of only 4x5? (If I get to scan since the 11x14 prints I have are too big for our scanners any way. always between a rock and a hard place, eh?). Doing a book of just film seems easier than including the digital images, but then again I'm sure a richer book would result if I found a way to marry the two. Honestly, at this point, it seems like too great an undertaking. Apollonia and I are in the same place with the film/digital/what-am-I-doing-I'm-so-lost feeling.

On the bright side, my show and my book will both definitely be titled "1 Second Exposure." I'm 99% sure my show (and my show is, in my mind, an extension of the soon-to-be-born book) will be on Thursday, May 5th. I spent 12 hours in the darkroom today. If this post seems a little wacky and scary, that's why.

Good luck comrades!

Help ...

2011-04-18T21:32:00.003-04:00

I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I did solicit another professor’s opinion about my photos and help with my sequencing. I wish we did this more in our class. I think it would have been really helpful to teach us the process of creating a quasi professional photo book. I wish that I have more guidance on what ‘sequencing’ means. Why and how they need to connect, if not, why or how they need to convey a message. I would have loved to have more feedback from the class and especially Stephan. The process of book making would have been a great skill to have in my back pocket.

What about titles? Why is it important? Does it need to reflect the story or the photos? I’ve seen titles that are so confusing, I can’t seems to relate it to the photos, but sometimes the photos just stands on it’s own that you don’t care about the title.

To date, all I got from the class (at least from our two critique days) are six photos from the first and one (potential) from the last one. I very much appreciate the ‘blog critique’ - it helps me to “DO, REDO and UNDO” my photos - (this is Louise Bourgeois's exhibition title at the Tate Modern, 1999-2000.) Meanwhile, I have tons of photos and I have no clue what to do with them. Should I include all the ones I like, should I make a story? What kind of story? Does it need to be a literal interpretation of the photos? Or does it need to be ambiguous to make it more appealing? I really don’t know - I feel lost!

Passion = good photos?

2011-04-18T21:27:00.003-04:00

Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I started out with an idea and as the project moved along, it started to change (I know it’s a process - things needs to evolve). Maybe it has something to do with my mood when I’m shooting at a particular day. I don’t usually plan it, I kind of wait and see what the day has to offer and move my schedule around it.

Some people have a natural eye for photography, others are able to learn to be good photographers, and there are some people who really should just give up and do something else ... Is this true? who says? But critique is so subjective, so why do I have to care what other people say about my photographs?

But I do care - I wish we have more critique days (wink wink) ... I respond really well on feedback (good or bad). It helps me refocus and push myself to do something different or better. I tend to do the things that I love, or like, and easy that sometimes I get lost in them.

But someone told me that learning who I am, what I like to shoot, and how I like to shoot it, is the most important step I can take into the world of photography. Learn what you love, and shoot what you love. The more I shoot, the quicker I can discover what I’m really passionate about, and if I am passionate about something, chances are I’ll probably find a way to translate that into great photos.

I am posting two photos (they are not new, though the class haven’t seen them before.) To someone else this might look atrocious ... but for me, this represents my fascination with portraits of others and self -

Technical Differences

2011-04-18T20:15:00.006-04:00

So I am running out of things to say about my work since I haven't gotten the chance to shoot anything new as I have been secluded to my living room trying to will myself healthy again. Anyways, I have been editing some pictures and I thought I would ask for your opinions on some changes I've made.

In class we talked about this photo, how it was interesting and kind of funny how girly the bedroom was and that Victoria was reading "Fight Club" in it, but that it didn't really line up with my shooting style. So here is the original and then two cropped versions.

I think the third one looks more consistent with the shooting style/anonymity of a lot of my other photos, but I also think it looks a bit forced.

Okay here's another one. I spent a long time editing this photo, but I can't decide if the edited photo is any better, i think the fill light might be too much and creating too much of a reflection on the closet door. Here's the original and the edit:

Okay so now that I'm looking at them again I guess they aren't actually that different.

Editing My Photographs

2011-04-18T19:28:00.003-04:00

Editing my photographs is one of those things that is just really irritating. I always have in my mind the pictures that I think are good and that I want to use before I even look at my film. This, however, I have been told, is not a wise way to edit your pictures because you overlook things that may be better in the process. At least it is a starting point. Shooting in digital I do not think about my images this way. I shoot so many more pictures that I have less of a recollection of what shots I thought were great. Also I just have SO MANY PICTURES. Its such a departure for me. For instance, last semester, my final project was a collection of medium format color landscapes taken in one seaside town over the span of two days. The final thing ended up being only 13 11 x 17 prints, edited down from about 64 photographs to begin with. Suffice to say, this is a really different way of shooting. For this project, I have taken about 400 pictures of only 6 subjects. This is probably going to get narrowed down to something like 30 photos. Basically I am having a hard time finding an angle to edit from. At first I started just taking each set of photos and picking out the ones I like the most from each. As we pointed out in class, however, that sometimes isn't the most productive way to edit in terms of book making. For instance, I really like these three pictures, but I'm not sure if they really have a place in my book.

Why did I choose to shoot film?

2011-04-18T16:57:00.004-04:00

I sometimes go through mini-crises when it comes to my photography. Sometimes it will be something like, "Oh my god, I am terrible, why am I even doing this?" and other times it will be less extreme like "I really hate what I'm doing for my final project, I think I'm going to change it even though I only have a month to do it now..." (-- oh wait, that isn't an example, that's something that just happened a couple weeks ago..).

Currently, I am just kind of wondering why I chose to shoot film when digital would have made my life a thousand times easier (and less expensive?). Obviously I am not thinking of changing course right now, but I felt it necessary to think about what made me decide color film was the way to go.

Was it because I have a plethora of color film just sitting in my room that I never get to use? Yes, that was part of it. Last semester I got about 30 rolls of film from this guys on Craigslist for $20. It was a complete mix of things, but mostly 400 speed color film. I used all the B&W film from that last semester, and so I was left was a lot of color film. I also got color film for Christmas like two years ago that I never used.

Is it because I lent my digital camera to my roommate for the entirety of the semester because she's taking Joe's Documentary Photo class? Partly yes as well, although this decision to lend it to her came after I had already decided I didn't want to use it for the semester. My poor Canon Rebel XSi, I neglect it so much.

Is it because I like spending $7 to get a roll of color film processed at CRC? No, that is definitely not why I chose to shoot film. On that note -- does anyone know another trustworthy place that won't charge me a ridiculous amount of money for just processing? I don't know, I just feel like $7 a roll is kind of a lot just to have the film processed.

Is it because I enjoying spending hours in the photo computer lab scanning my negatives onto the computer and then editing them in photoshop? No, I can't say this is why either. Having to scan my negatives onto the computer is one of my least favorite things. It takes forever and then if you don't clean them well enough beforehand you have to spend foreverness using the clone stamp in photoshop and losing your eyesight.

I realize that all these reasons are kind of ridiculous. Really though, trying to figure out why I prefer film to digital in most cases is not so simple. I think it really just comes down to aesthetics. I just like the look of film. I also love the feel of a 35mm camera and how I don't have to worry about getting robbed except for by another photographer, because lets be honest, who really wants to steal a 35mm camera? Loading film is also great, and maybe it is just the mystery of "Did my photos turn out okay? -- did they turn out at all?" I kind of feel like a little kid on Christmas when I get my film returned to me from processing. I can't wait to see what's on the roll. In my opinion, film is just more of an intimate way of creating photos.

I seriously just rambled so much, but talking that out helped me reaffirm what I'm doing.

Coney Island: Opening

2011-04-18T16:48:00.005-04:00

So yesterday (Sunday), I went back to Coney Island to see the transformation from deserted beach town to a bustling tourist attraction. This was my forth trip there over the past two weeks, and by far the most exciting. Even on the subway you could tell that something was different -- usually near the end of the D train line the train empties out, but on Sunday it stayed relatively full until arriving at Coney Island.

It was honestly shocking how different everything was just from last week. One week ago, all the shops were closed, there were barely any people around, and I felt slightly uncomfortable being there alone. Yesterday however, there were people everywhere, music was coming from several different attractions and booths, and children were running around happily with cotton candy and popcorn. The boardwalk was also filled with people and all the shops and food stands along the board walk were open and ready for business.

I've realized that I sometimes struggle with taking photos of strangers. Even though most people don't care and also most probably wouldn't have even noticed me, I chose not to pick up my camera a few times when I wanted to, because I felt awkward about it. I'm not sure why that was, but I suddenly felt really rude taking pictures of people who were trying to enjoy their Sunday afternoon. I am angry at myself after the fact because I know I lost some good shots by second guessing myself.

I did talk to some people though, which is something I promised myself I would do. The first guy had a bunch of pitbulls with him, and I was walking by and I have this tendency to smile at animals. The owner told me I could pet them if I wanted to. He was really nice and talked to me for a little, telling me about his dogs and how he would never be stupid with them and use them for fighting. I asked if I could take a picture of them together and he was more than willing. I don't know why I always think people are going to hate me for wanting to photograph them, I need to get over that because it is obviously not the case.

I also talked to these two street performers who were on the boardwalk playing music for those passing by. They were also really nice and didn't mind me sticking around for a bit taking pictures of them while they performed.

Overall, I had a pretty good day of shooting. I haven't had a chance to get the rolls developed yet, but I am going to go later today or early tomorrow.

I am struggling coming up with a good book title, so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know! Thanks all.

Picking Images Part 2

2011-04-18T13:35:00.012-04:00

So, I am having an even more difficult time picking my images now because the rest of them that need to be picked are ones from Tokyo. I was just so apathetic about them. I don't know why I wasn't that excited to see them when I got back. Oh well.

The ones I showed in class were just quick selects from the first 10 rolls out of about 70 that I have. I put off looking at them for like a month or so because it was too much. Why did I do this to myself? Well I am indecisive and change my mind constantly. Either way the time has come to finally do it. I don't have everything printed for my book (partially because I can't decide what the selects should be). I'd rather just pick them and be like OK, these are it and then print them.

Otherwise, I end up wasting all of this paper and there is also the issue of time crunch. Which sucks because I pick ultimately from the print because sometimes the picture looks good on the contact and doesn't work when enlarged and vice-versa for those unloved last-picks that I end up liking later. Sometimes a print is too nasty to print like easily for me, so I have to just skip it and move on which sucks, too. So my working method for printing is not the best for the time issue but whatever. I have honestly put off so many things because I want this to be awesome and I want to do it right, but now all my other school work for other classes is catching up and there isn't enough time in the day.

To save time as well I have been skipping the like third-round of selects and picking ones that I just like and ignoring the ones that I am on the fence about from the contacts. The only problem with this, as I said in one of my posts, is that the maybe/overlooked ones sometimes end up being final picks, so at this point. I am printing up a storm in any free time that I have and whatever is printed and is good I will just end up putting in the book. It's all our first book and I don't want it to be like a compromise or the best given the circumstances, I want it to be good, the best, period. Concessions are hard and kind of sad right now, but will have to done and will have to do at this point.

On a side-note I am sick of this blog being able to Tab sometimes and then not in another post. It is so frustrating. This will not even allow me to type in five/ten spaces before a paragraph either. How does it know? I can't trick it either way. It is so annoying. Not the best layout in the world. Nothing I can do, I guess.

Also what's problematic is the fact that some of the prints just don't work...For example, I spent about like an hour and a half on a print because the highlight was so blown out and took up majority of the picture. I couldn't go darker because then the man's coat would be so black and lose detail (3200 is both a beauty and a bitch). I figured the best thing to do was try to burn it in. After multiple attempts and the equivalent of a burning in my triceps after a shake-weight work out, I surrendered and decided to try to scan my negatives. This seemed to keep the highlights at bay, but also resulted in multiple scratches on my negative now and more time to spot out these scratches. Two hours later, and then another two hours later after having accidentally deleted the layer, I have one print to show for it.

I am feeling the time crunch now more than ever, as we all are. All I have to say is that the picture better make it into the book. I also have been slightly under printing and over-estimating the like 15% darker fact when printing fiber and they haven't been coming through. So more time is to be spent playing with it post scanning the prints. Guess I might not ever be able to see that true black?

My Stuff?

2011-04-15T12:26:00.005-04:00

SO I just read Liz's post and I have to say that I'm trying SO HARD to try to photograph animals in a way that makes them not just cute little things. I brought in a few pictures to this class (like the weird horse with the tongue and one of a cat's eyes really up close, etc.) but I tend to usually bring my animal photos into Joe's class because he appreciates them (unlike Stephan) not being mean- just being honest hahaha.

Anyway, it's funny because I always think that photography makes more sense when you photograph what you're interested in and something that I'm interested in, as you all may know, is animals. I have so freaking many and work with them almost every day so I feel that photographing them is kind of a way to reflect myself. I am doing my best at trying to photograph them all in a way that isn't just a straight on puppy or the face of a cute little piglet, etc. but obviously sometimes, no matter from what angle or what body part you take a picture of on an animal, it comes out as just being "cute" or "silly". I completely understand that whole idea but it's so frustrating to me considering I have so much more fun photographing things that I truly love.....at least a lot more fun than I have photographing things of really no relevance to me (such as houses or trees or people I don't know, etc.) Well not NO relevance, I obviously like many of the photos I take but just because of the way that they're put together, etc. not because I am truly infatuated with a broken down house or a car in the snow... I don't think anybody really would love something like that. It's just the fact that it's in a picture.

I am COMPLETELY rambling right now, I'm sorry this is like an internal conflict I'm trying to overcome. HOW CAN I PHOTOGRAPH ANIMALS IN A WAY THAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT FROM "CUTE ANIMAL CALENDAR PHOTOS"? Any suggestions?

I'll actually post two pictures that I took yesterday pretty much just for fun, but it gives you the idea of how I'm trying to NOT just make an animal look cute....

I'm sure a lot of people would look at this and still think that it's a cute animal picture (if you see it bigger and up close in a print you'd maybe think differently, I don't know though...) I personally think my dog looks like a cartoon character here and his eyes are going in completely different directions. To me, he does NOT look cute.....

This is me trying to figure out ways to photograph a horse so that it doesn't just scream "cool horse." This is a dirty nose (larger and in a print it's a lot more detailed) and it's pretty gross. Not cute....

And THIS is just weird. LOOK AT THOSE TEETH.

ANYWAY- I understand that maybe it isn't the "cute" factor as much as it is that animals speak for themselves..... Almost like if you photograph an animal, no matter what or how, it is an animal. If you photograph anything else, you kind of have to think about what it is, why it's there, what's the relevance, etc. So I do understand that..... but so what do I do if I love photographing weird animals? How can I continue doing so without being "lame"?

Photos of Cute Animals...

2011-04-14T16:51:00.006-04:00

Now Stephan, please don't freak out when you see this -- this obviously does not count towards my blog post count.

I mean we were looking at pictures of kittens in class the other day and so I couldn't resist posting this when I found it earlier today...

60 Fantastic Examples of Dog Photography

I mainly felt the need to put this put because of the ridiculous title. "Fantastic Examples of Dog Photography." Perfect. And the pictures themselves are just as ridiculous.

Example:

Perfect example of Stephan's point that any and all substance gets lost in the "AWW look how cute it is" moment.

OKAY. And now onto real posts! Promise!

Walker Evans

2011-04-13T16:18:00.005-04:00

Before the critique two weeks ago, I was familiar with Walker Evans but had never spent any length of time looking at his work. After some of my photos were referred to as being in the style of Evans, I decided to take a closer look at some of his work.

I guess I am really drawn to a straightforward approach to photography -- I think that Evans' photos are really beautiful and intriguing in their simplicity. They are set very firmly in the time period, I think his photography speaks volumes about the mindset of rural people in America during the Great Depression.

A Film Indirectly All About Photography

2011-04-13T13:10:00.002-04:00

I recently rented the Wim Wenders film "Paris, Texas" on a whim, basically because I liked the title and the pickings in our library's DVD collection are slim. Knowing nothing about the film, I hit a lucky goldmine-I loved it. Watched it twice. Already being a Lynch fan, I love stories that feature Americana, I love getting mucky in Southern Gothic mellow-dramas (True Blood, anyone?). The friends I watched it with, Lynch aficionados themselves, hated it. I wondered why I liked a film they considered super-slow and torturously boring. It is because it is a film that steals a lot from photography. William Eggleston-like color and subjects, Walker Evans-Americana, Robert Frank-framing via car windows, Larry Clark-suburban interiors. If you love documentary American photography, like most of us do, this film is full of gems. A quirky, somewhat silly plot realized with little dialogue and lots of visual richness. I also have a thing for Harry Dean Stanton. No judgement, I grew up on a farm. My tastes are questionable. Everyone rent this. it's in the LC library.

Travis: "He would introduce Momma as the girl he met in Paris. Then he'd wait, uh, before he said "Texas", 'til everybody thought he meant... He would wait until he said "Texas" 'til everyone thought, until they all thought he was talking about Paris, France. He always laughed real hard about it."

Book/Show Title idea

2011-04-13T11:12:00.002-04:00

So good seeing you all yesterday. Comrades I post seeking your infinite advice and guidance.

I know there is no better title than "Heads and Tails" or "Heads or Tales" (Joe Lawton, you wordsmith, you) but how do you all feel about "1 Second Exposure?"

Most of the portraits were literally a 1 second exposure and, in my other mode of photo-taking, the world I am photographing is so post-Andy Warhol nobody even gets 15 minutes of fame anymore. You get a second if you're lucky.

Eh, EH???

Pictures From Home: Larry Sultan

2011-04-12T01:24:00.004-04:00

Steven has mentioned Larry Sultan's Pictures from Home a couple of times this semester. I've seen the book before but I decided to revisit it after he mentioned it last class. I find Sultan's pictures completely captivating. They have a somewhat similar aesthetic feel to Phillip-Lorca diCorcia who I love, but I think there is something a little more meaty to them. I like that he has very staged looking photographs that still have emotional weight and manage to convey something about the subjects. In the portrait of his mother the very done-up nature of her outfit and awkwardness of her pose and her husband's indifference to her makes it really easy to imagine what the situation might be like in their house. You get the really keen sense in these pictures of people who are retired and don't seem to know what to do with themselves or with each other. I like how in both of the portraits the TV is on which sort of underlies how he doesn't know what to do with himself. Another great thing about these pictures is the awkward tension they convey. It seems like, despite the fact that we know these are Sultan's parents who have been together for years, the couple doesn't know how to act around each other. It is an interesting emotion that I don't really understand and I love that Sultan manages to convey it even through immaculately staged photographs.

A Look Under Coney --

2011-04-12T01:19:00.010-04:00

I decided to just google search "Coney Island photography" to see what I would come across.

A lot of what I found was pictures of the Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel shot in typical fashion (such as several of the Wonder Wheel taken at night with long exposures), but there were some things that I found kind of interesting and not terribly cliché.

Some photos by Nathan Kensinger, a photographer/filmmaker who has a photo essay blog, caught my attention.

He has two sets of photos posted from Coney Island. The first is "Coney Island: The Freak's Domain," and is some shots from the "Shoot the Freak" area on the boardwalk (which may or may not exist anymore! -- when I was there last there was construction covering the area, they may have done away with it).

These are from late 2008:

I liked these two shots especially but a few of the others from this series were a but underexposed. This wasn't the group of photos that really caught my attention however -- it was his photos labelled "Coney Island - Under the Boardwalk," that I was drawn to.

This group of photos displays what lays underneath the planks of the Coney Island boardwalk. It's funny because that is the kind of thing I often think about while walking on boardwalks. I always want to know what is down below. His photos of "Shoot the Freak" kind of started this idea, because he had some shots of the boardwalk underneath that area.

It is just super creepy but kind of awesome at the same time. I just really like seeing this different take on the boardwalk of Coney Island. It is so crazy the things that exist down there -- I would really love to go explore, but I am not sure if I am personally brave enough.

Here are some more interesting shots from down there:

Again Again

2011-04-12T01:08:00.002-04:00

I apologize if this post loses some grammatical prowess I am rapidly losing the use of grammatically correct English as it gets later and later. I will attempt to post this blog before it deteriorates much further.

My last post was kind of negative and I don't want to give the impression that I completely hate my project, because I don't. A lot of my frustration with my project stems partially from that fact that I chose such narrow parameters to work within and also that I am not getting what I set out in mind to get. This is not necessarily a travesty. I don't think that a lot of photographers set out trying to make a project with a certain thing in mind and end with a project that says just that. If you somehow managed to do that I think it would be because of excessive manipulation on the part of the artist. It's sort of like if a scientist makes a hypothesis and runs an experiment that proves his hypothesis to the t. That scientist either, a) has a seriously kick ass hypothesis or b) is just making an experiment that will only give him the results he wants but ignores other factors. I'm not sure if the analogy I am trying to make here is clear at all but its sort of like if I had gotten exactly what I wanted I either had a perfect idea (not likely) or I was shooting with such a narrow mindset as to only get those things. Anyways, I have neither of these things, my project has evolved away from what I wanted it to be. I started out wanting to make this project that would be a series of honest portraits of people in an exceedingly person time (bedtime) and space (their bedroom/bathroom). What I have ended up with instead is a series of pictures that seem to create a portrait of the act of preparing for bed. Its more about the series of steps that different people take and less about the people as individuals. There are certainly individual elements in the pictures, I just don't think that I could produce a successful book around that concept and that my project will function better as as more of a study of the bedtime process.

A Change of course to Coney Island

2011-04-12T00:32:00.003-04:00

So, as all of you know, I changed course from taking photos around the theater to trekking to Brooklyn to take photos at Coney Island. I really wasn't satisfied with my project when it centered around theater -- it was kind of giving me a headache because I was spending way too much time in the theater (and around the people).

For last semester I did my final photo project on Coney Island during the off-season, and I really enjoyed being there and exploring the area. I decided that what I really wanted to do for this photo book was contrast my project from last semester.

The outcome of that project was a bleak look at the desolate boardwalk and closed down shops surrounding Luna Park. I want to show the other side of that now though. Coney opens on April 16th for the season, so I will hopefully be able to get some photos of the more lively version of Luna Park and its surroundings.

So far, I've taken the hour long trip on the D train twice, spending a couple hours around Coney at a time. Right now the streets are still quite empty and the boardwalk is pretty bare. There are changes happening however -- there are workers getting their stalls ready and it is obviously that the park opening is being anticipated.

My last trip to Brooklyn was at midday during the week. I was hoping there would be some people I could photograph because I didn't really get any the first time I was there, but unfortunately I had about the same luck this time. The only people around were the men preparing their stalls and cleaning up, but whenever I would walk by any of them they would all stop everything they were doing and stare at me (intimidatingly) until I continued onward. Something like that wouldn't bother me so much except for the fact that there was literally no one else around. I didn't feel like pushing the patience of people who weren't exactly welcoming when I was alone on the street with them.

My plan as of now is to go back again on Sunday and stay for the whole day, because it is the day after the official opening. I would love to get there on Saturday, but I don't think I will be able to -- there is a slight chance I could but probably not.

I really appreciated all the feedback during the last critique, it has helped me try and plan out the direction I think I want this project to go in.

Welcome to Lucy's Brain

2011-04-12T00:28:00.002-04:00

Kidding I won't let you in there it's kind of a scary mess. So I guess I am supposed to say something about my project. I find my project incredibly frustrating. If I had to start my project over and do something completely different I probably would but I feel like I am at a point where I am too far into it to not see it through. There are two major problems that I have with my project. The first is that I can't fight the feeling that I chose the wrong medium. I started out using medium format 6x9 color. I ended up shooting my first three subjects with medium format. The second time when I shot my mother and father I forgot to bring home my other camera and thus lacked a light meter, suffice to say, the pictures weren't great. After that experience, I started shooting in digital. I was planning to continue my project by shooting 6x9 and digital simultaneously; however, someone who is working on their senior project has had it checked out since before spring break and well they probably need to more than I do. Anyways, so since then I've been shooting in digital and it still doesn't feel right. I wanted to shoot in high definition color because I thought something about it would be objective and interesting. I wanted to record people in the sort of intimate/personal moment but not be too sentimental about it and I thought black and white would be too sympathetic. I don't hate the way that the digital looks and I like that it allows me to take pictures with a lot less light but I'm still not confident about it.

Another problem I'm having is that I am not a skilled enough of a portrait photographer to elicit natural behavior from my subjects. I think it probably has something to do with the fact that I am basically in peoples beds or somewhat creepily leaning over them and stuff but certain sets of my pictures look sort of uncomfortable. I am not sure if it is necessarily a bad thing but its not what I was aiming for in the beginning of my project. Also I think it has to do with who it is. The pictures of my mom look a lot more natural than the pictures of my boyfriend who was clearly uncomfortable. I think I just need to spend a lot of time with people for them to get comfortable, which was definitely one advantage of using the medium format because it took my forever to fidget with. Maybe I will just start pretending that it takes me a long time to use my digital camera.

My Thoughts

2011-04-11T20:10:00.009-04:00

It's hard to talk about our own work because we are so closely connected to it, especially to the moment when the photograph is taken that we sometimes pick photographs because of this. This is always a question that I have in the back of my mind because I often get excited after taking some pictures and I can't wait to finish the roll, develop it, and look at them. Even though I do not know anyone in my pictures I feel the connection with them and worry I sometimes pick OK photographs because I want them to work because of the moment I experienced whilst taking it.

My main thing is really trying to make interesting compositions and complicated photographs, although I do also sometimes like the simplicity of an isolated person on the street. My working method is to really just go out and respond to the world with my camera. The thing that I love about the documentary photography is not knowing what is going to find next as I continue to move and it waits for me stumble upon it. You always have to keep your eye open and you need to concentrate. I don't think up a photograph that I want to take or try to find the one I made up in my head (often cool ideas, but never able to come to fruition naturally unless staged). The best compositions I've had are ones where I go out to photograph, not really ones where I am walking to go to the subway for example and I happen to see something.

I take the photographs on instinct and what I appealed to me and I like this method, but it can also be a bad one. My biggest problem is not really watching the edges and just focusing on capturing it before the moment passes so then I take the first instinctual one and then try to quickly steal another frame and sometimes I wish I had just waited so I took the photograph in the time between the two that I do take because it is often a little off and the moment I want is in between them. I try to wait just one more second to compose a good frame than just let it happen by chance sometimes. I also always chop off the feet and the bottom edges are bothersome. I get so pissed when I shoot the first instinctual one and then go to take the second more thought out one and I do it again.

These are the problems I have with shooting, but post pro-duction is much easier because I will print the first ones that jump out at me initially from all the contact sheets, then after those are printed I will look at the contact sheet again and prints other ones that I find or overlooked and those often are the best ones. The initial selects are usually the ones that I want to print because I remember the time I took them and that's why I play into them and they are just OK photographs.

My blurb book is currently a rough draft and not really in any sequence that makes sense right now. I had some issues printing wise this weekend. I was supposed to on Saturday, but the book meeting went on for more than anticipated (not that I minded), but time flies when you are having some type of fun, I guess. On Sunday night many people were printing as well and a lot of the enlargers were busted. There were about five working enlargers for six people. The focusing doesn't work on one of them at all, another only seems to focus one part of the negative. One of the head's space that keeps the negative holder in place is loose (the spring is broken or something) and many of them now have bulbs that do not work (the three back enlargers). I made two prints and then decided to leave because a Photo II kid needed prints for Monday, so I let him go instead of me.

I decided to scan the prints I had already instead and to add them to the book. The only things that really need to be printed are the photographs from Tokyo, maybe a few more Rome ones (I have to go back and look through contacts), and a few landscapes/street still lives from NYC to even everything out. The ones in the blurb book are rough contact sheet scans to just give everyone a rough idea.

For my book I decided that the location of the photographs are really not important to me and not important for the viewer to necessarily know, so I don't plan on separating them by location. I want to just mix them together because a cool photograph that happened here could have happened in Rome or it could have happened in like Boise, Idaho. They are just interesting compositions. However, I do want the location to be somewhere and I don't know whether to put like "Rome, 2010." underneath the photograph on the page or just include a list in the back of the location in time. I am kind of leaning toward the latter, but I've changed my mind about five times already.

The order is the most difficult thing and the most important thing (obviously) to our books. I just feel like my photographs are all over the place and I am not really telling a story that I want to convey after looking at the whole group. I think my photographs tell a story all their own, but they have the same underlying tone to them. I think Eddy was right in saying I'm am critical. This is undeniable, but I don't think it's in a bad way. It's playful. I want them to say something and I to capture the everyday absurdity that is life and the stuff that goes on daily. If we were really looking, we'd all find it. In Tokyo and NYC, people will continue on their merry way and not even look twice at the bizarre things that they come across on the street, but I try to capture those things and expose them. Piecing these things together to add meaning to them sucks. It doesn't feel right yet. I am contemplating shooting another few rolls to give it some more thrillers (no fillers), but it might be too late in the game to do so.

Our meeting on Saturday was a pretty successful one I think to really get our brains to start thinking about it. We are thinking of doing it again to this Saturday but to come with a more structured concrete idea and really thought out sequence for us to work with instead of just playing around so whoever wants to come can. Be there or be square!

My work, My world, My photography and My players….

2011-04-11T19:53:00.001-04:00

My work, My world, My photography PT.1

First of all, I want to marvel at realism then that leaves us with the question of what is my world? Does my world consist of family, friends, job,and career some mistake as identity or define what a person really is. Is it only about me? A selfless approach always lending a hand, is it the bull I put up with everyday. Whereas, I refuse to take photographs of blandness. Its my work and I want it to express appealing tones of realness, everyday life, but express enough to craft a perfect moment. Okay I get it, no hallmarks only cinematic photographs and contrast to life with people of character. I want to shoot as a photojournalist; I am not aiming for my work to hang on Chelsea Galleries; hey, Chelsea is great, but I always go by my M.O there’s a bigger world out there. Meanwhile I want to learn more and more about photography whether hands on, getting my hands dirty, or inspirations from other artist and photographers… I am not corporate, nor I will become a corporate machine. I don’t have it in me to work in a cubicle from 9-5 and make someone else money… Its My work, My world, My photography meanwhile, I can’t take a photograph of nothingness pure nothingness no swag no cool to personal style seriously please take pride for oneself, and not look like the rest. Why? Machines in the making maybe well think about this, its hereditary the gene pool we sometimes inherit to succeed dad; worst-case scenario look at the bright side you’re only being cut from daddy’s trust fund. (Sorry just a rant I live by amongst too many brewmeisters… By the way, a Brewmeister is a young boy or young man collegiate Saturday’s beer swindling and football ugh very non-culture need I say more!)

My work, My world, My photographs I love snapping a moment a memory being I have never really froze a moment in time, nor have I ever been in love. Yes I’ve missed many captured moments that is worthy of hanging up on my living room wall or with a slight pause from reality to day dream on escape. I don’t have too many memories remember 5 years of my life was put on hold due to military service.

My world- I love my life and I live life well good times with a casual indulgences well indulge within reason. Expression wise would I kill to create something I love; something I believe in, something beautiful, I have faith that life is full of passion; uncorrupted bliss and we may one day gain complete happiness. When I photograph I tend to tap into my inner psyche I seek happiness within myself at times then I create mood, so I then create depression to feel what’s really going on with the bubble we live in. I see, I vision, I think, I; therefore, create, feeling of emotions whether strong or not. Many do seek an escape; I as well am driven from life’s natural MDMA a natural high. Ordinary I wouldn’t write or even jot my thoughts down, but what do I have to lose? nothing! In reality, most of you can’t tell me anything! Lastly the second portion of this blog, rant, and my style of non-academic writing will include my subjects, players, and characters that I will include in the book. I do have a few working titles. For starters, my first title is “My world, My work, My photography”, then I have another title “The last round up” so, by class start time I will have 9 more since, I was told we need to have 11 working titles!!!! MY GOD!!!

Book Ideas?

2011-04-11T19:05:00.003-04:00

Okay SO......

I'm still pretty stuck. I'm sitting here right now trying to lay out these 50-something images that I have in some type of order or sequence or story or ANYTHING and it is NOT easy.......

An idea that I have that is maybe SOMEWHAT sticking in my head is the idea of the deterioration of being/living upstate and of upstate, NY itself. For instance, I'd have the nice, enjoyable pictures (all the perks of living there) in the beginning and then slowly start moving towards the eerie/creepy/weird/depressive pictures that I have from up there too and then finally ending with the picture of the ants eating away at the old, rotted food or with the picture of the graveyard symbolizing the literal deterioration of living up there (pleasant, I know.) I also was thinking of titles and for this idea I was thinking of naming the book something like "For Better or for worse...".......... Pretty stupid but it's a start!!!!!!!

I also thought about eliminating all of the pleasant pictures (because truthfully, who likes to look at pleasant pictures?) Then I'm left with all weird, scary and creepy images and then I'm ALSO left with being back at square one.... trying to put those images into some type of story. The only title I could think of for an idea like this would be "Hell." (Again, pleasant, I know.)

Another idea which is at least a little bit less depressing would be to incorporate all of my "quirky" pictures.... Like the one of the horse with his tongue sticking out and all things like that. This way it wouldn't be so sad or so "brochure-like" it would just be straight weird. I like this idea a lot actually but I really think I'd be struggling for images with it. I have a few cool, quirky images but not a real significant amount......

I keep thinking in my brain that these photos have to be in a sequence so that they are meaningful and keep forgetting that they can be grouped together based on composition or other similarities too..... (they can be, right?) If that's the case, I have to get back to working on rearranging these guys and HOPE that something wonderful and amazing comes up. Realistically this will probably not be the case, so I hope you guys have some input for me tomorrow in class!! Please!!!!!

SHOW ALERT: Mark Morrisroe at ClampArt through 4/30/11

2011-04-06T19:39:00.004-04:00

Before I begin, dear class SORRY for being an ill zombie last crit. Thank you for letting me sleep and sorry again if I snored. I assure you I absorbed every once of the discussion through my dreaming plasma skull. The photographs were even better in dream form.

Speaking of dreams and nightmares, I saw a haunting show this weekend. Mark Morrisroe was a photographer, hustler, and punk rocker. Of the Boston School, he was a dear friend and contemporary of Nan Goldin (though I think he's better, though she is definitely more famous). He had reason to believe he was the illegitimate son of Albert DeSalvo aka The Boston Stranger. Looking at his photographs, this makes sense. More like paintings than reproducable photographs, the show featured a mix of darkroom prints, polaroids, photograms, and images of x-rays (see the bullet wedged in his chest below). Some had writing in what looked to me like spot-tone ink. The most powerful images in my opinion are his self-portraits--you can visibly, tangibly see him dying from HIV. He made photos until his death in 1989, he even turned the hospital bathroom into a darkroom.

Lois Conner

2011-04-05T10:38:00.009-04:00

This post is long overdue and it's now time to reflect on what I've really learned and still remember. I was happy to find out that we wouldn't be cramped in the espresso room for two and a half hours. Since this was due a long time ago I am going to get right to the good stuff and not fluff this up anymore than it needs to be. I walked into the room and saw the prints up on the wall and thought that these were digital images and then wondered how is that possible because there is so much detail, but then figured they were scanned negatives, so that solved that issue. The other thing I found out before she started talking was that she printed them at her house with her own printers and they were contact prints. It proved that the best thing to have is a good negative over having good skills dodging and burning. It's so much easier!

Anyway, it's always interesting to see how people got started and the process that unfolded and that got them to where they are today. Her work is much different from that of her earlier work, which is true I think of any artist, but the same ideas are threaded throughout. The first work she did was inspired by traditional Chinese painting and she tried to use that style in her photographs. She originally started to photograph with an 8x10, but fell in love with the panoramic camera. Often using three-panels to consist of one photograph, she states that although it's great when they all fit together, she welcomes (and likes) the ones that do not perfectly match up. Which is sometimes interesting to see, as well, because photography isn't always about the ones that are successful and perfect. There are imperfections and things that can occur--like miscalculation, light leaks, problems during development, etc.

The photographs from early on China were not that interesting to me (the one by the swamps that is now developed). They were beautiful and everything, but that was about it. The fact that it no longer actually looks like that is cool, like comparing how things have changed but that was in the words not the photograph. The flowers/plants floating on the water were beautiful, as well but there was nothing that complex about them either.

The stuff that really interested me was her current work that she is doing. Taking pictures of people's offices is a funny idea because their office, the stuff that they have in it, the (dis)organization, the furniture, etc can really say a lot about the person that you wouldn't necessarily guess about them. It's just real. These aren't pictures in offices that we can find in catalogues, perfectly decorated and organized. They have a sign of life in them even though we don't actually see the person. This essentially the same concept I had behind the approach I was doing when I was taking the pictures of garages in 4x5. The garage is something that people don't see and the way that they are kept and what is kept inside them is interesting and can say something about the owner. I was thinking of photographing the owner to connect them, but a lot of them did not want me to take their picture. I decided to cut my losses at the time and just find something else (the house full of books which has the same idea at its core). She said that she does not touch or move anything in the office, she just takes the pictures as they are. I did the same with my project because I wanted to have the authenticity show through the frame.

Lots of the office pictures really play with the use of reflections off the glass. I really like that about them. The lighting in most of them is really beautiful and the tones are so luscious and creamy. I just love them. I have to give her props for carrying both the 8x10 and the panoramic camera everywhere, especially on a blazing, hot summer day in China. Some one asked how much everything was and she said about sixty pounds. That was just crazy to me. Why bring both? The exposures were spot on and I give her props for that, too. The office ones were difficult because you wanted it to be accurately exposed for the office and the person who was (sometimes) in it and still get the detail outside of the office. The outside highlight would have totally been blown out if she just exposed for the office and inside totally in shadow and under if she expose for the outside. She said this came with practice and she got the hang of how to expose through practice though and through experience she sometimes can just guess the exposure when walking into the office, even though she does still meter to accurately expose.

The differences between each office were nice to see and this project really works when you compare them. There is strength in numbers! I am getting cheesier by the minute. What really made them so awesome was knowing who's office it was. I don't know if this was actually included in the exhibition/book (if these are published) of these photographs, but they definitely should be included in the presentation. It's good to know. The crowd favorite, and mine as well, was David Tang's office (above). There is so much stuff in it. It is well furnished. It's got a large round window that probably let's in beautiful light onto the desk, which would be nice while working although I doubt much work is actually done at the desk. He has a fire place and a mantle with lots of different stuff on it. His desk is covered with mounds of books. What is best part of this picture is the large painting he has on his wall. It says something about him, too. I wonder whether or not he even decorated this office or he hired someone else to do it for him. Either way the people pointing in this painting actually make our eye look at whatever they are pointing to. They are stumbling upon something and pointing it out to the others trying to really look at it and we are doing the same thing with this office. The reflection of the painting is also really beautiful as well. This is maybe the best photograph that she had. The angle, the distance, the composition, all really perfect. She really nailed it on this one.

Critique Group A #2

2011-04-05T10:16:00.012-04:00

Giovanni, your photographs from this round are a step in the right direction from the last critique. I personally thing that your book should be in color still, but that is ultimately up to you. There were three different groups of photographs that we saw. The three or four with the family sitting down eating in a restaurant are the ones that stick out the most like a sore thumb compared to all of the photographs that I've seen in this critique and the last. As many pointed out, I was drawn to the picture of the little girl grabbing the noodle/spoon. I loved the frame, the lighting, and the gesture she is making. Although this is my favorite, this photograph and those other ones from the same scene didn't seem to fit with the other ones. They seemed a little out of place.

The different photographs of the young couple walking through town worked well and are stronger when in sequence to create a larger picture and narrative between the two and about life because, as I said while we were critiquing, your photographs are a commentary about the things we encounter throughout our life. I think with the inclusion of different age groups and different scenes/experiences can speak about the differences and the similarities between these different people. In some cases it doesn't matter how young or old you are, you can feel alone sometimes.

I am thinking about the picture of the boyfriend and girlfriend from this critique when she is grabbing and holding onto him, almost longing for him and he is there and sad, but also not there. He seems distant and I start to make a story and I think that maybe he has to go away for a long time, especially because there is the the train and they are at Grand Central Station (which is where the other photographs are important and play off each other). He is sad that he needs to go and he feels lonely even though he is with someone at the time. It's an emptiness. This can arguably be compared to the photograph of your father and brother I think it is. There is the dog there, your dad sitting right next to him on the couch and he is looking off into the distance and I get a feeling of longing, loneliness, and emptiness. From what you were saying about how you want to make a comparison between these things and were throwing out the notion of dividing photographs by chapters and headings, this might be an interesting thing to think about and maybe look at your photographs in a different way.

Although you said you don't like games, I still think its better to leave the viewer with something to think about and try to figure out why you organized these photographs this way, the order in which they are in, and what they have in common and how they are different. Instead of giving it away, I think this is a better strategy because it would even be harder for you to accurately and succinctly put it into words. So think about it, not saying that you need to do, just that to consider it.

Some of the photographs of the couple did look a little too hallmark and staged and I think that that takes away from the point/feeling of your pictures (or at least the feeling you are trying to evoke/give off). The photos of the guys gambling were interesting and some of the gestures were cool, but I think this group was a bit weaker than the couple group or the del group that you had in the last critique.

Rowenna, you definitely had a different tone in these photographs and a different approach than the first critique. Yes, you explained that your Aunt (if I remember correctly) had died and you were in a somber mood--a bit of rut. It is understandable and the feeling was definitely darker and heavier than the first critique.This was in part because of the high contrast that you added to these photographs. However, the one that stuck out the most was the one that had a nice tonal range, but still contrasty because of the clothing you were wearing. This was the one in the hall way with back lighting (I presume) illuminating you and your head down slightly looking up at the camera. Lighting looks suitable enough for Jesus in this picture, yet there's definitely something wrong with it. It's like an anti-angelic equivalent. The texture on the floor was also a nice pattern and the symmetry of the photograph was calming and balanced in a way, yet I still felt some type of uneasiness.

The photograph with you in the shirt sitting down on the cobble-stoned street and the one where you are standing were not my favorite at all. They reminded me a bit of a photo I photographed coupled with high contrast to make them look slightly better. I know that there is a tendency to add contrast to make an OK photograph slightly better. These two photographs were alright, but that's really it. They were neither terrible nor great, which I don't know if it is a good thing or bad thing. Your project is really about the group as a whole and not the strength of every single photographs sometimes.

I also did not really like the one in the long black dress because of the white bag you where holding, which I find kind of funny, but in a bad way in this case, because you are supposed to be this haunting/daunting figure in the middle of the path, but you are carrying a rather plain off white canvas bag. But I don't think that is why it was included so in this case I wish it wasn't there especially because it is the most white-concentrated thing in the picture against the trees and your dress. The problem with that is that it takes away from the seriousness you are trying to convey. The things that bring these high contrast images together is the symmetry and balance they have. Kudos on keeping up the same working method and the same approach for the most part to tie them together.

The one of your hands right on top of the blanket is really quite beautiful. The creases the sheet makes mimics your hand. It has the same amount of creases as fingers and looks like they are almost the same widths as well. It's delicate and can tie into your group of photographs from the original critique because the ones from this week were substantially different. Another good one was the one of you in the bathroom. As Eddy said, I liked the drops on the glass and the obstruction of what the viewer is really actually trying to see. It didn't really fit though with the rest of the group though (unfortunately) and I don't think it should go in the group.

Eddy, I know the biggest problem for you is figuring out how to merge these two (photo) worlds together and wondering if they can co-exist or if you just need to pick one over the other. But I say why not? Who cares? They can be shown and possibly separated, like you suggested about your show. I just don't know how you will do this book-wise. They are two different projects and I think both good in their own respect and different in level of sophistication. I don't know if that is the right word, but it will do for now.

Your portraits are so beautiful and the three new ones you had were good. I do not like the idea of showing two or three different shots of the same person that someone in your capstone suggested. then we start to take look at them as comparisons and their own separate groups within the larger group. Your photos are good enough to have one of them and to stand alone. They don't need multiples. The two best were the the top two of the girl. The stare and expression on her face was awesome. I can't even pick which one is better and this might be the only one that might work having two.

I loved that hair of that socialite/artist's son. He's "got a good mug" as Joe Lawton would say. I am excited to see your show, especially after watching you guys edit and pick the final ones that would be included. It was fun to see everything spread out. I don't know how it is going to be laid out in the gallery because I had to leave for that, but I like the selects. The thing about your photographs is that they are beautiful, but at the same time they are not. They are because of the precious large format negative and the lighting on some of the subjects faces, but at the same time there's this like critical thing about them, too.

You have a lot of different age groups and they are not about like your friends (which is what the project started out to be about in 4x5) and you took pictures of your dad and like the little boy and stuff. I think it is better and more well-rounded project now and can create a better dialogue between the other group of digital documentary pictures.

Critique Group A #2

2011-04-04T18:38:00.002-04:00

Apologies to Giovanni, I was late for your critique due to a migraine headache. I didn’t get a chance to look at your pictures but one thing I notice, comparing your previous sets of photos to last week’s is the theme of narrative photography. While this can be achieved in a single image, you manage to tell the stories and give more details by using sequence of images.

Images of people you know, including your friends and family can be a very good storytellers, perhaps better than your subject often wish. I like that you mock up your own ‘docu-dramas’ with your willing friends to act as your cast. I wish I have friends and family that would be willing to do the same for me :-). As Lucy said about her mom (I think), my family likes to pose - in a flattering way. They all need to look beautiful. After I take the shot, they all want to see the picture and if any one of them is not looking so ‘hot’, they want me to delete the photo .. aaahhh!

Again, just glazing over your photos from last week, I still think black and white works the best. I love the photo where your friends were playing cards (right?). They go very well with your pervious sets where they were on the streets, in the dark, talking, conniving, planning. I love mafia movies and it gives me that sense of narrative. It’s almost like a movie but expressed in photographs.

Apollonia - first of all, let me just say that I admire your boldness, tenacity and braveness. I have to give you HUGE credit for doing street photography. It’s something that I want to do, enjoy looking at, especially, how a photographer can capture a moment that would make one smile, laugh, teary-eyed and relate to. I tried doing it a couple of times and to date I’d say I had at least two bad experiences. I got yelled at by these A Cappella singers at the corner of Prince and Greene in Soho. They were asking for money because I took their photos, and I got chased by a mad man when I took his photo on West Broadway - thank god he was old and could not keep up with me .. :-).

Back to your photos - I think your sets of photos from the first critique are the strongest. As you know I especially loved the woman in the kitchen but the guys sitting around the table, I think one of our classmates calls it ‘The Last Supper’ is exceptionally good. The way you’ve captured the moment, is simply amazing. I’m not sure if it was staged, but nevertheless, it was able to convey a moment or an idea, such as, relationships, camaraderie, hobby, past time, competitiveness etc. Your photographs breaths life - they have motion. Your portraits suggests movement and vitality.

Though I tend to agree with everyone in the class on your latest sets of photos. They seems to work as a group and if you remove one photo the story doesn’t seem complete - it lacks cohesiveness. But I must say, that your photos are quite clear and real, almost tangible and I think that’s what makes it effective - at least for me. I often think with my emotions (yea not my brain .. hehe). I want to feel, to be moved and to be shocked.

Eddy - what can I say :-), your portraits are just spectacular! They are dramatic, impressive, in-your-face kind of thing, and unforgettable. But I must say, that the photos of your friends is far more fascinating. They are stimulating and compulsive.

I love the kind of lifestyle your friends live. It’s something that one would fantasize. I wish I can be crazy like that - live life, not make my bed (grrr) :-). They are sensational, scandalous, amazing, appalling, interesting and HOT! I’m sure you’re getting great advice regarding your upcoming show with Lindsey but personally I would showcase these dungeon, creepy, risque photos of your friends. Not everyone would like it and people who don’t like it are afraid of it.

I never liked Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades” but I understand the spirit behind it and started to appreciate his vision. I like it’s humor, the unconventionality of it’s media and the incessant probing of the boundaries of art.

This what’s separate your work from others, pushing the limits of ‘what’ is art or artistic. Does it need to be conventional or beautiful to be effective? I think not ....

Gear and Creative Process

2011-04-04T18:35:00.002-04:00

For this blog, I just want to go over some gear I use and my creative process.

I am shooting primarily with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.4 and EF 100mm f/2.8. When the natural light is not enough I have a 580EX II Multi-Flash kit - but I try to use natural lighting as much as possible. A tripod is a must and I recently purchased a wireless remote to make my life a little easier. Those are my staples, and if I could choose one lens, I always default to my 50mm lens. I try to keep things as simple as possible in terms of gear.

In terms of my creative process, I still struggle with it. Every time I think of an idea, my photo 1 professor always pops into my head .. “oh Row, you don’t have an eye ... these are ugly.” When this gets into my head, I get bummed and would just turn the TV on and watch all day. For me, the creative process is slow, it’s a way of being and it can’t be forced, however, it can be cultivated and allowed. When I am open and my mind is receptive and quiet then it happens .. kind of a “hmmm, well, what if I tried this ...” There is definitely happiness to it. I get excited and the first thing I do is grab my camera and try the idea (which by the way is always on a tripod).

On lazy days and weekends I try not to watch TV. Watching TV turns me into a jello, next thing I knew I am all melted, on the couch, asleep. I try to go outside and go for a quick walk, see people, hoping for some spark or I go to the gym and run for an hour. I write notes on little pieces of paper on any idea that pops into my head then I revisit it at the end of the day and see if it makes any sense. I dance around the house to the disco tunes of “The Hustle” “We are Family” and “Disco Inferno” .. :-). I am also a big fan of the 80’s, A-ha, B52 and Depeche Mode, to name a few. I start shaking my ‘groove thang’ to see if I can think of something exciting :-).

Other crazy things I do are walking in the rain (not all the time only when I forget my umbrella), I paint, play an instrument, listen to music I hate, take a nap, I take real photos - not digital. I own a Pentax SFXN. It’s completely manual. I go out and shoot and just have the negatives develop and I keep them - for my eyes only :-).

These are a few of my favorite things to do .... la la la la.

Self-Portrait

2011-04-04T18:32:00.001-04:00

I’ve always wanted to do this project but laziness got into me. I was surprised and got excited to know that we’re suppose to create a book for this class. Honestly, I did not read the class description, so, I just assume this is going to be another lecture class with papers to write for midterms and finals.

I think self-portrait is a very vulnerable position to put oneself in. I think that was one of the original reasons why I did it. I wanted to challenge myself and push my limits. Technically, it was difficult because I used a self-timer and had to run back and forth between the camera and my place in the image. I have always been a believer in the happy accident and definitely think chance played a role in some of my images.

Self portraits are tough for a number of reasons; I can’t see myself to know how I look until after the fact. Setup can be more time consuming. Focus is difficult because again you can’t see where that focus point is resting and if you are using a timer mode, there is a chance you weren’t in the frame when the camera found something to focus on.

But in a way, I find it to be good for me and quite rewarding - it’s a healthy exploration of self. It gives me an opportunity to get to know me. It makes me think of my emotions, what I like and dislike, my moods, what makes me happy and sad.

There are, however, a couple of things I try to avoid .. (1) I don’t want my photos to look sexual in a malicious way, with that said, (2) I try to avoid nudity, though nude pictures can be extremely artistic. I want to transmit a certain mood, a certain atmosphere and a certain idea. I want my photos to evoke emotions, to make one stare, linger and wonder, to question. I want it to be about creation, about being unique and having a personality - to show what I am thinking and feeling.

MY WORK

2011-04-04T07:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, so the work that I’ve been doing over the semester (for this class at least) has been strictly images from upstate, NY. I just recently moved up there to a little log cabin in the middle of the woods with A LOT of different and weird animals. Coming from an apartment on the Upper West Side where I’ve lived since I was 17, this is OBVIOUSLY a big change. Actually, Stephan, YOU had a big part in me moving up there…. In our Photo I class last semester you had written a quote on the syllabus that was something along the lines of….. “If you find yourself going to a zoo too often, it’s because you belong there in the first place; you’re at home there.” My mom has had a weekend house upstate for so long and every free minute I had I would find myself rushing up there. I truthfully never thought that it was even an option for me to move up there because c’mon… moving from NYC to the middle of nowhere just seems so stupid. BUT after reading that quote and at the same time realizing how happy it made me to go up there, I figured why not. If I find myself going up there so often, it’s because I belong there, so I may as well take this opportunity to move up there. ANYWAY- enough of that…..

Since I’ve been up there, I find it really fascinating how WEIRD and CREEPY and almost depressing a lot of the things up there really are (especially in the winter---- so I’m really glad the majority of this semester was filled with snow). So I pretty much have just been shooting things that appeal to me up there in a weird way (not in a pretty way… I have barely shot any images that look relaxing or are easy to look at). I haven’t had any real story or narrative in my head while I have been shooting but I think that if I did, it would really limit what I take pictures of and I don’t necessarily think that that’s a good thing.

So as of now I’m really working on trying to find some theme or some type of story that would fit a lot of my images. I keep thinking along the lines of “the creepiness of upstate NY” (typical) or just like a broad scheme of images from up there but placed in a book in a patterned way (like a person and then an animal and then a car, and repeated) or something like that. I really actually am not happy with any of the ideas that I have had so far because none of them tell a deep or meaningful story so I’m REALLY hoping that the next critique will bring along some ideas from other people for me…………….. This past week and weekend I was in Florida so I couldn’t get upstate to shoot (which was the WORST) so I’m hoping what I have from the weeks after my first critique will do me some good………..

CRITIQUE GROUP A

2011-04-04T07:18:00.000-04:00

Giovanni-

I definitely think, actually KNOW, that your images from last week were definitely MUCH better than the images from your first critique. No, I’m not saying that the images were bad the first time around, I just think that this time you captured more “good moments” than you did last time… if that makes sense. I really did enjoy the pictures of your cousin and his fiancé, although the kissing one where the girl’s leg was up was a little bit too cliché for me. Funny because I think that photo was the first one to catch my eye when I looked at all of your images up on the wall but after studying all the rest, there was much more meat and much more substance to all of the other ones. I think that the colors (with low saturation) worked better than the the black and white images did as well because of how it set the mood. The black and white ones I think made it easier to pass by your images while the colored photos really got me to stare and stay with each image for a longer amount of time. Overall, I love looking at your work and think that you do a really great job capturing the moments of your life that we are all so intrigued by. I’ve actually been thinking pretty frequently about how to go about creating a narrative and/or theme for your book. Personally, I believe the two very different parts of one’s life could simply make a good book by somehow dividing your images into an “after dark” section and a “with the family” section or something like that. All in all, I think that your work has definitely improved and I really do love the stuff you’ve shown us.

Row-

I really enjoyed both “types” of work that you brought in (the “soft, feminine” version of you alongside the “harsh, intense, almost scary” version of you.) I think that the contrast between the two types of images worked really well because it clearly showed that you’re not just one way or another but that you really have a lot of different sides to you that one person should get to know. I can understand how some people in the class were taking out some of the newer/more intense photos because they didn’t fit so well with the soft/feminine photos of the first critique but I think I’d actually like to see more of the new and intense Row. I think something great could be made from the fact that you have such different ways of showing yourself off. A book could maybe show the different faces of Row by starting with the soft and feminine and intimate images and then slowly getting darker and/or more intense. I don’t think drastic changes like one soft to one intense photo on one page spread would work at all but I do think a slow and gradual change from the softness to the intenseness would work really well to give the idea that you are not just what meets the eye and literally speaking, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

And sorry I think I said the words soft and intense about 203984203984029384 times but I really couldn’t think of any other adjectives to use at the moment haha.

Critique A #2

2011-04-03T22:15:00.001-04:00

Rowena- I have to admit you hit the home run! A milk and honey approach a rich, yet dark explosion of sexiness to your series of photographs. The SoHo inspired background settings among your photographs was great. It’s a treat to be in SoHo, as for me it doesn't feel like greater Manhattan as the mid-town rush. Especially, on an Autumn or Spring Saturday afternoon. The last two photographs chosen from Rowena’s series is very much awe-inspiring. Rowena’s photography in my eyes is very appealing with a notion for style and grace with moods for playing a love song during the wee hours of 330 AM as delirium kicks in. You're photos also showed balance of ambiance; whereas, weird in a good way. I also did sense tension, but inspirationally creating emotions of mood. Seems as you produced emotions onto your photos, for that creates an eerie existence. Job well done; I salute you.

Apollonia- you are a lion and I personally think we all should be inspire by your boldness with traits of being very strong-minded. You really have no fear in photographing strangers and I respect that to the fullest. I am on a trip, as of late in photographing total strangers, but lacking the boldness that you carry. Your photos displays expressions and many gestures from the subjects you photograph its real, and when you shoot you tend to freeze real life. I’ve notice in a few of your photographs the detail of your subject portrays what life really is and what life should look like by means of a third eye and I am very much aware and under the impression that your subjects and its meaning to life is everything that surrounds us plain and simple. Overall, I think we all could learn something from you as well as we all could learn something from each other whether it be technical or experience.

Eddy- The one photograph “Elvis and the forehead stones” by far at its best is superior that one photograph has character the style it creates a rockabilly swagger, but human. I have flirted with thoughts of are these people a trend? I think not… I have spent a significant amount of time out west Anaheim, CA to be precise, and I personally made friends with a few rockabilly types… Your photography brings a vision of hipster counterculture the hey-day and craze of early 90’s Manhattan club kids. An intuitive look further adapting as time passes, whereas, by bringing forth you’re the future of your counterculture. Great work by far!!! You do remind me of the spunky pop/art curator with a vision. And yes I have seen the Ashley Bullock “Days Travel” I wish of would of attended the premier instead. However, I have spent a hot minute or two in the lobby’s gallery and I didn’t know the actual name is the Center Gallery from your last post you just made me stand correct. Overall, great work nice post…

Senior Show: Days' Travel

2011-04-01T20:06:00.002-04:00

I hope you all took a moment to stop by the Center Gallery in Lowenstein and spend some time with Ashley Bullock's "Days' Travel." Very much in the spirit the grandfather of documentary photography, Mr Walker Evans, Ashley's photographs are deceptively straight-forward and objective.

Ashley's process involved visiting different lonesome-seeming towns off train-routes in the tri-state area, many of which she had never been to. How alien and familiar these sad little buildings feel. What do all these "FOR RENT" and "FOR SALE" signs say about the blue-collar economies that surround these towns? Many of these humble commercial spaces seem to have once had grand aspirations. Isn't it amazing how though the photographs are of different towns it all looks the same, stagnant and ghostly.

I admire Ashley for doing a show of darkroom-processed-and-printed black and white well-framed prints. In an age where it feels every gimmick has been conceived and beaten to death, there is almost something revolutionary about Ashley's classic approach.

Lois Conner

2011-03-31T16:46:00.006-04:00

Lois Conner was fantastic. It was amazing walking into the room and getting to see actual prints of her photographs. Seeing photos on a powerpoint presentation and seeing them in print is just so different. In print, you are really able to see the details, you actually have control over whether they look right or not, and the photos aren't distorted by the projector in anyway. Walking around the room and spending time looking at each one was pretty great, rather than just getting to see it up on a screen.

Lois herself was kind of awesome, too. The fact that she carries around not one, but two huge cameras with her is ridiculous. In a good way. Her dedication to photography is really inspiring. She wants her photos to look a certain way and so she endures carrying around heavy cameras and being absolutely meticulous when shooting. I think that fact that she doesn't comprise what she wants for conveniency is admirable.

She mainly showed us photos from two different projects -- photos from her time in China over the years and photos of the inside of office buildings. Both were amazing in their own ways.

I was really impressed by the photos she took that combined several frames to create a panorama. The one that I still cannot really wrap my mind around is the one from China that combines two photos taken years apart. It in no way looks like two photos to me -- forget about them being taken years apart. This photo just really blows my mind and I love it.

I also love the fact that she is so attached to China in particular. I think it is amazing how many times she has been there, tracking the progress of such an constantly-changing place and watching it grow over the years. She made so many relationships with people in towns and China has become a place close to her heart. I really just found everything she told us extremely inspiring and encouraging.

These were some more of my favorites that she showed us:

Wang Qingsong: When Worlds Collide

2011-03-29T10:11:00.004-04:00

The other day I went to the ICP to see the "The Mexican Suitcase" (which was was wonderful but not contemporary so I shan't speak of it here), while I was there wandering around I found something incredibly strange, "When Worlds Collide." This show was pretty incredibly. It features some of the most elaborately staged photographs I have ever seen. Its not so much that the photos are staged, its the scale to which they are made. In this photo, for instance, Qingsong filled a huge sound stage with fake advertisement posters the he made, BY HAND. There are a lot of posters in this picture. Also there are about 25 people in this picture.

The photos were also accompanied by some of the most thorough placards I have seen in any exhibit which stated the intentions of the photographer and his methods which was interesting because usually you have to guess at these things, not that this photo isn't pretty obvious in its intentions. Another very intense photo was this one:

This photo has so much going on it is almost hard to believe that someone managed to set this up. I cannot imagine how long it took for him to make these photographs. However, as impressive as the production of the photos are, I feel like they sort of hit you in the face. Looking at the photos there is not a lot of subtlety, and maybe thats not what he is going for but I feel like they are just too in your face. This one I thought was especially obvious.

Lois Conner

2011-03-29T09:41:00.004-04:00

Getting to see Lois Conner's work was pretty wonderful. I loved that she brought her prints in for us to see, because it is always so much more wonderful than looking at work in digital form. The quality of her prints was pretty impressive which is of course because she is printing off of absolutely gigantic negatives. Her work ethic was also just really impressive. I like seeing photographers who have spent so much time/energy/life on their work because it is sort of encouraging. Also she is pretty much a badass for carrying around two huge cameras around all the time and not seeming to want to stop anytime soon. The most interesting thing to me about her work was the use of the panaroma(ish) shape of her pictures. When I first looked up her stuff online before class I wasn't crazy about it. Something about the panaroma bothered me. It seemed that it led too consistently to pictures that were too pretty. Of course, I think this had everything to do with the fact that I was only looking at one set of pictures of Chinese landscapes/cityscapes, I somehow managed to miss her other stuff on her website. Seeing her work in person changed my opinion completely. Seeing things in the panorama Lois is able to get a lot of information but still manages to arrange it so everything looks good. This is really amazing because its hard enough to make a whole 35mm frame look good, let alone doubling the frame. I was also impressed that while the majority of her pictures were wide shots that it wasn't irritating. I find that sometimes when I am looking at work and I feel like photographers aren't getting close enough to things its irritating but she manages to pull it off because her photos are just so interesting. My favorite by far were the pictures were she combined several panoramas to make one image. I thought these were consistent enough to be viewed as one image, but that the different frames joined together created a really great motion for your eye to move through the pictures.

This one is amazing just because it is two frames taken in two different years that flow seamlessly.

Lois Conner

2011-03-29T04:30:00.004-04:00

Lois Conner's photographs are easy to get lost in. I was most drawn to her "Life in a Box" series. There are so many layers-whether it be literal layers of cityscapes, panes of glass, reflections, door frames, photographs within the photograph, ghost-like moving figures, and/or double exposures-or layers of meaning and interpretation. Even when there are no human subjects her images are intensely ethnographic. Lois tempts us into staring into the clutter and workspaces of strangers, making the viewer question what our messes-or lack of them-say about who we are as individuals and where we fit in the complicated social mechanisms of our cities, our corporations, and the globalized world. So much data is in each long frame, the large-format view-camera Lois uses allows us to see the contrasts of all the different textures and all the revealing fine details in each mess. The fact that Lois lugs her big camera around the world without assistance is also very inspiring. (When it comes to negatives bigger is better. viva the large-format!)

150 Years Later

2011-03-28T19:57:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I was supposed to go see a photo exhibit that was up at Vassar College but I couldn't get around to it. One of my friends went though so I told her to pick me up one of the photo books they were selling there so I could see some of the work for myself. The book is called 150 Years Later (meaning 150 years after Vassar College was founded) and employs some of the best works the students there have done recently.

My favorite image was called "Gum" by a girl named Katherine Newbegin taken in 2010. I can't find a picture of this photograph online (of course) but it's taken of some old books lined up on one of those moving carts they have in libraries against a white, brick wall. All of the books are old fashioned looking and beat up. If you were to look at this photo you'd just think it was of some old books but the title is "gum" so that makes you wonder why? If you look up closely there is a little, tiny wad of blue gum sitting on the wheeling cart that the books are on. Really weird but interesting. There isn't much more to say about this image other than it's of some books and a wad of gum so it's weird that I like it so much. If the title wasn't what it is though I think the image would be a little bit more boring. The weird title gives the whole photo a weird feel and that's what makes me like it.

Another image that is also by Katherine Newbegin that is in the book is called "Passage" and was taken in 2010. I really like this photo also and I think it's because it gives off a strange and eerie feeling. "Gum" was just a strange combination of things to be put together in a photograph but didn't really make you feel strange but this image, "Passage" makes you feel strange and eerie and almost creeped out. It is of some type of a dark and gray cellar with a dirt/sand floor with one opening in which you can only see black through and another almost mirror image of that opening except it's not an opening it's just black bricks. Either way, the two black "things" make the picture look really strange and creepy. The focal point of this image though is a little blue bowl in right smack in the center of the floor. It looks like a dog bowl. I think that's where the real creepiness comes in because it almost looks as if this was a place where a dog was locked or chained up in because why else would there be a bowl in the middle of the floor?

In the first image, "Gum" Katherine's framing was not centered and a little bit weird. The books were cut off at the bottoms and the white brick wall ended about a half an inch before the frame of the image did. She obviously framed the image like this purposely but I wonder why? I guess if it were centered it would be too typical and not weird looking. However, the second image is centered almost perfectly in that the blue dog bowl is almost smack in the middle of the floor and the image still looks creepy and weird. I guess framing can do a lot to add or take away from a photo but it really all depends on what the photo itself is of.

Book review Street World: Urban Culture and Art from Five Continents.

2011-03-28T09:27:00.002-04:00

Street World: Urban Culture and Art from Five Continents.

I figured I’d do a book review being every photograph in this book seems to correlate with every inch of cultural evolution and what we see today, or have seen yesterday. Whereas, our book project is approaching its deadline, so this book represents great ideas for our book. This photography book of urban art/culture has prepared me in a sense of wow I need to photograph more and more. I need to just take a seat and watch with a deep observation on how the world is revolutionize. I would love to just people watch and stare in a deep study, but not in a voyeuristic type of way... That's pretty creepy, but a subtle way of analyzing and photographing anything that moves. A photographer’s clairvoyance, a fortune tell, a layout to sort out the way we seek of what’s within our own environment most of us aren’t aware of. A game we build with our minds virtually, yet surreal.

The book Street World: Urban Culture and Art from Five Continents by Roger Gastman, I originally struck luck when searching for this type of photography book as it just appeared on the bottom of the last shelf. Within an hour of browsing thru this book I just felt awe this is a great photography book... Even for a brief run through glancing through this book, so I noticed many similar characters from the entire world. The diverse subcultures and modes of urban expression together from graffiti, skateboarding, DJ'ing, and MC’ing. The set of offbeat fashion, gang life, music, as well as design, photography, and other traditional visual art forms. If anyone is interested on urbanism this would be the book to analyze and get ideas for our book project. Great book I highly recommend, and if anyone is interested, I'll bring copy next class or email me and I'll let you borrow. Or if anyone else has a book to recommend I highly appreciate all recommendations.

Lois Conner

2011-03-22T10:10:00.005-04:00

I really enjoyed Lois Connor's visit this past week in class. She was such a passionate women and her work really struck me. Her landscape photos were amazing but also really interesting in how she focuses on the effects of man on their environment more than the totally natural. Her photographs were impeccable with great tones and detail and beautiful subjects. Also, her ability to make scenes like a NYC rooftop seem like a new and beautiful world was amazing as well.

But her series of "life in a box" was really fascinating. She applied her interest in landscape-type scenes to a completely different world and she definitely succeeded. She transformed the boring, dreary office scene into a beautiful, intriguing one that really revealed a lot about each person as well. I really found both her work and her talk inspiring, both for photographs and life. She was such a real person with so many stories to tell and her dedication and passion, along with her talent of course, definitely led her to success.

Lois Conner lecture

2011-03-22T09:53:00.002-04:00

Lois Conner photographs represents the idea of the untouched. The lonesome in the Gobi I love the idea the sense of adventure captivating my very own imagination of what will it be like to travel amongst desert nomads, or withstand heat of 110 degrees then during nightfall a freezing mid 30's a pure depiction of desert climate, yet an untouched untrammeled land. There's something about the desert from the Gobi to the Navajo Indian reservation images. The desert places that tranquility bar none from any other terrain as oppose to a city. The desert has a natural mystic spiritual presences, whereas, the desert sets off an impression of freedom, as the vast open areas many miles of shapes sizes colors rock formations dating back since the earth’s early development. The sky on Lois desert oasis photos has a straight forward flair and has the same stillness as the ground a gently, yet subtle natural composure... Think about the city, for instance, city skies changes rapidly as the energy from lower ground offers urgency, and that urgency blends together with its subjects. The photographs don’t seem peaceful, but Lois Conner’s nature and landscape photographs made me aware of the peacefulness that surrounds the untouched and untrammeled.

Her rooftops images in NYC were great I like the concept behind her artistic vision and architectural influences. Lois Conner’s rooftop images have the concept of correct technique with the right moment of breaths taken and use of proper stance her photos just seem perfectly crafted composition wise. Why include rooftops what logic do rooftops portray? Lois Conner did mention the feel of an escape an escape yes even for a brief minute of silent pause rooftops can bring out an epic feeling the pinnacle of self-accomplishment, and to reach that peak or destination some won’t experience probably until death by far is mesmerizing. However, on a strange note rooftops can give me the willies especially with childhood recollections on many occasion with daring and bold visits atop brownstone rooftops the harsh smell of tar-filled rooftops. Memories about that summer job consisting of tarring rooftops in blistering summer heat... I've spent some time atop rooftops, and yes, it can give of the aura of freedom. ... I could relate to Lois Conner’s experience about her feeling of a rooftop, whether fancy bar top or tar-filled rooftops always bring out a peaceful presence from the views they can create, or the slightest pleasure of light summer wind gently passing through.

Critique Group B

2011-03-21T23:47:00.004-04:00

This one is not so far overdue, but really, I need to get on top of this whole blogging thing.

So, after a break after Critique Group A, Critique Group B (my group!) got a chance to show their work.

Lucy's project revolves around photographing people getting ready for bed. As one of her roommates, I am extremely pleased that I haven't been asked (forced) to participate (yet). I really love this idea for a project because seeing people when they are vulnerable is always interesting. "Vulnerable" may not be the right word, but essentially what she is doing is exposing people at a time when most people would rather not be exposed. I'm also really impressed with how well the project has turned out so far. I feel like this isn't an easy undertaking and just getting people to agree to let her photograph them is an achievement in itself. Although our friend Zak is a bit of an angsty-teen, the photos of her parents turned out really strong. I think as this project develops it will turn into a great final product -- as long as she can continue to convince people to let her invade their personal space.

Moving right along, Sam's work was really interesting and oddly calming. I really loved the photos he had of the interiors of houses and how he made the mundane into something to look twice at. I think those photos were his strongest and I would love to see more along that same vein. Some of my memory of Sam's critique is slightly clouded by the shattering of the hourglass that happened midway into our discussion. However, I do remember thinking that a lot of Sam's photos reminded me of a small-town where not much is going on. This is not to say that his photos were by any means boring, but more that they were in a way peaceful.

Genna's had an immense amount of photos to show us for this critique. There was also a huge range of subject matter and photographic style. All the photos did fit within the realm of an upstate NY town, but some were sending the message of empty small town and some were sending the message of vibrant and lively small town. I don't think that she should try to go with solely one message, yet I feel that the focus of her project should be brought in a little and she should try and find photos that can fit together coherently. Some of my favorite of her photos were the ones that involved cars, which is funny because I generally hate photographs that include modern day cars. This was sort of a side note, but I remember being impressed by her ability to make modern day cars not look so awful.

Lastly, Nicole's set of photographs took us on a mini-road trip through upstate New York. I like this idea for a photo project but I think that she needs to try to develop it a bit more to make it truly intriguing. I feel that her idea of trying to make sometime vastly monotonous into something interesting is great. Some of the landscapes that were in her set were really strong. It was also interesting to see the different things that you will end up coming across if you drive for long enough.

Weeee, awesome work everybody. I'm really looking forward to our next critique!

House Calls with William Carlos Williams, MD

2011-03-21T23:41:00.008-04:00

I navigated the narrow passage way in the neglected section of the library to TR647 to find a recent publication to critique. Most of them were either not interesting or pictures from the sixties and seventies, decades which most Fordham students have well learned about compared to others in my opinions. So, I tried to pick a publication that was released within the last five to ten years. In any case, I stumbled upon Robert Cole and Thomas Roma's House Calls with William Carlos Williams, MD. It size of the book seemed tiny compared to gigantic, monstrous photo books that often need to get shelved in the oversized section. The spine wasn't that thick also, so I decided to check it out.

Once looking through, I realized that book uses photographs in conjunction with text to tell a story. Robert Coles is the author of the text and Thomas Roma took the photographs in the book. It chronicles Robert Coles' memories of Doctor William Carlos Williams while he was making his house calls, with some poems that Doctor William Carlos Williams has written.

Robert Coles' undergraduate professor suggested he write an essay on Doctor William Carlos Williams' stories and poetry. Upon its completion, Coles decided to send him a copy to which he "received a reply on a doctor's prescription paper" thanking Coles and telling to visit if he was 'ever in the neighborhood.' While attending medical school later at NYU, he decided to journey across the river and stop in and pay Dr. William Carlos Williams, who preferred to be called Doc, Doc Bill, or Doc W, a visit. Doc W invited Coles to accompany him while he was visiting his patients--or house calls as he'd call them--through out northern New Jersey. Doc W did not just give him a hands on experience with patients, but he also taught him about life. He encouraged him to to really take in all that he was observing. He told Coles that the were waiting to show and tell him something that he never knew before if he just looked.

Doc W's great-neice was telling Thomas Roma about Doc W and he remembered Dr. Robert Coles told him about some of his visits with him. Roma thought this story should be published and that he should photograph the places they visited to give it some visual support--make the story come alive. He asked her if he could have a list of address of the places Doc W visited at that time and the places that inspired Doc W. After figuring out where all the locations were, he asked Robert Coles to write a memoir to accompany his photographs. The photographs were taken in 2006 and 2007 and the book published in 2008.

The concept I think behind it is really interesting because I do want to read the story and his experiences that he had with Doc W, both the medical and the personal. I get the feeling that he somewhat grew up a little bit after being around Doc W and it seems like a really fond memory. The way in which the story is written is smart, we learn things about Doc W through deduction and stories that Cole recounts.

The size, the amount of pages, and the layout of the book isn't what a normal photo book looks like for the most part, as I said. The actual book is roughly 5" by 7". It's the same size as Dr. Seuss' Cat and the Hat book. I am not sure if this on purpose, but if it is, then I think I like the comparison because they do somewhat remind me of an adult children's book, but a sophisticated one at that. The drawings in little kids books are supplemented with photographs, and the text still tells a story, and there is still some rhyming involved in some parts. There are about 100 pages, really about 40 pages of text/poems and 40 pages of photographs, some taking up two pages. This layout is fine with the goal of this book which is two have the two work together and two see what both of them saw back then.

The photographs themselves, separate from the text could possibly stand alone, but definitely have more meaning behind them when accompanied by the text and after reading the Photographer's Note in the back. The are really beautiful prints, some of them having the creamy, luscious middle gray tones that I love and at various times of the day and therefore light. Most of the photos do not include people, they are really not there on purpose and do not serve a purpose in my opinion. They just happen to be in the photographs and become part of the landscape, which is the best way to treat them with respect to this project because the emphasis is on the culture and buildings and places he saw. There are interesting perspectives, compositions, framing, and angles in all of them. They for the most part are not taken straight-on breaking up the monotony.

The only problem is that in this case Thomas Roma set out to photographs these places and have the story accompany his photographs, but it is really working the other way around. I think his goal was to have a merriment of the two, but the text is really competing for the viewer's/reader's attention and I think the text wins out because I want to find out more behind the story. Maybe Coles should have written a not so interesting story, so the photographs would be paid more attention, too, but then maybe the book wouldn't even be considered in the first place. I am looking at the photographs because I am a photographer and am looking to critique the work and know it is a photo book of sorts, however, to the average joe the photographs wouldn't really be considered.

For me, this is the struggle I have when I try to think of a project that includes both texts and photographs. There needs to be a balance between the two of them because if one is too heavily focused on, then the other isn't even considered, so why include it in the first place. Another problem I have, and ran into last semester especially in the 4x5 class was photographing as an objective party with a concept like Thomas Roma's I think my project (and problem) ended up being a lot like his. I photographed a man and his (cluttered and awesome) home. These alone started to create a dialogue of what a person looks like on the outside and what a person is really like within (same thing with my garages essentially), and I was, and still am, thinking about including the interesting anecdotes and stories he'd tell me while photographing and showing me around, but then I wonder if the photographs are good and the texts adds to that conversation or if the photographs are okay, but better because the text is added. For right now, I try to stay away from things that are to conceptualized right now because I don't know how to find the balance because I wouldn't say I am either a good photographer or a good writer. Both need some work. In any case, I think for Roma with this project is really about the text and the photographs make the text better and that's about it, unfortunately.

Critique Group B

2011-03-21T23:30:00.003-04:00

Liz often gets sucked into the world of theater which is very upsetting to me as her roommate because then when I get home she isn't there to watch the food network and play with the pillow pets. For instance, in the coming weeks she will be spending every day from 6-12 doing some sort of theater thing, which I assume will result in some good pictures. I think her pictures taken in the props loft were my favorite of the bunch. It is an interesting place to begin with, but I really like the way she singles things out to create small detail compositions. I also like the pictures of the people hanging lights because i think it is interesting to see people doing something so mundane in such dramatic lighting. I do agree with what we said in class though that it would be interesting to see more than just legs so it would become more clear that things were happening and legs weren't just standing on the stage.

Nicole, you had an interesting concept behind your photographs. I thought it was a challenging idea to try and make a series of pictures to describe how boring something is without having ridiculously boring photographs. I thought you were pretty successful in this because while most of the pictures contained nothing much besides the side of the road, occasionally there was something interesting or confusing. I thought they were especially successful when Steven lined them up horizontally because they then looked like a giant panorama.

Genna you had very a pretty surprising set of photographs. They reminded me sort of my hometown but a little bit more off kilter. It seemed almost like two different photographers had taken your pictures because some of them were so objective and depressing while the others had such a stock feel, especially the ones of the farming boy/man. They are almost idyllic and just have these levi's jeans ad feel which is interesting but definitely not as interesting as the other photos which seem to say something a little bit sad about this small town. I thought this was especially evident in the picture of the eviction notice and the photos of the man with the snake. Its not so much that the man with the snake is sad in the pictures but you just get the impression that you might not want his life or really want to live there at all but this is combined with the fact that people conduct their entire lives in towns like that.

Critique Group A

2011-03-21T23:04:00.003-04:00

This post is long overdue.

It was really great getting to see everyone's work. Critiques are one of my favorite parts of art classes because having the chance to see what everyone else is doing is fantastic.

I was really curious to see Apollonia's work because I've had class with her for nearly every semester since we started Fordham, and I knew she was a photographer as well, but I had never seen any of her work. I was really impressed with everything she showed us, especially her street photography from NYC and Rome. I love going out and shooting but sometimes I get a bit nervous photographing people, something Apollonia obviously does not have a problem with. I really admire the spirit behind her photos. I especially was fond of the two photos that nearly mirrored one another, despite being taken at different times. One was of a man who looked startled and the other was of a woman who looked as though she was posing. The similarities of the photos were amazing and yet each evoked such different feelings. She's just really good at capturing amazing shots on the street. Also, she's super good at printing, which is always appreciated and admired.

Moving on to something drastically different, Eddie's portraits were amongst some of my favorites of the critique group. I thought the series of photos of people's heads was extremely strong. I spoke in class how the feeling evoked from them was half creepy, half peaceful, which is an interesting combination. A few of them looked as though they had been taken in a morgue. Although there were some strong photos within the ones documenting night life, I would really love to see more of her portraiture.

Row's set of photos was completely different than the others we looked at during this critique group. She showed us a set of self-portraits which brought out a romantic and dreamy feeling. It was obvious that she paid close attention to the composition of her photos and she achieved a feeling of intimacy through her use of framing and style. I think the b&w photos worked much better than the color photographs, and the ones without logos were also much stronger. I think that her project will be really interesting to see develop.

Lastly, we looked at the work of Giovanni. His immense amount of photographs were a bit overwhelming at first but after looking at them for a bit, it was easy to spot the stronger photos of the bunch. A lot of his photos had a very cinematic quality to them and suggested a narrative. This was especially the case for the series of photos of the man in the fedora and his friend. I think that Giovanni will be able to create a really interesting narrative with his photographs once he focuses his work a little more. Currently I think he is trying to do too many different things in his work.

Overall, great job guys! Can't wait to see more from everyone.

Last but not least - Jean Francois Rauzier and George Rousse

2011-03-17T03:44:00.011-04:00

I went to the gallery opening of Waterhouse and Dodd in Soho NY. The gallery presents a group show of Jean Francois Rauzier and George Rousse - March 7-29, 2011.

Rauzier’s hyperphotos consists of anything between 600-3500 individual close up photos stitched in Photoshop. It is truly amazing and commendable on how meticulously he put these photos together, you cannot see the lines of where they are joined. It looks quite surreal. The details are stunning but it’s a bit overwhelming to me. I’m not sure if I like them. After staring at it for a while, I started to get dizzy - it look like one of those geometric illusions - my brain suddenly attempts to find orderly representation out of his mages or I tried looking for Waldo (where’s waldo?).

I enjoyed George Rousee geometric shapes, they almost look like overlays of colors. The illusions is quite intriguing. I love the simple flat design that seems to be floating on the surface of the photo - at least it didn’t make me dizzy :-).

Lois Conner

2011-03-16T13:52:00.005-04:00

I think this pictures says it all. I admire her physical strength :-), vision and tenacity. I love the way she holds her bulky camera for all it’s awkward and overly conspicuous charm. I’ve never been to China but one of my closest friend has been there multiple times because of her father’s work. Whenever she returns, she would always tell me how much she hates it .. it’s dirty, no concept of personal space, and definitely not romantic nor dreamy. Conner made me re-think my view and image of China, during her lecture and looking through her photos, she revealed to me the very real and remarkable beauty of the country which I think has so often been commonly misrepresented. She made me want add China to my list of places to go before I die :-).

Lois’s panoramic black and whites are just simply amazing. I like the light, soft tones she uses in her images. The desert in Dunhuang, Gansu - Gobi Desert (1995), is a moment of sublime perfection. I love her sensitivity to the tiniest formation in the sand. Personally, besides the barely visible camel, the interaction between light and shade, is what makes this photo breathtaking. It’s meditative stillness is what draws me in and holds my attention.

I have quite a few favorites, especially with her multi-panels, but the “Ngo Gach Street in Hanoi”, (1994) brings back so many memories of my own country, Philippines. It almost makes me want to cry - it reminds me of my dad (who passed away two years ago).

Although, I’m going to have to say that, “Le Shan Sichuan (1986), Tibet, is my ultimate favorite. It just looks so dreamy and romantic. It reminds me of the hand scrolls of traditional Chinese art.

Response to Appolonia

2011-03-16T13:39:00.002-04:00

I have the utmost respect and admiration for people who can do film because not only it takes so much work, it needs a different kind of skill sets. It involves a direct hands-on involvement which I think is personally fulfilling and very rewarding.

Nothing compares to the feeling of developing your own film and enlarging a print, watching it come to life in the developer and finally getting the end results and knowing that you are the only reason the print looks the way it does. If I have the luxury of time, I would prefer film, I love it’s tangibility. Also, it makes you think about the shot.

Anyway, my personal opinion (which is very biased), I would prefer B&W, film would be best but digital is definitely the next best thing, but since you have the luxury of doing both, then I would say B&W film and digital. I think mixing B&W and color is seldom successful, because for me, my brain start to process these images. I love the way b&w suspends life - it makes me want to look more at the photograph. It has less information to digest, it relies on emotions and mystery - it’s simple and pure. In color, you tend to know right away what you’re looking at - no mystery, no drama. I think, color has more information to digest since you see everything, it makes you question every details in the photograph. Also, color prints are often too gaudy - rich, vibrant colors are often quite unrealistic and distracting.

But debating which is better is as silly as debating girls vs. boys or apples vs. oranges. It all depends on what you want done. Ignore people who insist that one is better than the other ... ignore me :-). It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish .. but I do love your black and whites, especially the old woman in the kitchen facing the window.

Lois Conner

2011-03-15T15:01:00.002-04:00

Lois Conner was really a fascinating person and clearly a very talented photographer. I loved the lecture that she gave last Tuesday... She was so smart, so talented and yet SO down to earth. She made everybody feel extremely comfortable, equal and just as important as she was. It was a really enjoyable class overall. I think the main thing that I took away from Lois' lecture was not so much the images of her photographs but of the work and all the stuff that has to go on before and while a photograph is being made. At our level, we are photographing mainly things that we have easy access to (considering we're students and don't have time to travel the world in the middle of a semester to take some really good photographs) but when it gets to a higher level, such as the level Lois is on, the work that goes into making one single photograph is NOT easy.

I think the most interesting thing was that she has learned so many different languages JUST so she would be able to take photographs. If it weren't for the fact that she wanted to produce images in other countries, it truly wouldn't be necessary for her to learn so many different languages but as she said, "you need to know if someone is telling you to put the camera down or they will shoot you." She was really so right. If you want to make good pictures, it is not just about picking up a camera wherever you are and clicking a button (well if you are very lucky it could be as simple as that) but usually, there are things like hours of traveling, learning new languages, hospital visits and making new friends or acquaintances that are built into the production of one single image.

I also thought it was very interesting how much she loved architecture. Almost all of her images were of buildings and/or scaffolding. I thought this was really interesting- one, because she is a woman and for some reason the connection between women and construction work/architecture just doesn't seem like it would be as strong as a man and such things would be and two, because I truthfully didn't think that scaffolding could make such great photographs. When I think of scaffolding I think of ugly, stupid annoying things that block the sun when it's a nice day and make for a lot of unnecessary noise due to the construction that always goes along with them. The fact that Lois made such interesting and complex pictures from something that I think of as being a burden, ugly and stupid really makes me open my eyes to so many new things that can be photographed. I know I've heard of the line "good things make good photographs" many times, but after Lois' talk I think I've come to realize that almost ANYTHING can make good photographs.

Critique Group A

2011-03-10T14:28:00.004-05:00

Giovanni I thought the most interesting thing about your photographs was the combination of the cinematic quality of the photographs with the familiarity that you brought to your subjects. It was obvious when looking at the pictures that you were friends with, or at least extensively familiar with the people in your photographs. This was partially just because of the close distance of the camera and the figures but also because it felt as if the camera was another character in the conversation because of how they were standing in a circle of which you probably made up one side. This places the viewer into the situation, which is interesting in contrast with the cinematic quality of the lighting. Generally when I look at cinematic pictures I feel sort of removed from the situation for the artificial feeling that many of these pictures have. For instance the picture that Apollonia posted by Phillip Lorca-diCorcia has a very cinematic feeling but I also feel very removed from the subject. Also similar in this respect are the photographs by Alex Prager in New Photography 2010, this one is called Desiree. Despite the incredibly intimate proximity of camera to subject, the sort of eery cinematic lighting makes the image seem inaccessible. Your photos on the other hand do not have this removed feeling which makes them intriguing. I think that they would be more successful in color because of the yellow quality of the lights but the orange sweatshirt is, of course, somewhat problematic.

Rowena okay, so it has clearly been a long time since this critique actually happened and I obviously should have written this blog post ages ago. However, from what I remember I really liked your photographs. They were especially interesting to me because we are shooting in a very similar environment but our photographs have a very different feel. Your photos are so intensely intimate and evoke such a relaxing mood that I cannot help feeling calm when looking at them. I like them in black and white especially because it makes them more romantic.

Eddy I think I prefer your portraits better than your documentary photographs but probably only because there is something sort of stressful about the latter. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, it is definitely more interesting to look at photos that put you in a mood that ones that don't. Weirdly, I think it is actually the presence of the cameras in your documentary photos that I find a little stressful because everything else that is going on seems fun. The fact that there are so many cameras is interesting because it describes how obsessed people are with documenting moments, but also bothersome because I imagine in the situation I would be too aware of the cameras around me. That is possibly just my spidey photo senses at work noticing cameras everywhere, but I guess sometimes I just want to be in a moment and not record it. This is starting to make less and less sense. Anyways, I like your portraits a lot because I feel like they are critical/objective but not too cold which photos of the sort sometimes are.

Apollonia having been in Apollonia's class last semester as well as this, I am interested to see her pictures of Tokyo. Last semester she showed us pictures of Rome and then continued photographing in New York. I think that in each series of photos her compositional skills have improved. Why am I referring to people in the third person all of a sudden? Anyways, I think that while you are pretty much fearless in regards to photographing people your eye is getting sharper and you are constructing more interesting compositions on the fly, which is obviously excellent.

Critique A & B

2011-03-08T11:13:00.002-05:00

Both critiques were impressive I may have learned a thing or two not the technicalities of working a camera, but the observations of various styles everyone has. What were we trying to accomplish? Is it the framework, or is it the moment of pause then a sigh of relief that this may be the shot.

I will admit a few photographs worthy with the ability to inspire. I also did learn about the different approach to photography especially from my classmates the nature of their vision what they see in life or what we as photographers are trying to create. The creation for a vision we have, whether in a form of a dream we dreamt the night before last, or that our third eye is never absent minded either way I just want to free my mind when taking a photograph. I want to lose myself then pause and extract that very moment in time. How? Why? I’ve noticed photography seems to require technique, for photography is a study one must submit effort, being it’s a struggle of precision and timing we must learn to deal with.

Both critique A and B went very well, and I was blown away by everyone’s presentations. Eddy and Apollonia crafted a style of this trade wasn’t studied yesterday, as their work showcased excellence. I like the Japanese fashion book approach that Apollonia brought to the table, whereas, that outlook brings variety on out of the ordinary of foreign culture. The kitchen shots with the pans hanging in between subject (elder women) and the window showed a soft array of light. The quality of the photographs had an abstraction mixed with psychedelic tones of black and grayish lighting. Eddy’ photographs were clean and sharp the tones were crafted to perfect a clean image, whereas, no noise fades or anything to deconstruct the aura her photos were trying to express.

What are we trying to articulate with our photographs? There's a hidden demeanor I think... There's an expression I think we all want to bring out in our photos, but how do we start?

Rowena and Lucy photographs had a bedroom-setting allure a comfort captivating the personal reflections of bedroom location photography. Their style creates a personal space between the photographer and the subject. The bedroom is a private sanctuary a safe haven, for most it is an exclusive place of intimacy. Why the bedroom? Do these photographs have a hidden meaning, whereas, bedroom photography provides a warm space of privacy then feverishly creating an awareness for informal intimacy? I did observe Rowena’s photographs and noticed her determinism and focus. Her eye paints while releasing the shutter it also promotes an aura of a silent Sunday a jazzy note with thoughts for my Sunday kind of love. Remember Sunday is for romantics we all know Sundays are sacred. However, not to drift off of topic Lucy’s and Rowena’s photography overall did announce comfort. First-rate work!

May it be for entrainment purpose only, however, I do believe there's something about the subjects we photograph. There's an iconic viewpoint, a beauty we see whether it be positive, or just a supportive outlook about life in general. What we vision, as we pause time to capture that dreaminess we seek in our photographs while being caught up in the moment as well.

Sam, Nicole, and Liz’s photography represented documentary style about the life as college students, whether on road trips, or interning for theater production. The concept is very well newsworthy an idea of travel or a lesser road travel. Liz’s photography consist of the stage represents the emotional theatrics, or a behind the scene documentary technique. The dark shadows and rich colors details the yellow and brownish of stage lighting, therefore creating an allure of emotional stage drama. Sam’s photographs had a mysterious craft to its framework especially the one photograph within multiple frames. Nonetheless, Sam’s conceptual photography and lighting having the same effect leaving us wondering about the mystery it creates. Nicole’s photography represents, yet it reminds me of about long road travel, but with a sense of freedom. The sense of freedom to travel and go somewhere the very act of a getaway that becomes an escape, and at the same time photographing that very moment filled with motion. Nicole has a great concept if that’s the idea she is trying to produce photographing the challenge of motion, whereas, demanding to freeze motion while in motion. Good job nice work and idea!

Genna’s photographs showed a discipline for detail. She imposed an attraction, for rural scenery. The one photograph I found to be a treat to my eye, being I have never thought that cowboys, or Montana style ranchers exist in upstate New York. That photograph was new to me, and in a small manner exciting, I’ve travel to many destinations, but never in my entire life, I would of known that there’s a small occupancy of western styled ranchers in New York. WOW… However, I did notice an eerie correlation between a few of Genna’s photographs the photographs displayed a cinema driven suspenseful like appeal, yet like the novel based in Holcomb, Kansas In Cold Blood. I like the mystery a few of her photographs encourage, as in an odd sense some were quite bone chilling. Great work!

After 9/11 Photography by Nathan Lyons

2011-03-08T11:01:00.003-05:00

So I came to school a few hours early today to come check out what types of photo books we had here in our Quinn Library since I was told not to blog about blogs anymore (which I completely understand because that is just stupid in its own respect haha). Anyway, I'm glad I came in to browse through some of the photo books because I'll be honest, as much time as I have spent in this horribe library benig a pyschology major over the past four years slaving over papers and research projects, I had never even peeked into the section of photography books..... Bad, I know.

ANYWAY, I did come across a book that caught my eye, 1) because seeing "after 9/11" immediately made me think of "contemporary" and 2) because when I opened the book, the images weren't just nice images that were pleasing to the eye but they all, in their own way, told a similar story (almost like the idea of what our photo books that we're going to start creating are supposed to do) and not just a "breeze-through", simple, nice story but a story of what the hell our country has been going through over the past few years. Again though, although these pictures are telling the story of the horrors of our country recently, they are taken in such a way that they are uplifting (that's not really the right word, maybe optimistic... you know what I mean...) They almost portray little tiny glimpses of hope. This may be because in almost every picture throughout the book there are American flags somewhere in the frame.... To me, the American flag symbolizes strength and freedom and I think that's where I'm getting the little "optimistic" bit of each photograph from.

I don't have a scanner with me considering I'm in the library and I can't find the images that I like the most in a google search so I'll just write a little bit about them and maybe you guys will be interested in picking up the book to see what I'm talking about...

There is one image that really stands out to me. This image is one of the few that doesn't portray straight forward messages such as "God Bless America" or "God Bless our Fallen Heros," etc. and I think that's why it ends up saying so much more. It is a photo that is hard to explain (on page 85 of the book). It is taken from a low angle of a window (I'm assuming to someones house). The blinds are closed and there is a shadow casted on the blinds of the buildings that seem to be across the street (in back of the photographer) from this window. There are also messy Christmas lights hanging all around the window and a faint, raggedy little piece of an American flag laying crooked in the window as well. There is also a little American Flag sticker down on the lower left hand side of the window too. I am definitely confused by this image because the way it is put together but for some reason it keeps me staring at it. I think what it's trying to get at is the fact that we are ALL patriotic, even in our own weird ways, since 9/11 happened. This photo shows how this particular person is obviously not standing proud and preaching about how great our country is, but the little tiny accessories that he or she decorated their window with show that he, in his own way (which is what America is all about- expressing oneself) does have patriotic feelings as well.

Another image that I liked a lot (page 35 in the book) is of a building in New York City. Again, this is taken at a lower angle with the camera pointing up (I think Lyons may do this purposely because of the way it puts the American flag or whatever American image/message he is trying to convey in a powerful/higher above position). Anyway, the lower level of the building has a huge sign saying "PEEPWORLD" showing that it is obviously a sex shop. Right above this sign, however, there is a huge American flag with "GOD BLESS AMERICA" written above it. I think this is a more simple image to understand than the other one in that I believe again, it's basically showing how everybody has some patriotic feelings in them since 9/11 (even the sexual deviants).

I really enjoyed looking through this book for the few hours I hung out in the photo section of the library for the FIRST TIME EVER and I'm really pretty mad I couldn't find any of the images on the computer to be able to post them on here for you guys to see. Hope you check out the book and see you all in a few minutes!

Class Critique Group B

2011-03-07T22:25:00.038-05:00

Liz, I like stuff and I think life is clutter, so I like the photographs you took backstage. I like seeing the inner-workings of anything and the process behind a finished product. It's fun to see how the crew "organizes" everything. It's organized chaos, which in my opinion is the best kind. The isolated stuff is the best in my opinion, my favorite being the one with the 'stuff' and the mannequin. The frames have nice composition, the edges are good, I like the angle/point of view from which they are taken, and the lighting is quite beautiful. Although they have rather straight-forward content, the photographs are successful. The other two or three mannequin shots (with Emma sewing) weren't that interesting of photographs.

The ones where they were painting on the floor didn't have anything to make them transcend just being a picture of someone painting. The low-angle shots with the lights and shadows on stage were slightly more interesting than the painting ones. The one I liked the best out of those was the one were the guy was emerging from the shadow. They had beautiful lighting, but there was really nothing that separated them from any other shots like that. You are technically competent and know how to compose a frame, the only thing is that the content sometimes isn't as successfully translated as other photographs.

Looks like the best route might be the photos of the place where the props are kept. The other groups are missing something and I can't put my finger on it. I think the props alone, however, wouldn't be as solid because those other things show the many different aspects behind the production, so maybe the biggest feat right now and capturing those moments and transforming them. Who knows, it's still early in the game.

Lucy, the pictures were a good start to your project. The photographs of your parents were mundane and simple--slightly boring to be honest--but I can't decide whether or not that is a good or bad thing. The point (unless I'm wrong) is to see the similarities and differences between each of your "case studies," no matter what age and in some ways, have the viewer associate those people with either themselves, or someone they know. In this case, the photographs of your parents I think captured the feeling of a married couple's average night, the routine before bed. It's the normal routine no one thinks twice about--let alone looks to document. Some of the shots where they were in the bathroom, like the one of your mother cleaning her ring, were not successful. They seemed like fillers, because they couldn't stand alone and be good and didn't really add anything to the group. The best two were the ones where your mother and father were in bed and it was pulled back and the one in the mirror in bed where she is looking.

The pictures of the young guy in his room were much more successful and interesting. They could each stand alone as photographs and worked well together as a group. I liked all of these pictures for different reasons. The one I liked the most was the picture that appeared to be a photograph of a mirror, but a portrait of him, too. It's a frame within a frame so I love it. The other one is where he is in the bathroom and its a shot from the back and he is leaning forward. These were much more romantic and dreamy than the other group.

I like both groups for those different reasons and its a good juxtaposition and a good beginning to start a dialogue between all the different groups. I was doing something with a similar frame work last semester, photographing garages. My biggest problem was transcending them and making them interesting into a photograph, not a picture that documents what is in someone's garage. I tried photographing the person and then his garage. I still think it's a cool idea, but I got frustrated because the idea/concept was more interesting than the actual photographs, so I decided to find a new project and go back to it later. I think that's the problem with these photographs now, the concept behind the photographs is a really cool idea and makes the photographs cooler, but if I didn't know the premise then these photographs wouldn't be that interesting. I get a different feeling with the photos of the young man, like you are telling a story of his loneliness and I wouldn't guess that it was showing his routine before bed. I like them more than the set of your parents definitely, but I like them for the wrong reasons if we are following your concept in my opinion. The photographs of you parents are successful with your concept, but aren't as interesting. It's hard to find the balance, but you'll find it.

Sam, having seen other work from you in photo II, I like these photographs that you showed in the last critique because I think they have grown from the other photographs into something better. The concepts behind these images were much more thoughtful, composed, and executed accordingly and successfully. I like that you are about the medium of photography itself. You are creating visually stimulating/appealing photographs and it's not because of the subject or content in them. It's pretty hard to do.
The lack of highly saturated colors in each frame adds to them. I get a feeling of nostalgia, loneliness, and a sense of longing. I feel almost disturbed by them. It also makes your audience understand that when you do include something that is not as dull, like the red draped along the frame of the window, we understand that you included that for a reason. I can see your technical competence and you intentionally break the norms of them and use the camera and it's capabilities in a different way. You take multiple shots from the same place to show the passage of time like the triptych with the circle and water tower in the background. There are the two taken on a bridge with the only initial difference being the second taken from a slightly higher angle. I was wondering why I was looking at the pair and I can't quite put my finger on why I like them.

The group that is most successful is one that transforms the mundane into something. The picture of the radiator was my favorite. It's such a bizarre composition and I would never even look twice if I walked by. I probably would not have even noticed it. That is the true difficulty of it. It's hard to find the most ridiculous, bizarre, unbelievable moment, but its even harder to take something in everyday life and transform it or make it interesting. The set of different windows/frame within a frame were also successful and really interesting. I want to see more. Another one on its own was the close-up of the light. I just get this strange feeling when I look at it.

The two groups that are the least successful are the ones with a person sitting in the woods and the double exposure. It felt out of place with the others and weren't as strong as the others. The ones that were basically about color on the left, one was purely green and the other red. These were just not my favorite at all. There was nothing really interesting about them. You have a lot of different routes that you can follow where you can pick one or do them all simultaneously. I personally think the best ones are the ones of the windows and frames within frames and the radiator and light shot.

Genna, I can say that I was disturbed when I looked at your photographs, but in a good way! They were so strange. I personally liked the picture with the milk carton by itself in front of what looked like an abandoned building. I don't even know how to describe the mood that it gives off. It was almost melancholic and jarring. I liked the landscape/architecture shots. A lot of them were of dilapidated houses and I think that any one looking at them would think they were cool, but I also think that there are a lot of pictures like them, so I think that they need to be taken a different way to separate them. The one I have in mind is the one where there is snow and wood. It's cool, but that's really it. Whereas, the one with the milk is something different, so it's successful in my opinion.

The other picture that I think can fit with that picture is the one where ants or whatever type of bug they were, were crawling into the food. I get that same kind of feeling from the other one. I don't want to look anymore because they ants are going into the food and I think 'did people forget about it.' In that same way, the milk one makes me ask the same question. I liked the fact that most of your pictures do not really have highly, vibrant saturated colors in them for the most part and it adds to that drab, cold tone they evoke. I just end up wondering where the people are and how people can sometimes just leave things to decay.

The pictures of people were also totally bizarre, especially the ones with the snake. The man from Puerto Rico looked like he came from the same place which was really interesting to find out. Your stepdad, or whoever that was, is a really interesting character. I think that one of the pictures out of the few that you had should definitely be included into the final cut. The only thing is that I get a more intimate feeling from the pictures and I don't think that is a good thing because the others feel distant. The frames were from more personal angles and I think that they should be taken as a third-party and objective to make them go with the others. But, I liked them, nonetheless.

The anomalies were the three, if I remember correctly, pictures of the animals. The spider one was not really that interesting out of the three of them. The picture of the pig was cute, but the best was definitely the one of the horse with its head sideways and its tongue out. It's just like how do you even get that picture, kudos definitely. I think that this picture could also go with the other three pictures that I was talking about if you are trying to give off this feeling. I want to see more along this thread.

Nicole, the photographs that you took have a cool concept behind them and I like the set destination/time period of five hours (or however long the trip was) in upstate New York along whatever major road/highway. It reminded me of Lee Friedlander's exhibition and book, America by Car. He included much of the actual car, like the wheel, in the frame reminding the viewer that this is what Friedlander actual saw, not just what he chose to include in the frame. I think to differentiate yourself from his recent publication, maybe you should not actually include the car because it would be too similar. Therefore, the absence of the actual car allows us to just focus on the images and figure out the similarities between each of them. Your pictures are not about the car, so there's no need to include it. It's about what you see along the actual drive.

It seemed to me that your project is really about what seems like an eternity of road before you actually see something--anything showing some evidence of existence. You see the occasional sign or 'old school' architecture and then finally, and rarely, encounter other human beings. You can really exploit this feeling because you really had a lot of photographs that were quite similar in terms of framing and content. The consistent repetition of these images may seem monotonous to some, but it would work the best because it would emphasize this feeling that I think you are trying to get across.

As Stephan suggested, I think including the same ones and then separating them by including the ones with the people after several photographs of signs and architecture is the best approach. It can be lonely and it can be a long drive before you see some type of human interaction and it seems like a pretty cool idea. But, it's all up to you and it's ultimately a good idea only if you are interested in it.

Class Critique Group A

2011-03-07T14:01:00.060-05:00

Okay guys, it's finally our turn to talk about us...

Giovani, from what I recall, there were two type of photographs going on, and both types are successful in their own respects. The first type of photographs is the type that includes shots of your friends shooting the shit at night. Your photographs really do have a movie quality to them. After mentioning Mean Streets, I went and watched the film and I can definitely see where you are coming from and the connection/comparison you are trying to make. The photographs can stand alone, but I think they work very well together as a whole. I think it was a better choice to make them black and white because his bright orange sweater takes a bit away from the color photographs that we saw. Otherwise, I think that they could also work in color. The only one from that group that I think was more successful in color was the shot of your friend with the bandana and orange sweatshirt siting on a table outside of what looks like a deli. This also might be my favorite. The photograph is neither properly exposed for his face, nor the deli. I like this fact because it soft lighting and looks as if I was standing there partaking in the conversation. The exposure is true to the look of that evening and the signs hanging in the window of the deli glow and illuminate him from the back. It doesn't matter if this was a conscious decision or one that came about accidentally. It's really awesome and beautiful lighting and reminds me of this photograph below by Philip Lorca diCorcia from his Streetwork series.

Philip-Lorca diCorcia, "Brent Booth; 21 years old; Des Moines, Iowa; $30," 1990-92

Philip Lorca diCorcia staged all of these photographs from this series. He found male prostitutes on the Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles and asked them to pose for his camera for the same fee that they charged for the acts that they did in their line of work. The lighting in this photograph, without a doubt, is dramatic and some can argue that it isn't properly exposed because part of his hair, face, and side of his upper body are totally in shadow. Yet, that's the most interesting element in this photograph, in my opinion. The same holds true with your photograph. Some actually describe Philip Lorca diCorcia's work as street/documentary photography mixed with cinematic and advertising qualities. It adds a dream-like mood to them. The photographs of your friends, do just that. They are documentarian with a narrative behind them, and at the same time they are very cinematic-looking, like Lorca diCorcia's.

The other group I think that might be pursuable is like the one of your cousin, I believe, in the hospital with a highly saturated blue shirt on. I like the composition of the frame and the juxtaposition between his bright shirt and the dull colors of the hospital room. He's blue literally (his shirt) and figuratively (sick). There's so many wires and little things in the room that I wanna investigate them. The other one is the one of your Dad and brother with the dog. I get a bitter-sweet feeling when I look at it. They are next to each other, but they may as well be in different states because they seem so far away from each other. It's the every day of life--the in-between moments. It reminds me of a lazy Sunday and I think a lot of people can relate to it. (Who knows if this is what you were going for). These, I think, are more documentary in this respect because they don't look like stills/staged photographs. Overall, I like both routes so far and I don't know which one to pursue--who says you can't do both at this point.

Rowena, it was fun to see a few of your photographs from Photo I and I'm happy to see that you are continuing with it, because as Stephan said, that professor should not have said that to a Photo I student because it is, after all, your first photo class. Anyway, back to the real photos you wanted us to consider on the wall. I think the series worked really well as a whole. The only two I think that did not work were the one of the man eating and then the other sitting and working on his laptop. I don't think the one where he is working is as strong as the others that you had up and the one eating didn't go well with the series because all the others were of you. I did like the photograph of him eating and juggling work, however, but not with the group. It could be interesting to have both going on simultaneously, commenting on the (not-so-)typical roles of men and women, but I didn't get that feeling because there weren't enough photographs of the man to create that type of dialogue.

I also think that it was more effective in black and white because they lose that romantic, intimate feeling that they possess when they are in color. They almost turn into the opposite--empty, cold, and full of nostalgia. As Eddy said, the logo on the pants was distracting, as well, but the black and white photograph with the Mac wasn't as bothersome. I think its because it was right on the edge of the frame and it wasn't the only thing that appeared to be going on in the photograph. It's tricky because adding a logo or something so identifiable, like text, can either work to your benefit or detriment. I think in the color photograph where you are laying in bed, we automatically notice the logo on your pants because we gravitate towards things we already know, so it takes away from it in this instance.

As many said, we, as viewers, get a personal, intimate look into this character that you have photographed. It's very delicate and subtle. This is conveyed through the different actions/moments of this character's life that you have captured. It is especially effective through the camera height and angles from which these are taken. Because we never really see the entirety of the character's face, especially the eyes which tell a story in and of themselves, it makes us want to know who this woman is, identify with her, and allows us to put ourselves in her position. We want to know more about her. She knits, she contemplates, she enjoys the views, she doesn't want to get out of bed, she likes polka-dotted robes, she has a dog, she paints, AND she's jacked. As a whole they start to create their own story. The fact that they are the mundane moments in life only make them better. So in summation, I like the black and white better and either keep it up, or spice it up with a bigger mix of you and this other dude that appeared in those two photographs.

Eddy, I have seen more of your 4x5 work and that's all I knew, so it was nice to see the other, almost secret photo style that I've never seen. I love the 4x5 portraits you have previously done. My favorite is the portrait of your father and the man with the baseball cap and crooked teeth. The group shot of the LES It girls, where you tried to capture the in between moment, but one girl peeking through is still posing and the black and white photograph of the group in the restaurant. The portraits are successful, in my opinion, because of their constant, straight-forward, and consistent framing. The subject is always placed in center of the frame, the camera proximity is roughly the same, the background is white, and it is always from the shoulders up. This allows the viewer to totally focus on the details of the subject itself, but also the similarities and differences between each photograph.

The digital work is definitely more documentarian and a different facet to your work. I think it would be a great idea to pursue the nightlife in NYC, but with respect to the role the camera plays socially. I know you are interested in the photographic process itself behind the actual photographs. I think it would be both a great and enjoyable topic for you to pursue and a great book filled with commentary on how the majority of cameras are actually used today. My favorite photograph on the wall from this type was the one where you told us a transvestite was hooking up with another man and the camera appeared on the left. Initially, the viewer recognizes absurdity of the photo itself because of the framing. It's also funny because it looks like two different subjects that shouldn't be included in the same frame are competing to co-exist when they really shouldn't be. It also looked like two different tones of black between the two things down the middle, which re-inforces that schism between the two subjects. My least favorite was the one of the two or three women in bed with a man in the foreground taking a video/photograph of them with masks on their face. They aren't as strong as the photographs that fell under this topic because it's almost plain and seen as not even provocative when grouped together with the others.

I also liked the digital portrait of your blonde friend because it's jarring--partially because it was taken on an angle. She looks empty and frozen in time. The blank expression on her face is what makes the photograph. The photograph of what appears to be your naked father sitting on a ridiculously hideous/awesome bright teal couch is also interesting initially because of the couch. Her father's appearance, however, adds to the mood the viewer gets from looking at it. It's the hair that is out of place, his pale white skin, his hairy chest, and his farmer's tan. The photograph of you and your friend from home getting ready in the mirror that is leaning up on the couch can also go under this third option. The frame within a frame is something I obviously love, so this picture appeals to me instantly and I like it. Although I like these pictures, this third option seems like the least interesting to you which is ultimately the only thing that matters. In my opinion, the first or second option is so far your best bet. From what I've seen, the second option exploring the role of the camera might be more interesting as a book and the first 4x5 portrait might be more interesting as an exhibition.

Everyone,

I hope this was useful, but now I need your opinion. I was wondering what your opinion was on mixing digital and black and white film in a book and therefore black and white and color. I don't know how I currently feel about it to be honest and it is something I have been considering because some of the digital work I have can add to the conversation that I will try to convey in my book. Opinions?

"Well Hung" The Chelsea Chapter at +aRt

2011-03-07T12:11:00.002-05:00

"Art is dead" "There is no NYC scene right now" "I wish we were living in 1970s New York" Blah Blah Blah Blah. I hate people who say things like this, I always want to respond with "WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? Because of all you uninspired smug cynics saying so, so please, for the sake of all the young artists, STOP." A few very talented friends of mine were featured in the aptly named show "WELL HUNG" in Chelsea. And you thought Chelsea was just a bunch of nepotistic galleries showing over-the-hill art stars from the 1960s-1980s chucking their late-in-life work at inflated prices... not always. I'm not going to crit the show for anyone because I'm hoping a few of you will go see it in person. Youth needs to support each other, mainly because a) nobody else will and b) it's the only way to shut up the "Art is dead" folks and prove them wrong.

Internship Adventures in Photo Lighting

2011-03-01T10:16:00.010-05:00

This semester I am working at an internship at Clear Channel Radio Digital. Clear Channel is a company that owns a LOT of radio stations, over 750 to be exact and is arguably sort of killing good radio, but regardless of politics it is a very excellent place to be an intern. A few weeks ago we had a very busy day in which I got to cover an event as well as assist a real life photographer. In the morning we had the most ridiculous event which involved a hip-hop singer named Trey Songz being interviewed on a bed. It was pretty weird but fun to cover because there was a live audience and some people are kind of crazy about this singer. I got to cover this event, basically because both of my bosses were preparing for another event later in the day, but anyways it was interesting. For every artist that comes in we take a portrait in front of the exit doors (I'm not sure why) for which I used a strobe for the first time. Considering I had never used one before I think it turned out okay:

After that I coved the event which was pretty simple, I just shot on 3200, although I did have a pretty difficult time getting any clear pictures of the crowd.

The more exciting part came later in the day when I got to assist a photographer named Chris Owyoung for a photo shoot with a British singer named Adele. He was very instructive and taught me how to use the lights he was using. The design of the shoot was supposed to be about the logistics of a photo shoot so we used some lighting equipment as props and some as actual lights. I was surprised to find that the video lighting we used as props (two hot lamps) had pretty much no effect on the picture at all even though when I was standing in I felt like they were giving me a suntan. To provide actual light he used a beauty strobe and a ring light to light up the back as well as another strobe to create a band of light on her left shoulder so it wasn't falling completely into shadow.

When taking test shots he set up the strobe at what he wanted it, and measured the aperture and shutter speed for that, and then took test shots with one light on at a time so each was doing exactly what he wanted. I thought this was interesting because I probably would have gone for the much less exact and less efficient technique of turning them all on a fidgeting with them until they worked.

James Bidgood

2011-03-01T02:10:00.011-05:00

Necessity, the Mother of All Invention

Though not necessarily a contemporary photographer, the only artist I had any desire to write about tonight is camp-genius, as-anti-documentary-photographer-as-it-gets photographer and filmmaker James Bidgood (sorry Stephan!), but I feel this is a relevant topic considering he is a surprisingly little-known but major influence to many current photographers (David LaChapelle being the most famous and obvious).

I first encountered James Bidgood while working at ClampArt Gallery in Chelsea. ClampArt now represents the artist, and though Bidgood today is often called the father of the modern baroque-glamour aesthetic it is still difficult to find information on the photographer, something that breaks my heart.

James Bidgood's work is characterized by its dreaminess, rich colors, costuming, elaborate sets, symbolism, and themes of sexuality and desire. What is surprising is that the nearly-penniless Bidgood constructed these sets and made these photographs in his little studio apartment in midtown Manhatten. What is shocking is that he created these taboo images in the late 1950's and 1960's.

Bidgood came to NYC in 1951 and studied at Parsons School of Design. True to the classic Bohemian model before the model existed, Bidgood did whatever he could to support himself, including window-dressing, drag-performing, costume design and freelance photography. Eventually he found himself bringing his outside work into his home to make photographs. He would construct his elaborate sets by himself and live with them for weeks as he made photographs. He would design his own costumes and hire young male models and direct them, at first in still photographs and later in film (Pink Narcissus, made in 1971, is a cult-classic). What I find inspiring is that though he never really made money off his work (not until much, much later) he continued to make it using what he had: an apartment, a camera, and a lot of maniacal creativity and energy. Whenever I find myself making excuses as to why I'm not working on a project I think of James in his studio, eating and sleeping amongst the obsessive and breath-taking worlds he made with his own hands, and know poverty and fatigue are no reasons to not be working on something.

Tony Stamolis

2011-02-28T23:24:00.028-05:00

Liz, that usually is the predicament I also find myself in. I look further into a photographer's work and am disappointed as well. I looked at Tony Stamolis' website and he’s clearly trying to be provocative in some pictures, maybe over-doing it a bit. This is especially evident with the "Narcissister" and "Gratuitus" sections on his site.

In "Gratuitus," Stamolis' subjects are rather average looking, young women with part of their clothes off. These photographs would not even be considered in my opinion at all, if they were not flashing the camera with their "goods." Instead, each one is quickly glanced over because of its somewhat provocative nature and that's it—unless people are studying it for other reasons, if you know what I mean. But in that case, they aren't appreciating the photograph, only the subjects in the photograph.

"Gratuitus" Section

It brings up the very fine line between photographs that are merely pornographic or photographs that include nude subjects. In both of these sections of his website, I personally think that these photographs have nothing else that is visually stimulating/appealing. There are some, like the one above, where the frame looks more thought out than a simple snapshot of a semi-naked chick. The the angle from which the photograph was taken is slightly interesting. It is almost as if the point of view of the camera, and therefore the viewer's as well, would be just like we were standing there that night, peeking into the car. However, it is only one layer among the many layers that are used to compose an awesome photograph. That one layer isn’t enough and is over-looked because the nudity takes precedent nine times out of ten, unfortunately.

"Gratuitus" Section

There is a lack of sophistication included in most of the photographs. If you are going to shoot women flashing the camera and often aware of it, you better make sure you bring something else to the table, as well, to set it apart from just another Girls-Gone-Wild-looking shot, like the one below in my opinion. Yes, maybe one or two take the composition of the frame into consideration, but most of them come off as amateur pornography shots.

In the section “Narcissiter,” Stamolis brings something else to the table by “dressing them up.” Like the photograph below, The subjects have masks on their faces and fake plastic boobs covering their, what would be, exposed breasts anyway. Therefore, it does add something else to the table. Some the photographs are distasteful, but maybe that is what the photographer is going for. If that is the case, then he is definitely successful.

"Narcissister" Section

With that being said, The photographs in his Portfolio section had work from Narcissister and Gratuitus. They also, however, have pictures that have more substance, like the ones that Liz showed us in her post. There is more going on in each photograph. Perhaps, I like those more, like the one below, because there is more a narrative going on in each photograph. They evoke emotions from the viewer, whereas the photographs in the other two sections do not. In any case, there isn't much substance to the majority of his work.

30 Under 30

2011-02-28T16:46:00.007-05:00

30 UNDER 30

Awhile back, my friend send me a link to a website called "30 UNDER 30." This website is an on-line exhibition of 30 women photographers under the age of 30. The intro statement is really inspiring - I wouldn't be doing it justice if I attempted to reword it, but basically it explains how in the male-dominated world of photography, these women are attempting to share their work and prove that women don't just belong in front of the camera.

I like this project because it is giving voice to young female photographers who are attempting to establish themselves in the world of photography. Also, I love anything that will give me a chance to discover new photographers.

My favorite out of what I've looked at so far is the work of Aela Labbe. Her work evokes a dreamlike feeling and the series of photos posted flow really nicely.

I also really liked the series by Julie de Waroquier. I like the composition of her shots and also there is a sort of dreamlike quality that is intriguing.

I would definitely recommend checking this website out. You can also see the work from the 30 women who were a part of this project for 2010 by clicking a link at the top of the page.

30 UNDER 30

Julian

2011-02-28T14:34:00.004-05:00

My cousin (yes, same cousin as my last post spoke about) has a blog in which one of his friend sometimes contributes to. His friend's name is Julian and he has some pretty good shots up on the blog. Not sure of his story but these pictures are from w hen he was in Paris....

I really like this photo because of the "halo" on the waiter's head. The symmetry in the photo is really great and I feel like the halo really brings it all together. It's like that small circle of light brings your eye towards the back of the photo through the straight, narrow hallway that the waiter is standing in. I also like how the waiter is looking directly at the camera because if he wasn't, the picture wouldn't seem complete in that the halo wouldn't appear to be so much of a halo because the man's face wouldnt have been exposed.

This next photo I think is really great also because of the look in the kid's eyes. It definitely looks like a shot taken a long time ago but clearly it wasn't. I think maybe if the top of his head were included in the frame, the picture would be more complete but other than that I think the detail in this picture is really perfect. I especially like the tones and contrast and the fact that it is printed in black and white really adds a lot to the picture.

I'm not sure if Julian used digital or film for these pictures, but I think these sort of look filim-ish to me... I'd like you find out..

iPhoneography

2011-02-28T13:35:00.011-05:00

.... if you see something you could shoot, why wait? When I’m wandering around New York, heading to class or craving cappuccino, I’m probably not going to be carrying my SLR with me. Perhaps sometimes, but not always. My iPhone is ALWAYS with me! For a quick phone call, check email, text from mom, and picture perfect moments. It’s kind of nice to slightly ignore the technicality of shooting photos and just shoot. I can compose, edit (via photo apps), and upload instantly from my iPhone. Just for once, I don’t worry about what lens to use, what ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc… I love the spontaneity of camera phones, it help us document the world around us and be able to share them in an instant - because of camera phones, photography can belong to everyone, even my mom, who is not technically savvy is quite an iPhoneographer (not sure if it’s a word.)

Anyway, I went to see Sion Fullana last week at the Apple store in SOHO. He talked mainly about iPhoneography. Sion discussed the different type of apps (such as Iris, Pro HDR, Touch Retouch etc.) he used to take photographs and manipulate his photos - I thought they were fun and quite amazing! The iPhone has a different kind of potential for a different kind of shot, maybe less perfect, but with a special kind of vibe. Since we can carry it anywhere, it allows us to always be ready for a picture opportunity, and/or a bit sneaky for certain kind of street photography shots. Though he said, “you still need to have a good eye to produce good photo.” The iPhone and the apps cannot make an interesting images, still, the soul of every solid image consist of the core fundamentals of photography: composition, information, moment, emotion and connection.

Philip-Lorca diCorcia

2011-02-27T21:41:00.008-05:00

On Thursday I needed to go to CRC to drop off some film and I decided to stop into David Zwirner Gallery to see Philip-Lorca diCorcia's 'Eleven.' Basically I did not do any research into what the show was because I love pretty much everything I've seen of diCorcia's (except maybe the strippers). As I discovered upon arriving at the show, this wasn't an exhibit of new work. The exhibit was a combination of pictures from eleven different projects that diCorcia has done for W Magazine. Despite the fact that they were not anything new, I enjoyed looking at the exhibit. It is nice to see his work up close in such a large format (his pictures are generally about 40X50 inches) rather than in a book because it allows you to see the immense detail in his pictures. I took a friend with me to the gallery and he asked me whether or not the artist did a lot of photoshopping of his images after the fact because he thought that a lot of the things in the pictures looked unreal. Anyways, I looked it up and from what I can tell he does not really do a lot of that and the strangeness of his photos just stem from the artificial lighting he uses in most of his portraits and the extremely staged nature of all of them. We were talking about that in reference to this picture in particular because of the way the flowers on the table look: I also really liked this image, which is a portrait of Marc Jacobs in his apartment in Paris, mostly because this is not how I thought Marc Jacobs would look, and because I like the duality of the image (and most of PL's images for that matter) because it seems simultaneously to be saying something true about the subject while seeming completely fabricated.

Real Quick, For Fun

2011-02-27T21:41:00.007-05:00

My cousin and some people he knows did a pop up shop down on Broome street a week or so ago. A lot of his photos were shown along with some of his friends' photos as well. They sold some stuff, had some bands play and gave out free beers. Overall it was a really good time and my cousin's photos weren't too bad either.... Just because I can't get access to some of the images he had on display at the show, I'll just post and talk about some from his blog. He's more into the streetwear/hipster stuff so if you're into that, I guess you'd probably like his work. It's almost like a cobrasnake kind of style but not that extreme......

Of course the picture isn't coming out clear, but I think I like this picture the most because of the anonymity. The girl closer to the camera has her eyes actually cut out of the shot, while the girl further back has her eyes closed. Although they both obviously seem to be doing what they're doing willingly, the whole "no eye" situation almost seems to make it so that the two girls could be ashamed or something.... Just a thought. Another thought, if this photo wasn't in black and white I don't think it would be half as interesting.

In the picture above, I think it can be argued that the flash either makes or breaks it. For one, it breaks it completely because it's just an unnatural UFO looking thing hanging over the man's head, but on the other hand I think one could say that it makes the photo in that it sort of gives it balance. I think I like the flash because of how it helps to form a sort of cross shape with the man and his two accessories to the left and right of him.

This picture is interesting for one because of the guy's outfit but also because it's taken in a casino and if I'm right, cameras aren't allowed in casinos.... no? I think this picture has some sort of irony to it because of how the guy is dressed (kind of like an old fashioned style with the suspenders and the fedora) and then the casino in the background looks like he has been teleported to the future and into some majestic mansion or something. The image doesn't really sit easily with me but I think that's why I like it....