Post 23

1. In what ways do you “construct” your identity? In what ways do you “perform” in your daily life?

Twitter allows me to construct my reality. When I’m online, I can be much more outspoken and say things that I might be more afraid to say when in person. I think I probably seem a little bit cooler online than I am in person as well.

A way that I perform everyday is that I have to change for different people. I have one persona when I’m with my friends, another for my parents and another at work. It seems like a lot of work to have to be so many things, but I’ve learned to juggle.

2. Describe some ways in which your personal culture and social environments are “constructed”.

One social construct amongst my peers is the party scene. The same people always throw and attend the same parties and if you’re not there you’re deemed lame. Typically, I live my life outside of this social construct.

3. Describe some ways in which your physical environment/space is “constructed”.

I guess I would say that my bedroom is a constructed space. I designed it to be comfortable for myself. I used bright colors to amp up my mood and dark curtains when I want to tone it down. I have my own photographs on the walls to remind myself that I have the ability to create beautiful things.

4. In your daily life, what would you consider to be “real” and what would you consider to be “constructed/fabricated”?

Hunger is really. I can feel the emptiness in my stomach, and saliva pool in my mouth when I smell something good. Fast food restaurants are fabricated. They use aromas to make us think we’re hungry and psychologically chosen colors, to illicit hunger. They also use photographs of delicious food to entice, but never deliver.

5. Describe narrative tableaux that you might create to be captured by a photograph. Narrative tableaux can be defined as “Several human actors play out scenes from everyday life, history, myth or the fantasy of the direction artist” (Constructed Realities: The Art of Staged Photography Edited by Michael Kohler, 34).

I thought about constructing a scene at a café. Everyone goes about his or her business, eating, chatting, and typing. In the center of the bustle, a naked couple sits enjoying cappuccinos, unnoticed by the rest of the crowd. Just a thought.

6. Describe an idea for a photograph that includes a miniature stage or still life. A description of such an image is “The tableaux reconstructs events as in the narrative tableaux, but in miniaturized format, using dolls and other toy objects” (Kohler, 34).

One word: Gummy bears. I like to show the struggle of gummy bears that fall out of the bag and must find their way across the kitchen

Post 22

The Unfortunate Moment of Misunderstanding is a very strange and alluring photography. I have always been drawn to bizarre and dark images, containing a bit of surrealism. Jim Fiscus feeds this need. The puppet-like models leap from the screen in eerie positions. The worlds, created through CGI, make it possible create the creepiest worlds imaginable. I love the combination of photography and CGI, because it allows the photography to go beyond what the lens can see.

Recreation 4: Catalina Bartolome

Biography
Catalina Bartolome is an Argentinian photographer. She focuses heavily on producing images where a female subject's face, body, or both are obstructed from view.

Composition
This image lacks contrasts and focuses on the blending of the curtains into the wall. The emphasis of the photo is  the arms of the subject. The lighting seems to be very diffuse in images.

Motivation
The purpose of this image is to express the beauty of a woman, beyond just her face.

Method
A curtain is draped in front of the subject's face and body, covering everything except her hands. The image in take straight on, with a very shallow depth of field. The blending of the wall and curtain suggests that diffuse lighting was used.

Opinion
I love this image! I love how the wall and curtain blend together, and put emphasis on the two exposed arms. I also like the position of the subject, it seems as though her hand are protecting one another.

Compostion
This image plays with contrast in a way the the first image does not. The shadow stands out against the sheer yellow curtain. The emphasis is on the shoes in the crevice of the curtains. The lighting in this image is natural, coming straight from the setting sun.

Motivation
I wanted to stay true to the image by obstructing the view of the subject. Instead of attempting to block just her face, I decided to show just her feet. I felt that this mimicked the hands in the first image.


Method
The image was taken in front of a window, with the subject sitting behind a sheer curtain. The bright lighting was used to create shadow.

Contemporary Pop Art Photographer: Laurie Simmons

Biography

Laurie Simmons was born in 1949 in Long Island, New York. She received her BFA form The Tyler School of Fine Arts in 1971. She rose to fame in the 1970’s photographing psychedelic images of dolls. Her first works were black and white images of dollhouses, and she grew to take images like “Tourists” which documented dolls traveling around the world. In addition to writing several books, Simmons still photographs images today.

Significance

Simmons used photography, imaginative lighting and situations to give humanistic qualities to dolls and mannequins. 

Composition

The contrast on the black and white man with the brightly lit woman is very striking. The lighting on the female subject makes her look like a super hero.

Motivation

I believe the motivation of this image is to show how artwork of the past has influenced today’s images.

Method

It seems that an old image of a painter was fused with a new image of a scantily clad woman. The new image has very concentrated lighting to add emphasis.

Opinion

I like this image simply because I find it strange. I have never seen to images juxtaposed in this way. Although they are opposing images, something about them seems to fit.

Historical Pop Media Photographer: Martin Munkasci

'Just you wait till you see what I can do' 1931 - Martin Munkasci

Biography

Martin Munkacsi was born in Hungary in May 1896. He began his career as a sports photographer for several German magazine and newspapers. He was noted for the technical and artistic skill involved in capturing images in outdoor light.

Munkacsi’s big break came when he photographed a violent brawl that resulted in the death of a man. The images were used during the trial and lead to the conviction of the criminal. With his new acclaim, Muskasci headed to Berlin where he continued to photograph sports, as well as fashion and Berlin Street life. There he had an amazing job at the magazine, Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung, which photographed amazing photos of land from inside of aircrafts. In the 1930’s Munkasci was fired from his position for snapping images of Hitler’s inner circle.

Afterwards, her left for America inked a deal with Harper Bazaar for $100,000. During his tenure, he was known for leaving the studio and taking pictures in outdoor settings for a natural effect. He took portraits of Audrey Hepburn, Fred Astaire and Jean Harlow, just to name a few. Munkasci was also criticized for nude images that found their way into the fashion magazines.

Munkasci died in July 1963 in New York City.

Significance

Munkasci is one of the fathers of fashion photography. His work with outdoor lighting and aerial images, solidify him as one of the world’s greatest photographers.

Composition

This image experiences high levels of contrast, with the lightness of the sky and darkness of the subject’s attire. The perspective of the image seems to be taken down low to add more emphasis to the subject’s jump. Focus is on the subject’s face, while the image seems to blur around her feet. This technique adds motion to the image.

Motivation

The motivation behind this image is to showcase the subject’s ensemble. The detail of her attire really pops against the bright background.

Methods

The image was taken from a low angle to ad motion and flight to the image. The image is taken against a dark background to emphasize the details of the outfit.

Opinion

This image seems very timeless to me. If the wardrobe was changed a bit, I could imagines seeing an image like this in today’s magazines. I really like the way her face is turned away from the camera to add emphasis to the outfit. I also enjoy the aerial shot. Those kinds of shots are difficult even with today’s technology, so it is easy to see that Munkasci was very skilled.

Post 21

A. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of “news”-related photographs.

     - News related photographs are typically action based, because the photographer has to capture what's going on. 

     - News photography should never be staged, unless absolutely necessary.

B. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of “snapshots”, including family photographs, cell-phone shots, photos posted to facebook.

     - They can be candid or staged

     - They usually have a grainier quality

     - Concerned with capturing the moment, rather than technical qualities.

C. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of advertisement photographs, including fashion photography, product photography, etc.

     - Something is featured, product. 

     - The photographer tries to entice the viewer with lighting, subject matter

     - Attention grabbing

D. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of film/movie and television stills.

     - They usually have a candid quality. 

     - Tells a story

E. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of yearbook photos, senior pictures, and team/club/sports group shots. 

     - Always staged

     - Cheesy backgrounds and smiles.

     - Subjects usually have professional or artificial look

F. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of stock images. http://www.corbisimages.com/ http://www.gettyimages.com/

     - Stock images always have the company's water mark.

     - The quality is typically good. 

     - Very general images

G. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of fashion photography. 

     - Subject poses in strange angles

     - Creative lighting and locations

     - Some product is advertised. 

H. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of paparazzi shots or celebrity photographs. 

     - Celeb has face covered

     - Bright lens flares from other cameras

     - Blurry or grainy

     - Voyeuristic 

The Third Assignment

Man Off The Moon, Kimber Bowman (2011).

Composition.

The image is framed to show the amazing silver boots and the parts of the background for context. The natural lighting and bright colors and contras, give this image a great sense of the urban landscape.

Concept.

I wanted to showcase this pair of boot, while simultaneously giving information about the location as well.

Method.

I spotted a woman walking around in these amazing silver boots and followed her around until I got the shot I wanted. I don’t think she suspected anything.

Motivations.

I think this image speaks a lot about the area I was in. Royal Oak, MI is full of characters in crazy clothes. I felt that this image was very reflective of the location as a whole. 

 Bauble, Kimber Bowman (2011).

Composition

The black of the stripes on the awning contrasts with the white of the sky. Heavy emphasis is put on the swinging bulbs. The framing creates a symmetrical image with a line going right down the center.

Concept

I wanted to capture the baubles moving against the overcast day. I thought the red would show up very nicely against the sky.

Method.

This image was taken with a ¼ shutter speed, looking up into the sky.

Motivation

I watched 500 Days of Summer and one of the main characters talked about how things around you can look so basic, until you up. I tried to apply that philosophy to this image. 

Heroes, Kimber Bowman (2011).

Composition.

The shadows around the mask are heavily contrasted with stark white wall. The diffuse lighting also adds great emphasis and definition to the subject.

Concept.

This image is a reflection of my childhood heroes. Although they’re just masks, the image is very nostalgic of the ager of superheroes.

Method.

I took this image looking up at the wall. Later I digitally boosted the contrast to accentuate the shadows.

Motivations.

The motivation behind this image was to capture parts of an art exhibit, but I ended up capturing a part of my childhood. 

 

 Winter Flower, Kimber Bowman (2011)

Composition.

Emphasis is put of the collection of flowers in the front. The image is framed to show just a hint of what is in the background. The delicateness of the flowers blends well with the softness of the background.

Concept.

I wanted to take a picture of the flowers because it’s rare to see flowers in the winter.

Method.

I did several close up shots of the flowers, playing with different levels of focus.

Motivation

The motivation was to capture the beauty and delicateness of the flower.