Personal Work: Tao Photography

Who/Where: Personal Work, Memorial Union, Pheasant Branch

What: Researching Tao photography was interesting to see the moments that photographers have captured. I tried to capture the subject in its natural element. The most natural pictures are when the subject doesn’t know they’re being photographed. All three photos are taken at different places and times.

Why: I wanted to see what kind of pictures I could capture of people downtown doing their own thing while I subtly photographed from the side lines. Though I feel that this is the easiest concept to grasp, it can be the hardest to capture. People feel the most comfortable with themselves when they know it’s not going to be recorded by anyone, so when you sit there for hours no one notices you anymore. The results can be really rewarding if you wait.

How: It was hard to get good candids downtown, since the people were moving quickly. I tried to set a high shutter speed to capture the subjects in mid motion. I used a low ISO since all the pictures were taken outside.

Personal Work: New Life

Who: Personal work

Where: Pheasant Branch, late May

What: I put the figures in what I thought looked like the most natural environment to photograph the figures in. I held the dragon up to the sky to get the illusion that it was flying in the air.  And I put the baby dinosaur in a more hidden place, where I would put my dinosaur if I had one, creeping out of it’s hole to take on the world.

Why: The japanese dragon figure is a part of a japanese legend of the koi fish, the legend says that the koi fish swims up a waterfall and transforms into a dragon. So it becomes something new and powerful after a lot of struggle. I used a more playful idea with it with the baby dinosaur bursting out of its egg. Thinking about how awesome it’d be if I found a baby dinosaur. Both figures have a positive emotion along with a sense of childhood as well. I wanted to give the viewer a new view on new life, or maybe remind them of how their childhood was; filled with imagination and creativity.

How: I placed the model figures on the ground with good natural light, so I used a low ISO to avoid as much noise in the photos as possible, since the figures didn’t move I didn’t need a fast shutter, but I had to use a faster shutter so I could get the proper amount of light in the photo.

Historical Influences: Herb Ritts

Who: Herb Ritts

Where/When: From Tokyo, to his studio in Los Angeles, 1970s and 80s

What: Ritts uses very crisp and clear lines accompanied by simple forms. Very simple portraits of famous celebrities, accompanied by interesting props bring the portraits to life. Black and White high contrast in all the photos as well.

Why: Herb is known for his portraits of celebrities and high fashion photography. Whether he captures a specific character they are portraying or capturing the person’s personality. The photos give me a sense of envy, that someone like Herb Ritts got the opportunity to photograph so many well-known celebrities. His photos capture the celebrities in such a unique way that all you think is how amazing this photographer is. He gives you a sense of mystery as well, especially with the photo of Madonna, you wonder why he wanted to photograph her with mickey mouse ears on her head. He captures a playful yet dramatic style in his photos.

How: Ritts used film photography, and would need a high shutter speed to get a sharp picture. Since some pictures were taken outside he’d need to adjust his ISO to get the proper amount of light on his subject.

Links: Celebrities 

Personal Work: Action

Who/Where: Personal Work, Abandoned Building

What: I wanted to capture the disorganization of the abandoned building, but also have a plain white notebook as the focal point of the photo. I wanted the peace that white has to it, but have the chaos around it contributing to the picture as well. Though the quality of the photo was disfigured while dropping the images into the blog, it was a lot of fun to do.

Why: There always seems to be chaos around me, from managing two jobs and going to school full time I seem to always be surrounded by stress and chaos. Sometimes I just need to escape from everything around me and be by myself, and writing and sketching helps me do that. So in the midst of all the action in my life, I always find peace in drawing. The meaning of action has a more emotional meaning to it for me, and expressing how I deal with the negative action in my life is through my drawings.

How: The building I shot the pictures in had huge holes in the walls, which let in natural light so my ISO was lower. Shutter speed was fast enough to capture a good amount of light, but slow enough to get good contrast.

Historical Influences: William Henry Jackson

Who/Where/When: William Henry Jackson, California, late 1800s-1930s

What: The landscape seems too perfectly balanced in the picture to be real, with the waterfall on the right and the continuous mountains in the background. Jackson seemed to have been at the right place at the right time to get this picture. It looks almost symmetrical with the similar cliffs on either side of the photo.

Why: Jackson gives you a sense of insignificance when browsing his photos. The huge valleys and canyons give you the idea of how beautiful the Earth is. His simple yet detail oriented pictures are breathtaking, and beautiful. I don’t normally like landscape pictures but this one caught my eye with it’s sense of peace and tranquility that seem to flow through the picture.

How: Color Photography as well as black and white. Using a wide depth of field to get the entire picture in focus, as well as a low ISO. Adjusting the shutter speed to changing light.

Links: Leafy

Contemporary Influence: Sara & Dylan Byrne

 

Who/Where: Sara and Dylan Byrne, Idaho

What: Sara and Dylan shoot mostly wedding and engagement in a simplistic, minimalist way. The photos are taken outside, with mostly grays and splashes of color in the couple’s attire. Sara and Dylan capture the newlywed’s emotions in a creative, warm sense.

Why: Wedding photos seem to all be the same, and have a generic feeling to them. But Sara and Dylan took a different approach with their models, setting them up in more intimate, comfortable places. And letting the couple decide on what to wear, the photos are just the two of them, capturing their love for the other in an organic way. The photos look natural, and happy. Sara and Dylan wanted to capture that

How: The Byrne’s use both film photography as well as digital. By the texture in the picture, i’d guess these were taken with a film camera. They would need a low ISO since the pictures were taken outside, and with a fast shutter to capture the grass and hair frozen in the air.

Links: Engage

Historical Influences: Jack Delano

Who/Where/When: Jack Delano, Washington D.C, 1930s

What: The faces of the inmates are very clear, and their expression is seemingly joyous, and upbeat. They seem to be the only ones making the best of their situation as the other inmates stand behind and watch. The light streaming form the left side makes for good contrast on their faces and body language.

Why: The spirits of these inmates are strong, communicating a very positive energy in the picture. Their attire suggests their in prison, and though they may be behind bars–possibly for being African American–they still have hope, and they learn to enjoy what little they do have. I love this photo, because of the message that it gives me. The message that you should be happy no matter what your situation, and make the best of whatever you have in front of you. That’s what these inmates do, they dance and sing despite their harsh punishment.

How: Delano was in the era of film black and white cameras. He would need a fast shutter speed to get the inmate frozen in motion to capture his stance clearly. He would also need a proper ISO to capture the correct amount of light since the photo was taken inside.

Links: Breezy

 

Contemporary Influence: Masa Kores

Who: Masa Kores

Where: Slovenia, Europe

What: All three photos were taken in abandoned buildings, with the exception of the train in the bottom photo. It’s unsure whether Kores set up the chairs in the second photo to make it look like it was untouched, or she found them that way.

Why: Kores’ photos capture a new sense of mystery with her famous photos of abandonded buildings. Her model gives us a sense of loss, that she knew the buildings before they were left to become part of the Earth. I’ve always loved the things you find in abandoned places, for whatever reason I love discovering what people have left behind. Though it can be sad, it’s also a whole new discovery for some people. Though Kores interprets these buildings in a more sorrowful, dark sense with her model in the photos.

How: She would have to adjust her ISO to get the proper amount of light with the broken windows and the light streaming in from outside. As well as to adjust for the indoor photos without any natural light. The last photo looks enhanced with the colors on the train, so she must have photoshopped it some to look that way.

Links: Crumbly

Personal Work: Pheasant Branch

Who/Where/When: Personal Work, Pheasant Branch, late April

What: All three photos were taken at Pheasant Branch Conservancy, the first one of new fresh grass growing where old brush was burned. The second was of a broken bottle with the reflection of a tree towering over it. And the last was of thorns, hidden off the main trail.

Why: Because I live right on the edge of Pheasant Branch, and have taken pictures there hundreds of times, I was trying to think about something different I could capture that I hadn’t before. So I came up with the idea of unexpected beauty. All three pictures were taken of things that you would need to get down close to the ground to notice, and take the time to capture nature in its own way. Especially with the second photo, it’s hard to make trash look beautiful but with the tree reflected in the glass, it had a different sense of capturing Pheasant Branch. And the last photo I wanted to communicate how unpleasant thorns are, and how painful they can be, but they have such interesting angles and shapes it made for a perfect picture.

How: Since these pictures were taken outside, I used a low ISO and a small aperture to get the correct amount of light in to get the picture in good contrast. I used a very narrow depth of field in the last photo to get the small in focus thorn in the center of the photo.

Contemporary Influences: J. Bennett Fitts

Who/Where: J. Bennett Fitts, 1st Photo: UCLA 2nd Photo: Salton Sea

What: The first photo has this dreary dark sense that school seems to have every day. There isn’t much color, mostly greys and navy blues to give it that feeling. The second image has more color, with a lot of subject matter in contrast to the first photo. My eye doesn’t focus on one part of the photo, but analyzes the hotel, the empty pool and the backround at once before breaking it down and looking at it closer.

Why: Both images have a sense of abandonment, and loss. I feel like the first photo was trying to communicate a sense of being anoutcast in school. I feel like it could be a poster for anti-bullying with the lone chair in the hallway. It has a feeling of lonliness, and that sometimes in the most crowded buildings, you can still feel very lonely. The second photo also has a message of abandonment. From the empty pool to the graffiti on the hotel, it has a ghostly feeling. Though the colors give it a warming homey feel too. The beauty and contrast of the colors against the yellow ground adds a lot of character to the photo. Though it might be a hypothetical emptiness, it still has a feeling of security.

How: Fitts would need a high ISO for the pool photo to get the colors, and to get enough light he’d need a higher aperture as well. The first photo since it was taken indoors, he would have to bump up the ISO to allow a good amount of light onto the chair.

Links: Cupcakes