Blog Post#1 William Eggleston

1. How did this photographer get started in his career?

His younger work was mostly in black and white. I was inspired to become a photographer by the work of Robert Frank.

2. What is this photographer most well known for?

I think that William Eggleston is best know for his subject matter. 

3. Describe the photographer's primary subject matter.

 Eggleston’s primary subject matter is mundane items from ordinary life.

4. What about his work do you find interesting?

I think that his work is interesting because of his subject matter. He makes you see things in his eyes. He sees beauty in things people see everyday and twists them into something interesting and he tells a story with his photos.

5. How would you describe his visual style?

A day in the life of…. Eggleston takes you on a walk in his shoes. You see the world the way he sees it. His visual style is ordinary beauty. 

Exercise#2: Sense of Place (Compare/Contrast)

Assigned in class Week 4, due by class Week 5 to present
 
Many types of photographers strive to capture and convey a sense of place, from editorial travel photographers to fine art conceptual photographers to those who capture the classic beauty of landscapes.

What is "sense of place" and how is it conveyed photographically? To show sense of place is to capture the unique aspects of a place, its culture and its character, through composition, quality of light, and the choice of whether to include the human presence.

Compare and Contrast three different landscape photographs, from three professional photographers.  One should be from an editorial travel photographer, one from a fine art conceptual photographer, and one from a classic landscape photographer.

Post each photograph (with photographer's name and source of the photo) and answer the following questions for each:

How would you describe the sense of place conveyed in the photograph?

What choices did the photographer make about color, composition, and quality of light in order to create a sense of place?

Is human presence evident in the photograph? How does the presence or absence of people impact your impression of the place?


Some resources for finding photographs by travel editorial photographers:

National Geographic Magazine: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/more/photography
Conde Nast Traveler: http://www.cntraveler.com/

Some names of travel editorial photographers: Sam Abell, David Alan Harvey, William Albert Allard, Joel Sartore, Ditte Isager, Melissa Farlow, Steve McCurry

Fine Art, Conceptual Landscape Photographers:
Robert Adams
Stephen Shore
Lewis Balt
Frank Gohlke
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Edward Burtynsky
Joel Sternfeld
Sally Mann
Justine Kurland

Classic Landscape Photographers:
Ansel Adams
Amy Gulick
Robert Glenn Ketchum
Art Wolfe
Roger A. Caras
Ricardo Carrasco
Norman Chaffer
Frans Lanting
Michael Lavine
Steve Parish
Moose Peterson
John Pezzenti
Oliver G Pike
Eliot Porter
George Shiras III
Hannu Siitonen
Austin Stevens  

Lauren Greenfield was a documentarian, and her main focus was societies, She photographed, French and Mayan Indians. Later on she wanted to explore her own cutler witch, lead to Girl Culture. This documentary is about girls growing up and LA and she is very well known for it.   She captured girls life, struggles and there mind set in modern day America, I find her thinking very interesting she ventured all threw the world documenting various cutlers only to find out her calling was to document her homeland. Kind of reminds me of myself.

I cant get the images to work but here are some links

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&pwst=1&biw=782&bih=761&tbm=isch&tbnid=Cb94oofpOxjM7M:&imgrefurl=http://www.womenscolleges.org/story/clear-lens-disto

http://www.google.com/imgres?start=292&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&pwst=1&biw=1600&bih=791&tbm=isch&tbnid=13IGTjUglWNwfM:&imgrefurl=http://jojukes.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html&docid=HRUQjgH5qzumWM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3UYdxG9AGOPk51VuRL0-ISLWyaur776gl0CEdcRYS8208Os_FtY_fmnU6toUdVNWe1sqhXekaM0VDtg3aZORKI4AbatHyrFLTaOh_WQZM_sS3OerdYLFeB5Mc2y9wV433CaZ50V8uPg/s1600/allegra.jpg&w=448&h=300&ei=SLEYUOGdG8_yiQLcvoCYCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=158&sig=104646250849539878509&page=9&tbnh=147&tbnw=196&ndsp=38&ved=1t:429,r:30,s:292,i:100&tx=75&ty=78

http://www.google.com/imgres?start=217&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&pwst=1&biw=1600&bih=791&tbm=isch&tbnid=0fNiutISAQdhXM:&imgrefurl=http://thpfashion.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/beauty-culture-cult-or-the-norm/&docid=5VhtCcFEIhpqDM&imgurl=http://thpfashion.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/greenfield-pink-lady-web.jpg%253Fw%253D640&w=600&h=400&ei=NLEYUK-5H8mTiAKyh4D4DQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=479&sig=104646250849539878509&page=7&tbnh=134&tbnw=172&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:27,s:217,i:213&tx=48&ty=44

Exercise #1 Irving Penn: Ashley Braun

How did this photographer get started in his work?:

Irving Penn started his career by initially intending to become a painter but in the 1940's, he worked for Vogue magazine which ultimately changed his ideal focus to photography. He studied at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art with Alexey Brodovitch (1898–1971), who decided to published his drawings in Harper’s Bazaar in the late 1930s. 

www.biography.com/people/irving-penn-40637  

 www.artfact.com/artist/penn-irving-gryc9gmbxr

What is this photographer most well known for?

Penn shot fashion photography for Vogue magazine after returning to the US and produced a lot of book/magazine covers (about 100). He started to make portraits of writers, dancers, etc. The photographs are well noted for their subject of line which is followed by the elegance of quality and lighting with radically minimal settings.

www.artfact.com/artist/penn-irving-gryc9gmbxr

Describe the photographer's primary subject matter:

He mostly shot fashion photography in natural light with people/models and/or objects in front of a blank background to convey contrast with an almost ethnographical directness.

www.artfact.com/artist/penn-irving-gryc9gmbxr

What about his work do you find interesting?:

Penn has been through a lot in his life as to what he truly wanted to be and what I find interesting is that all or most of his photographs are in natural light even though they might have been altered but I highly doubt it. What I really find that is fascinating is that he can express so much emotion and cram it into an emptiness of a beautiful photograph.

How would you describe his visual style?:

I would describe his work as defiant with enough calmness and classiness. Great elegance of shown beauty and hidden fixtures that could be proven to be something that it is not.

Abelardo Morell By: Juliana Moseley

1.HOW DOES THIS PHOTOGRAPHER GET STARTED IN HIS CAREER?
-Abelardo Morell got his bachelor of art in 1977 at Bowdoin College then went to Yale University to get his Master Degree Of Fine Arts in 1981. He received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Bowdoin in 1997

2. WHAT IS THE PHOTOGRAPHER MOST WELL KNOWN FOR?
-Morell was known for creating abstract obscure images from places all over the world. He is also known for black and white images and using shadows to create a mind altering image.

3. DESCRIBE THE PHOTOGRAPHERS PRIMARY SUBJECT?
-Morell turns darkened rooms into obscure landscapes. He loves to take pictures of rooms that have windows with landscapes outside of them.

4. WHAT ABOUT THEIR WORK DO YOU FIND INTERESTING?
- The way that he can make such abstract images using nature and shadows with no editing or image manipulation. I have never really tampered with that idea but looking at his images it is something I must try.

5. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE HIS VISUAL STYLE?
-100% abstract obscura images. Using light to manipulate the image.

Exercise #1 Sandy Skoglund by Emily Heath

How did this photographer get started in his or her career?
Sandy Skoglund was originally a painter and attended Smith College where she got her BA then the University of Iowa, where she eventually got her MFA. She fused her love for painting, printmaking and other aspects of the arts into her photography. She's had her work displayed in prominent museums and taught at the University of Hartford and Rutgers University.
What is this photographer most well known for?
Sandy Skoglund is well known for constructing elaborates sets that take months to complete and playing with perspectives of reality.
Describe the photographer's primary subject matter. 
Sandy Skoglund's subject matter is typically surreal portraits. She builds these elaborate sets that she then takes pictures in--this warps the sense of reality in the image.
What about his or her work do you find interesting?
I find all of her pictures in general are very intriguing. They all posses some kind of element of digital maniputlation but in reality these are just the sets she builds. She uses such vibrant colors that sometimes the color seems to be the subject matter, which I find very interesting.
How would you describe his or her visual style?
I get the sense that Sandy Skoglund's visual style is centered around colors and how they correspond with eachother and what they can convey. She is very much a surrealist--continuously distorting reality. It is obvious she infuses her painting instincts into her photography and that's what I think really sets her apart.


http://www.danscourses.com/Photoshop/famous-photographers-sandy-skoglund.html
http://www.learner.org/courses/globalart/theme/2/experts.html

Shooting Project #2: Home

PHD101

Introduction to Photography & Design

Shooting Project#2: Home

Due Week 3, after Lab period

Home.  We photograph our houses, our yards, our families, our friends, our celebrations, our anxieties. We also grow to move beyond ourselves to photograph homes of others--strangers, as well as people we know.  Home is where the camera is, and we use it to record our lives and the lives of others.

What represents “home” to you? Is it the space you live in? The objects you surround yourself with? The people you’re closest to? If you are new to the area, how do you find home here? Do you establish a routine, create familiarity somehow in the midst of the unknown?

During the course of the week, set out to make at least 50 images capturing a sense of the place (or psychological space) that defines home for you.  Work on moving beyond the literal and making the familiar new through the way you photograph it.  For instance, instead of a straight-on shot of your room, try to capture a new perspective and convey your mood and feeling about the place through the way you use composition and light.

Requirements

·       These images must be shot specifically for this assignment and previously shot photographs will not be accepted.   Make sure your date/time function in your camera menu is set properly.

·       Shoot in the exposure mode that’s comfortable to you and will yield the best results.  If you’re not comfortable shooting manually, use the program mode to get proper exposure.

·       Take care to avoid camera shake by shooting in brighter natural light so that slow shutter speeds aren’t necessary (or use a tripod in low light if you know how to do so)

·       Shoot in RAW + high fine jpeg

·       Use only available light – no flash

Submission standards

In class, we’ll review the Lightroom import/export workflow we performed for project one.  You’ll choose 5 - 10 images from the 50 that best convey the theme, and which work well together.  Process & organize them through LR, and remember the following parameters:

·       Add contact info, copyright, and keywords to the IPTC metadata of all images

·       Resize to 150 ppi, 10” for the longest dimension

·       Rename as LastName_ProjectName_sequence#

·       File Format = jpeg

·       Color Space = Adobe RGB

·       Output Sharpening = Screen

Grading

All shooting projects are worth 30 points and are graded according to the following criteria:

·       Image management (following assignment specifications outlined during lab period)

·       Creativity of approach to concept (effort and thought demonstrated)

·       Visual impact (use of photographic seeing, basic mastery of technique)

Shooting Project#1: Personal Vision

PHD101

Introduction to Photography & Design

Shooting Project#1: Personal Vision

Due Week 2, after Lab period

Personal Vision is the quality that makes a photographer’s work unique; it is the “voice” of the photographer and their signature style.  When you are developing a professional portfolio, you should aspire to have it express your personal vision.  Ideally, you’ll get hired not just for your technical prowess, but for the particular way you see the world.

To develop (or discover) your personal vision, think both about what you feel compelled to photograph (i.e. subject matter) and how you tend to go about photographing (photographic seeing – the way you use light, color, and composition).

Start by asking:  What do I find beautiful? What kinds of subjects do I most enjoy photographing? What do I want to express through my photography?

During the course of the week, set out to make at least 50 images representing what you find beautiful.  Without overthinking it (using your gut and intuition), shoot your chosen subject matter to convey your connection with the subject to the viewer.  Experiment with light, color, and composition, working on defining your personal aesthetic or how you see the subject matter.

Requirements

·       These images must be shot specifically for this assignment and previously shot photographs will not be accepted.   Make sure your date/time function in your camera menu is set properly.

·       Shoot in the exposure mode that’s comfortable to you and will yield the best results.  If you’re not comfortable shooting manually, use the program mode to get proper exposure.

·       Take care to avoid camera shake by shooting in brighter natural light so that slow shutter speeds aren’t necessary (or use a tripod in low light if you know how to do so)

·       Shoot in RAW + high fine jpeg

·       Use only available light – no flash

Submission standards

Bring all of your images on your external hard drive or flash drive to class next week.  Do not resize, rename, or manipulate any files yet.  We will learn our Lightroom workflow, discussion submission specifications, and submit your work Week 2, after our lab session.

Grading

All shooting projects are worth 30 points and are graded according to the following criteria:

·       Image management (following assignment specifications outlined during lab period)

·       Creativity of approach to concept (effort and thought demonstrated)

·       Visual impact (use of photographic seeing, basic mastery of technique)

Exercise #1: Building Visual Literacy

Choose a photographer's name at random from the container.  Begin to research your photographer online, looking for the most in-depth and impressive sources describing his or her work (more than one source, no Wikipedia).

Post 3 of the photographer's images that you find most moving, compelling, or inspiring.

Once you find a picture, right-click on it and choose "save as." Save your images to the desktop or the Student Work folder. DO NOT DRAG TO DESKTOP.  To upload the images on your blog post, click the picture icon in the post dialog.

Then, answer the following questions about their work:

How did this photographer get started in his or her career?
What is this photographer most well known for?
Describe the photographer's primary subject matter.
What about his or her work do you find interesting?
How would you describe his or her visual style? 

List your sources at the end of your post.