2-17-10

Margaret Bourke-White
Bread Line during the Louisville flood, Kentucky
1937

I have always loved the irony in this photo.  While in a photo class in high school, one of my teachers told me not to use irony in my photographs. To this day I'm not really sure why, because I think that it can make for a more powerful image.  From what I have studied of Bourke-White's photos, she has an incredible way of showing the truth through her eyes.  Though she worked for Life and was an FSA photographer, she knew how to take what was in front of her and display it in such a way as to not exploit the situation, but rather show as much information as was needed to get her point across.

Ansel Adams
Winter Sunrise, the Sierra Nevada,
from Lone Pine, California
1944

Since I have started my higher education in photography, I have heard a lot of my peers say that they don't like Ansel Adams.  I on the other hand have been greatly influenced by him in my early interest in photography.  I watched a documentary on him probably 10+ years ago, and I still remember watching him in the darkroom printing this image.  It was like watching a beautiful dance.  I think the thing about his work that sticks with me the most, is just to remember how important my final images are.

Jerry Uelsmann
Untitled
1969

Uelsmann's images are not just photographs, but layer upon layer of many photographs.  The way in which he prints is much more like a painting as far as imagery goes.  He creates places and meanings with each object that he includes in his photographs. 

All three of these were taken in an area that had just had the fresh snow disturbed by tire marks. Again I used my cell phone camera to capture these images.  This time I did take them into Photoshop and mess around with them just a bit to see how much manipulation they could handle.  I have mixed feelings as to how much the individual images change.  I took these in relatively the same spot with similar lighting conditions, and I feel like each one has its own unique feel to it.  I guess if I want more control I just need to use a different camera :)

2-10-10

http://www.redcat.org/exhibition/brinkmanship-park-chan-kyong-and-sean-snyder

Both of these artists are doing a collaborative show. The foundation of this project is to "deconstruct the language of media". I feel that this is a very powerful avenue to explore and I really wish I could see all of the work put into context.  I feel like I can't say much about the work without seeing the whole show put together.  I feel it is has a lot of potential to be incredibly influential. 

Manu Luksch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW2ZLGQli00
http://www.manuluksch.com/

Manu Luksch is working with using Britain's CCTV as a medium for creating video works.  The link I posted is for a clip from the video Faceless that she did in 2006.  I think the idea of using images captured from existing government video is a genius idea, and the way she orchestrates her subject is brilliant.

John Perivolaris

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dr_john2005/sets/72157602394301489/ 
http://www.johnperivolaris.com/index.htm

I love the irony of this photo.  He really captured the feeling of being watched, and also conveying the idea of watching back at the same time.  Formally its a beautiful photograph.  I also think that it is an easy to read photograph as well. Check out more on the flickr link I posted. He is also working with social identity so if you're interested in that check out his professional website that I have also linked.

My photos of the week

These are still all taken from my cell phone camera.

I love the mysteriousness of this one.  The silhouette of the person is very subtle.  I am also enjoying the crappy graininess of it too.

I was really surprised at how clear this came out. I'm still figuring out how good the sensor on my phone camera is.  I think this is a good representation on what winter driving in Colorado is like.

I'm adding this one to document how fast I was going in the snow day traffic.  (I probably shouldn't have been taking pictures while I was driving, but oh well :) )

With this one I was interested in how even a crappy cell phone can capture the mood of a setting.  There is not a lot of movement, everyone is just kind of sitting around at the bar.  I am surprisingly happy at how this camera captures silhouettes.

Feb. 3, 2010

Alright, so I didn't do so well at this last semester, so here goes another shot.  Im going to try a different layout that works for me. Im going to post the links of the shows that I am interested first and then talk about the works.  So here goes:

http://ny.voltashow.com

http://www.sitesantafe.org/exhibitions/exhibitfr.html

http://www.stroom.nl/activiteiten/tentoonstelling.php?t_id=259533

I went through and looked at many of the different artists showing at the Volta show, but this was the image that really stood out for me. I have always been a fan of night photography. I would think lighting an iceberg would be a very impressive feat.

I am really interested by the concept of Elahi's work.  According to the curators statement for the show, he was falsely accused of being involved in the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.  Since then he has been documenting himself and his whereabouts.  Check out this website: http://trackingtransience.net/

I haven't been able to pinpoint what it is I like about Navid Nuur's work.  I think I mostly like what his concepts are based on.  I am still having a hard time matching his concepts to his actual work though.  Here are a few more links to some of his work: http://www.fridericianum-kassel.de/nuur.html?&L=1 and  http://www.dehallenhaarlem.nl/tentoonstellingen/verwacht.


My Photos

I have been toying with the idea of doing a project using only my cell phone camera lately, so here are just a few photos I have taken with it.  They are not the best quality and that's not something I'm used to working with, but I hope that in time I will be able to use it to my advantage.

This one was taken while I was listening to a 3 year old learning how to read.  I was fasciated at how much the pictures help her to understand and contextualize the words she was reading. 

 

This is the same girl reading the same book with her mom.  I just really love how the act of reading (understanding words) she is.  She looks so captivated :)

This photograph was used as a form of evidence that I was actually on time for work.... of course on the day my boss was out sick.