Cynthia Bowles- Weekly Post 6

LAUREN GREENFIELD

     Lauren Greenfield is a documentary photographer/ filmaker. Her work has been displayed world wide in museums and magazines. Her intentions are to capture the ways of society. In this case, she is capturing the simple ways people do or experience things. She captured the bridal party's or group behind the scenes view of the things they may do on the ride. She caught the graduating student not paying attention to the ceremony. She also managed to capture a toddler playing dress up. She focused on the little things in life that are not normally seen or remembered. 

    My guess is that she used a tripod to prevent camera shake in most of her photos. I think she used a low ISO (100 or 200) to get the good quality of each photo. She might have also used a faster shutter speed to reduce the motion of the subjects in each photo; except for the little girl's right foot in the last picture. I think that aperture was mildly closed to capture a enough depth of field behind each subject. She definitely makes each of her photos. 

    I like her photos because of the great contrast and lighting angles. For example, in the third photo, the first thing I noticed is the reflection on her shoes and the lights and shadows on the floor. By enhancing the lighting that reflected off her tights and shoes, my eye was atomically drawn to the rest of the photo. In my opinion she connects with her subjects of the photo very well by capturing the moments most people can relate,   

Weekly Artist Post - Matt Thyssen

Andrew Knapp

1) In this set (named Finding Momo), Andrew Knapp takes advantage of size, color, and positioning to hide his dog, Momo, in different scenes. Once again, I think it's brilliant how he manages to hide his dog, who has a mind of it's own, but can't really communicate. Whenever I've tried to position a dog to shoot, it usually runs off after a couple seconds.  His use of discipline to hide the dog in these different scenes (in perfect spots, too) is just genius.

2) The conceptual intent behind this set is mostly game-like. It's a fun set, where the viewer's natural instinct is to stop and try to find the dog.  It doesn't take too long, but it's a fun little game.  On top of that, however, he does a great job of setting up and portraying the scene. Each one of these shots would be just as beautiful without the dog, but hiding the dog within takes them to an entirely different level.

3) I like this set. I don't usually get into the "fun" photography, but I do think these photos are really clever.  Each photo in the set made me stop for a couple seconds and look for the dog, even if that wasn't my original intent.  I think if the dog wasn't in the pictures I would have just scrolled by (despite them still being good photos), but that little addition makes this set what it is, and it appeals to me. 

Matt Thyssen - Weekly Artist Post

Andrew Fladeboe

1) This set was shot entirely outdoors, so I think it's safe to assume that Fladeboe's technical decisions include a low ISO, a quick shutter speed, and narrow aperture for deep depth of field. The brilliance in this set is found in the positioning of the dogs. Portraits are easier when your subject can communicate with you, but when your subject only comprehends a brief list of commands, it's harder to get the shot you want.  Fladeboe does a great job with that in this set.

2) In our modern, American society, it's hard pressed to find an individual who thinks of a dog as an employee.  Out of all the people we encounter, the amount of people who would even have the tiniest, remote thought of using a dog for work is impossibly slim.  Dogs are companions, they're friends, they're pets, or even trophies, but how can a dog work for you?  The rural inhabitants of New Zealand have a totally different approach.  Now, I'm not assuming that they don't see their dogs as friends and companions, but they can also offer an incredible amount of assistance in a rural environment.  Here the artist has a double edged sword, he portrays the incredibly beautiful landscapes of New Zealand, but also subtly hints at the lifestyle of its inhabitants through these portraits of their dogs.

3) I respond well to this set.  When we as men first started to domesticate wild canines, we realized all the potential they had.  I've grown up with dogs my entire life, and although I'm not a farmer, or never used a dog for work, I can see them being incredibly useful if the need is there.  I don't think primitive man wanted to put little bootsies on his Chihuahua, or give his Poodle a fancy haircut, and I think this more primal representation of domesticated canines is different to what we see in suburban America.  I'm all for primalism and returning to our roots, so I think these shots are very effective.  

Keri Woodard - Weekly Artist Post

Lee Jeffries

This photographer claims to be using an old "beat up" canon 5d digital camera. Using a light source from above or side in some and natural lighting in others. Jeffries has plenty of detail; showing every wrinkle, bruise, scar, hair, etc. He focuses on the subject in the foreground with very little background or just completely blacked out in intense shadows. The artist spends time editing these pictures as well (from five minutes to days).

He chooses to capture the emotions of the people that get overlooked every day. Getting up close and personal with them makes for an interesting photograph and also gets to tell a story. The artist likes to focus on the eyes as well to get a deeper sense for how these people feel and what they're going through. Lee Jeffries mentioned that his photographs have religious undertones which explains a lot of the lighting/shadows and his focus on the persons eyes. 

These photographs are incredible in a lot of ways, but the main thing for me is the eyes. The viewer can see so vividly into their eyes and you can see exactly how they feel. Everyone can relate to overlooking the less fortunate because we do it everyday. The photographer makes you stop and realize these people are there and the viewer can't ignore it. The portraits of these people are beautiful despite the content and I believe that's the message the artist was trying to get across. 

Weekly Artist Post- Darsey Renz

Elena Shumilova 

What are the artist's technical choices?

Shumilova mostly uses children and animals as her subject matter. She uses the elements that come from different seasons to create balance and contrast. Lighting is particularly different for different seasons, creating various natural colors, and Shumilova uses that to her advantage. Without doing this, Shumilova's compositions could become boring and repetitive.

What are the artist's conceptual and/or thematic intents?

Shumilova seems to capture the indescribable bond that children have with animals. Though adults also have strong bonds with animals, it is a bit different for children; more intense. Shumilova brings this to light and intensifies the moment that the children are having with their furry friends through her lens.

How do you respond to these choices and intents?

Shumilova's work is the kind that you cannot stop looking at. Each time you look at her photographs, you notice something different; whether it be in the subjects, background, foreground, or lighting. And you also can't help but to feel a certain way about them. They force emotions to stir and to me, that is what makes photography most successful. Shumilova's work is beautiful, emotional, and serene. 

Weekly Artist Post- Darsey Renz

Charlie White

What are the artist's technical choices?

These compositions created by Charlie White are purposely and beautifully simple. He captures from above the chest to the top of the model's heads only. He includes a white checkered background, focusing solely on the people in the composition.

What are the artist's conceptual and/or thematic intents?

The models White uses for these photographs are young teenagers and transgendered women. White's intent is to show that though quite different, these women are also extremely similar. They are both going through changes of becoming a woman, one through puberty and one through surgery/medicine.

How do you respond to these choices and intents?

Through these photographs, White makes me look at things a little different when it comes to the transgendered world. The same struggles that teenage girls go through from ages 12 to 16, transgendered women go through as well. It's just in a different way, and even in a more intense way. By doing this, White helps the viewer relate to these women going through all of these inner and outer changes. It creates a sense of empathy. 

Simone McPhail - Weekly Artist Post 6

Eri Morita

My artist this week is Eri Mortia, she seems to use available light to highlight her subjects which plays into the tone of everyday life that runs throughout this photo series. All three photos are high in quality leading me to believe the ISO might be set at as low as possible. In the third photo I've posted Mortia uses a shallow defy of field sort of highlighting the pony rather than the girls playing which is an interesting choice to me. I believe, overall her technical choices have created pictures that reach her thematic goals. 

Mortia explores her children's safe, sheltered and organized lives compared to her childhood that was comprised of roaming Tokyo streets. There are a few things that interest me about this photo series. I love the colors and the subject matter. I also noticed that a lot of young people in these photographs have casts on which at first just kind of made me chuckle for some reason, but then I began to think about the theme of these photos which is how "safe" safe these children's lives are. these casts kind of represent to me that no matter how safe, structured, and sheltered a child is, they'll find a way to be a child and get into things that make childhood one of the best parts of life. 

I enjoy the choices of deep depth of field when she uses it as well as the shallow depth of field in the third photo. I also enjoy the usage of available light. I think exploring childhood is becoming one of my favorite photo themes because childhood has innocence, potential, and optimism that inspires me. Its also interesting to me to see a photographer's portray childhood rather than just home pictures of children  on Instagram.