Carra Roots - Weekly Blog Post 3

Christopher Payne

Christopher Payne is a photographer that was taught first of architecture. He uses a large format camera, and his subjects are rather large as well. From his background, he has done many series on designs and how things are built. I would compare his work like this, some people take a picture of the light bulb, but he cracks it open. His view takes you deeper.

In this series in particular, he looks at the insides of factories and the effort to make things perfect. The two main elements you will see used in this series are symmetry and color. He shows you the intricate designs of the machines and also the attention that has to be given to produce the product. In some of his pictures you will find portraits of the workers. They show either how articulate they have to be with their work or just a little sweat on their forehead to show the conditions.

I really like how he approached the project. He took us into a space in which few people go, and did that in such an artistic way. The play of color keeps the eye entertained. I also liked how he used the shutter speed to capture the movement of different things. 

Kweku Asafu-Adjaye Weekly Post 3

This week I bring to you all a set of photographs from a photographer named Mattias Klum. This artist is known for his nature photographs shown in the National Geographic magazine. He shoots his photos to capture the essence of nature. He tends to get either very high and far away from his subjects or super close into what most would call the danger zone.

Klum shoots his photos by taking advantage of the natural light around him. Since he is usually in an unfamiliar environment, he tends to play around with various angles and animal habitats that suite the article he is working with.

To me, his work is kind of boring. It is simply nature photography which isn't super hard or special since I can and currently do the same. The only real reason he seems popular to me is because he started at such an early time of the magazine and at such a young age to get known. Money got his photos to be taken at various angles such as high up in airplanes which isn't that special.

 

Diana Macaraeg - Weekly Post 3

Olya Ivanova

1. Olya Inanova's technical choices were to create high contrast with her portraitures. Her portraits fall compositionally on the rule of thirds. She had formally shot with a Canon EOS 300, but now shoots with a medium format camera. 
2. Olya Inanova's portraits were centered around subjects with unique or quirky styles. Her use of color create a strong lush array of vibrancy. She even includes different textures in comparison to her subjects and surroundings.
3. I feel that I've grasped a better visual on colors while exploring Olya's work. My main works are portraitures, and Olya's work is helping me understand my surroundings better. Her subjects seem to have a relationship with Olya, that having a connection or relationship has given them a sense of vulnerability to be translated within her photos.

Meghan Thayer weekly post 3

Ryan McGinley

1) One technical choice the artist makes is with color. I found these photographs in a collection of his called "way far". Within this particular body of work, all the photographs are extremely vibrant with color. Along with color as a main theme in his work, nudity is also a very present reoccurring theme. 

2) I believe that McGinley's intent with his work is to express the human body in a very natural and beautiful way. Each of his models are fully in the nude, and they all express very real emotion. For instance, in the last picture I chose, the female model in this image has so much emotion in her face and it comes off as feeling very free or carefree.  To help build the emotion he was able to capture a very warm and soft light that reflects on her face so beautifully. The color helps to bring out an emotion. 

3) Personally, I really enjoy all of McGinley's work. I am most attracted to the vibrance in color he captures. It really leads my eye to see the whole image rather than just one specific part. His work was a mixture of every type of photography I love. 

Bri Picone - Weekly Post 2

Richard Finkelstein

1)  Richard Finkelstein creates and photographs miniature cinematic scenes.  His compositions are well balanced and he uses the rule of thirds.  His work also contains leading lines and gives the viewer various viewpoints.

2)  In this series, Finkelstein creates a rich, ambient world and he explores the idea of movies as windows into a fantasy world.  He shows us characters who are experiencing this fantasy world and also shows when the movie is over and the usher has to sweep up popcorn and sodas, but the images of the movie live on.  For example, the last photo shows a man sweeping trash off the floor, yet on the screen we can see a sliver of a man projected.  Finkelstein's work is inspired by paintings by Edward Hopper and Alfred Hitchcock films.  His work comments on the impact of movies on our emotions and how movies let the viewers inside a fantasy reality.

3)  I think this series is really cool! I love the idea of creating a miniature scene.  At first glance I didn't realize everything was miniature because they look like scenes that could be taken from real life.  I also can see how the influence of Hitchcock and Edward Hopper come through.  The first image looks very Hitchcock with the black and white and moody tone.  The scale of the woman on the screen also creates a dramatic effect.  I can see the influence of Hopper, especially in the last image where there is a single figure and through the use of light and shadow effects.  Hopper also carefully calculated compositions and that is what Finkelstein does when he creates and photographs these scenes.

Catherine Meadows Weekly Post 3

Collier Schorr

1) what are the artist’s technical choices?

Schorr switches from both black and white to color photographs. There seems to be no pattern as to what made her choose one or the other for each picture. She also takes her photos at multiple distances from her models, some up close and some far away. The majority of her models are nude. which contrasts her major interest in fashion.

2) what are the artist’s conceptual and/or thematic intents?

Schorr's conceptual idea is to play with the concept of femininity and masculinity. She is also very into fashion and tries to use that to compare it with gender. She is also playing with the idea of gender identity. She shows this by having her models pose in ways that suggest femininity.

3) how do you respond to these choices and intents?  

To be honest, I'm not the biggest fan of her work. It's not awful, but it's not something that I found particularly interesting to look at. For this week's blog post I wanted to try to write about an artist that I didn't really care for. Because of this, I of course found that it is extremely difficult to write and try and interpret what purpose the work is trying to serve.

Nini Norris Weekly Post 3

Robert Walker











1.) Robert Walker chooses to shoot the photograph's in his series " The Fifth Continent" on dreary, stormy, or overcast days. His color palette is neutral, further emphasizing the overall dreary and empty tone of the photographs. All of his photographs are of seemingly lifeless and empty landscapes

2.)Walker's intent is to capture an essence of the landscape of Dungeness in South East England--England's only desert. Walker wrote "I am struck by the emptiness, the exhaustion, the excess of weather and although a small number of people live and work on the Ness, I chose not to notice them. The area feels out of synch, self-contained and beyond conventions, all of which I find surprisingly liberating".

3.) Because Walker chooses not to photograph the people and instead focus on the landscape of this strange place, the overall tone is one of a desolate, and somewhat, meditative space. It is an interesting place to focus on, being that it is a non-traditional desert. The silence portrayed in the pictures is deafening. Walker does a wonderful job of showing the soul of this place.

Amanda Page Stephens Weekly Blog Post 2

Rob Hornstra

Rob Hornstra is a Dutch artist who uses medium and large format film. He creates gorgeous portraits that captures emotion and personality in primarily the Soviet Union. Hornstra doesn't consider himself a photographer because he doesn't always have a camera but rather a "maker of photographic documentaries". I feel that the size of film/camera and the patience it requires allows him to not only set the scene but also really feel the process of capturing an image

Amanda Page Stephens Weekly Post 1

Cindy Sherman
http://www.cindysherman.com

Cindy Sherman series titled Bus Riders (1976-2000) is a series of self portraits shot with film. She transforms herself into multiple characters. Sherman shoots these images alone in her studio. She isn't only the photographer but also the model. She takes on the roles of all the behind the scene aspects like the make-up artist and stylist.  I enjoy how Sherman turns herself into real women not just glamorous fashionistas. She isn't afraid of showing her silly side either. Sherman's vibrant use of color is pure eye candy.

Hailey Porth Weekly Post 3

Serge Najjar

http://www.featureshoot.com/2016/01/light-transforms-the-city-of-beirut-in-graphic-black-and-white-photographs/ 

https://www.instagram.com/serjios/ 















Serge Najjar project The Architecture of Light takes a city and looks at it on a whole new perspective. Najjar is a photographer from Lebanon who looks at things in a view point I have never seen before. In this particular project Najjar uses a Zeiss camera that used to be his dads.

The way the light and shapes literally dance across the images makes the stationary image come to life. Najjar's image reminds me of the images that were made by Henri Cartier-Bresson. His decisive moment pictures caught people right in the middle of what they were doing and articulating his pictures in such a way that the composition was brilliant.

For example:







I would love to be able to see the way Najjar sees the world. His eye for catching light and contrast and composition leaves me in awe. Something that I love is his bio on his instagram that says,  "it's not about what you see but how you see it." I have been inspired by his works. I see in everything that he has photographed that he does not just take the photo but he makes it. He does this by looking for how the light will make the composition not just the objects in the light.

Joseph Colon weekly post 5

Tomer Ifrah

1. Tomer Ifrah uses what seems like a digital camera with a 24mm wide angle lens. A lot of the images are close up, and don't have any blurred backgrounds. He uses a lot of natural light that gives the images a dark, and lonely feeling. He uses shadows as well in some of the images to highlight that some of the inmates may be hiding in a sense, or are scared to reveal who they are.

2. Tomer Ifrah's Women in Prison  is a series based on women that are imprisoned in Isreals only Women's prison. Many of the prisoners are from different cultural, and social backgrounds. Tomer says that the women are often in solidarity, and lost in thought, and you can see that from a lot of the pictures. The emotions that some the inmates are feeling can be seen on their face. Many of them look lonely and sad, and you can tell they have been through a lot and have seem a lot.

3. I have always been attracted to, and interested in the way others live. Not just at home but also behind bars. This series reminds me of Richard Ross's Juvenile in Justice series which is probably one of my favorite series, and it fascinates me that there are things that people go through everyday that a lot of us have no idea about. It is cool to see how people handle certain situations, and how it affects them.

Bradley Manley Weekly Artist Post 3

Federico Clavarino

Federico Clavarino made these photos at his home country in Italy. The photos are all in different locations and seem slightly overexposed. Federico does not seem to explore different angles, yet makes it up by framing in a unique way.

Federico photos seem very straight forward, however each of them have some kind of framing that draws the viewer into the photo. The frames may be repetitive or may cause the viewer to question the element that makes the frame. The use of framing makes up for the angles and overexposure.

Through Federico's photos, it has made me see making photos in a different perspective. Theses photos make me think to look pass the frame in the viewfinder and frame the image a different way. Sometimes the angle doesn't necessarily need to be change but rather the arrangements of your environment.