Shane Dawson - Weekly Post [1]

Lisa Kristine

Lisa Kristine is a San Francisco based photographer specializing in indigenous people worldwide.  Through her work, Lisa wishes to inspire change in the minds of all people by taking her audience on a visual journey that requires them to question their existence.  For more than twenty-five years, Lisa has explored the globe, looking for the peoples, cultures and places that time forgot and this is what she found.

The images attached come from her work, Modern Day Slavery.  These images document the pain of modern day slavery as well as their hope of freedom.  The images attached speak to the mission of Lisa work completely.   From the innovative mining helmets all the way to the natural gold boots. 

Since I want to become a better artist, I would take the idea of hopelessness that Lisa Kristine uses so well.   Her focus was on a global scale, but touched on literal slavery. Modern Day Slavery can be seen outside of the physical whips and chains.

Kat Hennessy- Weekly Post [3]

Jim Goldberg

Jim Goldberg primarily is primarily a social documentary artists, using his work to show the lives and cultures of others around the world. His portraits are usually very close and capture the subjects in their most intimate settings. His older works are black and white, with good contrast. In a lot of his photographs he adds to the element of intimacy by having his subjects write something about themselves and attaching it to the photograph.

By using the handwritten notes of his subjects with his work, Goldberg gives the viewer a feeling of closeness. It begins to feel that we are knowing the subjects deepest inner thoughts, like a page out of their diary. By evaluating the socioeconomic and bringing to light the adversities and struggles faced by others, he allows us to empathize and begin to understand.

I would like to take his work as inspiration for the influence that social documentary can have for others. These moving images can be used to spark awareness and bring light to a cause. I am interested in being able to use my work to break down the wall between classes and cultures, in hopes of helping to bring unity to the people of this world.

Kat Hennessy- Weekly Post [2]

Khalik Allah

Khalik Allah primarily shoots with a 55mm 1.2 Nikkor with Kodak Portra 160 film. He focuses on the city life and locals, and documents their lives. Much of Allah's work is low-light photography, but he has some black and white images as well.

Allah aims to draw us to the beauty and reality of the day to day life of the seemingly unfortunate. By documenting the life of these locals, he allows people a view of a society and culture that many may never be exposed to. The low-light and unfocused backgrounds really draw us into the subject- making us really analyze their faces, clothes, etc. Even further, he captures them at their best or worst making us feel like we are understanding them and getting to know the subject as well as Allah seems to.

I admire his skill with the manipulation of the low-life and his use of a film camera. I would enjoy getting more experience with low-light photography. I also appreciate his style of portrait. The subject obviously knows they are being photographed, but they seem to be comfortable enough with Allah to let loose a little and allow him to capture a glimpse of their personalities.

Sam Moeller Week 1 Post

Mike Brodie 

"A Period Of Juvenile Prosperity" by Mike Brodie was created between 2004 - 2009. By the end of 2009 he had ridden over 50,000 miles through 46 States. The series visually narrates to the viewer what it is like to be a part of the teen train subculture that existed during those years. Brodie was born in 1985 and was exposed to train hoping at the age of 17. From his first ride he was hooked and he continued this lifestyle for some time.

This particular series captures secret moments that this subculture is very familiar with such as the grit, grime, blood, and danger. Elements that typically keep away most people let alone teen and young adults. Those who are photographed in this series are close friends or even ex-girlfriends. The intimacy is projected throughout many of his photographs. All his photos within this series were taken with a Polaroid camera which is his main tool, and gave him the nickname Polaroid Kidd. 

Kat Hennessy- Weekly Post [1]

Sandy Carson

Sandy Carson is originally from Scotland, and traveled to America in 1993. Since then, she has aimed to capture day to day norms of the people and places she comes across. Her photos show raw imagery of her subjects, allowing viewers to get a sense of the true atmosphere and culture.  Her images often contain a large view, not lacking in content, but her focus or use of negative space around a particular object allow the viewer to focus.

The portraits Carson takes are largely unposed, unplanned, candid representations of those people in their everyday life activities. This gives us the sense that she really wants to explore the true nature of the country and it's people, perhaps to adjust to living somewhere so far from where she came. Her landscape and still life images also remain untouched, in their natural state. This  lack of alterations leaves the feeling of having really been in the place. Many of her landscapes depict seemingly isolated areas, which may express the sense of loneliness that one often feels when somewhere new, knowing no one.

Her images speak to me because I also have a fascination with finding the overlooked, forgotten, or unrecognized objects of the area I am in. I often photograph "found objects" or everyday people and place, rather than posed models or constructed sets. For this reason, I can look at Carson's work and appreciate the detail and voice that she gives her subject by this isolated composition within a frame. I picked four images because I couldn't narrow don to my three favorites!

Shane Rocheleau - Weekly Post

Alec Soth

Alec Soth travels the country with, predominantly, an 8x10 view camera.  He generally shoots in color.  His compositions are tight but not very busy.  When I look at a Soth, I don't need to guess what I'm supposed to see.

In his series Niagra, Soth looks for love in, apparently, the right place:  the east coast's wedding capital. Problem is, the love he finds seems stunted, scared, depressed.  Love seems to be a promise not of lifelong bliss, but difficulty and heartbreak.  I suppose, though, that the interesting question he asks is not can we find true, unadulterated, difficulty free love, but why do we deserve perfection when perfection is an artifice anyhow.

WELCOME!

This blog has been used by past ODU Intro Photo students, so there's are a number of gems waiting to be discovered below.  Also, this space will be shared by both of my ODU Intro Photo classes this semester, so double the fun!

I look forward to a wonderful semester.

Shane