Final Three

For this piece, I really wanted to emphasize the lighting. The sources of it came from not only the walls themselves, but also the ceiling and reflections from the dark, mirror-like floor. As far is it goes conceptually, I really hope that the viewer can see the almost altered sense of reality. Without having the table and chair, it might seem completely unreal.  The actual shots took a few times to get right, since I had to reconfigure a faster shutter speed for the quick, moving lights. I really wanted to create a surreal experience, and I was drawn to the area because of its apparent lights, and also for the different tonal shades. When I was in the process of shooting, I looked for inspiration in my environment. I was fortunate enough to come across this display for Lexus at the Auto Show, so I tried to take advantage of it. Thinking back, I think that it is interesting that such an elaborate, beautiful display would be put up to advertise cars for only a few weeks. From when I was there, people were definitely more interested in the cars than the displays for them. I think that those overlooked details are incredible and should be given much more credit.

This is another piece where I wanted to make the viewer unsure of the environment. This was one of many displays at the Auto Show, and I just happened to come across it as I was walking around. I took advantage of the set for Mini Coopers, since I was drawn to how elaborate and complicated it was. I cut a lot out of the picture by framing it, since the advertised car is only a foot or two to the right. I like how the lighting comes from all areas in focus, and that there is the illusion of depth on the black screen. It created the appearance of a tunnel, and I wanted to make it seem as if it were real. I really became interested in the set work for the show, since it seems to me to be under appreciated. Many of the sets were beautiful and elaborate, and I don't think the people there really saw the marvel of the beautiful backgrounds. I think the sets played a lot with light in order to draw the people over, but ultimately the show was for the cars. 

This photo was unplanned, as I was intending to shoot more of the light walls in this picture's background. This was in the beginning of shooting around this set, so I was still playing around with the shutter speeds. My boyfriend happened to be wandering around, and I thought it would probably be a good idea for the prompt of 'play'. He  would be mortified if he knew that I have this submitted as final photo, so I am going to wait a little while to tell him. Anyways, I like this picture for probably more biased, personal reasons. Firstly,  I am probably going to be more drawn to it because I love him. This picture makes me feel happy, and I like photography that evokes emotions. I know that I cannot make everyone feel the way I do, but I know people connected to him would be as entertained by this as I am. Selfish? Yes. Very much so! But I like having the personal connection to it.

On a different note, I selected this photo because I think that it has an interesting composition. The horizon line is slanted, and I think that the balance is within the dark left side and the lighter right side. I also like that he is off center, and his location makes it less serious, and fun. I know it is a criticism that he is blurry, and looking back, I wish I could have gotten him sharper within the frame. Given the clarity of the background, I wonder if it would add or draw from it to have a clear focal picture. 

10 Possibilities

Prompt #4

“If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera.” ~Lewis Hine.

Write a brief reaction to this quote. Is this quote applicable to your experience with photography? What does it mean to you? Do you agree with the idea presented or disagree? Describe situations when photographic images reveal “the story” (as compared to words). Describe situations when words reveal “the story” (as compared to images).


My interpretation of this quote is that a photograph can fill in the void that plain text may leave when telling a story. Although I agree with it, I think there are situations where the supplement of text add much more than a photograph can. For example, you can see a picture of an amputee. 
You may first start to wonder how it happened, and why, but are left with no real answers. In order to get that with pictures, you would need a series of carefully placed and captured photographs, but it may not leave the desired information with the viewer. 
Now if you had some text accompanying the picture, you could learn that it was lost in the war, or maybe to disease, or some other circumstances. The text could tell about the amputee's life, before and after, and make a much more personal connection.
I am not trying to say that it is impossible to do so with just a photograph, as there are some things indescribable through words. I think that the most ideal setup is a photograph with some text along with it. It gives the best of both worlds and helps the viewer understand the creators intention with much more ease.

Prompt #3

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”~Duane Michals. Write a brief reaction to this quote. Is this quote applicable to your experience with photography? What does it mean to you? Do you agree with the idea presented or disagree?


I think that this is saying something about how there is always something more to a photograph than from what you first see. The information presented in front of you may say one thing, but what it is saying might be completely out of context. 
I definitely agree with this quote, considering the information put up always has some sort of background information behind it. Although it is not always meant to be hidden, without some sort of accompanying text, there may be some information missing from it. Even the text can skew the perception into a different direction, so there is always going to be some piece, however insignificant or small, missing from the image.

Prompt #2

What does the word "photograph" mean to you?


"Photograph" to me is the physical copy/print of its subject matter. It is a reproduction of the subject that can be altered to the photographers desire. It may not always turn out the way that was intended, but the fight to capture the perfect shot drives many people to keep going and trying. 

Prompt #1

Imagine a world without photographs. Describe what this world would be like.


It is very difficult to try to imagine a world without photographs. As a visual learner, I am not sure how successful I would have been without having a photograph to supplement my reading. I can still remember the visual styles from my favorite children books, and they were a very big impact on me as an artist. At the same time, it also makes me wonder what would have filled the void. There does not seem to be one solution, as it seems there would be a great jump in the fields of illustrating and typography. Would text rely upon illustrations, or would it become detached at all to a point where the font type itself brought images? I really wonder what the impact would be. 
Naturally, there would be downsides to not having photographs available. The sort of realism that a photograph gives is practically impossible to reproduce. However, without actually having it as a resource, it might even be better to other artforms as they would be trying to fill the gap. I guess all in all, I have mixed views on the outcome of a world without photography. On the one hand, it may strengthen other artforms as they try to fill in gaps left without pictures, and yet it may even hurt them as photography is such a valuable resource and an artform in itself.

Recreation

Bio: Jacques Henri Lartigue

Born: June 13, 1894

Country: France

Education: none

Photo taken: 1911

He actually took this at the age of 15, and kept up a childlike view in his photography. Lartique kept it up by photographing lively, interesting subjects. The contrast is between the dark central figure against the lighter background image. This showed a glimpse of high class French woman of the period. He tried to capture special moments of interesting parts of life. He was interested in photography and was out shooting. I like his work, as it consists of interesting shots and keeps a fresh appearance. 

My recreation was trying to make an updated version of the original. My hard copy was pretty washed out, so I decided to try to take it in that direction. It was not until later when I was researching the photo that I realized that it was supposed to to have normal lighting. However, I liked how mine had turned out, so I decided to keep it.