Project #2 Part 1

Composition: I wanted to use my tie dyed blanket in order to create more texture to the composition. The lighting was simple indoor lighting with a flash. I wanted her to do something the that reflected her personality.
Concept: My image is about my sister and her personality. She is often seen drinking coffee or other things like it so when i told her to show her personality she grabbed the smile face mug. which in my actual final image is missing the eyes.
Method: I had my sister just acting like her self when all of a sudden she grabbed my mug and held it up to her and it made me laugh because she held it up so that the face was facing outward which was a little different since she is actually right handed but she was using her left.
Motivations: My motivation was capturing a person in somewhat there typical state.
Context: I feel that it relates to my work in the sense that i enjoy capturing people in the natural state or a state that they like to be depicted. I guess my point of view would be somewhat from an anthropological point of view.

Composition: I wanted my figure to be somewhat off center from the whole of the composition. I also wanted to include the angles of the wall and floor of the room.
Concept: I think that this image is about a girl who might be an actor or dancer that is in a studio rehearsing or something like that and they are taking a break.
Method: This image is based off of a film still which i found online. I wanted to try and recreate it the same or at least as close as possible. I ended up adding in more of the space around my figure because i liked how the angles focus in on her.
Motivations: My goal was to try and capture the lighting that the original had but to a greater degree because i feel that lighting places and important part in this image.
Context: My image seems to relate to the typical stereotype dancer that is in a studio.

With this one it is pretty much the same comments as the one above but with this one i wanted to get a closer view of the person. i wanted to make it more personal and emphasize her looking out the window. Also with this one i like the fact that the background is clearer which helps with her looking out the window.

Composition: With this one the composition was not created ahead of time. I wanted to capture my sister doing something that she might do or something that might reflect her personality. I like that she is off centered and that the shot is closer up then some of the others.
Concept: I think that my image is about the craziness that is my sister. She is being attacked by flowers which is  funny because they are my flowers. I sometimes attack her for no reason just like the flowers seem to be doing.
Method: I had her grab the flowers and i was expecting her to hold them and then all of a sudden she put them in her hair and when she tried to get them out they were caught and looked like they were attacking her face. I wanted to capture it instantly when it happened so that's what i did.
Motivations: My goal was to capture her in the moment of the flowers being caught in her hair and that's exactly what i did.
Context: A lot of photographers often take candid photos which this one is essentially.

Blog #8-10

“My portraits are more about me than they are about the people I photograph.” ~Richard Avedon.
In response to this i would think that if it is true then the photographer would be setting up the sets and people in such a way that would reflect who he is instead of who the person is. it is almost like he is giving them a false identity or allowing them to steal his identity.

“You don't take a photograph, you make it.” ~Ansel Adams


I dont know whether or not i agree with this statement. i think that you actually take photographs but at the same time you might make one if you are positioning everything that is going to be taken in that specific shot.

“All photographs are there to remind us of what we forget. In this - as in other ways - they are the opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter remembers. Because each one of us forgets different things, a photo more than a painting may change its meaning according to who is looking at it.” ~John Berger


I think that this is somewhat true. Photographs are very different than paintings in the fact that they usually capture exactly what is happening at that moment time. With a picture, when everybody looks at it they might remember something different from that moment.

Blog #5-7

#5 Give your thoughts on one or both of the following quotes.
“Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man.” ~Edward Steichen



“I just think it's important to be direct and honest with people about why you're photographing them and what you're doing. After all, you are taking some of their soul.” ~Mary Ellen Mark




As far as the second quote i feel like i would want the people i am photographing to know why i am taking it. If the person chooses to not know why i am photographing them i guest that it there choice but otherwise i would tell them. I dont think that i am taking some of their soul but rather maybe capturing there soul.
 
#6 In your opinion, when is it beneficial, ethical, or appropriate to digitally alter photographic portraits? When do you think it is inappropriate or ethically wrong?
i think that it is ethically ok to altar a photograph to any degree as long as you have that persons permission to do so. I mean that is if you are using people in your photographs. I do not think that it is okay for you to alter a piece without there permission becuase they might not be okay with it.


#7 Pay close attention to the types and number of photographic portraits you see in one day. Where did you see them? How do you think that the content of the portrait changes based on the context in which you see the image (news, facebook, magazine, advertisement, television, youtube, etc)? In other words, what is the difference between the portraits you see on facebook vs. those on the news? What is the difference between the “viewpoint” of the photographer in each situation? What is the difference between their “intents”?

Most of the photographic pictures i see in a day are either on facebook or the ones that are around my room. I think that portraits in the newspapers are not always depicting things how they are. I feel that images that are on facebook might be more realistic of the persons personality or something like that. I think that the intents are very different yet at the same time similar. Newspapers try to capture things in a way that will connect to people who see it. whereas facebook pictures are often just taken as a way to capture a memory. i mean newspapers do that to but they are more set up compared to pictures put onto facebook.

project #2 mid critique

Artist Research

Spinal Tap

Arthur Tress

He was born in New York in 1940. He goes to college and gets a degree in painting, history, world culture and philosophy. He starts making short motion films. He then goes to Paris, France to attend film school. Travels through Euroupe, Egypt, Mexico, Japan and India documenting different customs. "First one person exhibition, Appalachia. - People and places in Smithsonian Institute and Sierra Club Gallery, New York. He then moved to California working on male nudes.

His work seems to be very interesting and somewhat out of the ordinary. The piece i chose caught my attention because you see the naked figure with the spine at the same time. It is an interesting point of view. 

Recreation 2 part 2

Interpretation: I feel like my piece was easy to interpret. It is a self portrait done in the same manner as another portrait. The only difference would be that i am facing the other direction compared to the girl in the original.
Evaluation: Based on the critique the biggest thing that i needed to fix was the background. i either needed to choose a background that was the same or one texture and color behind me. Or i should have edited my picture so that there was no background. I could probably also play around with the exposure some more. The exposure was good but i think i could have pushed it just a little farther than i did.
Extenstion: I could use this picture as a starting off point to do many portraits that would be closer to the person. Also i think i would want this extension to have the people all wear wraps or something on there head. Also playing with the different prints of the fabrics that they could where would be interesting as well. In my picture i used clothing that had different prints on them so that they would contrast each other and i would like to do that more in my pictures.

Recreation 2

http://www.art-dept.com/artists/bolofo/

The Image that i used can be found on the website above. This picture is done by Koto Bolofo. I tried to recreate this picture to the best of my ability. 

 

This is my recreation. i did not mean for it to be the opposite but i kind of like it better. I wanted to try and recreate the textures of the fabric in he original in mine. My recreation is a little bit darker even in color but i feel as though that creates a different dynamic to the piece.