Photographer Presentation 3: Charles Traub

Charles Traub received his BA from the University of Illinois and his MS from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology. There really isn't much biographical information about him...I believe he lives in NY, as he is represented by two galleries in NY (Gitterman and Daniel Cooney Fine Art. He is the President of the Aaron Siskind Foundation and the co-founder of the here is new york: A Democracy of Images.
The work I will focus on is his "Still Life in America". Here, he has taken images from all over the country and arranged them in a way that each one corresponds to its origin within the US. The images make up the outline of the USA.
The composition of this still life is very distinct, as it is clear what he is trying to display from the arrangement of the images. The compositions of the individual images are very diverse: from landscape, to portrait, to random shots of what ever he thought was interesting (large coca-cola bottle). His intention is clear: to show images from different parts of the world and to arrange them so that they correspond to the area from which they came. His method seems to be that he took many snapshots around the country of what ever he thought was noteworthy, and showed them to his viewers in the shape of the USA. It is almost like seeing the United States through his eyes. This is a cool concept and would be something fun to explore---maybe not taking his idea entirely and making the shape of the USA---but taking images of everywhere we go, so that others can see how we view certain parts of the USA and/or the world.
The diversity in subject matter and content is very interesting---it keeps the viewer clicking on the images, wondering what he/she will see next.
http://www.charlestraub.com/#

Blog #19

Analyze your creative process by answering the following questions.

1. How do you ensure that your work is relevant to you? My work is relevant to me because I am somewhat obsessed with order and symmetry. I like for things to be chaotic, but in an orderly fashion. I believe my images reflect this idea in that they subject matter is random but the overall image is orderly and symmetrical. I also like the idea of abstraction in the sense that you cannot tell right away what the materials are in the image. I like the idea of the viewer wondering what is going on in the image, and I feel like this will occur when viewers look at these.
2. How do you ensure that your work is relevant to the contemporary world? My work is relevant to the contemporary world because I am trying new things in my process and I am exploring new options. I think my idea is a little bit out of the ordinary, so maybe that will apply to the idea of what is contemporary.
3. How do you brainstorm? Do you sketch? Do you use the camera as a brainstorming tool so that you “look” at the world through the frame of the camera and capture bits and pieces of your environment? I brainstorm by writing down my thoughts and ideas of what I think my photos might reflect. I also take pictures in two different ways: I either go in with a vague idea and just shoot and then find the image within the image later, or I decide what I want to shoot then I go shoot it with somewhat of an idea of what I want it to look like. I "sketch" on photoshop by taking pictures and playing with them until I find something that I like. I take careful consideration to frame and composition when I already know what I want to shoot. I like to use the camera as a brainstorming tool sometimes; I like to look through the lens and see what there is around me.
4. Do you combine elements of various media? How do you do this? Do you do it physically with printed images or objects? Do you combine elements virtually in the computer? In the past, I have combined scanned images with images taken with my SLR. I combined these particular images in photoshop. I would like to try this again, or maybe combine film photographs with scans...
5. How does your process relate to your ideas/concept? How does your process relate to your outcome/final pieces? Why are you using digital technology (if you are)? Why are you using analog technology (if you are)? I think my process relates to my idea because I am creating chaotic yet symmetrical and orderly images, and my idea relates to order and self-reflective images. Hmmm...if I am making images that self-reflect, maybe that can relate to me...maybe I can reflect myself more within my images? Maybe the idea that there are multiple sides to everything reflects the idea of why I am reflecting the images four times...I definitely have more than one side to me, and through these images I can prove that there are many sides to everything that can make up a new part of the same thing. Since I have made four different four-piece images out of one single image, I show that different things can come from one thing. Sorry I just had that thought...I am using digital technology, mainly SLR but also the scanner. I think I am using these because it is easier to edit in photoshop with these types of images; I want to try more manipulation with photoshop this semester so I think using digital is a better idea.
6. How do you judge your work? When do you think it “works”? When do you think it is “not working yet”? What criteria do you use to make these decisions? My imagery works, in some ways. I think it is pleasing to the eye, though it is a bit bizarre looking. Some of the images are creepy, and I want to steer away from that. I think the more creepy images are not working and I need to tone them down a bit (maybe with one of the options in photoshop). I don't know if my original idea is working...I believe the self-reflection  of the images is working, but the idea behind it isn't. Maybe the idea I just blurted out (above) is a bit better...I will think about it a bit more tonight and see if it becomes more clear.
7. How do ensure that your work is new, unique, ground-breaking, and/or you are breaking the mold/thinking outside the box/pushing the limits? I am not sure if my work is ground-breaking, but I think it is somewhat unique in that it is different from anything that I have ever seen. I am sure people have made reflective images before, but I think the idea I am developing is different from most things that others have done. I believe I am thinking outside the box in my development of the way I am shooting and the way I am putting images together...I recently stumbled upon an idea for the content of my images, and I think it could be successful...:)

What am I doing?!

Photographer Presentation 2: Tod Papageorge

Born in 1940 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Tod Papageorge is a photographer who began photographing during the New York City street movement of the 1960s. He began taking photographs in 1962 while he was studying English Literature at the University of New Hampshire. He has also headed the graduate photography department at Yale University since 1979. He is the recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships and two National Endowment for the Arts grants. He was also a resident at the American Academy of Rome in 2009.
Tod Papageorge photographed the streets of NYC in the 1960s-70s. While many of his images seem somewhat staged, it is obvious that he pays careful attention to composition in terms of line and placement of subject. His photos have nice contrast and a good range of tonal values. He captures the essence of the lifstyle of living in NYC during that time. The moods of the subjects and the environments surrounding them give us a glimpse of how it must have been to live in NYC in the 1960s-70s. He is successful in capturing the gestures of the people and their every day lives. His motivation seem to be just this, and it is clear that he had an eye for seeing the city of New York and its inhabitants.
http://www.pacemacgill.com/todpapageorge-8-2.html

stop motion with glow sticks

Composition: For the stop-motion, I just chose a basic composition of placing the subject in the center of the frame. I used only the lighting from the glow-sticks, and I chose a black background (dark room) to isolate the glow sticks.

Concept: My general idea for this was to create sort of a "constant wave" of color. I wanted to make it seem as though the colors were moving across the frame and were sort of "pulsing". I honestly just had a bunch of glow sticks in my fun drawer and wanted to do something with them.

Method: To do this, I shut off all the lights in my bedroom and covered my coffee table with a black sheet. I then switched the order of the glow sticks for every frame (5 frames total), then I repeated all 5 of the images several times and put them in Final Cut.

Motivations:  My motivation for this was that I had NO idea whatsoever for this assignment; I had a bunch of glow sticks and wondered "Hmm, what can I do with these things?" I then thought of a pulsing sort of wavelength of color and tried to express that through my stop motion video.

Interpretation: I feel as though I did not get much of a response from the viewers of this video. My roommates thought it was cool and fun, however they have not seen many stop motion videos, so they do not know about the other WAY cooler things that are out there. 

Evaluation: I think I could have done a much better job with keeping the glow sticks in the same position so that the moving looked more smooth. I wonder how others evaluate this work---it is a little strange and elementary, I wonder how I could do it better?

Extension: I would like to work with stop-motion again, but probably not with glow sticks. It would be fun to do a stop-motion drawing or painting exercise.

Harry Callahan

• Biography
• Oct 22, 1912 - Mar 15, 999
• Born in Detroit
• self-taught photographer (1938 began)
• Nothing is said about his education in photo other than that he is self-taught; however he established the photography program at RISD (1961-1977).
• He went to MSU for engineering for three semesters.
• Significance
• he is known as a photographer who helped in bringing photography in to the mainstream of the art world
• he worked in color and in black and white
• he is known mostly for his photographs of his wife, Eleanor, as she is the subject of the majority of his photos; his photography was a deep reflection of his personal life.
• his photograph titled Eleanor (1951) is yet another image where his wife is the subject.
• Art Historical or Photographic movement
• MOMA website refers to him within the Modern/Contemporary movements.
• Critique/Review
• cannot find a review on this specific photo, but he is said to be of the most innovative of photographers of his time, as he worked successfully in both black and white and color.
• He received the National Medal of Arts in 1996
• http://evolvingcritic.com/2010/02/14/harry-callahan-american-photographer/
• says that the exhibitions of his photos remind us of how small we are to our surroundings.
• "Callahan also once said that if one chooses one’s subject selectively, the camera intuitively writes the poetry"
• Composition
• Eleanor is in the center of the frame in a doorway? Surrounding her is a mess of branches/trees
• high contrast between Eleanor and the doorway and the branches surrounding her. Lighting is intense on her then gets less intense around in the branch area
• Concept
• I couldn't find any information on the actual concept of this image, but i know he photographer her a lot and reflected his life through the images, and this photograph seems more eerie and unstable in a sense. She seems as though she is about to jump in to these branches and it looks somewhat dangerous.
• Method
• this is definitely a double exposure, the image of her is on top of the image of the branches. It is very interesting how much smaller she is than the branches, which are probably not very big in actuality
• Motivations
• I am not sure what the motivation was other than that he reflected his feelings through his photography and he used his wife as the subject a lot. Maybe the intention was to show her feelings at the time, since she looks as though she may jump out of that doorway/window area.
• My Opinion
• This work is very eerie/creepy. It makes me wonder what Eleanor is going to do right after he took the photo. Does she jump?!
• I enjoy that he makes images that reflect his life, as this is something that I tend to have trouble with doing.

Text Image

Composition: For this image, I needed to shoot from a lower vantage point so that I could incorporate the wall into the frame. I wanted to create a dramatic lighting by dodging the wall where the text was placed. I wanted to incorporate a "home" feel into the composition so that the setting looked natural and looked as though it really happened.

Concept: My concept is not very deep: I just wanted to create humorous imagery. You hear the expression "gullible is written on the ceiling" from time to time, and I wanted to make that expression a literal thing. This image is about humor in every day expressions.

Method: I shot with a flash so that I could successfully light the subjects. I placed my subjects so that one was looking at the other with a "what the hell" expression, while the other looks up at the ceiling, where the text will be placed. I wanted to create a scene that tells a story of what is going on. 

Motivations: I could not think of anything for this image assignment other than incorporating text in a way that relates to the subjects and what is going on in the scene. Then, this idea came to mind. I think it is humorous I think I got my point across.

Interpretation: I think others reacted in the way that I expected: thinking it is funny imagery. It is supposed to be playful and superficial, and I think my composition helps to make this message work successfully.

Evaluation: Jeremy said that I should have put the text literally into the frame so that the subject was actually looking at real text. I agree with this, and I think I should have done that too; this would have added to the playfulness of the imagery.

Extension: It would be fun to do more images like this…I cannot think of any other expressions such as this one that would allow for me to incorporate the text into the image in order to create a literal idea, but I am going to keep thinking because this could be something to look into more!

Blog Prompts #17-18

#17 What do you think the next technological innovation will be in photography? What is the "future" of photography? What will photography become or how will it evolve in the next 100 years? How do you see photography melding with or distancing itself from other types of media?

So this is a little far-fetched, but if you've ever seen Harry Potter, the photographs/paintings in the movies, well, they move. So if there is a photo of Dumbledore hung up on the wall, it actually moves and talks. I know that this can be done by putting a tv screen in a photo frame, as I have seen that at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. But I think it could be possible to take moving photographs, say a 5 second exposure, and then the exposure stays within the photo (so there would be a new type of photo paper too that could hold moving images), and the photo would always move. That sounds really silly and strange, but hey, technology has come so far, it could happen! 

The "future" of photography, in my eyes, is within the technology of the camera. Since computers are said to be above humans in intelligence and comprehension, then maybe cameras can encompass that technology too and become "aware" of what they are photographing. So for instance the camera can detect the lighting and create different lighting schemes in different sceneries. I think photography will evolve to be much more eco-friendly than it is now. Cameras require a lot of plastic, and maybe some time within the next hundred years cameras will become better for the environment. I see photography melding itself with motion imaging more, such as what I was talking about earlier with the Harry Potter photograph things. I could see moving images on photo paper becoming a real thing. Or maybe, I have this thought in my head and it is crazy but I am not sure if I can articulate it, there will be lenses that capture an incredible depth, such as it can take a picture from one end of the street all the way down to the other end (a few hundred feet), and it gets everything in the photo. So then maybe the lens can travel in a "maze" sort of fashion, where it includes the street, then travels to the side of a house, then to the house across the street, then to the stop sign at the end of the street. So it is a lens that travels through areas and creates a maze-like photograph. I hope this is making sense, maybe if I draw it out it will make more sense. But I could totally see a maze-like lens, it would be SO sweet.

#18 Create your own definition of the word "photography".

Photography is the capturing of a moment in time, it is the phenomena of stopping a second in time that only happens once and will probably never happen again.

Blog Prompts #12-16

#12 Describe some differences between still photographs and moving images.

Well, to state the obvious, a still photograph has no literal movement within it, and moving images have actual physical movement within them. Still photographs can be printed on a sheet of paper, a moving image must be "played" on a screen of some sort so that it may be able to take motion.

#13 Describe some similarities between still photographs and moving images.

Moving images can be comprised from a series of still photographs, such as a "stop-motion". A still photograph is a moment of a sometimes moving image that is captured and displayed. Both are images within a particular frame, and both have subject matter and aspects of composition.

#14 Describe some links between photography and the concept of “time”. Describe some links between photography and the concept of “stillness”.

Photography is the capturing of a moment in time. Time is always moving forward, but with photography time can be stopped (not literally); photography stops time in a sense that it records a moment that happens once and then is gone forever. Photography is stillness of a particular subject. Whether the subject is moving or is a still area, taking a photograph of it will capture stillness. Photography can capture a particular moment in time and make it appear still.

#15 Describe how you can you “activate” a photograph that you have already taken. In other words, how can you transform a “still” image into a “moving” one?

Maybe if you took a few images of the same thing, only slightly different (someone waving their hand in slightly different motions on different photos) and then put these images together in Final Cut or something like that, then you could make the still image in to a moving one. I cannot really think of another way to do this, as I am unfamiliar with all of this really. I know this is what we are going to be doing in class so this was the only way I could think of doing this. If there is a way to activate a single photograph and make it moving, then I am unsure of it.

#16 Describe how you might take a “moving” image and make it “still”.

Press pause! Haha....just kidding. You could freeze the frame, so yeah I guess by pausing it. There is probably a better explanation for this but I am not grasping it. You could take a picture of it! 

2D and 3D Composites

Composition: For this image, I attempted to create a sense of depth through different photographs/scannographs. I chose a background that receded in to the middle of picture plane, and tried to relate the images on top with the background so as to create a sense of depth. 

Concept: I believe my image is about a sense of depth within a somewhat "collapsing" space. To me, the background seems as though it is closing in on itself, and the images placed on top are supposed to create a sense of depth and space within a 2-dimensional plane. The image is supposed to make your eye travel in to the picture plane and give the eye a sense of distance from the center of the image.

Method: I took an image with a 4x5 view camera for the background, then placed other images on top of it. I made some images larger than others so as to give off the idea of transcending in to space. 

Motivations: I feel as though I have been incredibly repetitive with my description of this image, but I honestly cannot think of another way to describe it. My motivation is to create depth in a 2-dimensional plane, however I feel as though this attempt failed somewhat :(.. I actually just thought of a more successful way to achieve this goal earlier today...(I'll talk about it in a minute)!!!

Interpretation: Talking with you about this idea, I know that you and I both believe there is somewhat of an idea here, it is just not resolved! This is how I feel as well...I am on to something, and I know my idea is there it is just not reflected in the image.

Evaluation: I believe the contrast of the background with SOME of the images works, and with others it does not. I know that a lot of these images do not work together, I really just ran out of ideas the other night and went with what I had...which was not much. In order to make improvements.......

Extension: .....I plan on completely re-doing this photo. I got an idea when you showed me that super awesome sky-image-thing, and I think I will try it with this image. I would like to take two of these images and create different sizes of them, going from large to small, transcending from front to back. I want to create a roller-coaster-like motion with the arrangement of the image, so that it looks like the image is somewhat "bouncing" from the front to the back. I am trying to explain this as best I can, however I think it would make better sense in person!

 

Composition: I got incredibly lucky with the subject of this composition (the custodian guy!) My composition pays homage to the golden mean, 2/3 - 1/3 composition, as the main subject matter is situated on the right side of the picture plane. The lighting in this room is a bit dull, so I took a longer exposure, about 1/10 of a second, to create a bit more bright and lively lighting. I brought 3-dimensional images in to the picture plane to create a, well, a 3D composite. At first I was disappointed that I could not figure out how to put the skins on the creature, however I believe the shades and planes on the creatures, along with the colors and material of the desk chairs in the class room, create a good scene because they relate to one another.

Concept: With this image, I wanted to create a funny/bizarre scene that would not normally happen in normal life. I spend about four hours a week in this HORRIBLE and uncomfortable class room, and I thought it would be funny to make something unrealistic in it. It was such a happy accident that the custodian was in there, because I see him every day too, and my idea behind this photo was to add some abnormality to the places I see every day.

Method: For this image, I shot a photo of the class room. I then added a snail, ant, and a heron(?) to the image. I wanted the creatures to be larger than life size so as to add to the oddity. It looks as though the man is nonchalantly sweeping away at the ant as the snail slowly goes towards him and the heron tries to bite his head off. Whoa, typing that out sounds really weird!

Motivations: My goal was to create an odd and abnormal scene. I am in this building every day and it is just funny to put a different spin on the every day events here. Originally I wanted to just place as many animals as I could in this image, but I think this idea was more fun and humorous!

Interpretation: Others thought it was funny...as did I! I wish I could make it look more realistic...How do I put the skins on these creatures?!?!?! 

Evaluation: I believe the idea is working in my image. However I believe it is not executed very well. I would like it to look a bit more realistic, not that I want it to look REAL, because there is no way it would be real (well, it COULD happen, but who knows!) I want to make it look more real by adding the skins!

Extension: I originally was going to make a few of these...I took pictures of random places in the Kresge that had good enough space to create bizarre atmospheres. I would like to try this again, but better!!!