In the first image, I wanted to create a contrast that would bring the viewer to focus their eyes on her face and the image on her face. I painted the monarch butterfly on her face with makeup. Her face is off centered and placed at the bottom left of the picture. For lighting I used a lamp and I placed her in front of a dark backdrop. 

In the second image, I used a more candid approach and just took pictures as I sat with my subject on the ground. The lighting is indoor lighting, so it does not create a high contrast within the picture. I blurred the background in order to create more of a focus on the subject in the foreground.

For the last photo, I had the subject climb into a tree and sit on one of the branches. The lighting outside was quite dark, so I had to lighten up the photo in order to make it more viewable. The subject is placed off center at the left of the image. The viewer follows the subjects gaze which continues across the page until it leaves the frame. The viewer is left to wonder what the subject is looking at.

Kanoko Sasaki

Kanoko Sasaki (Born 1976 in Japan) created a series called Wanderlust. In this series she creates her own "floating world". Her photographs are quite vividly colored and the subjects are often isolated in a dreamlike image. Viewing these images brings me back to my childhood when I would play by myself outside.

This image above is her piece called "As a leaf". As her photographs in Wanderlust are from another subjects view, it makes me wonder if perhaps the view is supposed to be from the subjects, being a leaf, view as it floats down from a tree.

http://kanakosasaki.com/projects_d.html?xml=projects005

Blog Entry 5, 6 & 7

#5 Give your thoughts on the following quote.
“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





It is important to inform a person of the reason you're photographing them because the feeling that is expressed through the picture taken can be dramatically changed when the subject is informed. If you just take a quick photo of a person standing there, it is not necessarily going to capture the personality that is unique to the subject.

#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? 


It is beneficial to digitally alter photographs when the lighting used negatively affected the quality of the picture. It is also beneficial in portraits such a senior pictures, for clearing blemishes or wisps of hair. It is inappropriate to alter a photograph when you are trying to capture a moment that is important to be presented, such as a historic moment in time like a speech or a tragedy.

#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”?


The majority of photographs I saw today were in the hallways of my dorm. The context you see the image changes the content dramatically because each photo is taken in either a produced or natural way. Portraits on facebook are produced pictures where the subject's intent is to create a picture. Portraits in the news are meant to capture a moment in time in a natural way. The difference between the "viewpoint" of the photographer in each situation is also large. When taking a portrait for a facebook picture, you are not necessarily a "witness" to an event, while on the news the photographer IS a witness to an important event. The news is meant to inform, while facebook profile pictures are just meant to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Sheila Pree Bright

"Bright has said of the series that it “[shows] how the cultural icon of the Barbie has become human and we’ve become plastic.”"
http://www.burnaway.org/2010/07/sheila-pree-bright-at-sandler-hudson-gallery/

Looking through my choices, I found Sheila Pree Bright's photographs especially eye catching. When recreating one of her images, I tried first to make the barbie-like parts using makeup, but I found it did not look as unnatural as I had hoped. So instead, once I uploaded the picture, I digitally altered the face. In Bright's images from "Plastic Bodies", she uses a black backdrop. Her images are also very colorful looking, so the total effect of plasticity is not as prominent in my re-make as it is in her collection. I did try to recapture that unnatural feeling by applying a high contrast to the image.

 During critique, others interpreted this image as being more whimsical than the original photo, but giving off the same idea that the original presents. The hard darkness of the colored eye works well against the subjects soft, light skin. The subject's hair however is covering part of her other eye, preventing a comparison between the two eyes. If I were to change this image, I would take another portrait with both eyes showing and I would use more lighting for the right side of her face, showing the eye even more. Perhaps it would be a good idea to even have the subject open her real eye, so one could compare both the drawn on and the real eye.

Original Image

"Plastic Bodies Series ",
9 in w. x 11 in. h.
Silver Gelatin Print
2004

Three Photos

 I wanted this piece to show movement, but at the same time contain it within the picture frame. I tried maintain focus mainly upon the players. The concept behind this piece was football and the unpredictable events that happen during a game. It is hard to focus on just one player and viewers are constantly shifting their focus from one to the next. Instead of creating the scene, I went to a football game in the town I graduated from. This photo is supposed to mimic the excitement that the fans feel and the importance of the game within the community. 

 Instead of asking my nephew to pose for me, I decided to just watch him while he played with his toys. My family enjoys gathering together and watching football, so it would only be natural that he would become a fan at a early age. I tried to capture an image that would lead the viewers' eyes to my nephew's focus on the football. I left the lighting natural because I did not want such a moment to feel staged. This piece is just simply about a child's play.

I wanted to use outdoor lighting (daytime) for this piece in order to create a dark shadow. This shadow mirrors my subject.  This piece is supposed to make you feel like the subject is running away from something, but in the process running towards  it. Perhaps they are running from themselves? This piece is more of an internal psychological conflict. 

Blog Entry #3 & #4

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”~Duane Michals. Do you agree or disagree with this quote? Why?

I fully agree with this quote because though you can capture a scene with your camera, when taking a portrait you cannot tell the true thoughts going through a persons' mind. They may be smiling, but only the subject knows whether or not this smile is true or not.

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

Do you agree or disagree with this quote? Why? Describe situations when photographic images reveal “the story” (as compared to words). Describe situations when words reveal “the story” (as compared to images).

 I agree with this quote because I am a very visual person. When hearing a story, it is much more enriching to me if I am provided pictures of parts of the event. Whenever I hear a story about a person in my community who has passed away, it's hard for me not to look up their facebook or their pictures. If I don't, it's harder for me to connect with them. I find it's easier to feel emotional about someone you can visually see.  

I find that when words reveal "the story", it is because the story is internal and not something you can visually see. For example, I'm sitting here in class typing on my blog. You can visually see me typing, but you cannot hear the voice in my head organizing what I am about to type next. Because you have read what I just typed, you are able to understand what the story is, compared to if you just saw me typing on this blog. 

House

Photo taken by me.
Recreation of "The Damm family in their car" next scene.

Mary Ellen Mark created the image "The Damm family in their car (1987)" while spending a week with the family. The Damm family were a homeless family comprising of a mother, a step-father, a brother and sister and their Pit bull.

I used this assignment to fast forward in the week that Mark spent with the family and stopped at a moment in time where Crissy, the daughter, was drawing a house.

The next paragraph is an except from the magazine "Life" and was written by Annie Fadiman.

Crissy draws a picture of a house on a paper bag. There are four faces at the windows and a four-legged figure in front. "Look at my house, Mommy," she says. "We can put furniture in it when we're rich." (http://www.maryellenmark.com/text/magazines/life/905W-000-031.html)

Original 

By Mary Ellen Mark

The Damm Family in their car

The word "Photograph"

To me, a "photograph" is a snapshot in time. The subject in the photograph exists within the world and the photograph captures a moment of its existence.  It is not the photographer that makes the photograph, it is the subjects being captured. Each photograph has a story behind it, whether one may think it is interesting or not.

Imagine a World Without Photographs

Before photographs, the world relied on artists to render their portraits and capture the beautiful landscapes here on Earth. Without photographs, Exotic and far away places would be left to our imaginations, instead of taking only a click of the computer mouse to show us a snapshot. Masses moved by pictures of orphans in third world countries would instead be left ignorant. 

Photographs enable us to experience events over again or even for the first time. They let us save the memories of a babies first steps or a child's new achievement. They allow us to capture important moments in history, the good and the bad. Without photographs, the world would be further separated and unaware of the beautiful cultural diversity within each continent.