Assignment 2- Portrait

Photographer Profile

Valerie Belin- A french artist born in 1964. She has many different kinds of photographs with different themes. She does some representation but chooses to do simple subjects. A lot of her subjects she takes pictures of are taken in multiple frames. They start straight on and then are dressed up differently to create new look. Some of her other works deal with scenes as like the picture above, or collaborations of other objects.


I chose this picture as one of my favorites because I'm always interested in car accidents. When someone goes passed a flipped car or a car that has been crashed into, the curiousness comes out of what could have happened? Who caused it? Was there a fire? So many things can cause a car accident and I know everyone thinks about that too.

Blog 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”?

One ad I saw was on the side of an advertising truck for a night club. It was driving around campus. It was probably 12 or 15 feet or so high and 20 to 30 feet long. Because it was so big and noticeable it pulled the viewer in. It made the viewer want to see what is was about and read the rest of the ad. It definitely was because it was so big that I read the ad. If it was a smaller ad on facebook just showing a little bit of information I might not think it's worth my while to read.

The difference between the portraits first off is that news pictures have meaning to them. They're published because they have a purpose. Pictures on facebook are usually placed on there so their friends can see what they are doing and to kind of show off what they are doing with their lives. Looking at actual advertisements on facebook, their intent definitely is to attract young adults into whatever their business is. With the news, they are looking to attract the people of the cities, states, or continents they're channeled in.

Blog 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?

There is a time and place for everything and the subject of altering photographs has many appropriate and inappropriate times.

It is appropriate for example to alter photos for a senior picture. No one wants to look bad in a picture that everyone will see and will last a lifetime. Another example which I think is beneficial even though it's fake is when celebrities are put into magazines. Only the pictures in people and such where they are in their everyday life doing what they do. Celebrities are not perfect but some of the pictures they show in some magazines are just horrific. It's not the idea of making the celebrity look fake, but it's to spare the viewers who are looking at the magazine.

One way that its definitely ethically wrong is in ads of magazines. Yes these ads are supposed to make these people look perfect, but trimming their bodies to make them look skinny, or getting rid of every wrinkle, roll, or imperfection is just not right. It's false advertising and just should not be allowed. Lying to people about selling products does not make the company look good and sure will not help them.

Blog 5: “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

Give your thoughts on this quote:

This quote is sort of frightening to me. I do understand that when you are taking a picture of someone you are taking of picture of everything that they represent. I guess when you are showing the picture to other people you are opening their image up for discussion, everyone will be able to critique them about their looks, appeal, and question their thoughts. When photographing someone, it is important to explain to them why you are taking the picture and to whom the pictures will be shown to. This is a privacy issue and can sometimes turn out to be wrong if pictures get into the wrong hands. This does make sense, but I think it could be stated in another way.

Assign 2- Recreate

This photo is a rendition of a series of photos the photographer Phil Collins created. The exhibition was called “The World Won’t Listen”. The exhibition includes a movie he has been filming for many years in several different countries, large scale screen-printed letters and many other numerous representations of things. This picture in particular was part of a showcase of pictures replicating the show Britain’s Got Talent. These pictures showed Collins ability to portray reality and reflect it on the same time.

Blog 4: “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 disagree with this quote. Even if you could tell a story in words, it's always nice to have pictures that illustrate the events that happen in a persons life. Just because someone can explain what happened doesn't mean its very interesting. Pictures are a great thing to show people who are better visual "listeners". A situation where images reveal "the story" would be at birthday parties. People take pictures of friends, family, the cake, the presents, where the parties at, anyone could figure out what was going on and how much fun people had. A situation where words reveal "the story" would be when someone was playing sports. Yes, anyone can take a picture of the person passing the ball, and catching in the air, or scoring a goal and running around. But, the truth is you can't actually tell what they're thinking. And there's no other way to figure it out unless you actually went and talked to them and asked what they were feeling. 

Even though some things need words for explaining, pictures are definitely a major aspect of seeing and understanding what-ever the situation was that was going on.

Blog 3: “Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”~Duane Michals. Do you agree or disagree with this quote? Why?

When a photographer takes a picture, he/she is seeing an image. The appearance of the image IS what they are attracted to, BUT there is also a meaning behind the image as well. Many professional photographers take pictures because of the meaning they get from it. From this quote the meaning of finding an image and the appearance it gives off can be so many things. I do agree with what Duane says. Yes, the picture will have an amazing appearance, and everyone who looks at it will have their own opinion. This to me is the reason why nothing appears to be what it is. Anything can appear to be anything.

Assign 1-Explore

Photgrapher's proximity to subject:

My proximity to the lighthouse was an important aspect to how I wanted to capture the shot. I wanted as much as the lighthouse as possible. I was trying to go a little lower but kids kept jumping in the way so this is as much as I could get.

Background Elements:

The background was also something I was thinking a lot about. I wanted the sky to be the background, but I also wanted something else to balance it out a little. The trees on the bottom I think are the perfect accent to the lighthouse.

Framing:

The subject in this frame was off-centered a little bit to give the tall affect a more bold look. If the lighthouse was centered it would look like it was growing right on top of me. The off- centered subject and the way the light hits it is eye-catching.

Amount of subject to show in frame:

I chose to have the entire clock in the frame to show all of time. If I cut part of it out, time would be missing and the image would be interpreted differently.

Background Elements:

I wanted the background to be plain and simple to the emphasis of the picture was on the clock. The clock and the wall are in the same family of color, but having the outline in black on the white background gets to the feel that I liked.

Placement of subject in frame:

The placement is off-centered to draw the viewer across the page. If it were directly in the middle the picture would be boring and wouldn't have edge.

Framing:

In the frame I included just the feet the subject the image wasn't explainable to the eye. When someone looks at this, they have to think about what these feet could be part of, or what the rest of the subject looks like.

Background Elements:

The background that I chose was on purpose. In the larger picture there's a tree to add something in the background instead of it just being plane. I set the subject on a darker table to have the actual subject kind of glow in the frame.

Sharpness and blur:

The sharpness of the figure with the blurred background is also a way to make the subject emphasized compared to the not so busy background.

Assign 0 - Recreation

Creator: Vogt, Christian, 1946-
Title: Untitled Metaphysical Scene
Date: 1972
Material: toned gelatin silver print
Subject: Photography--20th C. A.D
metaphysical images

The original image was of a subject lit on one side, while the background image had shadowing the other direction. It looked as if the image in the picture was photoshopped into it. I tried to create a a brighter object on one side of the scene to recreate the extremely lit object in the original. Overall the image I thought turned out well. The lighting that I had to deal with was a problem.

Blog 2: Describe what the word “Photograph” means to you.

When I think of the word photograph. I think of an old, black and white, square, picture. Usually I think of a couple who just got married and are smiling as big as they can. Photograph means to me, a celebration of time. People are always happy and having a good time in photographs. In any case it looks like they are celebrating something, or enjoying their time with what they are doing. Usually when a picture is taken it’s because it is an event that needs to be remembered. A photograph has infinite memories. Photograph is a word to describe happiness and a symbol to show enjoyment.

Blog 1: Imagine a world with no photographs. Describe what this world would be like.

A world with no photographs would just be a world full of people with memories to remember. Although that is sometimes a good thing, pictures can show much more. Not everyone can remember everything. The world would not be the same at all. Photographs represents human lives. They tell stories and hold memories forever. They one of the few things that can last forever. Photographs can be advertisements for places to go and people to see. Without them, people may not be so eager to visit somewhere they heard about, where in a picture they see, it's one of the most beautiful places.

The world would definitely be a different place. Photography is a type of art. That medium would not exist. Think about that. There would be nothing to show the artistic look of exotic places around the world or anything anyone can see for that matter. I know I would not remember anything about my childhood.  When you look back and can see things you didn't remember when you were younger, it's always fun. It's also fun to spend time with your family and look back on those memories.

Photographs bring people together and without them things would not be remembered and some things would not be believed.