Tim Hetherington

http://www.timhetherington.com/mentalpicture/portfolio/179

Jason Lecras- NY Waters

Jason Lecras- NY Waters

Jason Lecras- NY Waters

Jason Lecras- Love and Home Grown Tomatoes

Jason Lecras- Love and Home Grown Tomatoes

Adam Bloomberg & Oliver Chanarin

This comes off as a photograph that is dependent on text- but I do not think it is.  More so than the text I am drawn to the circular frame- I think it is key to this image and the images from the series.  This also comes off as kind of a joke, however, it is a very seriuos subject matter.  We can see the subject is clearly not laughing- he is covered in glue and tied to a post.  I chose this image because out of context from the series it is very decieving.  At first I laughed- but then upon looking at the rest of the series I understood the severity of the content.

Daphne Fitzpatrick

One of the things about color photography that I respond to most is the lack of vibrance and or hue.  I like when photographers choose to shoot virtually monochromatic subjects because little hints of color come through.  The subtle blue of natural daylight is visible in this image and contrasted by the yellows in the button.  I am drawn to images like this that are successful in terms of subtlety and simplicity.

Jessica Craig Martin

What I respond to most in these photographs is the judgemental nature of these pictures.  And i like how the photographer uses flash to emphasize the bias that she has towards these aristocunts.  Another aspect of these photographs that I respond heavily to is that they have a documentative feel to them- but there is room left for interpretation.  For example my initial reaction to these images, before reading any captions,  was that they were moments of poeple stealing from one another.  I chose these three images to emphasize why I felt that way, but honestly the whole series was visually interesting.    

Adam Fuss- My Ghost

Adam Fuss- Daguerrotype- My Ghost

With the images from this series Fuss tries to capture or possess the very thing he has lost.  His imagemaking process directly relates to that because this type of imagemaking is generally not done anymore.  So he emphasizes the theme or idea of this series My Ghost by relating it to his lust or passion for antique photographic processes.

I believe this is where he got the idea for the photogram of the rabbits.  The same thing above applies here- he is directly relating his process to that of William Henry Fox Talbot.  And while doing that he is attempting to grasp the essence of a lost loved one.

Images like this in My Ghost are metaphorical- but very clear.  Smoke- formless and essentially impossible to capture.  This relates to the ideas he is bringing to the surface of My Ghost- the elusiveness of death.  The not only speak to the unique qualities and nature of the photogram, but they also speak about his passion for photography because some of this earliest exposures are of smoke and fire.

Adam Fuss- c print- not part of My Ghost

The movement and undulation of the snake is what he is exploring in this particular photogram.  As a child in Britain he played the game snakes and ladders- snakes being the chutes.  

Sothy

So I do not know if I am just flickr-inadequite or what but I could only get the thumbnail of his image.  This was my favorite image out of every ingle photograph I have looked at today.  Between the quality of light and the earthtones I am instantly grabbed.  I feel like this suitcase was placed in someone's backyard and shot quickly- but at a closer glance I am convinced it is more thought out than that.  The camera angle puts us as viewers at eye level with this suitcase- we are supposed to feel it's presence more  so than normal.  The quality of light is not that of a snapshot at all.  The scene is well illuminated which is good because I am interested in the context of this suitcase.  It feels at home- where the image was made and where the suitcase belongs.  

This photograph is part of a story.  It not only gives us the meaning of the encounter or the focal point of the conversation- but it also creates a really nice setting.  We know now that the scene takes place over water on a bridge and this is indirectly important to the story whether the photographer knows it or not.  I also am responding visually to the horizontal ripples and the strong railing versus the vertical elements.  Plus the color seems to be working in a nondescript manner, and the division of space is refreshing.

Again i rebel against Flickr and therefore do not know how to use it.  But this image was interesting to me.  It is expressive in a documentarian way.  The text almost works better with the image- being that we learn a lot about the subject from the text.  But the image really tells us about the photographer; central/slighted/small figure, almost monochromatic, and not interesting on it's own.  That is why it goes with the text so well.  Both aspects of the piece tell us a life story about the model and the photographer.

Raw.  A person with a camera taking pictures- a person with a camera taking pictures.  One is maybe a photographer and the other one is not- or is he/she?  The line is blurred here completely and this image challenges the viewer.  If he doesn't use the strap then why the fuck does he have it on the camera?  Did the person on the left take a picture at the exact time the other person hit the shutter and fired the flash?  If so then a whole other dimension is added to this photograph that is making my head spin in an awesome way but it is too late bye.

   

Taiyo Onorato & Nico Krebs: The Great Unreal

These photographers work together creating odd images.  Their oddness is achieved through technical work which I like and relate to.  This one is more of an odd observation but it demonstrates their ability to speak with the language of photography.  Composition, color, crispness, and use of space all work together to tell us something about the obscurity of this scene.  They picked a perspective that insinuates something unreal- a community on a cliff.  A huge drop off by a street is unreal but with their chosen camera angle it becomes a reality.  This reminds me of the article because the idea probably came from a very simple observation- then grew into a book of cohesive beautiful work.

This image and the next one demonstrate the growth of the project.  Instead of sticking to manipulating truth through camera angle they move to technical manipulations.  But they still incorporate great use of composition, color and crispness as a control.  The variable in this photograph is the level of obscurity and truth.  Besides how this photograph relates to the article, I can relate to it with one of my projects. 

In this image the project grows even further and the photographers do not shun it.  This photograph does not have the quality that the others do as far as exposure and composition- but it is heavily manipulated.  The effect and the meaning of the project is hammered into the viewers mind and now we get it.  We understand the project and we understand the photographers are very open-minded to changes for the better.  Onorato and Rebes allowed their project to change in many different ways, however, the meaning of the project remained stable.

This is some other work that illustrates their oddness.  This photograph makes it clearer to understand the different paths the above project went down.  Untraditional might be a good word- but still excellent photographers who know what they are doing technically and conceptually.

Here is their skill level to say the least.  I think they are awesome and this photograph definitely proves that if the others do not.  Color relationships are pretty powerful in this photo and the composition is strong.  And in a weird way the bed and the figure have this similar stillness to them.  They are both horizontal elements in similar spots and the frozenness of the figure seems to relate to the bed.  This idea reminds me of the Great Unreal project.  The fact that we know that figure is in motion yet in the photograph it is frozen.  Manipulating truth with the camera to make an amazing photograph is very interesting to me- and these guys do it very well.

Stephen Shore

Although I don't want to deem any of his photographs unsuccessful- it is inevitable that he does fail to make a photograph that conveys his message or meets his goals.  This image does not put me in heightened sense of reality, and it does not make me feel like I am seeing things that I would normally miss if I walked past this image on a daly basis.  I one aspect of this photograph that hurts it most would be the composition, besides the color relations nothing else works in the composition.  It seems awkward and boring- nothing in this image draws me in.

Stephen Shore

I chose this image because it grabs my attention and interest regardless of where I place my eye.  Color and formal relationships make up this composition so anywhere you look you are drawn to other areas and eventually you view every aspect of the image.  The heightened sense of reality is heavy in this photograph, I feel like if i passed this scene everyday I would not notice half the shit that I notice in this photograph.  Also it reminded me of what Shore said about parking his car in the composition if he sees it neccessary, the cars seem too perfect.

Stephen Shore

This image is successful in a very similar way to the above.  But I think the heightened sense of reality is a lot clearer because this is a main strip in a town- a scene that you pass a million times and never notice like Shore did.  Again color and form lead my eye through the whole image and viewing becomes exploration.  Two things in this photograph also rung bells of things I read in the article and heard in the video.  These trees in relation to the architecture seem to have emotional quality, the way they flow out of the building in a blooming way.  The other thing is the way that he establishes space with the distances of the cars, this is another things he spoke about in the video when refferencing the telephone poles.

Color Photo #2

Todd Hido (.com), Houses 2479a
-www.toddhido.com
-  Understanding this image without knowing who Eggleston is would be basically impossible.  Aspects that are the foundation of color fine art photography created by Eggleston are prevalent through Hido's work.  Especially the way Hido takes extremely ordinary objects in common lighting and makes amazing images.  Similar to the way Eggleston photographed seemingly boring things in even more common light and made amazing images as well.  There are aspects that differ in this photo from Eggleston's but I think they appeal more to my liking.  The quality of light Hido deals with is soft, eery, and magical and the colors he deals with have similar qualities.

Dougie Boy
-http://www.dougdubois.com/portfolio/avella/avella.html
- Seeing the world as color and color as a part of the world is what makes Doug very special and this photograph.  Doug Dubois also takes a similar view to his family and the world as Eggleston does to the southern world he lives in.  It would seem like Dubois is following his family around possibly making them miserable and driving his family nuts- but what difference does the camera really make?  If he didnt have a camera in his hand he would still be amongst his family and observing the things they do, he just wouldnt be recording them.  So, similar to Eggleston, Dubois shows us himself by pointing the camera at others.  All these pictures of his family give us insight on the choices he makes with a camera.  However his family isn't in this specific photograph, so what does this shot tell us about Dubois?  It tells me that this is a photographer who sees a world of color and color as a world in itself.

Alec Soth- Alekany Recreation Center

This photograph not only relates to Eggleston's color work but also to color as punctuation.  I think one thing that relates to Eggleston's work i the composition of this photograph.  Not so much the amount of interior space but more the division of space.  Soth uses color to divide the composition and and also create relationships between complimentary and muted complimentary colors.  The color that seems to stand out or be punctuated is the blue around the text.  Without a doubt the word itself draws attention but the fact that it is surrounded by a compliment of the rim seems to bring attention to the color and not the word.

Raphael Soldi-  Photograph from the series The Point at Which

This image relates to the subject matter in which Eggleston explores thoroughly.  Common household objects that relate to a specific culture or type of person.  Soldi photographed this icon as it relates to his ethnic background, which is slightly different than Eggleston's reasons, but nevertheless I think the way they view these household objects are similar as is their quality of color.  The relationship in this photograph between the dull muted colors of the painting and the bright prismatic colors on the wall is very interesting because it is two completely different worlds of color together.  Also the warmth of the whole painting and frame versus the coolness of the rosary and wall paint surrounding it fully speaks to the different worlds of color as well.  I met this guy at MICA a few years back he is cool and very successful now.

StephenShore1Color1

This interior seems to be the least interesting.  But it is still beautiful compared to interiors in general.  The near perfect if not perfect exposure, quality, and composition floors me right off the bat.  Then I begin to appreciate the relationship between the different greens and how the patterns of green effect the photograph.  And as an afterthought, similar to Eggleston, I can appreciate the retro quality that this photo emits. I would be decent in black and white, however the green seems to be the longest lasting of all the good qualities.

I find this one more interesting because of the relationship of the powerful reds versus the muted muddy greens.  It is the first and foremost thing that grabs and keeps my attention, the way Shore makes a dull muted color work with and compliment a vibrant flashy color.  The composition is just right because I have the feeling if we saw any more red at the bottom it might be too overpowering.  All together this picture flows and and the force behind it is complimentary colors and again a retro feel.  Another driving force in this photo is simplicity- a fire alarm, standing ashtray, shrubery, ugly brick wall, and a red carpet.

This photo seemed most interesting- not to me- but in general.  Space plays a bigger part in this one because we get a ceiling now as opposed to the other two.  Again quality of exposure and near perfect composition stick out to me.  And although there are no compliments this one has a muted feel to it.  This punctuates the retro feel and also brings out an oddball humorous aspect of this photo.  The subject in this interior is very important to the humor and retro ness of the photo.  I feel like the TV is more interesting now than it was when this was shot though, so being that the photo changes meanings over time makes it even more beautiful.

No words for the next three stephen shore photos... enjoy

EgglestonThing

-a common flower store sign in a middle class town

-not interesting

-There is nothing that I dislike about this image.  I really respond to the angles throughout the lower right of the composition and most of all the blue complimenting the orange on the clock.

-He uses the mass of blue to compliment the orange not overpower it.  Without the orange the blue would be overwhelming.  Also considering what I read about him having an affinity for Klee and Kandinsky it is possible that Eggleston is paying homage to them.

- A neon confederate flag against foliage.

-not as interesting 

-the highlight roaming off the composition above the neon, other than that I like everything about the composition and color.  And the ridiculousness of a neon confederate flag is refreshing.

-He uses compliments as the focus here, one more prevelant than the other.  But they relate to eachother and work together by working against eachother.  Also isolating the colors against black creates an interesting color chiarroscuro.

- a open casket funeral

-again not as interesting but more so than the others

-i truly don't have any complaint about this photo.  I respond to all negative and positive shapes, color, contrast, forms, texture/tactile quality, and even the subject.

-Although black and white are not compliments they do contrast eachother and work with eachother similarly to compliments.  I believe that is what Eggleston is capitalizing on in all these photos relation through opposition.  This goes along with some the ideas in the reading like seeing beauty in the banality of his photos. 

Stuart Franklin:  This photo appears less photojournalistic than his others which is why I picked it and why I liked it the most out of all the other.  However it is subtle because it is from the aftermath of a hurricane.  Every color in this photo is dull, possibly because the objects on the sore have been bleached by the sun.  Regardless of whether it was purposefull or not i believe that it improves the effect of the photo.

Stuart Franklin:  In this photo the destaurated colors put emphasis on the gloominess of the situation.  There are bright colors in the background that have been desaturated so it isn't just the lack of sun or grey sky.  The subject in the middle seems to have a very desaturated and cool tone to his skin which kind of relates to his pose.

Dominic Nahr:  I think the desaturation in this photograph intensifies the feeling of loneliness.  As well as the shadows and composition but especially the fact that no colors pop.  It clearly is not an area where there are saturated colors however the earth tones and other colors have been muted and desaturated.  

Dean Rogers- Still from Valhalla Rising:  This movie inspired the me to do my blog on a commercial photographer that works on movie sets named Dean Rogers.  Rogers is creating interesting relationships in this image, such as the way Mikkelson's posture echoes the shape of the mountains in the background.  The first relationship I realize in this photo is the position of the axe in relation to the cross- it is as if the axe is directed or going to come down on the cross, which definitely relates to a theme in the movie.  Another interaction in this photo involves the axe as well but in relation to Mikkelson's face.  Besides the similar shape, they also both appear stoic and stable. This relates to my photography because I am interested in animating inanimate objects, working with still life objects and giving them personalities.  However this is more interesting here because Rogers gives the axe a personality and then relates it to a similar human personality.

Dean Rogers- Still from Bronson:  It was hard to find a still from this movie but I finally did even though it is low quality.  However I think it bests captures Bronson's insanity and wild personality.  Clearly he is detained or locked somewhere- but he is grinning devilishly.  The light is shining of his bald head and illuminating parts of his face in a way that puts emphasis on the framing of his head.  I believe the frame within a frame helps the picture, not only to give us a hint that he is jail, but also to create a distance from Bronson.  The negative spaces that Rogers created could be stronger more activated but they are still mildly interesting.

Dean Rogers- Still Photo from This Is England:  This shot puts emphasis on a very strange aspect of this boys life in the movie.  He spends time alone in this field close to a river and it seems to be where he has most of his fun.  He suffers from the pain of his father's death in battle, and this is where he reflects on memories of his father.  Compositionally I am responding to the relationship between the shape of the slingshot and the shape of the boat.  Also the concrete structure fits very nicely into that corner and adds space where there is bland grey sky.  The shallow dpeth of field also compliments and works with this photograph because it keeps the focus on the kid and the time he spends here.

Brainstorm Images: Life-Death, Heaven-Hell

Ron- here are my images for the Brainstorm project.  I have done further research and thinking and I plan to narrow it down to Life- Death. Focusing on imagery associated with the two words and contradictions and ambigiuosity that goes along with the words.  Below is my original idea and even though I have narrowed down and reshaped this idea I think it is still relavent.

We live and we die, maybe we go to heaven or maybe we go to hell.  For the fortunates life is heaven- and death is usually a hellish experience for them because they love their life so much.  For the unfortunates life is hell- and death is heaven, or a liberating experience.  In my last project I touched metaphorically on how humans can make heaven out of hell or hell out of heaven, this is another relation of these words that is intriguing to me.  I think stuff like this is amazing and very relative to life throughout history and myth.  I also am fascinated with exploring the the complex emotions that go along with these words.  All together I would like to work with imagery, emotions, metaphors, and relationships of form to convey life-death heaven- hell and how all the words intertwine.  

Jayne Hinds Bidaut:  Turtle skeleton

I was originally drawn to this image because I saw the description first and it said Bidaut used photogram tintypes and I thought that was awesome.  The form is very recognizable and the claws are a visual confirmation that it is dead.  But the context which it is displayed in is interesting because it looks very organic like water.  And the gesture of the turtle mimics swimming.  This photogram conveys the line between life and death and how it can be fooled with in photography,

Mark Osterman: Lathe

I think this image is the strongest metaphor for time I have ever seen.  And time goes hand in hand with life and death.