Recreation of Untitled

UNKNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER (AMERICAN). Untitled, z. 1900-10

I was drawn to this photograph because often times when I think of portraits I think of human subjects. So for me, this photograph brought about a new outlook on what a portrait can be. I do not think that the photographer was concerned about the lighting and background. I think it could have been taken so that the dog does not blend in with the background. 

Conceptually it can be assumed that this dog was a family pet and therefore was photographed as a member of the family, not just an animal. The idea of capturing a pet in the same way you would a person was an interesting idea/concept to me.  

I find this photograph to be somewhat comical. In my mind I can easily replace the dog with a human sitting on the stool. The dog starts to have human like characteristics since it is being posed instead of capturing the dog in a natural state of being. I think that it also says a lot about the value of the dog and photography at the time it was taken. 

For my recreation I wanted to focus on the framing and concept of the original. When I first saw the original I immediately thought of my cousin's dog, Gino. He is not just a pet, but more so a member of the family. As you can see in the photograph he is wearing a bow tie, in fact, his bow tie. The tie is a part of one of his halloween costumes. 

The framing was the element of the composition I focused on the most. Along with that I wanted to keep the simplicity of the original, so Gino is posed on a stool which was placed in front of a solid colored wall.  

Intentions

There is a difference between portraits that are viewed on the news and portraits viewed on facebook or other forms of social networking. The biggest of these differences is the intention with which the photo was taken. Photographs that are on the news are not taken to capture an individual's expression, but rather capture an event that an individual was apart of. Facebook photos are more taken for self expression and to document an event, rather than making it more of a documentary.


Since there are different intentions there is also a difference in the viewpoint of the photographer. In facebook photos the photographer is often someone in the shot, or more than likely someone that the subject(s) know. This gives the photographers of facebook a more intimate or personal viewpoint than someone taking pictures for the news. Photographers for the news are not apart of the event being captured.

Photography & Ethics

There are times when it is appropriate to digitally alter someone's portrait. For example, sometimes a photograph of a model is digitally altered in order to add or remove make up. However, unless a photographer has someone's consent, it is not ethical to digitally alter the photograph, especially if the person is paying you to take their picture. An inappropriate time to make digital alterations would be on a family portrait, unless the family did not want to be presented in a way that they actually looked.

I'm a soul, man.

“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




What, if anything, do we take from someone when they are photographed? In a sense a portrait gives a viewer a perspective of a person's appearance and personality. This is evident when you ask two people to pose in the same way. For example, a way in which one person expresses a frown would differ than the way in which another person would express the same emotion. 

It is important to be direct and honest when photographing people because the photograph that is taken is the way that a viewer will "know" the subject. When you photograph someone you capture their identity.

Assignment 1

Depth of Field

Composition: Although it was not the focus at the time of photographing this scene, the contrast of this photo is what drew my attention to it. Not only the contrast in lighting, but the contrast in subject matter. The chair/table and legs complement each other in that they are both vertical, yet they are so different.

Context: On top of working with the depth of field, I wanted to play with using a figure without using the face for identity, angles, and cropping.

Concept: Conceptually I wanted to explore the purpose/idea  of photography, that is revealing reality. But, I thought it was interesting to leave more to the imagination than giving the viewer "the answer".

Method: This angle was actually due to being unprepared. I really needed to use a tripod, but have yet to get one, so the next best thing was the floor.


Interpretation: This image at first glance was thought to be an advertisement and also was thought to have had a different background. I remember someone said it looked like a city behind the subject. Others commented on the expression of emotion through feet opposed to a facial expression. 
Evaluation: This photograph has good contrast and an interesting perspective. One of the things that started to bother me after I looked at the image more was the crop of the window. I think the window should either be cropped more or be completely in the frame. 
Extension: I'd like to use this angle/perspective in some more of my photographs. 

Slow Shutter Speed

Composition: The background elements of this image not only put more emphasis on the subject, but also give an institutional feel to the piece. 

Context: This piece is a result of frustration. Culturally I feel that there is pressure on everyone to think critically all the time. This is a cause of frustration because there are times when things exist for other reasons.

Concept: The white walls in the background represent the unfriendly vibes from institutions and the frustration this can cause for everyone involved with that institution.

Method: I used zoom and cropped the subject to place emphasis on the expression and contrast of the white walls and dark shape of the hair.


Interpretation: Many people got the emotion of frustration/anger right away. 
Evaluation: Although this was a slow shutter speed photo, I agree that it needs more contrast. Now that we learned how to use masks in photoshop, I'd like to keep everything the way it is and add more contrast in the hair. I think the crop for this image is more successful than the others I took that were more centered. 
Extension: As seen in the next image, I like this crop and think it works with other subjects.

Angles

Composition:  My focus for this photo was to frame the subject so that it became more of an abstract image of an ordinary object.

Context: Similar to the first photograph this one also plays with the purpose of photograph, but in a different way. Here the subject is more abstracted, which says a lot about how much of photography portrays reality or at least what people perceive reality to be.

Concept: While taking this photo I could not stop thinking about how grotesque drinking fountains truly are. The fact that people digest a substance from these devices without harming themselves says a lot about how remarkable the human body is.

Method: Instead of only using zoom, I also got as close as I could to the subject. This allowed me to get better angles that showed more detail of the drinking fountain.


Interpretation: This was also a more abstracted image, not many people knew what it was at first. 
Evaluation: I also think that this photograph has nice contrast. I also think that the closeness/zoom is working well to somewhat distort or abstract what the subject is. 
Extension: Again, I like the framing, but so my images do not start to have a predictable crop I'd like to explore different ways to crop zoomed in photos. 

Words v. Photography

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


Photography has given people the opportunity to express stories in a much different way than writing. In the case of an emotional story, photography allows us to experience the story as if we had seen the events first hand. It is a different experience to see something than it is to hear about. Although photography might not always reveal reality, it does evoke more emotion and leaves less for the imagination, making a stronger piece than something you read- not that words are not powerful.


"If I could tell the story in words..", sometimes there are not the "right" words to describe an experience. For example, seeing a photo from the Civil Rights Movement is not the same as reading about the same story. The photo enables us to put ourselves in that situation, it makes the past seem more than a story. However, words are also important in telling the same story. Words and photography when used together make something more powerful than each alone. This is especially evident in newspapers. 

“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”-Duane Michals.

I agree that when dealing with photography nothing is what it appears to be. There are many cases, no matter the subject, when photography creates a new outlook or image, even when looking at political photographs. Although those photographs are very powerful and evoke strong feelings, they were meant to do this, it did not necessarily naturally occur.  Or when dealing with something as simple as everyday objects, photography turns these things into something different, making them appear to be more or less important than they actually are. By this, I do not think that photography is negative, but it is only a representation of reality. 

Blog Prompt 2

A photograph is a way of freezing a moment in time. It is an image that would otherwise be forgotten. And while it does not allow the viewer to fully experience the moment, a photograph informs the viewer and gives them a sense of what the experience actually felt like.

Blog Prompt 1

To imagine a world without photography would make past events boring. I believe that in majority of historical events, political or personal, the ability to capture reality gives people the ability to explain ideas that cannot be completely expressed by words. Experiencing something with a visual reality is a different and stronger experience than that with writing. Without photography people would not be able to experience the world in the same manner as now.

Recreation of Fenced in Child

                                    PETER MAGUBANE. Fenced in Child, Vrederdorp, 1967. Gelatin silver print. 


Peter Magubane was born January 18, 1932 in Vrededorp (Johannesburg), South Africa. His career in photography started when he worked for Drum Magazine as a messenger. He was later trained by Jurgen Schadeberg and became a professional photographer. 


Magubane is significant to photography as he has won several honors, including awarded for being the first black South African to win a photographic prize and being the first black South African to hold an exhibition in London. Most of his work is derived from politics. Magubane is most known for his photos from the Soweto Student Uprisings. His focus is on the struggle for liberation in South Africa. He was arrested after taking a series of pictures outside the jail cell of Winnie Mandela and also made a photographic tribute to Nelson Mendela. 


Although I was unable to find information on this specific piece, it can be related to other political pieces created by Magubane. Magubane used photography to record history in such a way as to evoke emotion in order to make a difference. Through photography, Magubane captures the moments that would otherwise be forgotten. The moments he captures, such as those from the Soweto Student Uprisings, with "raw emotion"- emotion that cannot be conveyed in the same way if it was a posed photo.


When viewing this piece specifically, I like the way Magubane brings in the viewer for a closer examination of the photograph. While it seems simple at first glance, this photograph conveys much more emotion and stimulates more thought than what meets the eye. When I look at this image, I cannot help but wonder what is on the other side of the wall, "what is this child experiencing", "why are they experiencing this"? I find it interesting that Magubane uses a somewhat somber composition. The shadows cast lines that move the eye into different quadrants of the picture. If this piece is another political statement, it is interesting that he brings a somber feel with the composition in comparison to his other work. The contrast between the composition and conception of this piece are what make it interesting because conceptually I do not feel that this child is at peace. Visually, I like the contrast between the negative space and the subject. The values and simplicity of the piece are inviting. 

For my recreation of Magubane's Fenced in Child, I chose to focus on the same composition in relation to position of the hand and the horizontal axis. Using the crib and the arm I have attempted to recreate the quadrants in the original photo. Conceptually I wanted to recreate the image of a child's innocence. As I mentioned before, the original leaves the viewer to question the state of the child behind the fence. This recreation is meant to reveal a more peaceful approach to what the child in the original would have been like had they not been imprisoned.

Absurd Bedroom - Exercise 1