This group of photos is a little bit harder to analyze because as you become more sophisticated shooters, the content become stronger and more varied. This makes it more difficult to organize things in a cohesive manner. But here's what I've come up with. I did have to make a decision whether to organize things by the technique, Panorama and Slow Shutter Speed, or by content. Since I so often find myself saying that "form supports content" this collection is indeed organized by content.
Let's start this selection with nature. The first photo by Ashley has a unique vantage point looking through small leaves looming large in the frame, forcing us to look past. The next question is, what is the pay off back there? Is there enough of a payoff? Now we get into the beginning of ‘Pano-land’. You've heard me say before that mother nature is already a great artist, so to make great photographs of her you have to find some specific details and make the image your image not just copying hers. The first Pano tree by Ashley works well because the trunk of the tree runs close to the left edge of the frame creating tension and a truncated view that is intriguing. (No pun intended). The next Pino tree by Garrett extends the trunk of the tree to extreme proportions. This is exactly what I mean by extended vision. Garrett has created a new reality that exceeds what was really there. But it is still believable. The next photo by Julie follows the same format but the trunk of the tree is replaced by a 20 foot shadow. Again, nice extension. This photo starts the feet series: it seems that many people shot like this, starting at their feet and then moving the camera up over their head. In the end, a technique that everybody comes up with seems to be the most obvious answer to the visual problem, and therefore might be a new candidate for the photo cliché list.
Kristen has a nice tree in the background, then she has a house with a strategically placed window in the next frame, and finally in a third frame the feet wrap all the way around to a face with another window at that white flag to add to the interest. [note: I organized all these photographs purely by visual content. It wasn't until I started to write about them that I noticed I had three photos in a row all by Kristen.] Kat has another photo were she inverts the format with feet at the top and face at the bottom. The set finishes with a straight rectangular shot by Chi Hwan. This is great because looking straight down flattens the space and makes everything in the frame into a graphical element.
The train theme is continued in the next photo by Joe. I think we all enjoy his ability to turn the world upside down. Garrett comes in again with a beautiful black-and-white shot with a halo effect on the ground. The next shot takes us into the evening in a photo by Ian. Again we have feet at the bottom and face at the top, nicely obscured by being cut in half. The space in the middle is enhanced by that crazy graphic design of the crosswalk, the crisscrossing shadows and the light streaks.
The next photo, also by Ian, adds drama to the mix. This is a very deliberate, staged event, even though it may have been spontaneous. But this is where the whole idea of making a photograph happen rather than just finding it becomes evident. This is what you should all be doing now at this point in the semester. Please reread the document "Intuitive vs. Directed Shooting".
We are not sure what time of day this photo by Holly was shot but by pushing the horizon line up to the very top of this tall panorama and having the arrow pointing down, the photo makes a really dynamic extended space. The next photo by Kristen almost reverses the equation. This one seems to compress space, showing us the entire span of the bridge in one photograph. This one has real weight.
The next photograph by Holly uses the overexposure at the top to create an almost fantasy space. (Never mind that these are the stairs in Tyler School of Art.) The next photo by Chi Hwan is another beautiful staircase with a slice of extreme light and a shortened top end ceiling. This next photo by Ian brings us even further into the household to see several people working in the kitchen. And the last frame in this set, also by Ian, shows someone who is completely crashed out from overwork (apparently working on a final film project).
Now that we have moved indoors we see a photo by Joe that shows an intriguing space complete with pool table. The next photo is by Dan and he is the only person who tried using the AutoStitch app to create his panoramas. This app lets you combine photos shot in any order, as long as there is some overlap. In this photo it is almost the distortion that is created this way that is the most interesting part of the photo. But the stairway at the far right leaves the viewer and escape route. Dan's next shot is a bit less clear of a space because of the perspective from looking down and the focus in the bottom left corner. Great angle of view! It feels like we are losing our balance. Then we have Mariah's shot of the skateboarder in midair. Skateboarders tend to be clichés but this one is not about the skateboard, it is about this unbelievable position of a person in midair, and therefore it transcends the typical. The only segue we have from these last two with columns to this one, that has a column of water, is that vertical graphical element. The lighting in Julia's shot is what makes this so nice. I think we will have to join Garrett in wishing someone a happy birthday after seeing his shot.
The next series of photographs feels with outside industrial spaces. It starts with a photo by Ashley where we have this huge industrial space rusting away before eyes. And we can just barely glance into the interior that seems almost endless. It is really not easy to balance exterior and interior light as she is done in this photo. The next photo by Kendal shows us a different type of building, slowly disintegrating. Another photo by Kendall shot from some strange rooftop is articulated by the vertical pipe on the right side. The landscape before us is also an interesting mix of industrial and residential buildings, enhanced by the V shaped graphical alignment in the bottom half. The next photo by Veronica opens up even wider to show us this walkway along the beach that seemingly goes nowhere. Another wide shot by Ian portrays an almost fictitious small town somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania. What takes it further than your typical urban landscape is the large political posterior to the left. This photo is either political commentary or political comedy, depending on what you think of politics in general or this candidate in particular. The flag in the next shot by Kristen picks up on the Americana of that small town, enhanced by the motion of the flag itself caught by a slightly slow shutter speed. It helps to know just how slow to shoot in advance in order to get just the right amount of movement to make your point.
Now begins a series of half a dozen photos in black-and-white, and I congratulate your effort in this realm.
The flag segues us into the next shot by Ashley which is a beautifully subtly toned photo of a brewing storm. This is a great example of ambience, where you can almost feel the wind in your face. The next photo by Caitlin picks up on that stormy sky and that off-center post in this mimics the flagpole. This is a another wonderfully dramatic photograph, loaded with feel. Kati's rainy street at night picks up on a similar feel. This one might make you feel a little uneasy, and tension is always good in a photograph. And Mariah's line of people waiting in the darkness for who knows what, is also mysterious. The next photo is also by Mariah and well could be from that same event but the feeling reads very different. This looks like a happy family going home from a concert or dinner or something. The motion blur from the slow shutter speed is what makes this works so well. And then finally this photo by Veronica, taken at a gallery, again with motion blur on the far left, really sets up the space. We are left trying to figure out what the girl looking at the artwork is trying to figure out.
Now moving back to Pano-land, we end up in that great Pine Street/ Spring Garden Street subway station in a photo by Ashley. The fact that the photo space is divided by that one vertical post two thirds to the right really makes this work. And the space is actualized by that one person walking on the far side of that column. The next photo by Mike is a bit of a change, going from inside to outside, but the vertical elements are our connection. This is a good example of shooting only the details of mother nature to make a unique photograph. The next pano by Kendall is a little bit unclear. Is this a nice neighborhood or is it dilapidated? The blank wall on the far left and the building with no windows next to it make us think one way but the new buildings on the right rear make us think the opposite. It is this kind of contradiction in a photograph that keeps viewers on their toes makes them have to work out the meaning of the relationships within the frame for themselves. This is another form of Mystery. Natalie's high angle shot of the formal garden is exquisite. It is her unique viewpoint that makes this work so well. In Michael's next Pano the space becomes even wackier. It looks like it should be a football field but the lines of a football field do not converge like that. Then the poor woman on the far right is looking at this thing and it makes us wonder what she's wondering. Pretty funny in all. Then Michael grabs this photo on the south end of campus, which is a place we usually try to avoid, but he makes it look unlike a college photo. The guy on the left looks pretty suspicious, given us the eye like that, along with all the other guys hanging out.
And now we move into the realm of the Portrait/Self-Portrait. I have only selected a few from this group because many of the self-ports have become more mundane. You need to go back and think about the Mystery and the Passion and the Ambience that you used to create for the first two topics. The next topic, Memory/ Vintage gives you another set of tools that should get you back to some good self portraiture.
The first photo here is a really unique set of three photos put together by Mike Bergen. Does anybody mind that these are upside down? Or is that part of the beauty of them? The next chin-shot by Dan is interesting because of the break in it caused by a slow shutter speed. By excluding his eyes he hides his identity, adding mystery to the shot as well. Kristen pulls up a subtle double exposure in her photograph. Double exposures are really not easy to do. Usually this subject is very confusing and the whole thing becomes a big visual mess. In this photo the secondary image shows up primarily in the shadows of the torso and it works really well to define the space that this person inhabits. The next two photographs both by Mariah move into the realm of the ephemeral. The first one is softened through the use of slow shutter speed and the cameras close in on the face, And she is looking down right into the lens. All of this enhances her presence in the frame. The next photo has some crazy overexposure. Technically is completely off but here in the art world this creates a dreamlike experience and is actually quite interesting.
This takes us into an abstract series of photographs to finish up the series. Caitlyn starts it off with a sunset reflection that, even though it is shot from inside the car, is still unique. Veronica takes us for a ride down an endless road while Chi Hwan takes us on a similar journey at much higher speed! And finally Michael makes it hyperspeed. The last two are enhanced to the use of slow shutter speed. Julie’s photo shows lights also along the highway in a much more calm environment.
Now things start to get even less recognizable and move towards the abstract, sometimes looking like paintings. All of these are made using the Slow Shutter Speed technique. This becomes an interesting realm for photography because in the history of photography everything has depended on reference to the real world. In these we move away from that into the land of imagination. Dan has a shot of pastel greens and blues that show movement of an undefined subject. Caitlin has a more organic, floral shape in oranges that, while more defined than Dan’s for example, is equally fluid. The next several photographs come back to depict some more defined shapes and therefore become more connected to reality but still sit on that edge between the real and the unreal. Mike’s photo has a soft top over a harder bottom that makes us feel as if we are about to get run over by avalanche. Mike’s next photo seems to show clothes on the line, but the edges of the forms lose their definition and the linens begin to melt into the organic patterns of the trees in the background and the whole thing is quite beautiful. Garrett gives us a white panorama using a similar technique, where overexposure creates a wash of texture. Mike returns with another photo of birds that is quite poetic. The final shot by Natalie also uses extreme light but in a much different kind of interior space. This gives us enough information to conjure up images in our minds, We are not sure if we are looking up at a large wall or submerged under golden water. This last set of photographs allows the viewer to create their own reality from their own experience in response to the visual stimulus that is presented by the photo-artist.
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Probably the most important aspect of this topic is that it makes you think about what you’re going to shoot before you shoot it. This is when you have to move from being a photo gatherer, where you are finding things in your world, to being a photo hunter and working, thinking, designing to create the photographs before you ever go out to shoot. This is ‘conscious shooting’. Thank you for your work and thank you for sharing with your classmates to push this class forward.
Following are some notes that I made while reading through all of your Self Evaluations:
> Physical/ Technique
For Self Evaluations, you cannot use the actual topic as either the physical or the conceptual component of your explanation. There has to be a concept/ content within the topic that is specific to your personal vision. This is often confused.
When shooting at nighttime, you can add some of your own lighting with a flashlight. You can illuminate some areas that might otherwise be too dark, or highlight specific parts of the subject by adding extra light.
When shooting at night or at sunset, please avoid silhouettes. You need to have detail in the highlights of the photograph and you also need to have detail in the darkest shadows. With the silhouette all shadow detail is gone. If there’s no detail there’s no photograph. This is not an absolute, but you would have to transcend the silhouette with some other meaning to make it work.
It is okay to shoot during your daily routine and not go out to make special trips just for shooting. Sometime you daily life is the most relevant subject. But within that you can still be a photo hunter and shoot for specific self-assigned topics. It can’t just be whatever things you happen to see on your journey. The goal is to build a comprehensive and cohesive collection of photographs that address a singular subject. [A Final Portfolio can be comprised of a set of themes.]
The camera usually has to be held still when shooting slow shutter speed shots, at least most of the time. I don’t expect everyone to be walking around with tripod, but you can rest a phone on any stationary object, such as on top of a parking meter or railing, or pressed against the side of the wall or post. Then you can get the clean shot where only the movement of the subject is shown. The other option is moving the camera, but that is a whole other way of approaching this aesthetic problem.
Sometimes just touching the button on the screen of a smart phone moves the camera too much. You can use the + button on a set of earphones with a volume control as a remote shutter release.
You may have to do a series of tests to figure out what shutter speed renders what kind of look. It is all related to the amount of movement in the subject so there are no fixed rules.
If you’re going to illuminate a subject with a flash in front of a camera with an open shutter (sometimes known as Light Painting), you have to have some choreography behind the movement (i.e. thought, even if it is just about the shape). The movement cannot just be arbitrary. [ref: Irving Penn, Dancer]
If you are working with lights painting, consider popping off a handheld flash unit after you are done the movement but before you are finished with the shot to add some ambient light to the background. This will give the gesture-drawing some context.
>Emotion/ Impact
When shooting photos with emotion, these have to be able to evoke an emotional response in others. If they only have emotion because they are something that you like or feel close to, then it may be a snapshot, That is when the photograph elicits an emotional response in you because it acts as a trigger to remind you of something you did. The information in this case is not really in the photo- it is in the minds of the people in the shot or involved with it. This may not be something that anyone else connects to. It has to be a more universal or generally accessible emotion, but still be specific at the same time.
You cannot make a photo of a memory just by shooting old stuff. It has to be done with the ambience, color, lighting, framing, mystery, passion, etc. of the shot. This is partially where the use of Vintage Photo Apps comes into play. Some of these emulate the look of particular types of film and people inherently know what old film looks like. This has become part of the lexicon of public images, part of the Collective Unconscious.
>Concept/ Content
The concept/content does not have to be some major philosophical point. But there has to be some kind of consistent theme to the work.
New Clichés
General cliché – shooting from inside a car
No Tiny Planets – total gimmickry
Slow shutter speed cliché – shaking your head for the self-portrait
Slow shutter speed cliché – streaks of headlights
Slow shutter speed cliché – waterfalls looking all fuzzy (see nature calendars)
Panorama cliché – avoid the fisheye effect
