Final Images

Autumn&Beau

Composition: in this image, the focus was on the two figures facial expressions, and how they interacted with each other. the bottom image is showing how their feet interact with each other.

Method: i used a desk light and flash to take this photo. since it was night and indoor, the light source was not enough to get a good exposure. So I used flash and also a faster shutter speed to catch the moment.

Concept: couple.  their shoes definitely reveal something about their personality. Autumn is very easy-going and Beau loves outdoor activities. They love each other very much.

Motivation: to capture a daily life moment.

Context: marriage.

Erica&Converse

Composition: i chose to use the easiest composition in these two images, placing the subjects in the center of the picture.

Method: I shot this photo indoor with a desk light covered with white cloth and a baking sheet on the other side of the subject's face to get some reflection.

Concept: Simplicity is the theme of this photo. High school senior with a pair of converse, and a sweet smile. Very simple and very natural.

Motivation: just to create a feeling of simplicity.

Context: high school life.

Jeff&bare feet

Composition: as the theme of this series of photos, it is a gain emphasize on the subjects face and the feet.

Method: desk light and flash. fast shutter speed

Concept: showing the emotion and the life of the person. Jeff is in the MSU break dance club. As a dancer, he uses a lot motions of his feet to practice.
Motivation: showing ones mood and hobby.
Context: super senior. college. after college. transition.

Kim&Converses + High heels

Composition: in the bottom image, I asked the model to get all her shoes out, creating a chaotic feeling.

Method: indoor light, flash, fast shutter speed.

Concept: also showing a person's life and personality. Kim was on her way to the KCF banquet and she's wearing her high heels. But when asked about her favorite shoes, she took out a whole collection of her converse shoes.

Motivation: telling a story about someone.

Context: collections of shoes.

Joy&Snow

Composition: the figure and the feet in the center of the images.

Method: desk light, flash, fast shutter speed.

Concept: personality. Joy is a very joyful person but she has her sensitive side.

Motivation: capture a different side of somebody.

context: faith and life.

Blog Prompts#25

Write a detailed description of your “motivations” for your final self-proposed project. 

Why are you interested in this subject? 
My project is to portrait people as well as there shoes. It is a interesting way to displaying a person's life and his/her personality. Shoes may tell a whole different story about a person from what people usually see on the faces. Also, shoes are important on our life journey, since they take us everywhere we are planning to go.  Some of shoes have traveled thousands of hundreds of miles with us at different places in the world. Shoes can tell a lot of stories.

What do you want to convey? 
The information I want to convey in my photos is about people and their life. I am always interested in people's personal stories. It is a privilege to hear things happened in another person's life. Since we are all different from each other and we all have different experience in our lives, but when we found similarities in others life, we feel connected to them as well as the rest of the world.

How do you want viewers to respond? 
Like I said in the previous section, I would like to let my viewers to see the difference among various groups of people but at the same time they will be able to feel connected to one of them. I hope they see the difference and the similarity and also I hope they will find it interesting to really pay attention to others' shoes, and take them as a part of their personality and personal history/profile.

Why are you inspired to make these images/this project? 
The inspiration was from photographer John Huck and his photo series Breakfast. He spent years to record different breakfast from different people in different ethnic groups, different age groups, and different social background groups. So I want to document the similar detail in people's life and reveal the subtle stories about them.

Do you want to evoke emotions in viewers? Shock viewers? Make them laugh? Make them think? Inform them? Reveal something about how you see the world? Reveal something about yourself, a person, a place, a feeling, a memory, a moment in time? 
I want to make my viewers smile, and remind them of some subtle/little things in their life but they ignore them.

Final Project Ideas

 

Assignment#5(final images)

'Constructed Still Life'

Composition: in this image, I chose to put the focus on the paper text to emphasize the main idea of the work. The little person in the background is blur but echos the text in the image.

Concept: the idea of this photo is totally about constructing an object to be photographed.

Motivation: I love paper work and enjoyed cutting things out of a piece of flat paper and add some dimensions to it.

Method: very large aperture to achieve the small depth of field; set up light source from the back of the paper in order to get the blurry glowing illusion of the little paper man.

Context: Self-seeking&emptiness and relationships among people.

Part2 Critique:
the edge of the paper in the bottom right corner seemed distracting to some of my classmates. But I left it there to suggest that the media was made of paper.
maybe for jump-off point i could do a series of this theme.

'Constructed Performance for the Camera'+'Constructed Identity'

Composition: the model and her dress, accessories created a short of chaos in this image. But i leave the background blank in order to emphasize the information from the subject. 

Method: flash light, soft light source from bottom right (with white cloth), fast shutter speed.

Concept: this image is about performance since nobody would wear Chi-pao and bring a fan to a football game.

Motivation: to play with different elements in daily life.

Context: this related to different identities we play in our life. People are becoming more and more universal and global. We embrace, appreciate and enjoy different cultures.

Part2 Critique
the subject looks confused, maybe change the foam hand to her right hand. the clear background works pretty well.

Constructed Social/Cultural Statement

Composition: the figure in the background is actually the focus, especially her facial expression and her dress. the foreground (Christmas tree and candy canes) is out of focus and helps create a sense of depth in this image.

Method: large aperture, direct light source, and flash light.

Concept: the constructed culture of an American girl in a traditional Chinese dress decorating Christmas tree.

Motivation: combine different culture elements in this photo.

Context: globalization.

Part2 Critique
maybe add other elements from different cultures in this image, suggested using body language.

 

'Subtle Construction+Miniature Staged Life'

Composition: i placed the dolphin in a bowl of goldfish. trying to show the repeated pattern but there was one thing different

Method: close-up, large aperture, desk light

Concept: staged life. trying to play around with the different things with similarity.

Motivation: use limited resource in my kitchen.

Concept: identity, or individualism and collectivism.

Part2 Critique

the concept is interesting, add more contrast; need to change the composition, left bottom corner doesn't work very well, or try to make the position of the dolphin differently, such as its head stick out of a pile of goldfish; jump-off point: dolphin's journey. traveling diary.

Assignment#5(0)

Blog Prompts#24

Pick two images from any of the “constructed reality” photographers presented in class or linked on the assignment sheet. Describe how you could recreate these two images on a “smaller scale”.
1. i really liked the image with the flowers inside the room and a woman was sitting in the "indoor" garden. I think i could make it smaller since i can't find enough flower at this point. i may just use my stuff animal as the main subject, and then i will try to find some flowers from stores to create a mini green house.
2. in the class, the most interesting idea was actually from the coldplay video. I would love to try do something like that but in a smaller scale. i can do paper crafts with drawing and make a mini stage for my photos.

Describe your plans for your self-proposed final project (if the plan is the same as before, paste it here again and give a bit more detail). During the final critique for Assignment #5, you will discuss/present these ideas to the class.
I would like to do a project of food, and handcrafts and other media with my photo series. I wanna to make it a series of portraits and food and make it a  invented narrative series about different lifestyles. That is I want to use the food/handcrafts or the other media to reveal personalities. Getting food materials may be challenging sometimes, so I have another idea, shooting people's shoes or personal items that really speak for their identity....

"Fading Away" by Henry Peach Robinson & "Candy Cigrattes" by Sally Mann

English photographer Henry Peach Robinson or H.P. Robinson (1830-1901) was a pioneer of 'Pictorialist Photography,' especially 'Combination Printing.' Pictorialists believed that 'Art Photography' needed to emulate the paintings of everyday life in such a way to etch it in time and remove from it the mundane of the photograph. Among the methods used for the same were soft focus, special filters, lens coatings, heavy manipulation in the darkroom, and exotic printing processes. These processes together gave an eerie and an unreal feeling of being etched in space and time to the fluid and everyday 'Modern Photography.' Henry Robinson was called "the King of photographic picture making," proving the pinnacle of his competence as a photographer. His "Fading Away" is an all time stunner.

Perhaps the most famous of his pictures is Fading Away (1858), a composition of five negatives, in which he depicts a girl dying of consumption (which we know as tuberculosis), and the despair of the other members of the family. This was a controversial photograph, and some felt that the subject was not suitable for photography. One critic said that Robinson had cashed in on "the most painful sentiments which it is the lot of human beings to experience." It would seem that it was perfectly in order for painters to paint pictures on such themes, but not for photographers to do so. However, the picture captured the imagination of Prince Albert, who bought a copy and issued an order for every composite portrait Robinson produced subsequently.

Fading Away is a composition of five negatives. If one examines a large copy of a print closely one can see the "joins", particularly the triangle of gray with no detail in it. One has to remember, of course, that these were contact prints - there were no means of enlarging at that time.

It is clear that many who admired "Fading Away" had no idea that it was a combination print and when, in 1860, Robinson outlined his methods at a meeting of the Photographic Society of Scotland, he was greeted with howls of protest from people who seemed to feel that they had been deceived. 

"Candy Cigarette" by Sally Mann

Sally Mann has used her 8 x 10 view camera to capture in fine detail, among other subjects, images of her children as they mimic and act out social and familial roles in the lush landscape of their rural Virginia home. For the series Immediate Family posed or simply arrested in their activity, Mann's children, who often appear nude, convey both primal and playful aspects of human behavior. The images in the series and subsequent publication At Twelve: Portraits of Young Women (1988) capture the confusing emotions and developing identities of adolescent girls. Candy Cigarette is a striking example of Mann's distinctive combination of careful planning and serendipity. In this work Mann's daughter Jessie suspends her activity and gracefully balances a candy cigarette in her hand, the innocent miniature of a blonde and gangling twenty-something beauty. Mann’s expressive printing style lends a dramatic and brooding mood to all of her images.

Blog Prompts #23

1. In what ways do you “construct” your identity? In what ways do you “perform” in your daily life?
    The basic ways to construct my identity are through things I value and the way I behave. Value is more about spiritual identity. The way i view the world and the way i think have a huge influence on my behavior which guides the way I "show" my identity. The music I listen to, the friends I am around, the clothes I wear, the magazine I read and even the food I eat are all demonstrating my identity and revealing a part of my attitudes.
    Cooking is performance in my opinion. The Asian cultural background I come from has a big emphasis on the food. Food and cooking are not a simple a they are seemed. Even the way I put my noodles in the bowl will follow a certain pattern, which shows a lot of my identity.


2. Describe some ways in which your personal culture and social environments are “constructed”.
    As I mentioned before, food place a tremendous significant role in Chinese culture, even the whole Oriental Asian culture. The daily meals I have everyday contributes to construct my personal culture. And the social environment is constructed by the people, the community and social class I am interacting with.
 

3.   Describe some ways in which your physical environment/space is “constructed”.
     the physical environment/ space is more about geographic location: like which country you are at. The climate/season you are experiencing, and the time of the day. Also the smaller scale locations where you are in: the street, the building or the room.


4. In your daily life, what would you consider to be “real” and what would you consider to be “constructed/fabricated”?
    Things that are not planned and happen naturally can be considered as "real".
    Things that are planned out with a certain purpose is "constructed".


5. Describe a narrative tableaux that you might create to be captured by a photograph. A narrative tableaux can be defined as “Several human actors play out scenes from everyday life, history, myth or the fantasy of the direction artist” ( Constructed Realities: The Art of Staged Photography Edited by Michael Kohler , 34).
     I will probably ask people to act as they were in other culture... if that is possible.... By the way they dress, I think it could create a sense of other location, even times. I would live to ask my friend to wear her Yukata or my Chipao and go to an Asian restaurant to make it look like where are on the other side of the world.


6. Describe an idea for a photograph that includes a miniature stage or still life. A description of such an image is “The tableaux reconstructs events as in the narrative tableaux, but in miniaturized format, using dolls and other toy objects” (Kohler, 34). 
I would like to make a miniature stage in my empty glass jar! It was a kimchi jar, and after I finished the kimchi i cleaned it. I would make some paper work: like trees, animals, little human-being and hopefully i could find materials to make them look 3-D. but also i want to use real soil, or some plants in this miniature still life and make it a combination of real and constructed.


 

Assignment#4(final)

Advertisement

Composition: in this image i placed the figure in the center to create a main focus on her. the cropping is designed for a billboard. her eyes actually help direct viewers to notice the text on the top right.

Concept: the idea is about studio portrait. it was not easy to ask your model pose naturally. I was trying to create this image as a combination of characteristics of both snapshot and studio portrait.

Method: there were two lights on each of her side and on the front right I made a soft box to get softer reflection of the light on her face and hair.

Motivation: to create a natural looking studio portrait.

Context: creativity. As an ad for nike, i think the brand image is to express and encourage the imaginative and creative of the young generation.

PART II Critique:

Evaluation: the exposure, lighting and cropping all worked well for the billboard. the simplicity works well for the concept.

Interpretation: the facial expression really expressed the excitement and emotion.

Jump-off Point: make a series of photos of neck-above portraits.

 

Food Magazine Cover

Composition: in this image i place the soup bow on the side and left the right part blank for more text information.

Concept: the idea of this image is very simple: make my food look delicious!

Method: I just put the bowl on my desk and there was a light right above it. I used large aperture to get a close detail of the ingredients in the soup.

Motivation: this is an inspiration from all the cooking channels and blogs i've been following for years. I wanted to make a collection of my recipes for a food diary.

Context: Health and Diet .... Food and Joy... food is something makes me happy and i enjoyed cooking and sharing food with friends. But nowadays, a lot of people, especially girls are suffering from eating disorders and self-image problems. I wanted to show a health eating habits for people to enjoy food as well as life.

PART II Critique

Evaluation: soft lighting and good arrangement of the objects.

Interpretation: advertisement for cooking magazines or books.

Jump-off Point: add magazine/restaurant logo to the image; lower the text on the right, things seemed heavy on the top, balance needed; place a roll of sushi on the bottom right.

Fashion Ad

Composition: i put my model on the left and made the right empty in order to add text or image to create an ad for perfume or other products. I really love making images that has the Gold Mean concept.

Concept: the idea of my image is about showing the portrait face and mainly focus on the human expressions.

Method: it is the same as the first image, which was with the lights in the studio.

Motivation: you create an image that creates tension and catch people's eyes

Context: Feminism. i don't know why this word just flashed through my mind while i was looking at it. I love the expression on the model's face. It's a little bit intense but not too much. She seemed very confident. I love the idea that girls being more independent and competent in their careers and personal lives.

PART II Critique

Evaluation:good exposure and lighting.

Interpretation:magazine portrait.

Jump-off Point: woman's magazine or feature story about the girl.

 

Yearbook photo

Composition:the figure is placed in the center which make her the main/only focus in my image.

Concept: senior portrait.

Method: the studio lighting and background. low ISO and flash lights with a soft box for reflection.

Motivation: use the soft lighting for a better looking portraits

Context: self-identity. most everyone's senior portraits look the same.... same position, facial expression. it's not about the real personality.... why do people look like they are made from a manufacture. 

PART II Critique

Evaluation: typical yearbook/senior portrait. good position,lighting, and contrast.

Interpretation: her facial expression seemed really sad/bored.

Jump-off Point:maybe took another series of photos with people having serious faces.

Blog Prompt #22

A. Series: Brainstorm various ways to make a “series” of photographic images.


1. taking photos of the same subject for a long period of time. For instance, a family picture every year for decades.
2. taking photos of the same subject but at different locations
3. taking photos of a theme in a similar context: daily life of different people
4. using the same camera techniques for different images, such as same lighting, color, angle or aperture

B. Final Project: Your final project in this class will be designed by you. If you could tackle any photography project, what would it be? You could combine other media with photography (video, sculpture, drawing) or you could take one of your earlier assignments and expand it to create a larger project. If you are expanding an earlier project or creating an entirely new series of images, shoot for a series of at least 5 images. Describe an idea you have for your final project.

I would like to do a project of food, and handcrafts and other media with my photo series. I wanna to make it a series of portraits and food and make it a  invented narrative series about different lifestyles. That is I want to use the food/handcrafts or the other media to reveal personalities.

Assignment#4(1)

Assignment #4(0) Recreation

 14'Standard/Hitoshi

Recreation: The original image from Hitoshi's flickr has a very nice shallow depth of field and the tone of the image is very soft. The background is more neutral colored —black, white and gray, however the focus of the image is the little green plant in the glass jar. The tender green color really stands out. The picture was taken inside and there were big windows in the room letting the lights come in. The room seemed a little dark.  The photographer appears to be trapped indoor. This makes me feel a desire to go out and enjoy the nature.   I really like the emotion conveyed by this photo.

My recreation has the same theme with an opposite setting. I still have plants and glass jar in my image, but the lighting is from outdoor (bright sunshine), the plants are rooted in the ground, and there are a bunch of colored pencils in the glass jar. I imaging this is a continue of the original image, and the photographer went outside using the pencils to draw/sketch the nature scene. 

   

another recreation: Domo-kun, official mascot of Japan NHK television station, is a mysterious creature that hatched from an egg. My recreation is about Domo and his friends.

 

Blog promps #20

1. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of "news"-related photographs.
    News related photos are usually about recording a moment. They are very realistic. There's no posing, or special setting of lighting. The beauty of news photographs is the authenticity. Usually news photos are not heavily digitally altered, which keeps the origin of the history moment.

2. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of "snapshots".
I love snapshots. They always captures the unexpected, the surprising, and the excitement. The aesthetic aspect is about the freedom and the natural emotion conveyed by the shots.

3. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of advertisement photographs/fashion photographs.
They are super eye catching and perfectly beautiful. They are informative and aiming at the right target audiences. Those pictures don't tell stories, but they promote themselves. This aggressiveness sometimes make advertisement photographs beautiful, and also there are other sorts of commercial photos which are very subtle but thoughtful.

4. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of year book photos and/or senior pictures.
I feel the photos in a year book(or senior pictures) are showing the best of a person in his/her teenage year. The memory kept in those photographs are precious.

Assignment #3 Final Images

  

#1 Social/ Cultural Document

      Composition: In this image, I put my camera on the table and took a very low perspective/ an unusual angle. It helped to make the book stand out. Also I included the curtain in the background to achieve the repetition of the strip pattern.
      Concept: The main subject is the Bible in the left top of this picture. It's a cultural/spiritual icon for a population. Taking a different angle/perspective to look at the "stereotyped" bible is interesting. And the sharp reflection from the glass table is totally a surprise.
      Method: I set my camera on the table, and since the indoor light was limited the shutter speed was a little bit lower. But the longer exposure brought more details into this image.

      Motivation:  I cleaned the glass table before I took this picture and my goal was to capture the sharp and detailed reflection of the Bible.

      Context: I guess this is image is more about religion or identity. 

Part 2 Critique

       what works: the sharp reflection of the book is very impressive and seems almost unrealistically detailed.

      suggestions: maybe alter the right side of the image (the curtain) and make it all straight. 

   

#2  Man-made Landscape
      Composition: In this image I chose to take a bird's eye view of this play ground. There was no actual emphasis in this photo since I wanted to include everything clearly. It created a sense of chaos.
      Concept: I wanted to use this image to explain "man-made landscape". Those toys are probably the origin of an architect's inspiration in the future. The toy railway, cars, trucks ad animal residents created this community(landscape).
      Method: I used small aperture in order to contain as much information as possible in this image.
      Motivations: My intention was to show the chaos of this man-made landscape. My goal was to challenge my viewers to see landscape in a smaller scale.
      Context: this map-looking image reminds me of typography.  maybe people who are interested in maps will find it exciting.

Part 2 Critique

what works: the angle of the "landscape", the map view

suggestions: show the complete picture, including more information of the railroad track, and keep viewers eye direction

   

#3 Undiscovered Territory

      Composition: I took a look at the inside of a lamp, and focused on the light bulb when it was on. I have never taken such a close look at a light bulb. The emphasis is definitely on the light bulb, because it's placed in the center of the photo and the background is nearly pure black.

     Concept: another small scale landscape. The idea was about a place which was always out of people's attention. I only enjoy the brightness the light brings but I never thought about how the light bulb works, or what the light bulb looks like.

      Method: since I took the photo while the light was still on and the straight intense light source from the light bulb, I used the lowest ISO and as fast as possible shutter speed.

      Motivation: this is totally an experiment. I never tried to shoot a light source before.

      Context:  it reminds me of the first invention of light bulbs. Even though the world changed so much of centuries, but we still use light bulbs which were invented by Edison.

Part2 Critique

 what works: the high contrast of this image, different view angle.

suggestions: maybe try a little bit cropping

 

      

 #4  Place of the Imagination

        Composition: this image was taken while I was kayaking. the angle was low since I wanted to show a part of myself in it. The angle of my feet echoes the shape of the kayak. It's a very subtle repetition of a pattern.

        Concept: I wanted to depict this place in my imagination where I had to live on this small boat with limited food. There wasn't a planned destination, but I enjoyed the adventure. It's a journey of self-seeking or just general seeking of life.

        Method: lowest ISO and smaller aperture. The focus was on the feet. The background water without a destination kind created a feeling of uncertainty. However, it also has a feeling of peace.

        Motivation: my intention was to create a image that viewer can also share their imaginations. There was a person in the photo, but viewers can't see the face of the person. There was a river/lake and a kayak, but you can't see the destination.

      Context: identity.

Part2 Critique:

what works: the perspective, the boldness of the photographer, the shoes really reveal the subject's personality

suggestions: try subtle burning and dodging, and make the edges of the kayak natural and softer.

Blog Entries

1) What should not be photographed? Why?
I personally feel that we should not photograph anything that's related to people's privacy without their permission.  And also things that are immoral should not be photographed either.


2) What cannot be photographed? Why?
in my opinion I think everything can be photographed, even things that's invisible. Since we can record visible stuff which can help viewers feel the invisible content.


3) What you do not want to photograph? Why?
I do not want to photograph anything that will hurt people's feeling. I would not photography anything that relates to people's personal life without their permission. In addition, i'm trying to avoid photographing things that can negatively impact viewers.

Assignment#3 contact sheet (1)

"Man-made Landscape"

"Contrast+Undiscovered Territory"

 

"Social/Cultural Document"

"Narrative?"

* Amir Zaki *

http://amirzaki.artcodeinc.com/pages/2010-r/

Amir Zaki is a practicing artist living in Southern California. He received his MFA from UCLA in 1999 and has been regularly and actively exhibiting nationally and internationally since. 
Zaki has an ongoing interest in the rhetoric of authenticity, as it is associated with photography as an indexical media. Simultaneously, he is deeply invested in exploring digital technology's transformative potential to disrupt that assumed authenticity. While this may initially sound like a standard and tired postmodern trope, his interest is not in utilizing digital trickery as illustration to undermine a photograph’s veracity. In fact, Zaki often creates hybridized photographs that carefully use the vocabulary of the documentary style so that the viewer’s belief in its veracity remains intact, at least initially. He construct scenes that are somewhat off-register, ‘out of key’, and ever so slightly faux. He often uses the architectural landscape of Southern California as a subject, as it seems particularly appropriate to his process. This is largely because, either through media myth, reality or a combination of the two, the architecture and surrounding landscape in Southern California is itself an evolving bastardization of styles and forms, in other words a pastiche. Southern California is home to a collision of high modernist ideals, suburban McMansions, high-rise density, endless asphalt grids, deserts, mountains, beaches, Los Angeles urbanism, Inland Empire sprawl, Orange Curtain conservatism, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Integratron. It should be made clear that although Zaki is fascinated and inspired by this architectural and cultural entropy, his intention is not to record, replicate or simply document a preexisting postmodern pastiche. More precisely, his work begins with the familiar, by looking at objects, structures and locations that are often pedestrian and banal. And by capitalizing on the presumed veracity that photographs continue to command, along with the transformative, yet invisible digital alterations he employs, his images depict structures that that aspire to be added to the list of the hodge-podge built landscape that creates the Southern California mythology.

Blog Entries #16, #17 & #18

“I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see.” Duane Michals
I think Michals' claim is quite interesting. To some degree I agree with this statement. Since photography is more about visual sensation, the interpretation can be varied by different viewers. Even literature has the same character, because not only the author creates the work, but also the reader or the viewer put their imagination and interpretation into it as well. What we see physically is just a vehicle which conveys emotion and information, but the imagination behind the visual elements adds more flavor to the picture we see. Every viewer has his/her own imagination about the same photo. That's what creates dynamics of the artwork.

 

“Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world.” Arnold Newman

Maybe what we see, what we hear and what we feel are all illusion. When talking about photography, we see a lot of editing and altering with photoshop or other programs. In this regard, those edited photos are truly only reflecting the "ideal" world in our own mind. Moreover, I think when we are taking photos, the information we include in the vision is quite limited and distorted. We can choose to shoot just a part of the subject, or use the light to emphasize one thing but darken the other. I feel that photography is very emotional and subject. Therefore it's all about our own private world. 

 

“Landscape photography is the supreme test of the photographer—and often the supreme disappointment.” ~Ansel Adams

I agree with this statement! I love shooting landscapes, but most of the time I have to deal with different weather, light source and random visitors passing by.It's not in the studio that the photographer can make his/her model pose and arrange different lighting. It's all about the nature, which is something not under our control. When shooting at the photo at the right time and right place, the outcome might be perfect. Otherwise it may be a huge disappointment. 

Assignment #3(0) Recreate Memory

The Memory is about my childhood-- stuffed animals. Since I am only child, my stuffed animals used to be my best friends at home when I was a kid. At home I had this photo of me sitting on a stool with several stuffed animal in my arms. This recreation expresses that as I grow up, I don't need those stuffed animal friends anymore. My image in this photo seems fading out, and it kind of shows the time passes.

Blog Entries #11, #12, #13, #14 & #15

#11____Memory of a Place: 

 The place in my memory would be a zen temple i visited in the past summer. I do have a couple of photos of the small temple. It was located in a very quiet and peaceful bamboo forest near Hikone. There was a lot of beautiful green moss on the stone bricks on the road.  i would like to photograph the sunlight shining through the bamboo leaves onto the moss, just to make the photo to express the sense of peace and "zen". It would look green and cool in the summer. I guess it would still look the same for me today. I loved spending an afternoon lying down on the bamboo sheet and listening to the sound of the wind passing through the forest. I'd like to sit or lie down on the grass or on the stone stairs. There might be an old monk sweeping the leaves on the floor. It should be very very green~. I'd like to have a company or two, but we are not going to talk with each other. we're just going to sit together, and meditate on our own.

#12____Memory of a Photograph:
My favorite photo was taken with my grandma 20 years ago. It was a snap shot. I was standing beside her making faces, and my grandma cracked up. She was laughing. The facial expressions of us were very very natural and funny. It was a very very memorable moment for both of us. After 20 years, I am now in the US, and my grandma still lives in the same place where we took the photo. If i could do something to change the photo I would probably add more contrast to the foreground and also change the depth of field, since the old picture showed too much distracting detail of the background, like buildings and trees. If i took a picture with my grandma today, we are definitely going to look very different. However the emotion will be the same. Family time, priceless smiles.

#13____Human-Made Space:

Since I don't really understand the concept of "topographics" I guess if you wanted to create a new "land art", and if I could have enough time for this project, i would love to plant a bunch of cherry trees and make their branches and trunks intertwine. I would love to document how the trees grew into each other and the interesting cherry blossom. The point of this project is to document something so natural but at the same time so artificial.

#14____Unknown vs. Familiar Space: 
 In my opinion, the familiar place should be visited by a lot of people and there should be a lot of human-made things around, or even there were a lot of people. So if i am going to photograph this familiar place, i would place my focus on something small, like a bicycle leaning against the wall on the side walk. By using small depth of field, the landmark will probably be a blur background which still could be recognized but the focus would be on the small things. I would love to show the familiar place in another perspective, especially an indirect perspective. For the unfamiliar place I guess i would use a smaller aperture in order to get a larger depth of field. Since it's a place that hasn't been touched by humans, the photo must reveal as much information as possible. My focus will be on the main landmark. 

#15____In-Camera Collage: 

In this creation I would love to try to use slow shutter speed to try to capture a study and then move the camera outside. The image may show that a desk in the woods. In the past I was a very studious person and I spent most of my time in the library studying. But now I tend to be more outdoor and enjoy my time with friends.

Assignment #2

Light/Shadow 

in this photo, i chose to show only a part of my model and make his shadow to be the focus. I think the concept is interesting that even somebody's "shadow" is part of him/her. I mean his shadow really shows his personality in an unexpected way. I used a medium aperture in this work and shot in a very different angle. 

Part 2 Critique

interpretation: interesting angle, playing around with the shadow and part of the person gives a sense of whole.

Evaluation: the composition and angle are working. If the grass could be removed, then the picture wouldn't be distracted.

Extension: take photos of the person!

Strangers + Fast Shutter speed

In this photo, I tried my best to shoot strangers. Actually they were unexpectedly nice.  I took this photo while walking on Grand River. It's my first time to shoot portraits through a glass, i really liked the slightly reflections on the glass window and how it made the two people inside the restaurant blur. The photo is a good experiment for me to experience taking random and casual photos on the streets.

Part2 Critique:

Interpretation: interesting content; look like a picture in food magazine "eat here in Lansing!"

Evaluation: captured the moment; no reflection of the photographer from the window glass

Extension: maybe take photos of the same "stranger" with the same pose in different places

 

Small Depth of Field + Indoor Light  

In this photo, I was trying to show the person by the book she was reading. I mainly focused on her hand and the book since I felt that they could express more about her personality or emotion. I used large aperture in this work in order to create a sense of small depth of field. This really helped place the focus on the book and hand rather than the girl's face. I don't really like to ask people to pose for me, and sometimes it's weird for me to photograph people's face. Therefore, I prefer to shoot just part of people's body as portraits.

Part2 Critique:

 Interpretation: look like an ad for the book

Evaluation: nice angle and depth of field. need to re-shoot the photo to make it more clear

Extension: try different angles

 

Outdoor Light + Large Depth Of Field 

In this work, I used a smaller aperture to show more details of the background. It's a busy picture. The graffiti and the guy's shirt really make a chaos. But I liked the simple smile on his face, very natural expression. I added more contrast to his photo to make the photo more eye-catching.

Part2 Critique:

Interpretation: senior portrait, fun, expressive, natural emotion

Evaluation: good contrast

Extension: try different apertures.

Printing Suggestions for all: try glossy and add more blacks/contrasts.