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.