Week 8 Blog

Brassai

http://transversealchemy-raw.blogspot.com/2011/01/brassais-paris-late-night-ramblings.html?zx=fcbbf7177d40ed20

This photo has a great sense of mystery to it due to the unclear depictions of objects from the fog. We know there there is a car stationary on the road shining its light at something possibly out of the frame. The viewer also cannot tell if there is anyone actually in the car. The atmospheric perspective is also magnified by the fog. The silhouetted trees have great definition even though the fog is there adding a more graphic aspect to the photograph.

Joel Meyerowitz

http://www.theoriginators.com/joel-meyerowitz-photography/

This photograph is absolutely amazing and I'll tell you why. One, he captures a firework not only exploding but on its way up to create a "light star" in the sky. Two, he has an amazing tonal range in the middle of the night. Three, the detail he achieved really makes this photo. Okay so enough with the numbers, Joel makes something mundane into something beautiful. The texture of the snow on the car, the tire tracks from a car that was beside it and the tree in the foreground that still has definition while backed up to the row of trees in the background. I think the most amazing aspect of this photograph to me would have to be that is was taken at night and he accomplished a full tonal and detailed photograph.

Fazal Sheikh

http://photography-now.net/fazal_sheikh/index.html

This image really makes me want to go out and take some portrait photographs. Its very dark and yet there are still some very bright whites, and the gaze that the figure has is very engaging even though he is not directly looking at the viewer you can sense he is in deep thought. It is very rare that I want to go out and take some portraits but the lighting in this image is just so concrete. I also want to get into the studio and really start learning the numerous possibilities of lighting.

Week 7 Blog

7Paul Strand

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1987.1100.10

This photograph screams design to me. The repetition of lines with the break of the table against the wall or ground adds a bit of variety. Throwing off the lines and causing them all not to show as well as creating another direction for your eye to follow. The minimal color palette ranging from an off-white-yellow to a dark brown/black is easy on the eyes to allow them to flow up down and around the image. Although this image is very asymmetrical the darks and lights even the weight making it very acceptable to my eye.

Imogen Cunningham

http://www.artnet.com/Galleries/Artwork_Detail.asp?G=&gid=423969340&which=&ViewArtistBy=&aid=4668&wid=424893232&source=artist&rta=http://www.artnet.com

This to me is a very powerful photograph. The emotion captured, which may not be easily seen at first, is almost startling. This man in this setting tells me a story. A story that he once was here chopping this wood, using that sledge hammer and working hard. Now that he has reached 90 (My father at 90 is the title) or an older age in general shows that he cannot do those tasks he once could. He put on his suit and he walks with his cane in a place he is very familiar with. Not as familiar as it used to be but very familiar. He almost has a face of confusion which just makes me further believe he does not know this world as well as he used to. Yes it is a pretty straight on photograph but there are so many subtle details that give such a story and I appreciate that a lot in a photograph.

Dean Chamberlain

http://jasonmelcher.com/LIGHT_GRAFFITI_WEBSITE/Dean_Chamberlain_FS/index.html

I am incorporating "Light Writing" into my book for this first semester of Photo II so I have been looking  up quite a few artist who incorporate it into their work as well. Shelly was so nice as to give me a flyer from a show around Philly so I hopped on there website and found quite a few people. This man stood out to me because what he does is much different than your conventional "Light Writing" rather than adding the light in as its own subject he exposes different areas to give it unconventional tones that seem to be photoshopped in. In his other work it is more prominent but i chose this one because it is a mix of both. The eye of the viewer is brought to the center of the photograph and then dispersed every which way because of the outburst of light he has created. He also gets the blue of the sky in there, most likely from the long exposures he uses.

Week 6 Blog

Michael Bosanko

http://www.michaelbosanko.com/photo6402250.html

Michael Bosanko is a magician with lights. He finds interesting compositions and adds a huge presence of light to the situation. Even if the composition seems mundane or uninteresting it certainly is not after he adds in a bit of light. The light in his photographs creates a world I would like to tap into. It has this undeniable presence. In the shot above he creates a sea of green while accenting the lines of the fence with what may be sparklers. Adding another wavelength of purple above the sea just bringing your eye further and further into the image.

Mark Klett and Byron Wolfe, 2008. At the Canyon's edge: from the foot of the Toroweap to the "Devil's Anvil" overhang with an upstream view of the Colorado River. Inset L to R: William Bell, 1872. (Courtesy National Archives) 

http://www.klettandwolfe.com/

Mark Klett has a great idea going here. Its amazing how time can change so many things and yet when it comes to these canyons they are almost exactly the same from the late 1800's up until a few years ago. It lets us know as photographers we are truly capturing reality it is all up to the vantage point, the execution and our ideas that set us apart from each other. A picture one has taken could possibly be shot again. Of course it is a lot more accessible with something like this rather then Bosanko whom is shown above. 

Andre Kertesz - Arm With Fan 1937

http://blog.ricecracker.net/tag/andre-kertesz/

Andre Kertesz has created an interesting photograph out of almost nothing. By having this arm (which is from a man fixing the fan on a ladder) Kertesz allows the viewer to collect ideas to why this arm would be coming out of this fan. Does the fan work? Is it gonna turn on on him? This juxtaposition of an arm coming out of a fan just sparks the imagination or at least I know it sparks mine. The mans head is just barely visible towards the top of the fan, the slightest bit of gray makes him noticeable. Adding a subtle element to this "in your face" photograph.

Week 5 Blog

Maurizio Polese - Escape

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/06/09/beautiful-black-and-white-photography/

I found this image while looking at another photographer. First recognizing the dark shape one could relate it to a silhouette of a person. Upon further investigation I noticed that the dark shape was actually a shadow and the picture was taken upside down. The juxtaposition of the cobblestone road very well could throw the viewer off. It adds a very nice texture, I accept the fact of the picture being flipped and do not think it would be quite as strong if it were flipped to its original position. The black space in the bottom right of the photograph was also very thought out creating more intensity and tension at the bottom of the photograph.

Stephen Shore - Shoes

http://peoplesforeignexchange.wordpress.com/2010/06/07/stephen-shore-at-the-douglas-hyde-gallery-dublin/stephen-shore_shoes/

I believe this photograph gives us a flash from the past, lounging around watching T.V. The cropping of this square frame was well thought out, the negative space on the right side of the image balances the bright window on the right hand side of the image. The photograph has an old school feel to it in general due to the tube television, suitcase style, pattern on the couch/chair and the iconic "Chuck Taylors" While the image has a very neutral color palette it still catches the eye.

Josef Koudelka

http://www.atgetphotography.com/The-Photographers/Josef-Koudelka.html

I can relate to this image because I understand the difficulty shooting a black dog in the snow. Trying to get tones or facial features is near impossible. What Koudelka shows here is that you can still get an interesting photograph of a black dog in the snow without getting too much detail. The decisive moment creates this dynamic black shape in the foreground of the picture. Breaking up the snow is a rug underneath the dog also allowing another gray tone into the image. With a few trees in the background breaking up the scene and creating a greater sense of space.