W. Eugene Smith

 

“Don’t tell my mother,” said the young man. Still under the effects of ether, he didn’t realize she’d been holding his hand during the procedure.

W. Eugene Smith/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Out of W. Eugene Smith's photos, it was hard to choose because all these photos had an incredible story to tell of his adventures. I finally just choose the one above because I thought is was funny when Smith's caption stated "“Don’t tell my mother,” said the young man. Still under the effects of ether, he didn’t realize she’d been holding his hand during the procedure." Smith's overall aesthetic would be caring and passionate in Smith's work as a Doctor. This set of photographs works to tell a story of how Smith captioned each one to help us follow along his journey. 

Thomas Struth

Unconscious Places

 I looked through both the Unconscious Places 1 and 2 and sat back and ponder if Struth really completed his goal. I will have to say yes I do think Struth accomplished his goal of “work with distance, to keep an open and innocent gaze, to work without any personal narrative or experience of the city" (Thomas Struth). It is possible to make photographs of a location without any connection to it at all. I do not think that the very act of turning your camera on any subject automatically put the subject matter under scrutiny. The reason I say that is because going into detail about a subject all depends on what the photographer wants to have the viewer preserve, that power is all in the photographer's hands and it just takes a click of a button to capture. 

Montage Project

 

Anastasia Schaefer

How the Tables have Turned

My theme was simple but unique, just allowing the animals to have a turn at the table for they are always either the food or the beggar from under the table. Now the humans are the food or begging to not be next, I thought it was funny yet eye-opening on how we might look to some animals. 

Robert and Shana ParkHarrison

 Robert and Shana ParkHarrison

My interpretation of Robert and Shana ParkHarrison photographs is mesmerizing and pulls the viewer in to want to know more about the photo and what it is about. Robert and Shana's work focuses on the relationship between humans and the environment. This idea has only recently come to popularity with movements like the Go Green initiative and concepts like the carbon footprint. Their photos can be preserved in several different ways, as the photo above you can interpret it as watch what you say for it can tear someone apart, or be gentle with your projection for it does have an effect on your surroundings. 

Concept for my Montage

 Thinking

The whole planning and thinking of an idea is easy it is the unique ideas that are harder to approach. My first idea was to have a crime scene with ten different photos montaged into one real-looking photo. I went about it and took photos for it but I didn't want the police force to look bad because I remember what a wise woman once told us "The photo we take of someone is how others are going to perceive them" (Maloney). I then took a different approach to this when with all the different animals as human heads sitting at a dinner table eating food with little humans running for their lives. I wanted to take a fun approach and it was fun taking photos of people and telling them what it is about and everyone was smiling. I had the vision in my head so I didn't refer to anything. 

Portrait Project

 

Dan Winters

Tupac Shakur - Hollywood, CA - Rolling Stone

Anastasia Schaefer

Dan Winters wasn't my first choice for I wanted to photograph a female and I couldn't find a willing female to be my subject I asked my teacher (Prof. Maloney) if she would she said yes but said only if I couldn't find anyone else and if they fall through on me. Luckily I found a willing subject but I had to change my photographer to imitate. I went back through each photographer listed and finally found one that would look great with my subject. Dan Winters's photograph of this shirtless man with tattoos. It's simple and has a plain background I know the studio has a similar gray sheet to hang up.  The color palette is a little weird I know they edited this with either Lightroom or Photoshop to get that grayish vibe/texture. The high key I think in this photo is the shirtless part along with the shadow and bandana. The low key I would have to say is the tattoos. I will need to have a bandana and luckily I had a black and white one in my backpack. I would like it if my subject would get these tattoos or let me draw them on. I don't have a silver cross so I might have to leave it out. Post-production work on Dan Winters's photograph would have to be the color pallet texture. I will need my model to have a similar skin tone and some amount of muscles, tattoos would be nice but I can photoshop them in, to the best ability.

We had to create an inspirational photo and I did create one I liked but I did not show it in class. The one I did show is the one below it turned out good, I do like the blue tint with the mask. It makes a creepy eerie feeling like something in a true story horror suspension film. 

Anastasia Schaefer

Vik Muniz

 

Vik Muniz

The mark-making in Vik Muniz photography makes you want to take a second look. I personally think this style of photography that Vik Muniz destroys the photography it hurts my eyes to look at it because it is so busy your eyes can not adjust to look at the picture as a whole. The photograph does perceive its self as more of a tool rather than a final output. 

Matthew Albanese's Work

 

Matthew Albanese

1983

Albanese Selected Works

What makes Matthew Albanese's work strong is simple "By manipulating the scale, lighting, depth of field, and color balance in each image, Albanese, as the New York Times wrote in 2011, has become “adept at coaxing humble materials into looking like something else”" (Benrubi Gallery).  Matthew Albanese's photography is surreal and just draws you in. The lighting does add an effect of peacefulness and it was just a matter of waiting for that perfect shot of the sunset/sunrise to get that reflection on the water, I definitely think he alternated the saturation of the photo to get that textured look.  

Kate Middleton's 40th Birthday

 

Kate Middleton's 40th Birthday

Photographed by Paolo Roversi

How a photograph compares to a painted portrait is that for a painted portrait the subject has to sit still in the same position for however long it takes and then that natural authentic smile will start to drift away into a forced smile. The best photos are taken in that split second of a moment. Every stroke can tell a story and bring forth a unique perspective for a painted portrait, but the saying is " A picture is worth a thousand words" (Napoleon Bonaparte). I think for the medium of photography when the decision to commission a photographer versus a painter, is that it brought forth a spotlight for all photographers and a confidence boost to help them realize that they can be just as good or even better than a painter. The picture above stands out to me to be the most successful because the joy gleaming on Kate's face just brings me back to a time when I was happy I absolutely love the contract the photographer took and the depth of field he used. The longer I look into Kate's eyes I see a sparkle of the soul and the beautiful rawness of a moment in time when she was floating on clouds of feeling happy after you marry someone you love.