Women in the City

For this project I decided to shoot two things I find easy to photograph: women and the city.  I tried to work with models wearing different styles of clothing and different colors.  I then tried using those elements and getting interesting colors incorporated into the frames.  Other elements I used were using lines to emphasize the subjects along with vanishing points.  The edits I did were fairly simple, using adjustments like color balance, exposure levels, contrast and changing some of the lighting.

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Final Proposal

For my final project I wanted to work with sports photography.  Whenever I go to espn.com or Yahoo! Sports I love the photos they exhibit, they may not be masterpieces of composition, but they capture color and emotion so well.  I would like to work with all amateur players in daylight hours.  The shooting I would do would take place outdoors in parks around the city.  The only indoors scene I would want to work with would be for basketball.  The outdoor sports I want to work with are: soccer, tennis, and baseball.  The reason I want to work with sports is I do no like taking posed pictures of people.  I think with sports you are able to get pictures of people who are posed mid action.  When shooting I want to capture the emotions people wear in their motions.  The frames I want to capture are close-up shots that capture the majority of the figure and less of the environment where they play.

Chicago Blues

Chicago Blues

Candida Hofer Emulation Project

DePaul Library Foyer

DePaul Science Building Staircase

Place Setting

DePaul Art Museum

Chicago Cultural Center

Chicago Cultural Center Photo Exhibit

Simona Paleari

Portraits – Guilty Pleasure

Comic Panel

Wide Shot

Silhouette… Sort of

Quiz 1

1. Explain two of the conflicting arguments about “reading” Shelby Lee Adams’ photos presented by the people in the film.  Include the names of the people who spoke about these interpretations. 5points.

The two most glaring conflicting arguments have to do with Shelby’s motives.  He was raised in this poor Appalachian community, and after receiving an education he went back to document the struggles.  John Bennete, an artist, had a positive opinion about the pictures because he said they highlighted squalor in its worst from in that area, white poverty.   One of the residents Correia Zabler said that the pictures spoke the truth, they may not be pretty but they were real.  The other side of the argument is that he has used his ‘insider’ status to document these people’s squalor for his own profit.  The mayor of Hazzard said he thought the pictures were good because they made money.  I missed his name but the critic wearing a vest with a yellow and magenta tie beneath along with sunglasses said he thought the pictures exploited because the subjects did not have the visual intelligence to see they were being photographed for Shelby’s pocketbook.

2. When pressed to speak about the social connotations of a photo featuring a little girl in a screen door, Shelby avoids answering the question directly by instead describing the formal composition of the photograph… Describe the photograph in your own words. 3points.

I thought that the sister of the subject was very harsh on Shelby and his motives.  I liked that picture quite a bit.  The subject in the foreground was a cute little girl receiving good lighting and great contrast from the wall/door she was leaning upon.  The man in the background was in a comfortable position and you could tell their relation due to proximity and his body language.  I agree that the picture made the two look impoverished, but the truth is not always pretty.

3. How do you interpret Shelby’s photos? why? 2points.

I think that they have very interesting lighting and depths of field.  I also think that they are very similar to the Depression photos taken by FSA Photographers.  All of the black and white, the family units, the glum looks on everyone’s faces all reminded me of those pictures from the 30’s.  That is not all necessarily a bad thing.  I think once you get past the exploitation issue or is he just copying other’s style, the reality in these pictures exists today.  This country forgets often that not everything is posh like New York or Chicago, but the boonies sometimes can be a frightening place to live, economically.

Skull Pyramid

I think that the ‘correct’ photo with limited contrast and brightness adjustments was not the best. My favorite was the largest amount of  Cyan color adjustment(30). Its the one at the bottom of the pyramid in the center.  When adding yellow values to the picture I thought it gained a gray scale look to it, if it were called yellow scale.  The yellow pictures also boosted the light in the center of the picture.  But overall, the Cyan adjustments were my favorite.

XBox Remote With New Colors

Swap

For this photo I tried to make differences a bit starker.  Using the selector tool I selected each of the buttons on the top right of the controller to raise their color values.  I rose each buttons original color (red, yellow, blue, and green) to a higher value on the slider to make them stand out more.  I also selected the letters of the word ‘Queen’ in the background to create a darker value, hoping they pop more in the background space of the photo. I rose the contrast and brightness to help separate the subject’s white value in the foreground to the darker white of the washing machine it rested on.  I also darkened the value of most of the lines on the washer to make those lines clearer as well.

With my photos the black object worked best with both backgrounds when the EV values were raised to plus-2.  The lines and reflections became bolder, and the pictures gained a sepia quality.  With the white object the only differences when EV was adjusted were that the picture became less clear.

Three Photo Reviews

RADIO

This photo contains a two lines each serving a different purpose.  The first and most obvious line is the horizontal line created by the table’s  edge.  This line creates a contrast between the analagous colors red and yellow.  The second line is created by the power cord to the radio and it draws the eyes to the subject matter. The texture of the picture is varied.  The rose patterned cloth on the table looks almost velvety and soft.  The background yellow wallpaper looks sleek and cold.  There is only one object in the picture, but the space is entirely occupied by patterns, colors, and the object itself.

DILEMMA

This photo contrasts subjects.  On the right is a Coca-Cola machine.  Coca- Cola can easily represent American corporate success as well as the more unsavory side of corporations.  On the left is a religious image of Jesus.  The horizontal line across the picture also adds to the contrast.  The photo of Jesus is completely above the line, whereas only the ‘tip of the iceberg’ of the Coke machine is above the line. The line created by the black molding could also be a construed as a commentary on corporate misdoings.  The molding could represent misdeeds.  The majority of the machine is above the molding and some is above the line created by the wood line, but some of their actions are below the lowest line.  The overall shape of the objects on the picture are very consistent, they are all boxy and follow lines.  The space of the photo is very empty in the middle, this could suggest the differences between the two entities.

LIGHTNING

The form of this photo is the tree in the center.  The tree itself is a vertical line that shows an interesting phenomenon.  The conduit attached is obviously having some problems, but it creates a contrasting effect.  The branches of the tree are a dark brown leading to black color, but the electricity emitting from the conduit is flashing white.  It appears that the electricity coming out are additional branches coming out of the tree.  The texture of the natural tree is rough and worn like a tree’s bark should be.  The texture of the lightning is clear, vibrant, and smooth.