Same Subject Different Light

In these photographs I used all artificial light at night.  One was photographed inside while the rest were photographed outside.  While taking these photographs I leaned how important it was to direct my subject while also moving my body to get the best possible lighting.  My favorite photo is the one where my subject is looking straight into the camera.  I enjoy this photo because of the strong contrast and wrinkles in his clothing.  His stare is also piercing.  The photo I am most proud of is the full body shot where the light illuminates from behind him, which creates a halo around his body.  My vision was exactly what I was able to capture.

I decided to make all of my photos in back and white because of the simple elegance the final products embody.  Sometimes I feel like color complicates things, and I wanted the subject and shapes to speak for themselves.

Photoshop Manipulation

All of these pictures were taken during my visit to New York City last week.  I played around with composition, abstraction and color manipulation.  Some photos have been rotated or cropped to enhance the composition.  I decided to display the first two sets as triptychs. The photos on the left are the final photos after manipulation and the photos on the right are the original photos.

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center

 

 

 

 

  

  

  

Fashion District...

  

5th Ave...

Final Photos...

Plagerism

Plagiarism in Photography

https://ccombs.wordpress.com/2007/02/08/plagiarism-in-photography/

This article was very thought provoking for me.  Especially at the end of the article where he quotes Mike Johnston,"photographers have two stages of development. In the first: you strive to emulate other photographers. The second: you strive to differentiate yourself from other photographers."  Which I believe is true, but what happens when something is photographed by two professionals, which turns out to be quite similar.  Maybe it isn't plagiarism, but coincidence?  And who is judging whether someone purposefully plagiarized or if it was happenstance? 

I think in our world today, with the ease it is to take pictures and manipulate, plagiarism is becoming even harder to distinguish.  There has always been a fine line with visual plagiarism, but now with the ease of technology things are going to become quite interesting - by forcing artists to push their art even further - what is art, what can art be, and how can you differentiate yourself from everyone else?  In some cases it makes things more difficult, but in other cases it may make our creative minds think even further outside the box. 

Project: Showing Motion

For this project I decided again, to take snapshots of things I see on a regular basis.  All of these snapshots are taken where I live.  I focused on moving my camera while my subject remained still for the majority of my photos.  The last photo I took, both the subject and my camera were moving.

 

 

I worked through trial and error with this project.  Especially since I am using an iPhone without any control of shutter speed.  I took this last photo by first making a video.  My subject was moving, as well as my camera.  Once I was finished with the video, I took screenshots of moments during the video that showed the best movement.  From there, I edited the photos to my liking.  

I loved the process of making these photos.  I wish I had a nice expensive camera so that I could experiment with long exposures!

Composition: The Cutting Edge

For this project I decided to focus on the mundane, ordinary objects I see on a daily basis. I wanted these images to fill my frame with an open composition.  I focused on my viewpoint, the rule or thirds, lighting and simplifying my subject.  I decided to photograph these objects from the angle in which I view them.  I wanted these final images to be accompanied with a feeling, specifically the feeling I have when I am around these objects. The final images are a metaphor for my life and the world that inevitably surrounds me.

 

 

When initially thinking about my direction for this project, I decided I would simply snap photos during my day and come back to them when I had more time with the image.  This plan worked very well for me.  Ordinarily, I never would have taken such simple snapshots.  But when Michelle mentioned to, "take pictures of things that people normally wouldn't", I decided to take on this challenge.  I am pleased with the final outcome of these images.

Collage