Photo IV: Week 3

Blog: Week 3 assign.  Master’s of Photography

1) Edward Weston
White Dunes,
Oceano, California
1936

http://masters-of-photography.com/W/weston/weston_white_dunes.html

I believe Edward Weston is included in this particular archive of images because he is considered a Master of Photography, as is evident by his use of formal elements.  The highlights and shadows in this particular photograph are phenomenal.  

2) Brassai (Gyula Halasz)
Open Gutter
From "Paris by Night"
1933


http://masters-of-photography.com/B/brassai/brassai_gutter.html



Brassai was another photographer of high merit.  His work has a similar aesthetic to Weston’s work, being that he also photographs in a clean, and straight-forward way.  The lines in the image lead the view through the photograph and lend energy and movement to the piece.

3) Tina Modotti
Flor de manita
c. 1925

http://masters-of-photography.com/M/modotti/modotti_manita.html

Tina Modotti began as Edward Weston’s model, and then became his student, and eventually grew into a notable photographer in her own right.  She may be included in this archive due to Weston, though I find her work ever bit as interesting, and less misogynistic than Weston’s.  This image shows plant life.  What interests me about the image is the clinincal approach she has taken while capturing the image.  Instead of photographing it outdoors, she uses a plain white backdrop thus excising the plant from its environment.

3 of my own images:

1) Untitled

     I really liked the way that the tracks looked in this image.

2)Untitled

     I thought this image was funny because he looks like a floating head.

3) Untitled

     I really liked the detail in this image, like the wood grain.  I also thought it was amazing that the bird let me get that close!

Photo IV Blog Assign #2: More pics

Here are more interesting images!
Three images I like:

http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/all/the_monkey_king_vali_s_funeral_pyre/objectview_enlarge.aspx?page=2&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=&fp=1&dd1=60&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=60&OID=60046394&vT=3&hi=0&ov=0

1) The Monkey King Vali's Funeral Pyre, ca. 1780.  I love this watercolor painting because of its very flat two-dimensional quality.  It reminds me of medieval European art (though I know its not).  Very flat with a stacked perspective.

http://eatlacma.org/exhibition/

2) EAT LACMA, Show Us How You Eat, I love this image from the show because of the exploding banana.  The energy comes through in the mutitude of diagonal lines radiating out of the fruit.

http://www.photography-now.com/popup_ausst_1.php?id_ausstellungen=T77413

3)  ›Visual Narratives‹  I like this photograph by Johan van der Keuken because of the way that the central figures are framed by the architectural features in the background.

Three of my recent original works:

1)  I find the gradation within the clouds interesting

2) I chose this photo because it makes me think about the function of a photograph in a different way, and the soft focus employed makes identifying the "object" insignificant.

3) I posted this photo because it makes me smile.

Reel or Faux?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_sp3575

   This photo was featured on Yahoo.com this evening, and after I stopped laughing, I wondered what my other photo friends thought of it.  The 30 lbs koi carp was supposedly caught in France a few months ago.  The fisherman apparently let it go after the photo was taken so no one can verify the actual size of the fish... though some experts have claimed that it is not unusual for koi carp to reach this size and larger given the right conditions.  What do you think?  Is it real, or fake?

Photo blog as process

Here are a few images from current exhibitions that interest me:

1)  Edward Weston's, (American, 1886–1958). Rubber Dummies, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Hollywood. 1939, The Original Copy: Photography of Sculpture, 1839 to Today, "The Pygmalion Complex: Animate and Inanimate Figures"  at the Museum of Modern Art, August 1–November 1, 2010

   I love this image because it is very different from any of Weston's photographs that I have been exposed to in my career as an art student. 

http://moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2010/originalcopy/works09.html#2

 2) From Kurt Tong's, "In Case it Rains in Heaven" and "Memories, Dreams; Interrupted," exhibition at the Photofusion gallery in LOndon, UK.  July 30 - September 26, 2010.
 
   
 

http://www.photofusion.org/gallery/photography/exhibitions/current/default.htm

   The "Rains" series fascinates me for two reasons.  One, I like the way that he has chosen to photographeach object; like a portrait.  This gives each its own importance and personality. Two, I am currently interested in how Western society is impacting Eastern (in this case Chinese) culture and traditions. 
 
  
3) "I AM A MAN" Ernest C. Withers, Sanitation Workers Assemble in Front of Clayborn Temple for a Solidarity March, Memphis, Tennessee, March 28, 1968. From the,"For all the World To See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights" exhibition at the International Center of Photography, May 21 - September 12, 2010.
  
   

http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/for-all-the-world-to-see

   I have included this photograph because of my interest in socially important and historically significant photographs.


Here are three of my recent photographs:

1) "First day", 2010

   This photograph is inspiring to me partially because it is my son on his very first day of school, but also because it could represent any young child facing an unfamiliar path.  His identity is obscurred being that his back is to the viewer.  He bravely forges ahead along the path of life. 

2) "Red River Canyon, WY", 2010

   The vibrant red of the canyon walls against the jewelled-green valley floor simply called out to be photographed.  I had to stop the car, jump out and photograph it!  The multiple diagonal lines lead the eye through the image, and give it a sense of energy.

3) "Mountain seen from the Snowy Range Scenic Byway, WY," 2010

   I loved this image that I shot because of its almost painting-like quality.  Being largely unfamiliar with the practice of taking great landscape shots, I decided to try it.  I welcome any comments, and suggestions.