Experimenting

I really enjoy Jeanne Dunning's more abstract work rather than a satirical statement about the body concerning gender, sex, race, or sexual desire. I intend to play more around with elements of mystery and vastness.

Library

Another visit to the library this evening and I have found a couple more artists that I really enjoy. Wendy suggested knowing exactly who we'll choose to emulate by the latest next Tuesday. I picked up a book called "Milk and Melancholy" that I might try to play with those shots.

Jeanne Dunning

I went to the library for 2 hours and picked out artist Jeanne Dunning for my emulation project. I was drawn to the simplicity in her compositions and emphasis on light and detail. I'll have to shoot over the weekend to see if I'll need I macro lens or not. I also wrote down a few more artists to come back to if I decide to switch.

Critique 2

I feel overall successful on this project, because I learned a lot from it. The collection of a whole wasn't fully successful, but I believe I got some good shots. I'll continue to focus on my strengths as a painter and work on adding depth through layers and continue to square my compositions.

End of Project 2

I like the idea of creating very simple images with very specific conscious decisions that made them turn out gorgeous. Solely focusing on color. At least as a beginning photographer, this is how I am going to step into it. I think Hellen Van Meene is a great example of that. Her work is gorgeous and takes you somewhere magical but has a very odd and harsh reality to it. I like this thought a lot, like her work invites you into a fairy tale but the more you explore you are also trapped in the reality of the subject's situation.

Color

I really liked experimenting with color in Project 2. Wendy told me to definitely use my skills as a painter to use them in photography. I think this simple bit of advice will really help transform my photographs. I have been focusing on playing with color throughout the entire project. I went from painting faces to focusing on hands. I tried to also pay close attention to framing the picture. I didn't want to do it in every photo (some I left as specific close ups to frame themselves) because it seemed redundant. I was worried about being too cliche with certain images, but took the risks anyways. I ended up focusing specifically on hands and noticed as I rooted out my stronger images, it seemed like I was creating a fantasy world through the collection. I really, really liked this discovery and will definitely use it throughout the semester! (It may seem simple and obvious to many, but I am very much a beginning photographer!)

Critique 1

I was surprised no one liked the red bug photo of mine. I suppose I only like it because I was so amazed I was able to capture him in focus. It's a fairly weak composition, though I like the saturation of the colors. The cat's eyes, the swan landscape, the lizard, and the grasshopper's were the "liked" ones out of the bunch that we touched on. I feel like working with a tripod and planning out my shots would greatly improve my work.

Kennedy Garrett

Project 2 is due in 8 days and I am redoing my entire idea. Not that I was entirely sure what I wanted to do in the first place.. I took pictures of my newborn niece over the weekend. These photos are by Kennedy Garrett. I like the idea of the first one, I've always been interested in seeing landscapes on any surface (bodies, bedsheets, etc.) but that doesn't fit this assignment very well. I was thinking of painting on my friends’ faces and working with that. Not a tribal thing, more like a fantasy thing. Making them into animals. I like to approach ideas more playfully and subtly in my work. After seeing the images in class from lecture, I decided I really just need to spend today researching before I dive into it.

Kalle Gustafsson

I remember coming across this image many years ago and really loving the warm and loving quality to it. After seeing more of his work I can see that most of his shoots are entirely staged. They look like incredible stills of a fancy Hollywood movie. They idealize the young and beautiful. I love the composition in this photo though, it stands out to me as something far different from the rest. From the framing of the figures, depth, and shapes of the landscape create a narrative of its own.

Notes to self for next assignment:

Think more into the theme from the beginning. Plan out shots. Account for everything to go wrong. And last but not least: USE A MAC! So many technology issues this time, but at least I learned a bit. And for a complete beginner at this as well as technology, I think I got a couple fun shots.

Interests

I love this idea of recreating a childish exploratory scene. This is Lisy Elle's work, I could post her entire series up; it's all so good. It goes on for much discussion of our nostalgic routes and in this case, icons of femininity. I love the lighting and composition of this photo. I might use these ideas for my next assignment or for a final project.