Once again we start off with pictures in the natural environment. The first set of pictures all use water as a reflective medium. The photos that become more interesting are the ones that have employed the idea behind this topic, to modify photographs using color shifts shifts and other tricks, to create a more emotive environment. The first several photographs by Brittany and Meghan all use the positioning of trees within the frame to make a statically pleasing compositions. Each as a specific focus point in the distance and most often use a tree or two to the balance the frame.
I made a diptych out of two shots by Megan because they were complementary in both form and tonality. [There is a show currently up in Tyler Photo Area called "Multiplicity". This is a collection of multi-frame photo pieces that came from working with diptychs like this. Please come check the work out.]
The next two shots by Brittany and Megan actually give you some additional direction, a place to go.
Now not only do we have a place to look at, we have the place that we are looking from. This increases the amount of information for the viewer.
The next three photographs by Julie, Loren and Ashley are still out in the woods but these incorporate some man-made structures.
The curve of the bridge is counterbalanced by the vertical line of the tree at the bottom. This is a nicely designed shot.
This is a wonderfully subtle photograph of water and leaves and a small bridge in the background. When I taught in Japan we would call this 'umami', a term that refers to the secret undefinable good flavor in certain foods.
The low angle pose brings up the foreground against some broken branches in the mid ground backed by the fence at the rear. This is another nicely designed photo. These last three photos are good examples of Active shooting because the subject can only be seen from these particular angles.
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The next half dozen photos all have to do with houses in a rural setting. They use of various means to enhance the feel of the photos.
Megan fades the color a bit in this photo.
Ashley has brown-toned this photo to good effect.
This one is really funky, with some distress, faded edges, and a yellow tone. This photo gets to the gritty side of things and it’s grittiness is just as effective as anything beautiful.
This one opens up the space and adds some solar flare to the landscape. The color is very desaturated and the edges are softened. Thank goodness someone has made a photograph with pumpkins that doesn't look like a typical Thanksgiving picture!
Rachel shoots at dusk and has some flash hitting the foreground branches that is very effective. There's a little bit of the distress added to the edges as well.
The glow in this picture by Ashley has that warm sunset glow that is partially created by boosting the contrast and adding a vignette so the sky fades. There is some great color shifting going on that adds yellow to the center, red to the bottom, and blue to the very top. This is a complex look, and very cool.
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Now we move into a more urban setting. The next set of photographs deals with entrances or pathways through different kinds of spaces.
This first photo by Julie presents us with two brick pillars and invites us to walk up the steps in the back. The darkness and warm tonality work very nicely here.
Rachel gives us another doorway that is propped open inviting us in, but I am not so sure we really want to go in there. But then there are these little pieces of material hanging on the gate that look like a sign of friendliness. A curious contradiction…
Now the doorway expands to become a bridge, another form of passageway. This one also has increased contrast, darkened shadows, a bit of vignette and some distressed texture applied. All work to enhance the look of the photograph.
Loren’s photo of a church continues the theme of arches. This one captures some extraordinary light going through the space with excellent framing.
More arches appear in this photo by Ashley. The monochrome tonality and the darkened edges enhance the feel. The space is actuated by the gentleman walking through on the left. This follows the example of Henri Cartier-Bresson who I asked you to look at in the beginning of the semester.
Another passageway by Thomas opens up to a world full of lights and cars and people on the far end of the photo.
This is an intriguing shot by Loren. It's hard to tell if the scene on the right is looking through a window or being reflected from the glass. This has a mysterious inside/ outside look, intensified by the vignetting and the restricted tonality.
Another store front façade by Thomas becomes the backdrop for a very different situation. Here we are outside on the street with people walking around and the photograph has been darkened so the light reflecting off the windowpanes makes it look like sunset.
Outrageous colored lights at night, shot by Julie, are subdued with a little bit of desaturation to create a rather mystical view. The pathway at the right takes us all the way down the street.
This is a strange place shot by Rachel. There are lights in the ground shining up in front of some kind of brightly lit space way in the background. There are a few people walking around making it an active location. The sky at the top right has gone to a wonderful color of violet, typical of long exposure photos at night.
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Next we have a trio of shots by Jonathan all dealing with lighting at night.
This photo by Jonathan forces us to walk down another pathway to get to a parking lot that is bathed in warm late afternoon late. It is interesting that he gets us to move all the way through the picture space to find the good part.
The descending wall, again by Jonathan, is exquisitely lit. The injection of a little bit of political commentary makes it that much more interesting.
The three layers of this photograph by Jonathan are very effective. We are looking through a fence that is all the way at the front. There are some small brick buildings in the middle ground that are mysteriously lit. This is all backed by some huge skyscrapers that are only evident because of the lighted icons at their tops.
Rachel's photo takes us inside of some wild interior space that is in the midst of either collapse or reconstruction. The spotty and intermittent lighting forces the viewer to search for clues about what is going on.
Thomas' photograph drops us down into the subway, another space with strange lighting. What is particularly scary about this photograph is that it a shot from the middle of the track!
Julie takes us back out onto the street with a sign at an old movie theater, one of the last old local theaters around. The vignette darkens the sky to add more feel.
Another great street scene by Jonathan counters the dilapidation on the left side against new construction on the right, all backed by an extraordinary golden sky.
This gas station photo by Rachel is reminiscent of a movement in the 1960s when Photo-realist painters were looking at gas stations. [You can look at Ed Ruscha on bottom of the Research pages of my site for some examples. You should also look at the 'long exposure at dusk' photos by Jan Staller, also on my Research pages.]
Here Rachel moves us inside, using a red accent at the end of the hallway. How far can your eyes follow this photograph? Do they stop at the door or did they go outside past the car?
This is another long hallway by Jonathan. It is a bit darker and maybe a bit scarier than the previous, and this feeling is strengthened by the monochrome treatment.
Rachel moves us further indoors with a space that is somewhere between home and work, based on the industrial lighting fixtures on the ceiling. The guitars hanging on the wall might lead us to think this is a studio some sort. Interesting.
This is a really beautiful interior shot by Jonathan. The light is very subdued the focus is a little bit soft and the whole place is very calm and inviting. The view is deliberately limited and it makes us wonder what else might be in this space. Again, these photo involve thinking, not just looking.
Thomas brings us into another very intriguing room. The subdued color and relatively soft focus make it a quiet place. The mystery comes from the shadow moving across the wall. Should we be scared? (Or do we watch too many scary movies on TV?)
This room is literally created by Ashley by overlaying two different photographs using PhotoBlender. Somehow the leaves make this empty room seem even more empty. This is a very good use of sympathetic images so the form supports the content.
The bright sunlight coming through Megan's window onto these great stripped chairs presents a refreshingly positive attitude. It makes us think we could sit here and look out the window all day without being disturbed.
Julie's photograph is looking out through the dots of rain on her window. Perhaps a perfect complement to the previous photo.
This is another great view out the window by Jared. He softened the background and added a vignette to the edges that focuses the light on the keys in the foreground. This photo seems more about what the person is thinking than what they are seeing. This makes it a more powerful photograph.
James also takes us into a more contemplative moment, after we have taken our glasses off and put down our book to take a break. The softened edges help make this photo work.
Loren backs away from the subject a bit but keeps the contemplative feel. The figures is almost a sillhouette but you can still see the face.
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This photo brings us to the Portrait collection.
Another dark photo by Loren, illuminated just by candlelight!
This is a great facial expression by Ashley looking through some kind of material.
And here Ashley takes it even further, looking even more surprised. The softness of the focus plus the slash of light across her face heightens the expression.
Here is a pair of self-portraits by Rachel.
Here, Jared is almost performing for us. The extreme violet spot lighting sets the stage.
Julie combines two images, one of old family photos on the other a self portrait, to show her connection to the past. The quality of this photograph lies in her ability to balance the two images.
Thomas brings us back to that contemplative state with this almost mystical photo. The placement of the face into the bottom corner and the way it is cut, backed by the soft focus of the design of the wall, all adds to the drama.
James polishes off this collection with a close up of a fortune held in his hand. [There is an amazing lyric to the song 'Seen and Not Seen’, written by David Byrne and Brian Eno on the 1981 album titled "Remain in Light". It talks about being able to change your face by imagining what you really want to look like. The last line says something like, "but what happens if halfway through you find that you've chosen the wrong face for you…” If you like that tune you should listen to “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", recorded by Eno and Byrne around the same time. It is an obscure album using lots of found sound, and it is amazing.]
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And now finally to be more abstract end of the spectrum.
Just the simple shadow by Ashley produces a strong feeling of memory. Soft focus, reduced tonality, darkened edges, dust spots, all work together to make this an imaginary space.
Another soft-focus monochrome photo, this one by James, works in a similar way. There is a whole story in here.
This relatively soft photo of a leaf by Loren almost makes no sense because it seems to be held by a clip. But it is exquisite and it makes you wonder.
This tangle of wires by Jared almost become sculpture. But the space collapses because of the close focus, and that makes it more like a painting. This works best if you lose all references to the real world. [Take a look at some paintings by people like Franz Kline, who make abstract paintings using a similar method.]
This extraordinary structure shot by Brittany also defies definition. The framing removes enough information and we are not sure if we are looking up into the ceiling or down. The sense of scale is also not clear. This restraint of information forces the viewer to ponder the situation even longer. This is good.
And we end with one last abstract by Rachel. Looking straight down removes the effect of gravity and perspective and flattens the space. This also approaches the look of a painting, even though we all know exactly what it is.
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You can see by the groupings of these photos that some people have developed their own particular style. They are drawn to certain kinds of places and look at things in unique ways. Then they tweak their photos to enhance their images. This is referred to as developing a ‘Personal Vision’ and is the perfect example of 'Active Shooting', where photographs could only have been made by that particular photo-artist.
Thank you all for a great collection of photographs this time around. I look forward to seeing your Final Portfolios.
