Once again we start out in the countryside, this time with a couple of shots by KT Mallory.
These two photographs work like a pair since the second is a detail of the first, but they could both stand alone. The distance shot uses either very early morning light or the light of the setting sun the create an intense atmosphere. This fulfills the request that was made of the class to deal with emotional space. The fact that everything is so still introduces a sense of timelessness. This building could have been sitting on this site for a hundred years and could sit here for another hundred.
The second is a straight on shot, much more on the objective side. I wish the space on either side of the building was the same, for a more balanced photograph. This reminds me of William Christianberry who shoots old wood frame buildings in the south and then goes back every few years to re-photograph them until finally, they have fallen in on themselves. Visually they seem like very removed, objective photographs but conceptually they talk about the effects of time on structures.
This soft focused tree also creates an atmosphere. There are several different ways to create this kind of softness, including putting some kind of gauze or translucent paper in front of the lens or, if you have a camera with the lens that takes filters you could put in an expensive skylight filter on the front and coat that with a little bit of petroleum jelly. This one however looks like it is created by condensation on the inside of a window of a train or car. The best part is the little red striped pole at the bottom. That color jumps out of the more subdued composition, adding excitement.
A vaguely surrealist bicycle sits at the top of this frame while the reflected tree obscures our view of a tower. This is an interesting mix of several different kinds of spaces and really gets your eye to move back and forth. This is a visually engaging photo.
Ahyoung place is a tree right in front of the camera blocking three quarters of the frame, which is a clever trick. It forces us to move past the tree and investigate the corner of the building that is off in the distance. I wonder what would've happened if there was a person just entering or just leaving the space, to make it a bit more active. [Whatever you do, please do not start looking for faces in the shapes of the bark on the tree.]
Another photo that uses a deep space to make an interesting shot is by KT. This one also has that beautiful color created by a low hanging sun. The perfectly horizontal horizon make this work. I wonder what would've happened if horizon line was pushed up even further towards the top of the frame, extending the foreground even more.
Lauren presents us with an even deeper space, dramatically illuminated by the setting sun. [This is shot in Amsterdam but Philadelphia has pretty amazing light because it was designed to sit exactly on the points of the compass. So when the sun sets in the west beams of light cascade down all those parallel streets like Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, etc.] In this case the reflections from the tracks in the street make an interesting line drawing. I wish that horizon line was dead straight and perhaps even a little higher or lower to extend either of the sky or the foreground, depending on which is most important for Lauren.
Here that tubular shape from KT's photo is repeated by Christie but in a completely different space (no slang intended). The extreme angle of view accentuates the shape. The sky opens up because the tower is pushed against the right-hand edge of the frame. It's emptiness becomes a positive element.
Kant uses a similar upwards glance to present a stop sign, this time against a sky full of fluffy clouds. The distressed nature of the stop sign itself is an indication of the society that lives near this place. OMG.
Rebecca uses an extremely low horizon line to great effect in this photo. She balances the pole on the right against the bridge tower just left of center, and the suspension cables on the far left form a really fascinating abstract design. The killer feature is the sky full of clouds that are going red from the setting sun. There is a famous photo book that came out in 1979 called "Cape Light" by Joel Meyerowitz that is full of beautiful sunsets like this. It was one of the first really good art photo books about color. You have to realize that photography was not even considered a art form at this point in our history. John Szarkowski, curator of the photography division of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, had published his book on Photography called “Mirrors and Windows” only a few years earlier. This was a big deal.
Woojae's brings us back much closer with his collection of poles in this photo. The placement of the three yellow poles in the foreground plus the box in the middle with the black top plays against the tall yellow pole in the distance and then the sign on the right-hand side. The horizon is on the high side and it nicely cuts the trees at the top edge. The subject in this photo reminds me somewhat of the work by a New York photographer named Jan Staller who also started shooting back in the late 1970's. Some of the first photographs I saw of his were also shot during snowstorms. He shot at these strange industrial sites but the real uniqueness of his work was that he did long exposures at night. That is something some of you might want to try. [There are apps made specifically to allow you to do long exposures with a smart phone.]
Keeping up with the pole theme, this shot be Katie uses some text placed in an unlikely spot to grab attention. This is such a non-sequitur that it confounds us and keeps our attention.
Morgan has us staring even more blankly at this simple composition of wall and shrubbery. There is a certain resemblance to a series of sea scapes done by Japanese photo artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. Those are the epitome of minimalism.
Another blank is expressed by KT in a completely different way, producing a completely different reaction. Here we are given a wide open field yet our path is blocked by a barricade. Why would somebody want to stop us from going there? This is another one that does not make sense and the mystery is irksome and yet amusing.
From being physically blocked to being emotionally blocked, that is what Lauren's photo is doing for us here. When the Alley disappears into the shadows it becomes scary enough to make us want to go the other way. If you can have that kind of emotional impact on a viewer you're doing a good job.
Lauren presents another minimal space but this one has a more painterly feel. The wall on the left has no perceptual cues so it almost reads as a flat geometric shape. It is just that little triangle in the upper right-hand corner that allows us to decipher the depth in this photograph.
Morgan also reduces the perceptual depth with this close up and downward looking shot. We can pretty easily figure out that it is a glass of ale but it still looks pretty cool.
Young takes that same orange color and pushes it further with this strange combination of light source and signage (maybe it is just a light fixture).
Following with the sign theme, this simple shot by Katie is effective. The space is flattened by the close view, making us question where it is and where we can get some.
Things get even more minimal in this photo by Woojae. This one is bizarre because it is a blank red sign, but it becomes more than that because of the shadow of the branch in the reflection of the sunlight. This is a very cool photo because it is just as much illusion as real.
Keeping with the red theme, this shot at night by Morgan puts us into a curious space. We are not quite sure if we should proceed to enter the space or whether it is safer to stay out here. I wonder what would have happened if this had been shot horizontally to extend the width of the building.
Somehow, Kang has managed to capture a screaming red tree in a darkened space. This is another photo that does not quite make sense and presents us with a mystery. With a little bit of light coming in at the top edge of the photo it looks like we might be in some sort of enclosed space, but since when do trees grow indoors?!
Another doorway by Rebecca tells a completely different story. This time we are inside and the door seems to be welcoming one of our friends. The quality of light is beautiful and the potential for something to happen in this space gets us to use our imagination.
Rebecca brings us back out into the daylight with this photo of a pale blue doorway. The fragmentation of the space is what makes it interesting and the color is wonderful. Even the color of the cement steps seems to be in tune with the blue and yellow the door.
This photo proves that at least one person in this class has gone to New York to the Chelsea Gallery District. The blue car wash building continues the blue theme.
The girders of this bridge have been a nice blue color, as captured here at 40 miles an hour by Woojae. The converging diagonal lines create an interesting graphical element.
Converging lines are used again here by Ahyoung. This photo is just about as much about what is reflected as it is about the window itself. The red car is the main color feature even though it is a minimal part of the photo.
Now we turn from the inside looking out in this photo by Vancesca. The soft focus puts us into the mind of the person looking out the window. This is powerful. We do not really come to any conclusion about what it is she is looking at, however. Maybe that is the mystery.
Another sidewards glance through a window is presented by Vancesca. It is interesting that more than half of the frame is actually blank, but that adds to the commentary on the state of mind of the person looking out the window. There are some balloons attached to a pole out the window that is quite curious.
Almost as the window in the previous photo opens onto the world, this book opens to reveal not only a story but an old corsage. The interesting thing is that there is no story, just a date. Everything else is implied. This is a poetic photo.
Here we have another open book by Vancesca that extends our vision past the writing to a dog sitting on the beach. This photo is a wonderful combination of the real and the imagined. It was once explained to me that, "the picture is what is on the paper, the image is what is formed in your mind". This photo is a good illustration of that vocabulary.
The extended foreground of this photo by Vancesca mimics the pages of the book in the previous shot. This photo sets the stage for a story that is either just happened or is about to happen. This forces us to use either our memory (past) or our imagination (future). Yet we do not really have enough information to come to a conclusion in either direction. That is the power of this photo, that it makes us ponder and have to fill in some of the blanks ourselves.
This rather simple but beautiful photograph of a floor by Woojae is more about visual design. The striking yellow diagonal across the black surface is effective. The opposing directions of the lines on the floor also add to the design.
Another photograph that is a visual delight is shot by Woojae. The Fiesta Ware dishes lose their identity because of the closeness of view and form an abstract composition.
This photograph brings us even closer to our subject that is simply some purple dripped on red fabric. This is a bold and effective use of color but I think it goes beyond just the visual because I find myself thinking about the purple drips and what caused them.
This simple but elegant photo by Ahyoung is made beautiful by the way the leaves are composed in the frame. These diffused light coming in from behind adds to the softness of the green leaves in the background.
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People
Woojae presents a whimsical background for a person who does not want to reveal her identity. This is a great non-portrait. I wonder if she is a Pisces, like me.
Christie also uses an interesting background in this shot. It is almost a picture of what she's dreaming, or so it seems. There's enough of the face missing to hide her identity also, adding to the mystery.
This photograph almost seems like it was taken by mistake. The camera sits in her lap and catches her sleeping on the train ride home. Many train photographs have hit the blogs for these classes, but I've never seen this one. That makes it original.
This is another shot looking up by Morgan. This photo also presents a completely unique angle of view. Once again, the identity is hidden, this time behind aviator sunglasses, and the bottom the face is cut. The lines drawn by the wires against the sky enhance the graphical elements of the building itself.
Kang gives us a great celebratory photo in the middle of a snowstorm. It is also very nicely split toned, a black & white figure against a desaturated color background. This reminds me of when my Brazilian friend saw snow for the very first time.
Here's another figure placed in the center of the frame, shot by Ahyoung. Centered photos usually do not make the most visually interesting photographs but in this case the expression on her face is so great that we also get excited. The previous photo works in a similar manner.
Once again we have a centered figure that is exciting simply because of the ridiculous nature of the hat (If we can call it that). This is where acting takes over from just posing. If you can create a character without being self-conscious you can engage your viewer.
This shot by Christie is also similar, with the personality of the figure being intensified by the gesture of tipping the hat. Does anyone know the meaning of TWFU?
This a portrait is almost as much about background as the subject/shooter. Here we have a very direct stare back into the camera so we have to knowledge his strength of character. Behind him is a fancy hotel and one of those big black SUVs like they use in those spy movies. Uh-oh, is our hero about to get kidnapped?
Here Lauren is hiding behind a cloud of smoke and another pair of sunglasses. Why is the poster in the background backwards? Could this be a reflection? If so, what does that mean?
A more sultry look is presented here on the face of Vancesca. The look in her eyes is accentuated by the gesture that covers her face with her hair. Having part of the face hidden and then the eye pushed up into the corner adds power to this area of the photo.
Here again Ahyoung pushes the face into the upper left-hand corner with the top and side cut. The power of this one, however, comes from the altered color. The expression on her face is very subtle but pleasurable, for lack of a better word.
This shot by Katie brings us in very very close. The direct stare of the eye captures our attention while some curious background things are happening. This is a great extrapolation of the 'closeness' idea.
Finally we end with another sensual photograph by Christie. The lips in the upper right-hand corner are the center of attention and the hand on the shoulder adds intimacy. Once again a very minimal photograph gives us enough information to capture our attention while leaving enough room for our imagination to finish the image in our own mind.
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Assessment
Assessment
Once again you can determine how well you are doing in this course by counting how many of your photos made it into this collection of the most successful photos of this critique. If you have 2 or 3 photos you are on the lower end. If you have 6 or 7, you are at the top. This is not necessarily an indication of your final grade, however. Some people are late bloomers while others stay the same and do not improve.
