Semi-Contemporary Popular Media Photographer -- Judith Golden

Biography:  Judith Golden was raised in Chicago, and earned her BFA at the Chicago Institute of Arts. She earned her MFA from the University of California, Davis.

Significance: She is significant because her work challenges the Hollywood mentality -- she comments on the superficial and seductive world of Hollywood and celebrities. Her use of appropriated media images is also important in the history of photography. She also references illusion, fragmentation, and imagination.

Composition: Her work often includes portraits, role playing, and caricatures of the media.

Concept, Aboutness, Idea:  Her work has helped to define the history of women -- exploring self and society -- and she navigates the boundaries of illusion and reality.

Method: Golden uses traditional techniques, contemporary references, handwork, technology, and fantasy/her imagination. She often works in a series. 

Motivations: Golden says, "I am an alchemist. With the magic of photography. I transform reality into the mystical realm of myth, dreams, and spirit." She discusses mystery, memory, history, and fragmentation in her work, as well as she comments on the superficial life of Hollywood.

Historical Popular Media Photographer -- Margaret Bourke-White

Biography: Margaret Bourke-White was born in 1904 in New York. She completed her education at Cornell University.

Significance: Bourke-White is significant for the pioneer work that she did in photojournalism.  She is known as the founding mother of LIFE magazine because she shot the first cover.  She was first known as an industrial photographer, and then became known for her photography that showed the human side of life and she was often in dangerous situations, and had the courage to report the news. Bourke-White also broke ground as a female photographer in a field of all males.   

Technique: Her photographs are in black and white, and include very dynamic compositions. She traveled around the world, and often exposed herself to dangerous situations and pushed boundaries for female photographers. 

Motivations: She wanted to capture the industrialization of America, and in her later work, she wanted to capture what American life was like -- at home and abroad.  She put herself in dangerous situations, and was a female in a male dominated field, so that she could capture the news and let the American people know what was going on.

Prompt #4

#19. Can you think of anything that:

1) should not be photographed? Why?

     I think that parts of people's private lives that they want to keep private, 
should not be photographed without permission.  For instance, the way that 
the paparazzi and media stalk celebrities or maybe are invasive into their 
lives is wrong. I know that to some extent, celebrities should be prepared 
for this because it is their chosen career. But I think that the media can go 
too far. 
2) cannot be photographed? Why?

     Maybe some things cannot be photographed because technology has 
not advanced that far -- like the deepest part of the ocean. In general, I do 
not think a lot of things cannot be photographed, maybe they should not be,
 but I do not think their are a lot of boundaries anymore.
3) you do not want to photograph? Why?

I would not want to photograph anything violent -- like the front lines of
 war or a battlefield. I just really do not have the stomach for that. I think 
that takes a lot of courage and dedication, and I do not know if I could do it. 

#20 Describe at least one photograph that you could take for each of the 
following “place” prompts.

An image of a synthetic “place” such as Disney World, Las Vegas, 

a Hollywood set, a diorama, etc.
I think it would be very interesting to take photographs at Disney World. 
It would be really cool to try and take pictures if the insides of rides, or to 
do a series on the characters that walk around the park. 

• An image of a fantasy/fictitious environment concocted from your imagination.

I would like to construct an alien environment -- like a planet or living creatures 
from a new planet.
An image of a placeless space such as the Internet, cell phones, e-mail,

 e-bank, surveillance, etc.
It would be fun to recreate surveillance tapes, like the artist did in the movie 
we watched in class -- they looked at the video at the ATM machine. 

• An image of a public space.

It might be interesting to take photographs of a bathroom at its 
busiest -- in stores, restaurants, bars, etc. I think this not only tells a lot 
about the place, but also the people -- from their facial expressions and 
body language. 

• An image of a private space.

A private space that I might photograph is people while they are sleeping. 
People sleep in so many different ways and have so many different habits 
in this private place. 

• An in-between space that brings to mind one of the following ideas: 
• nomadic lifestyles, displacement, rootlessness, out-of-placeness, 
• boundaries, movement, expansion, etc.

I think it would be great to go back and time and do this -- as there are so
 many examples that would fit this -- such as Native Americans, immigrants,
 and war. But in current times, it might be interesting to take pictures on the 
border of Mexico and America to document and try and understand the daily
 struggles that people face. 


#21

A. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of “news”-related photographs.

     News related photographs are often of natural disasters, celebrities, 
or breaking news -- so I think they can be highly edited or manipulated.

B. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of “snapshots”, including family photographs, cell-phone shots, 
photos posted to facebook.

     Snapshots are more candid a lot of the time -- maybe more staged. 
News pictures maybe consist of the camera being in the right place at the 
right time. Family photographs are set up, but they are more effective at 
capturing emotion and a feeling of the environment (intimacy).

C. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of advertisement photographs, 
including fashion photography, product photography, etc

     There is often high contrast, a lot of manipulation -- you can tell people 
have been airbrushed -- there is often a lot of texture, detail, bold colors. 

D. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of film/movie and television stills.

     Film and movie stills could be in black and white, they capture movement,
 a moment in time, tell a story, and point to what might happen next.

E. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of yearbook photos, senior pictures, 
and team/club/sports group shots.

     They try to record stages of life and history, but they do so in a way that 
sometimes is artificial. For yearbook photos, you basically get a click, 
one shot, and you are on your way out. So whatever happens, happens. 
I think senior pictures try to capture the personality and character of a 
person, but they can sometimes feel forced. The most effective are the
 portraits that capture the personality in a genuine way. And team photos 
can often reveal something about the team through body language, but 
I remember that they are kind of artificial too -- they do not capture the 
friendships, and bonds that people may have together because they are 
so regulated.

F. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of stock images. http://www.corbisimages.com/ http://www.gettyimages.com/

     Stock images are of things that are commonly photographed. I think 
sometimes they can be a little like an outsider looking in. You might get a
 part of what is being photographed, and they are quality photographs, but 
they are not always intimate and can be vague so that they can be used in 
more then one context. Also they can be staged.

G. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of fashion photography.

     High contrast, bold colors, shadows, textures, women.

H. Describe some common aesthetic aspects of paparazzi shots or celebrity 
photographs.

     Sometimes they can be candid, invasive. Often they are of a celebrity
 on the go. Celebrity photographs can also be very glamorous and impersonal, 
because you are only focusing on the outside beauty of the person, not 
necessarily who they are. 

Assignment 3 -- Final Images

1. Composition

A.Framing: In the bed typology photographs, I wanted to include enough information so that the viewer could tell that they are beds, and could distinguish how they are different types of beds. In the first photograph, I wanted to emphasize the clean lines, and neat state of the bed. In the second photograph, it looks lived in and used.  

B. Cropping: For both of the bed pictures, I chose to use a portrait orientation because I did not want to include a lot of background information. For the first photograph, I just wanted to capture the bed. For the second photograph, it is located in closet/laundry room, so I decided that I did not want include the surroundings. For both of these pictures, I thought what I did not include would emphasize the beds themselves and their details and differences. 

C. Focus: For both of these photographs, I wanted to keep both of the subjects in focus, once again, to emphasize the beds, their differences, contrast, patterns, and details. 

 2. Concept, Motivations, Method

For this typology, I wanted to capture many different types of beds and explore what is considered a bed to different people, and even animals. I wanted to juxtapose what a human bed may be against what humans chose for a dog, and how they are so different -- but are mostly for the same purpose. I photographed all of the beds without anyone in them, to capture them almost in a outsider way.

3. Context

 I think these images deal a lot with individuality -- an interest in other peoples intimate places and how they keep them. It also deals with a comparison between a human idea of a bed for themselves, and what they construct for a dog.

4. Interpretation

Students in the class saw this as my grandparents bed -- because of the neat and clean bedding and they said that the (accidental) coloration made it feel vintage.

5. Evaluation

I think this photography turned out well. I like the lines and contrast, and the clean and almost loneliness it gives off because of how neat it is. 

6. Extension

It is so interesting to take pictures of peoples beds, because it is so intimate. It would be very interesting to push this even further and go past 10 beds and see how many different ones I could capture.

1. Composition

A. Amount of subject: In this photograph, I decided to only show part of the main subject, which is the beer bottle. I decided to do this because I thought that you could see a narrative or story from what is shown, and that it was more or just as effective then showing the whole bottle. Also, by showing only part of the bottle, you can juxtapose it against the other components in the photograph effectively.  

B. Orientation: I decided to use a landscape orientation to show more of the aspects of the bathroom sink/environment to help tell a narrative. If it was portrait, then not as much information would have been revealed. 

C. Lighting: I wanted to keep the lighting less dramatic, because I thought it might take away from the narrative. I wanted the subjects to tell a story, and I wanted to keep the lighting natural -- like it would be during an everyday encounter. 

 2. Concept, Motivations, Method 

In creating this image, I wanted to tell a narrative about an everyday place, in this case, in the eyes of an alcoholic or some one with a drinking problem. It tells a story of what happened the night before, and makes the viewer wondered what happened. This is a personal issue for me because I am dealing with a very close family member who is an alcoholic. This image portrays a narrative -- what most people see as a wild and crazy night -- but in a sad way, can also be part of an everyday routine, in an everyday place.

3. Context

This image deals with personal issues and psychology. I am hoping to convey the routine aspect of alcoholism. I think maybe in this one it may be a little more playful then I intended, but I want to use this as a jumping off series to maybe tell a broader story. 

4. Interpretation

Students in the class saw this photograph as both a part of a daily routine, which I was going for, and more of a college/party narrative.

5. Evaluation

This photograph turned out a little more playful/humorous then I intended it to. I still think the narrative is going down the right road, and I like the placement of the bottle. So if I did this again I would try and make it a little more serious, maybe authentic.

6. Extension

I want to do a series of authentic and real experiences concerning alcoholism. I want to continue with the narrative aspect and deal with alcoholism through photograph.

1. Composition

A. Proximity to subject: In this photograph, I wanted to be zoomed out from the landscape in order to capture more of the environment and scale to show the beauty of the different textures and growth.

B. Sharpness and blur: I wanted to keep the whole composition in focus to emphasize the landscape and environment, as well as the different textures and types of growth -- rocks, water, plants.

C. Contrast: In this image, there was very high contrast due to the midday lighting. I wanted to emphasize this in the brightness of the moving water against the smoothness of the other section of the water, as well as the light on the rocks. 

 2. Concept, Motivations, Method

 For this photograph, I wanted to explore a place that I have never been. On my way home, I stopped in Williamston at this river. It was so beautiful, so I wanted to highlight the beauty of this unexplored place (for me) by emphasizing the natural environment and contrast.

3. Context

This image deals with nature and appreciating its beauty. In this time, I think nature needs advocates and needs to be appreciated because of all of the industrial influences. This is my way of appreciating nature, by exploring and documenting places that I encounter and have never been.

4. Interpretation

Students in the class like this picture for the contrast and the picturesque scene. They liked the lighting and texture, because in some places the water and rocks blend together and may be undistinguishable. 

5. Evaluation

I like this photograph a lot. I was a little upset because of the way it printed, so if I would probably go back and reprint it in black in white.

6. Extension

It would be fun to do a series on rivers or bodies of water in Michigan -- kind of like the bed project - a typography of Michigan water! 

Assignment 3 -- works in progress

Typology -- Beds

Narrative

Recreation #3

Composition: In my recreation, I wanted to emphasize the change over time in this location. I wanted to do this by my choice of framing -- I zoomed out and tried to capture the emptiness and loneliness of the room, compared to the clutter or at least occupation of the room before. I wanted the perspective to be from the level of the floor to emphasize the emptiness even more. 

Concept, Aboutness, Idea: This image is a recreation of my memory because that room was where I used to live at my house in East Lansing for a year. Then, the next year, I moved down to the room downstairs. So I have a lot of memories in that room. This past year, another girl lived in there.  She moved out this weekend, and it was very weird to see it empty again and made me think about what it was like before. I wanted to recreate my memory of the room by capturing it in its current state to show a change over time, but also to show that now it is empty and will be someone else's room. The painting on the walls (which I did) is still the same, and it oddly still feels like my room even though someone else lived there for a year. I wanted to include my dog Woody, because I think it emphasizes the emptiness and confusion. It is also is about his memory too, as he remembers it as my room, and would always try to go in there, even when we moved downstairs. I wanted to recreate this image of my room in this way, because even when it was my room, it always felt lonely. It is upstairs, away from the hustle and bustle, and I mostly used it to keep my stuff in, because my boyfriend lived downstairs.  

Historical Place Photographer -- Ansel Adams

Monolith, The Face of Half Dome, Yosemite Valley, California, 1927

Biography: Ansel Adams was born in 1902 and lived until 1984.  He was born in San Francisco, California.   

Significance: Ansel Adams is known for his landscape and nature photography, and the for the "patient skill and timeless beauty of his work" according to his website. He was also an avid environmentalist. Some credit his efforts as helping to preserve America's natural beauty. He was often criticized for not including humanity or evidence of humanity in his photographs.      

Technique: He is known for his black and white photography of the American west. He was drawn toward photographing America's natural monuments.  Adams pursued "straight photography" -- in which clarity was emphasized and the final print had the appearance of not being manipulated. He developed the "zone system" -- which allowed photographers to visualize an image and then to produce an image that matched their concept. 

Motivations: Adams was very dedicated to the preservation of nature, as he was a member of the Sierra Club. His photographs represent his love of nature and dedication to record and preserve America's natural beauty.  He wanted to capture this through his use of clarity and little to no manipulation of the print.