"On Photography" Summary

Photography is a way of looking at the world and capturing moments that one wishes to remember. It is a type of reminiscence, a nostalgic act. Photography is also unique in that it is very selective and calculated, which is much different than video recording. Furthermore, photography is a type of voyeurism in which the photographer is the master of the situation (Sontag, p. 10). Photography is a universal form of language, which can be read even by those who have no other language skills. It can be used in many different domains, including anthropology, journalism, forensics, etc.

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"Brainzzzzzz" -Plants vs. Zombies

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Non-Self Self-Portrait

Self Portrait

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"Just keep me where the light is" -John Mayer

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Can't decide which image I like better. I feel like the rainbow is more apparent in the second image, but the first image has more definition.

Lightroom Color Ring Around

Self-Portait Proposal

Due to the fact that I have many food allergies, I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen cooking and baking safe foods for my consumption. However, I struggle with this a lot. I find it challenging to make time to cook when I have other things that needs to be done. I also have issues coping with my limitations. However, I do find cooking rewarding as well. Therefore, for my self-portrait, I will compose a scene in my kitchen of myself cooking at the stove, staring at a clock. I will wear blue to signal a colder atmosphere and mood. I will also Make sure to include some foods with labels clearly signifying what my allergies are so that this portrait won't be misconstrued as a feminist commentary.

Cotton Chapter 1 Summary

Photography is frequently used to illuminate reality or to create a completely fictional truth. These types of photographs are generally staged, or performed, for the sole purpose of conveying a certain message. These constructions can be in the form of specifically manipulated scenery, poses, colors, or other symbolic elements. This is also known as photoconceptualism. Repetition is another powerful way to reiterate a point in photography. This can be thought of as retesting a hypothesis to prove it is correct. In all of these scenarios, the goal is to make the viewer consider the implications of these staged images, to place him- or herself into a participatory position in order to delve deeper into social and cultural phenomena.

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Non-Self Self-Portrait Proposal

For my non-self self-portrait, I aim to leave a little bit of myself in the picture. I will set a scene at a kitchen table with a newspaper, a cup of coffee, and my glasses. On the cup of coffee will be a newspaper ink fingerprint. This signifies my time working at The Chronicle Telegram. This is important to me because it helped me grow both as an artist and an informed citizen. It has greatly defined who I am today. This fingerprint will be the main focus of my photograph. It will represent how the things I learned at the newspaper have become a huge part of my identity, so much so that it is in my very DNA.

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"We're off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!"

Reading Summary

The photograph is more than simply a snapshot in time that mirrors reality; it is a representation of culture carefully constructed by the person behind the lens. Photographs can depict ideologies, or systems of belief, and can also reflect certain cultural norms and mores. Viewers interpret these things through a process of decoding, or making sense of these images. This can happen both on a conscious and a subconscious level. The semiotics, or symbolic relationships, in an image also help the viewer with this interpretation process. Some interpretations of images lift them to the status of an icon. Sometimes, icons become so universally known and accepted that they become easily reproduced commodities.

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Temporary Home

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Project #2

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How to Tell You're Growing Up: After a night of party hopping, instead of crashing, you spot treat your cardigan.

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"Half of my heart's got a grip on the situation/ half of my heart takes time" -John Mayer Half of My Heart

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Lightroom versus Bridge

There are several differences between Lightroom and Bridge. For one thing, Bridge is simply a source to view materials while Lightroom is a database of sorts. Bridge is unable to work off-line, as it doesn't store data, rather, it acts as a link between programs for easy file transferring. Lightroom, on the other hand, allows for off-line work because it stores data using an "import" feature. Furthermore, some believe that Bridge is not user friendly because there are so many features. Lightroom is much simpler to some users because the program is actually designed to be efficient. Lightroom's features seem preferable because of the way they are geared toward photographers specifically, whereas Bridge is useful for many tasks above and beyond photography.

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"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light." -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Reading 1 Summary

The first part of the introduction to “The Photograph As Contemporary Art” is concerned with describing each individual chapter’s purpose, which lies in the artists’ inspirations for the photos as opposed to the subject itself. Next, the author delineates the reasons behind choosing which artists and which pieces to include in the chapters, which is mainly because the author wished to highlight contemporary photographers and their works that most closely represented their careers as a whole. Cotton then goes on to outline a brief history of contemporary photography, especially in regard to William Eggleston and his influence on modern artists. Cotton also writes in depth about photographers such as Stephen Shore; Bernd and Hilla Becher; and Ralph Eugene Meatyard (among others) in the introduction. These examples all do well to emphasize the fact that some photographers don’t gain much critical attention until, perhaps decades down the road, an educator, magazine editor, museum curator or otherwise interested individual rediscovers these gems and shares them with others.

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Assignment 1

            I started to enjoy photography when I was an intern at The Chronicle Telegram in Elyria, Ohio. My job entailed a little bit of everything, from writing news stories to taking pictures of local events. Therefore, my inspiration came from unique individuals who I usually did not know prior to taking their photo. I would conduct phone interviews to get to know them a little bit. Oftentimes, once we met to take pictures for any given article, I would pose the subject according to how he or she portrayed him or herself on the phone. This internship took place during the summer of 2012. While I thoroughly enjoyed my photography work at the newspaper, I would like to expand my horizons a bit. Since I usually focused on taking pictures of people, I would like to venture into the realm of still life and nature-oriented photography. I would also like to edit my photos to make them look larger than life, as opposed to completely realistic. With my work, I aim to take the ordinary and make it remarkable. This is why my first few images have been quite colorful and moody despite having a seemingly mundane subject. I intend to continue this trend, perhaps by working my way through the color wheel week by week.

            Along these lines, my inspiration comes from an artist from Maryland named Eric Hoar. I can find but a single image of his to take inspiration from, but, nonetheless, this image is intriguing to me. It is called "Still Life with Ginger Ale and Lemon,” and, as Eric states, he, “took this picture of [his] beverage with an incandescent table lamp behind it. [He] positioned a blue LCD flashlight so it would also backlight the glass. [He] adjusted the brightness and contrast to bring out the colors and used Photoshop Elements to eliminate the lampshade behind the glass” (Johnson). In a way, I am thankful that I am only able to find one photograph by this man. This leaves me the room to expand upon this work without confounding myself creatively. I admire this photo because it stimulates in me a creative and optimistic view of the world. I look at this simple photo of a glass of ginger ale and some fruit, and don’t just see something to quench my thirst, but rather a gateway into a world of beauty and wonder. I see fire and ice, light and dark, solid and liquid, and I am able to see how such contrasting visuals work so well together. It ignites a creative streak within me that aims to similarly find and highlight the seemingly dull things that surround us every day.