be creative

a photo journal for my lighting techniques class

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 10

Lucas Simões, queimaduras

Source: https://lucassimoes.com.br/queimaduras

"To burn pictures, a way of fisically erase a memory by burning it, so with time, the image that is burnt will disappear from your memory"

Lucas Simoes series Queimaduras highlights the idea of burning memories. The quote above appears on the series page. The images prior to burning are not originally Simoes. He states that he has collected them from all over. To show they are not his, he includes the color block, representing an 'ink on paper' as he states. The images are printed hence the color block.

Unable to find information on the color coming from the burned area. I can only assume it has something to do with the actual paper or ink he is using. It must be some sort of chemical reaction going on. Nevertheless, the colors help to show a current burning effect as opposed to a burnt look. In this image specifically, it is interesting how he was able to control the burn in a way that perfectly left the girl's one eye intact. As if he was trying to say the memory, while burned, is still here, not quite gone yet.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 9

Chris Mccaw, Sunburned GSP#552

Source: https://www.chrismccaw.com/sunburn

Chris Mccaw discovered the process to create his series Sunburn, on a camping trip in 2003. After falling asleep while trying to capture the night sky, he left the shutter open until morning, when the sun scorched the film in the camera, leaving Mccaw with a new way to think about photography.

An image like this is created when a long exposure is taken to the sun. As the sun moves, it burns its path into the film, leaving permanent marks, making the negative truly one of a kind. This process also distorts the exposure, making it overall very bright. But the point is not to take a photo accurately capturing a landscape, the point is to transcend the idea that photography captures reality.

In Mccaw's piece, the powerful rays of the sun burst through the image. The intense rays permanently damage and alter the film. The rays physically damage and alter the silver gelatin he is using, and leave a residue that cannot be removed. The sun also greatly overexposes the image, making the background hard or in some cases, impossible to see.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 8

Hannah Höch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany, 1919.

Source: https://smarthistory.org/hannah-hoch-cut-kitchen-knife-dada-weimar-beer-belly-germany/

Hannah Hoch's Cut with the Kitchen Knife captures the sentiments of Berlin post-WWI. The government had been dismantled, and at the time of creation, uprisings, and more fighting arose in Germany. Hoch is physically cutting and piecing things back together in a way that makes sense to her. Hoch's focus is on the fragmentation as a defining moment for Germany.

The images came from newspapers so the images and information are pertinent and real. This fragmentation is happening in real-time for Hoch. Also, her focus in the title of the Kitchen Knife highlights women artists and women artists in the Dada movement. Hoch was not treated well as a female artist and as a female in the Dada movement. Many of the male artists around her had sentiments to change the gender inequalities yet upheld these inequalities in their practices. This notion is very central to her piece.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 7

 Kana Kuwasako, from the series Unnatural Nature

Source: https://www.shashasha.co/en/book/unnatural-nature

The series Unnatural Nature is Kana Kuwasako's debut publication. The Japanese photographer shot this series in forests and mountains in her hometown, Hokkaido. Kuwasako’s images represent her own sensations of the photographed locations rather than strictly visual captures of their appearance. Her approach transforms these natural landscapes into bright, complex images that reflect ancient tellings of the creation of nature.

The publication is designed like a wall-mountable calendar. Each page can be ripped from the calendar and enjoyed as a stand-alone print.

This image in particular makes the forest appear as if it is on fire. The bright oranges and yellows give the feeling of hot flames while the rushing white and blue tones single a quick gust sweeping through the forest. While this is not what is happening in the image, it is clear that Kuwasako's intentions come through. The image makes me question what is happening, and what emotions are present, rather than where Kuwasako may be standing to take this image.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 6

Christine So, from the series Landscape Cyanotype Photographs

Source: https://www.christineso.gallery/landscape-cyanotype-photographs

Landscape photography has always been of peak interest. Capturing the beauty of nature so that we may hold it in our hands. But to capture an image, and print it in a monochromatic medium captures something beyond its standstill beauty.

Christine So's Landscape Cyanotype series required her to take images with her camera, create digital negatives of those images, then print them with the cyanotype process. Why go through the extra steps? Because it looks cool?

I believe the goal was to explore our feelings about nature. So's work captures an eerie forest, potentially in the early morning hours as the fog is being warmed by a rising sun. The monochromatic nature of cyanotypes removes any hints about seasons, other than the fact that the leaves are still on the trees. The cyanotype process leaves us with questions about where, when, and why. This element elevated landscape photography to another level. It takes the images beyond interesting scenes of nature.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 5

Anna Atkins, Rhodomenia Polycarpa, Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, 1843.

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/286896

Anna Atkins was a scientist in a time when women could not participate fully in science. Her upper-class status allowed her to have some privileges to participate in the field. She uses the cyanotype process to create her photographs. This is the first book to be illustrated with photographs, making Talbots’ Pencil of Nature the first commercial book. The cyanotype process was cheaper than most other photographic processes and allowed Atkins to create prints of the algae itself rather than take a photo and print. The photos could also be taken in the sun and the process to develop and fix the images was quicker and easier.

This specific image from her book is interesting because of the varying shades of blue. You can tell this piece of algae is translucent in some places based on those tones of blue. Those areas were thin and allowed some light through whereas the pure white areas blocked out light entirely. As a work of science, it is interesting to example the specimens in this way. As a work of photography, it is interesting to document life in this way.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 4

Martha Rosler, Red Stripe Kitchen, from House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, c. 1967-1972

Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/285031?ft=*&oid=285031&pkgids=197&pos=16&nextInternalLocale=en&pg=0&rpp=20&offset=20&exhibitionId=%7B36d81705-241d-4934-ab02-fd7c8dbbb3e5%7D

This image by Martha Rosler was created in opposition to the Vietnam War. The doctored image shows two GIs in a kitchen. This is representative of how the war was televised and on display in the home. The kitchen is also monochromatic to reference the color of blood. Again, tying back to the Vietnam War. Rosler combined documentary photos and photos from house magazines to create this image.

The seamlessness of Rosler's image in a time that predates tools like photoshop is truly inspiring. It appears as if the GIs are truly in the home but they are entirely separate images combined to create a timeless statement on senseless violence and its impact on the home.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 3

Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie, Damn! There Goes the Neighborhood, 1998.

Source: https://michellelhofer.com/2020/10/16/healing-work/

Hulleah Tsinhnahjinnie is an artist of native american descent. While she majored in painting at IAIA, she minored in Photography. This edited image is a commentary on the colonization of native land. The man pictured in the image is a famous chief, highly opposed to the arrival of non-native people on his land. Tsinhnahjinnie's editing of the bullet holes in the Oscar Meyer Weiner car with the chief's smoking gun makes a commentary on American commercialism and encroachment on land that is not theirs.

Tsinhnahjinnie's work fits perfectly with today's memes. However, this work, while cometic, digs into a deep-rooted issue of photography being used against Native Americans. The photograph reclaimed by the artist was a part of a US Geological Survey done in 1877. Photographs of the Ute Tribe were eventually used against the tribe and led the man depicted to become distrusting of government officials.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 2

Alicja Brodowicz, Visual Exercises. A Series of Diptychs (2018)

Source: https://alicjabrodowicz.com/ Article: https://independent-photo.com/stories/visual-exercises-a-series-of-diptychs/

Alicja Brodowicz's series of diptychs explores parts of the body with elements of nature. In this image, she is comparing the stomach to a stack of rocks. I see various ways this could be interpreted. there are the obvious rolls of the stomach to the edges of the rocks. In my mind, there are also metaphors about the stomach that can be reflected in the rocks.

Much like Bernhard's diptychs, Brodowicz's diptychs can be looked at in a deeper way. However, Brodowicz images can be interepreted literally more than deeply. She is calling for the viewer to look literally whereas Bernhard is calling for a deeper view.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 1

John Bernhard, from series Diptych

Source: https://www.johnbernhard.net/diptych/3zp1fna2g36sjgwwc32d5b5t49zvy7

John Bernhard's Diptych Series showcases various images with similar qualities. For instance, in this image, you can see the height vs. length similarities. You could even call out that they are images within nature. What stands out to me is the strength. The strength of such a tall tree withstanding the elements verses the strength of a boat carrying cargo vast distances. The black-and-white tonality helps you see past the obvious similarities and look deeper into how these images relate to each other.

Bernhard's series dives into much of this deeper comparison of images. What strikes me most about his series is the deep commentary. The series is not just about nature. It seems like he looks to set aside the superficial comparisons and look to what can be said. In this second image, while you see two people controlling leashes, something can be said about the adults' attitudes compared to what is on the end of their leashes. It seems like Bernhard wants the viewer to dig and find the story in each diptych instead of seeing what the series says as a whole.

[artbymadyson]

End of Lighting Techniques Beginning of Digital 2

All photo journal entries before this are from my Lighting Techniques Class. All posts after this are from my Digital 2 Class.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 10

Tyler Mitchell, Dreaming in Real Time, 2021

Source: https://www.tylermitchell.co/ 

Tyler Mitchell’s “Dreaming in Real Time” exhibition showcases a series of visualizations of black people living in the pastoral south of America and brings forth the themes of peace, solitude, family, and belonging which can be seen through the photographs that he takes. Mitchell came up with the idea for this series in Covid, when he could not visit his family in Atlanta and was dreaming of the day he could leave New York to be with them again. 

The purpose of “Dreaming in Real Time” that Tyler Mitchell was trying to achieve when creating his series of images was to showcase the real and lived histories of redlining within Georgia that continue to limit and suppress black people. He hoped to use his photographs to reimagine those historically diverse lines within southern life by instead drawing it towards positive pathways of navigation, connectivity, solace, and belonging. Mitchell’s photos all use strong, vibrant colors to give that peaceful feeling and highlight the redlining history. There is also a string use of color theory in the red and green as complementary colors. 

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 9

Oscar Rejlander, Two Ways of Life, 1857.

Source: AR 347 History of Photography, Dr. Corey Dzenko Spring 2023

This photo gave me inspiration for a project in this class. The way the phtographer craeted the image. Oscar Rejlander worked multiple photos doctored together. He makes images rooted in painting. This image has similarities to School of Athens by Raphael. The image was made from 30 negatives and took him 6 weeks. Rejlander described that he started with the foreground, then used a compass to gage the size of the rest of the imagery. Eventually exhibited in Manchester, and caused quite a scandal. Having images of nude woman was scandalous since these woman were often prostitutes.

At the center of the image is an older gentleman accompanied by two younger men. On the left of the image are people that represent a less virtuous way of life and the right side represents a more virtuous life. The two young men each look in one direction, contemplation which way to choose. Due to the image being doctored, the light is different if a few places. The old man and the boys are highlighted and so are the left and right paths of life. There is some highlights that don’t match up in the foreground.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 8

Claude Cahun, Self Portrait with Mask, c. 1928.

Source: AR 347 History of Photography, Dr Corey Dzenko, Spring 2023

Gender is a complicated subject for many. Photography has been a tool for many to express this complication. Claude Cahun was one of these photographers. Cahun has many self portraits where she dresses almost in drag or dresses very masculinely. However, Cahun has a more complex background then discussing gender. 

Claude Cahun’s original name was Lucy. She was very against the war, she was even arrested for protesting the war. Her and her partner moved to jersey island and were some of the earliest anti facsists. Cahun would make collages and slip them into german soldiers pockets. Cahun was sentenced to death but was not carried out.

In this photo, Cahun looks directly at the camera. She seems to be seated while a mask is up in the higher left corner. The light is coming from the left, which highlights the mask and Cahun’s face. The light is definite direct light because the shadows are dark and the highlights are very bright. Cloth of some kind is draped over her body. She wears some type of scarf on her head as well. The background is created from a black drape. 

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 7

On The Edge Of This Immensity, Meryl McMaster 2019

Source: http://merylmcmaster.com/

Meryl McMaster lives and works in Ottawa Canada, she’s of Plains Cree nation as well as having Dutch and British nationality. The issues that she’s raising in her photography connect to indigenous issues in Canada but can expand outside of those perimeters. In 2010-2013, McMaster begins this project to express her bicultural heritage, visiting places of significance for ancestors, wanting to reconnect to those who came before her. McMaster wants people to understand these landscapes are time capsules of immense knowledge. The photographs are as much portraits as much as they are landscape photos. 

This photo from McMaster is at a place connected to her dutch/ british heritage. McMaster is wearing a long black coat with a blue dress underneath. Her face as some kind of white powder over the top half of it. She also carried a boat full over birds over her shoulder while she looks off into the distance. The landscape that surrounds her is mostly water. You cannot see much of the coastline excapt for a pennisula that juts out in the distance and some bushes she is standing next to. While I personally am not sure if studio lights were used, I believe they might have been as there is a slight highlight to her body that I do not believe would be coming from the natural light around her.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 6

Duane Michals, Salvation, 1984

Source: https://www.dcmooregallery.com/artists/duane-michals/series/photographs-with-text?view=slider#4

Duane Michals is not always considered a traditional photographer. He even calls himself an expressionist - not a photographer. He was not ‘trained’ and did not formally learn how to use a camera. I believe that is why I enjoy his photography so much. Aside from tradition photos, Michals plays with sequencing, long exposures, and adding text below his images.

In this photo, Michals is highlighting religion as a weapon. The photo shows two men, one a priest, one just a man. The priest is holding a crucifix to the man’s head like a weapon. The man has a blank stare, as if accepting his fate. The priest has a very drastic shadow over his face, convey this sinister feeling. The man’s face as a dark shadow on the opposite side of the crucifix. The high contrast of the image as well as it being in black and white adds to the intensity of the moment.

[artbymadyson]

Photo Journal Entry 5

Liam Smith, Alternative Wedding Photography

Source: https://liamsmithphotography.com/alternative-wedding-photographer/ 

Wedding photography as always fascinated me. Capturing such a special event in its own unique way can pose a real challenge. Liam Smith has created a revolutionary way to look at a wedding. On his website, there are so many examples of individualized, unique images of various wedding and no one photo is alike. Wedding photography seems to always have a similar flow and structure no matter whose wedding it is. Smith’s work breaks that flow in the best way. 

This photo is a perfect example of this alternative style. Smith puts the small child with their face smooshed agains the glass in perfect focus. To the left of the child appears to be the wedding cake out of focus. By highlighting this small child, you can really get the sense of wonder an amazement. The use of black and white keeps the classical, elegant feeling of a wedding. However, the curiousity of the child brings a whole new meaning to the photo and the event.