Lena's Lucent Photo Blog

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Solitary" I took the girl out of the picture with the old, worn down shed and houses and pasted her into the photo with the bridge. I was able to combine these pictures by lightening the girl and slightly darkening the bridge landscape. Also by adding some darkness underneath the girls feet made the image more realistic. I think that this photo looks realistic with the girl added in the foreground because all the lighting is the same and the girl in the front seems to blend in with the background. Also the way that her stance and foot positioning seems to match with the ground makes the photo more believable. In addition, her facial expression even seem to pair with the background and the mood the background is portraying.  

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Bless" These two images relate to each other to make a cohesive whole by that they are both places of worship. These photos are better together than on their own because they are both similar yet they contract another because they have different perspectives. Since these are two different churches, they have different architecture but the colors of this photo makes them appear more similar.  

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Thrive" I did not attend the field trip but took this photo in Downtown Naperville in a parking lot behind some stores. Towards the end of the time taking photos, I was searching the ground for small details that I could take pictures of. On the scavenger hunt check list, there was one box that said "man made vs. nature." This is a perfect image of the man made bricks and the nature grown plants that are sprouting up from between the bricks. The colors in this photo prompted me to capture this scene. I most likely would not have taken this photo because I never paid attention to such small detail before taking this class. This photo is successful because the colors of this photo are amazing and contrast another very well. 

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Across" I did not attend the field trip but I did go to Downtown Naperville and Lemont. When I was walking around in Naperville, I was shooting a lot of architecture and man made objects. There was a lot of nature surrounding the area and the mix of nature and man made objects seem to go hand and hand and almost seem to compliment another. The scavenger hunt had "more than one part" on the list. When I was about to walk under the bridge, I saw all the different nuts and bolts on top of the cement blocks and along the wooden planks. I for sure would not have taken this photo before this class because I have never paid attention to such small details before taking this class. These photos and specifically this photo is successful because of the depth of field. The whole background of this photo is blurry and it really emphasizes the gray nuts and bolt in the front of the photo.

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Leaving Land" The light in this photo really enhances the water. There are soft glistens in the water that gives a light and clear feeling. The red leaf glows in the rays of the sunshine. If the sun was behind the clouds or diffused, this photo may not have had such vibrant colors to it. The light also intensifies the sand and rocks that are submerged in the water and also on land. 

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Interlocking" When I saw this on my way to my vacation destination to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, I immediately fell in love with this scene. The weather all day had been gloomy with some rain showers and I knew with the diluted light, the photo would come out great. Since the sun is behind the clouds, the clouds have a gray shade to them and makes the back round of the picture more dramatic and have more of a lonesome and empty feel to it. The absence of bright light also gives the green of the industrial complex more emphasis.

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Blank Face" In this picture I was trying to get the girl to be comfortable in front of the camera since she does not think she is very photogenic and does not like getting her picture taken. My camera was close up to her and I was trying to get her to look directly into the lens but the picture kept turning out with her either look slightly up of down. In this picture, the blonde haired girl appears to look sad because of her dreary eyes and since the weather gives off a certain mood. Her gaze ended up making the picture a bit more mysterious and different. 

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Abandoned Girl" In this photo, a girl with blonde hair is looking into the distance at an old, rusted bridge. She appears to be walking into the background of the picture on a gravel path that goes downhill. Her body posture seems very limp which could mean she is feeling hopeless or lonely. Possibly walking away from a problem in life. I think she turned her back in the picture because she might be afraid to face her problems. The weather is gloomy and since the sun is not bright, gives the photo a darker and more serious feel. 

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Forest Rooftop" This photo was taken at a forest preserve. I needed to give the hat a story and make people think about the big picture. The shadows over the red tinted roof gives the picture personality. The tall chimney in the background has a serious mood and below the hat and too the side looks ominous with the shadows. What makes this picture unusual is that this hat was on a roof. When I look at this picture, many different stories on what might have happened come to mind. Maybe two little children were tossing the hat in the air and the hat got stuck. Children were hiding the object in a game and the hat was left behind and recently forgotten. I picture in my head what the hat on the roof, if forgotten, would look like old and weathered. What makes this photo extraordinary is not only the hat itself but the surroundings shown all around. They give character and mood to the hat. The feeling that even the most white (pure) things in life can easily be covered by shadows of the gloomy parts in the world.

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Forgotten" I learned during the Picture Puzzle assignment that there are so many little pieces and elements that make up the big picture. Also that there is a lot more depth and detail to a picture that people normally think. In the photo I took, there was interesting shading in the background where the large, ominous, rectangular shaped shadow extends outwards along the shore.The darkness from the shadow makes the colors of the dry wispy grass appear more green that the grass in the foreground which is a very light/tan yellow. The water in the picture changes its hue of blue from a sky blue since it is reflecting the sky to a darker ocean blue. The tone of gray to the tint of white with the sky and reflects the clouds. The wind causes the surface of the water to have small ripples, but only in certain spots. The calm water appears very glossy and glass like. The water around the back of the photo has small ripples in it. The slab of stone is a very light sand color and has many indents which makes the rock seem older and gives more character to the stone. In addition to these bigger, easier to identify elements, the rocks that separate the shore from the water seems almost mysterious. The rocks are very dark (jet black) and are randomly scattered along the water near the shore. 

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Flowing" When I was first told that I had to take photos of a sewer, I was a little confused on what the purpose of the assignment was. During the first set of shooting, I was still getting used to adjusting the exposure. As I took more pictures though, I got more and more comfortable. I did not really understand how to make it creative but that part of assignment made me think more. I like in this picture how the water in a way reflects the sky and what is around it. I learned that even the most unusual and dullest things in our life can be made to look interesting and in a way beautiful.  

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

"Baseball Sewer" I took this photo during my second photo shoot for the sewer assignment. The reason why I thought the photo was creative was because there is a baseball that appears to have rolled by the sewer. I feel that there can also be a story behind this picture. There might have been people playing catch and the ball got away or since the baseball looks dirty, it was forgotten and left behind in the outdoor elements. The tar and cracks by the sewer also makes it interesting and creative.

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

Barda de Panteon (Cemetery Wall) , 1967

Alvarez Bravo used the collapsing wall as a metaphor for the hardships of a person’s life. If the wall was the outside of a person (their physical self) and the inside (graves) was the persons thoughts and feelings; this could represent how a person could be strong on the outside but have a lot of darkness on the inside. Darkness being sadness, loneliness, depression, etc. Eventually the darkness will leak out and slowly start to effect the person. The effects will start from the inside and slowly make its way out.

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

Untitled, 1944

If I could name this photograph by Manuel Alvarez Bravo, I would call it “Gaze of sadness.” I named it this because Frida Kahlo, while in the reflection of the mirror, is appearing to be sad and not in good spirits. Her downward gaze is showing a dramatic picture of what is going on inside her. The solemn look on her face makes me wonder what had happened. The way she is leaning and the rest of her body language shows she has a heavy heart. In all this is a very solemn and serious picture.

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

El Ensueño (The Daydream), 1931

I think that Bravo choose to name this photograph “El Ensureño” (The Daydream), because the photo shows a girl leaning over a metal railing with her head rested on her hand staring off into the distance as if daydreaming.  It seems to me that people can use daydreams to escape the harsh realities of life.  

[lenatlaurelledphotoblog]

Manuel Alvarez Bravo, 1902-2002

I’m researching Manuel Alvarez Bravo because my computer in my photography class is named after him. He was born into an artistic family with his grandfather being a painter and both grandfather and father being armature photographers. He did many surreal photographs and many that involved sadness and death. Bravo lived for 100 years.