Monday, December 10, 2012

Independent Project: Camera Tossing

For my quarterly independent project I will be focusing on camera tossing. Camera tossing, which is a form of kinetic photography was pioneered by Ryan Gallagher, a few years back. His work can be seen at both www.kineticphotography.net as well as cameratoss.blogpot.com. A photo can only be called a camera toss if the picture is taken while the camera is in the air. There are two main types of camera tossing. The first type is shot in a dark room using a few different light sources and a long exposure. You spin and or flip the camera to create interesting designs. Here are some examples and a video which explains the process.

Photo by Beatrice Murch




The second type of camera tossing, which most people think of involves using a self timer and actually throwing the camera up above you, spinning it and hoping that it takes a picture of you looking up at it, or something else. Obviously this involves some luck, and lots of trial and error. Usually a wide angle lens is used for this so you don't need to throw it too high. You can use a fast shutter or a slower one to create a blur effect.




I will be exploring both types for my project. 


Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Diptychs and Triptychs

Diptychs and Triptychs are the combinations of images placed right next to each other to draw a comparison or make a statement. Diptychs use two photos and triptychs use three. Sometimes the photos are very similar and sometimes they are completely different. The photos also be arranged linearly or vertically.

 PEN EE-3 by songglod

Triptychs:





Sunday, November 25, 2012

Hockney's Joiners and Cubism

David Hockney started making photo-collages, or joiners, as he called them, in the 1980's. Hockney started with Polaroid prints and then later used 35mm commercial processed prints. According to Hockney he created the art of joiners on accident. He like the idea of using a wide angle lens, however, he did not like the distortion they caused. He like joiners because the final piece created a narrative  as if the observer is walking through the setting of the picture, looking at it from multiple perspectives. The fact that the photos that make up a joiner are taken from multiple perspectives makes the work very similar to cubism. Here are some examples of Hockney's joiners:




Cubism was pioneered by artists like Pablo Picasso and  Georges Braque in the 20th century. It was mostly used in paintings and sculptures. In a normal piece of art you view something from one viewpoint. However, with cubism the artist attempts to depict a subject from multiple viewpoints. This results in a more abstract form. Here are three examples of cubism by Picasso:

 "Three Musicians"
 "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"
"Woman's Head"

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Charlie Waite (Pt. 3): Film "Traveling Light"

A few years back Waite released an hour long film titled "Traveling Light". I haven't seen the entire thing yet, however the trailer is really good. The film documents Waite's travels across Europe. The twist is that Waite leaves all of his large expensive cameras at home and only brings with him a few compact cameras. Waite's point is that you don't need an expensive camera to capture interesting and beautiful pictures. Here is the trailer and some photos from his trip:



Sunday, October 28, 2012

Charlie Waite (Pt 2): Techniques

Square Format:

Waite is well know for his square format landscape photography. Unlike some he actually shoots with a square format camera instead of simply cropping in Photoshop  The square format tends to make these photos seem more simplistic.


Leading Lines:
Many of Waite's natural landscape shots make use of leading lines with things like trees, paths, and rolling hills.





Use of lighting:

Waite does an amazing job of using perfect lighting to make his images more dramatic.



Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Self Portrait: Then and Now

Here is a picture of me when I was young and one of me this year. Honestly, I don't think i've changed that much since I was younger. I still have the same personality. 




Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Charlie Waite (Pt. 1)

For my quarterly independent research project I will be researching Charlie Waite and his landscape photography. 

Basic Biography:
Waite was born in England and worked in both theater and television for the first ten years of his professional life. After realizing that the acting business was too unreliable Waite decided to pursue an alternate career. After being introduced to photography at the age of 11 by his father, this seemed like the best option. Over his 30 year photography career Waite has become one of the most famous landscape photographers in England and also the world. His photographic style is very unique because of its spiritual quality of serenity. Today Waite can be found traveling around both the UK and North America lecturing and showing his work. He is most well know for his square 6x6cm Hasselblad kit using Fujichrome Velvia film stock.








Monday, October 8, 2012

Transfer Techniques

Last week in class we went over a few transfer techniques that might be useful to us this year. We tried emulsion transfers and Purell transfers. Transfer techniques are useful if you want to matte your photos on something other than paper. Here's an examples of a Purell transfer done in class:

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Inspiration

While visiting the Blue Sky gallery I was inspired most by "The Unseen Eye" exhibition by W.M. Hunt. All of the photographs in that room were very well done and interesting. There were a few that I might have not included but overall they all fit together perfectly. The one photo that I was inspired most by was the one of the man jumping off of one of the World Trade Centers on 9/11. I had seen videos of this before but never an image that showed it happening so close up. I would say that the photo captured the moment better than the video.


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Natural vision

Honestly I don't know if I have been doing photography long enough to have a natural vision. However, when I look at most of my photos I would say that my vision is defined by what I enjoy shooting, which is natural landscape. To me, nothing compares to getting out and shooting in nature. It's always so peaceful. For the most part I enjoy shooting in black and white. Here are some examples: