Tyler Zheng - Week 1 Artist Post

Michael Kenna

1. The artist Michael Kenna is mostly interested in shooting black&white landscape photographs. The photographs tend to have high contrast, with a focus on still objects that are black (relatively darker). According to his interview, the unique lightings are mostly created through shooting at dawn/night. 

2. The artist would show normal objects through different perspectives with his unique style. Which shows us that beauty can be found in small and some normal places. In the pictures above, the black&white style + the interested objects reminds people of traditional East-Asian artworks.

3. I've tried to mimic Michael Kenna's style before, but I wasn't to achieve it. His style makes me looking at ordinary objects in new ways, and wonder how it's done. The photographs  may seem similar to each other, almost like being processed by a single template. But the truth is that each one of them is individualised.

Erin Copeland- Weekly artist post

Francesca Woodman

Each of Francesca's photos are primarily herself nude or other nude models. She uses her body as her subject matter.

Most of her photos are black and white and she places herself in different poses and creates blur in her photos by movement when the camera takes the picture

I love how she infused so much movement and emotion in her work and how she used her body as art and how she used photography to convey that.

Scariest pictures

Tyler Zheng - Things that I care about

This is the last semester of my undergraduate study, and I still haven't quite figured out what I want or want to do after graduation. I am a little worried, but also excited to see what's going to happen in a couple of months.

If I'm going somewhere after graduation, who's going to take care of my plants...

Health, the health of everyone in my family. Not like that anyone's sick, but I do care, a lot...

Weekly Artist Post

Jason Fulford

1) Each one of Fulford's images has really nice depth. In the top two we see this in the use of shadows and in the third image with a reflection. What also helps with the depth in all three images is the fact that he placed the camera a little to the side of his subject rather than having it straight on, this creates a lot of diagonals which show depth and lead the eye.  Also, he's not using it perfectly but it seems like he does stay pretty true to his rule of thirds. Having said so, it is apparent what the subject of each image is because of the way he used his composition to frame each subject. 

 2) You can tell that there is not much done to the images in terms of photoshop or editing of any sort but they each still have an aspect of surrealism to them. This may be because each image seems to be taken at just the right time and something is happening thats almost to perfect to happen in real life. What's happening in each image isn't impossible but rather very peculiar. This sort of playful intent of each image really intrigues the viewers perception and imagination.

3) I am intensely amused by this style and plan to be more aware of and consider such compositions with my own photography. I think it is amazing how his images have a good composition in terms of design principles yet at the same time push the boundaries of perception. Its amazing to have the power to really give the viewer a rousing experience both aesthetically and conceptually. 

Constance Pemberton- Something I Care About

Something I care about is the environment. More specifically, helping nature grow or watching nature grow where humans have previously demolished it. It is beautiful and actually helps our way of life by producing oxygen and fixing the ecosystem. I think it's important to reintroduce plants and animals to there homes and this would help make a better world. With photography I enjoy taking pictures of plants where you wouldn't normally see them, for example a tree starting to grow out of the side of a building or abandon places with natural regrowth and gardens.

Constance Pemberton- Photos I'm Scared to Post

Tyler Zheng - Pictures scared to post

Helen Westergren - Scary Photos

Constance Pemberton- Weekly Artist Post

Cindy Sherman

1)  Cindy Sherman used black and white photography as well as color. Her images are mostly self-portraits but she is portraying other women. She took most of her photos in her apartment in New York.

2)    The theme of her photos is feminism and her work is often untilled. She didn’t want anyone to have a preconized notion of the meaning of her photos. A lot of her photos are controversial. 

3)   I love the idea of self metamorphosis and using your own image to comment on social norms. She doesn’t use any other models and makes a lot of different characters. At first she would just use objects in her room to create a background but then she moved on to photographing herself in front of a green screen. 

Lindsey Mott - What I Care About

1) Family: specifically, my mom, dad and sister… and friends who are family.

2) Being completely unashamed of who I am and what I believe.

3) Pursuing equality, justice, and lifting other people up.

Why:

1) My family has stood by me even through times when I thought they wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t be who I am, maybe wouldn’t even be alive, without their love and support.

2) This is a struggle. It’s taken me a very long time to accept a lot of myself, and it seems that many of the people who have been in my life have been unable to accept those things as well. And I’ve decided not to give a shit. I’m not perfect. But I deserve to be loved, even if I don’t believe that sometimes.

3) I’ve realized in the past year that the only way that I will ever be completely satisfied with my life is if my career touches the lives of others in a positive and tangible way.

Obviously I care about more than three things, but the importance of those other things pale in comparison to these three.

What do i care about?

Arshan Yazdanshenas

My family is the most important thing to me. Then comes the friends who i know truly care about me. Sometimes that may be hard to tell but there are definitely a few keepers. Also, i think ideals such as justice and equality are really important. I find that the ability and action of creating something is very important to me and my self fulfillment. Another thing that i really enjoy is the spirit of competition. On that note, I'd also like to point out the importance and value of respect. I think the best thing you can do is respect other people. I care about all the people in the world who were born into circumstances where they find it extremely difficult to be creative or even survive. Also, respect for our environment is important. Having an understanding of our surroundings, being environmentally aware and practicing things that help manage the environment, such as conservation,  are all important to me. I care about finding a way to change the way people act, not just think, in order to create positive change for humanity and our environment. I care about my cat, he's got his own wonderful (sometimes annoying) personality.

Now for a little deduction...
Family is important because it is where i came from. Inherently, the people in my family are the ones i relate to the most. This is because we have the same genetics and culture but also because they witnessed and played a crucial role in my personal growth. Honestly, another one of the main reasons why family is important to me is because it is much easier for me to trust them. It seems that they will always accept me so long as i stay true to myself. Another reason why i care about family is because i truly believe that they truly believe in me, my talents, work ethic, and that sort of mutual understanding really inspires me and keeps me motivated. The thing about me is that i sometimes need assurance from other people. I guess that means i'm not fully self motivated or confident....

There are many more things i really care about but this is where we stopped in class.

Ashley Kronsberg - Scariest Photos

Mary Pforr- Week 1 Artist post

Artist: Emily Hepler
Camera: pentax k1000
Film: kodak ektar 100
Photo Cred: http://fiat-ars.tumblr.com/


 i. Emily used a 35mm film camera during the late evening or early morning with low natural light. There seems to be an interest in contrast and time lapse. It is stated these were taken during a hike in Seneca Rocks, WV.

ii. It seems Emily was capturing the unnoticed moments of the hike. By strolling behind her companions she is able to capture them continuing on their journey, pausing to appreciate a view, or the moment of checking behind you when you are in the lead. These are the moments not always considered and can show the true nature of a person.

iii. I very much enjoy Emily's work. It continuously captures little moments that are sometimes relate-able to and sometimes not. The lighting creates beautiful contrasting in the trees of the forest, and can really emphasize the people in the photos.