Reading: Still Life and Abstract Photography

I, like most likely the rest of the class, was confused when we were assigned the reading assignments for still life, and abstract photography at the same time. When I think of still lives I think of boring set up that I have to draw to better understand the techniques being taught. I never thought that it was real anything you want it to be. As Ann Lauterbach explained it "the invisible persona of the photographer comes to endow the images with the quixotic but powerful language of the secret,  or the fetish." She showed me that a still life is really showing who the photographer is as a person it is cliche but it is a window into your soul. I never really analyzed a still life photograph I just thought they were random objects, but now I see myself   looking at them differently, they aren't as boring and mundane as i thought they were

With the abstract article, Lynne Guimond Findlay shows me that there are different ways to interoperate something as abstract art. The way I liked  was how it is just everything, from a portrait to a still life. When painting or drawing one interoperates things differently showing that there is some sort of abstraction, whether in the shape or color. With a photograph you could just take a close up of an object and it could be distorted creating it an abstract piece of art. After reading the assignments I definitely loo at abstract art and still lives to be one in the same.

Chapter 3: Light and Exposure

This chapter allowed me to learn about the reasons why things are the way they are when I take a photograph. The exposure talks about how much light is let into the lens, when there is a high exposure there will be a lot of light in the photograph and when there is a low exposure there is a small amount of light let into the photograph. I see picking the perfect light as an art, if it is just a little bit off the picture looks off but when put at the right exposure the image can be breathtaking. The Shutter speed and aperture coincide to create this beautiful image but you just have to know how to work them in your favor, creating a fun mood or a sadistic tone, all that you need to do is change around the exposure. Letting the shutter speed down and exposing more light in the photograph also allows for some interesting light art, thats what I have found in my own experience.

Chapter 2: The Lens

In chapter 2 of A Short Course in Digital Photography I learned a lot about the lens, and a lot that I didn't even know there was to know about the lens. I learned, which I had no idea about that the lens speed is completely different than the shutter speed, it shows the largest aperture to which the lens diagram can be open. When a lens is faster it is able to open to a wider aperture, allowing more light in, which makes complete sense to me. The shutter speed clearness and exposure all depends on the amount of light that can be let in, with a bigger lens you could capture faster objects with still having the right amount of light.

I also learned how there are different lenses to use for different situations. Such as a long lens makes a smaller depth of field. Then a medium lens is useful for portraits because the photographer can be far away from the subject and still fit the image to the frame, then short lenses can get great depth of fields. I found it quite shocking as well that there were so many different lenses, including Macro, zoom, fisheye and so many more! I found learning about the distortions that could be created and the right lens for the right subject to be so important when taking a picture.

Chapter 1: The Camera

After reading the first chapter of A Short Course in Digital Photography I learned a lot about the camera that to be honest thought I already had the hang of, but after reading this I am second guessing myself. I always thought that taking a picture in automatic is the same as taking a picture on manual but I read that there are better pictures when not on automatic. I began to think about it and I think it is right, I have more manipulation of what I do to the photograph, such as the white balance, focus, iso, and the obvious aperture and shutter speed. By working all of these components together it creates a more spectacular picture, that is well rounded.

Reading this chapter has also cleared up some things that were kind of fuzzy for me. Such as how the ISO controls the sensitivity and this is curtail when getting the correct exposure, . As well as how I was always confused about how to know that my photographs are in focus because they might seem in focus but sometimes they look clear in the camera but not when I upload them. I learned that there is a way to see it through the viewfinder you are able to see the sharpest parts of the scene. Also learning that there is an average subjects for indoors, such as the ISO should be around 100 and the shutter around 1/250 then the aperture f/11 or f/16 depending on the shadows. I found that to be interesting as well as helpful.

Still Life Eggs

My Egg Contact Sheets

Finals:

Irving Penn

Irving Penn is known more for his fashion forward, editorial photographs, shot as still lives and portraits. He was well known for working independently through Issey Miyake and Clinque but also working in Vogue. Penn was among the first photographers to pose subjects against a simple grey or white backdrop and he effectively used this simplicity. I enjoyed his photographs with the simple grey backdrop, initially I thought that it was a little boring seeing  the same backdrop over and over again but the way that he composed his pictures, he thought about every aspect of the lens before taking a photograph. He was still able to capture something so elegant and chic and still capture the attention of others with just a simple grey backdrop and I find that fascinating. I also enjoyed the fact that his photography is black and white, that to me is the most interesting and moving photography of all. 

Color Theory

Primary colors are yellow, blue, and red, which are the colors that when mixed together make all the other colors. Secondary colors are Orange, Purple, and Green which are made by combining the primary colors together. Tertiary colors are when you combine any of the primary or secondary colors together. 

I chose to do the color yellow for this project because yellow has always been my favorite color. I also enjoy a pop of color especially in the white snow, I enjoyed looking for this color because I never really realized how many things were yellow around campus. I was able to just go out one day and keep in mind yellow and so many things popped up at me, it was shocking. 

For me this color symbolizes Warmth, happiness, energy, excitement and spontaneity 

My favorite photographs from this project are: 

Class Picks: