Final Project Reflection: Pixel Pollution

I found the final project to be the most satisfying and thought provoking. At least for myself it was thought provoking, I'm not sure if the viewer took as much out of the images as I would have liked. For me the process brought up a lot of questions in terms what it actually meant to have the workflow that I did. This, in turn, brought up a myriad of questions about what exactly it means to live during a time of image saturation, where virtually all members of our society carry a camera of some form on themselves at any given time, and where we create virtual projections of ourselves through electronic images amassed on internet sites like flickr, facebook and myspace. This project pushed me to think about these things in depth and I had to consider what it meant to take unflattering portraits of people with a cell phone. Ultimately, I concluded that by creating the photo shoot from hell and capturing overly candid portraits, I was making a statement about this saturation of images. By taking these unflattering images that normally only exist in electronic form and giving them physical form I was eliminating the agency that people have come to recognize in projecting themselves through images. They could not simply untag or press a delete button. While this sort of image selfconciousness did exist before the rise of the digital camera (people simply deleted or destroyed undesirable photos of themselves), it was not as ubiquitous nor quotidiary as it is now; we hardly give a second thought the choices we exercise in representing ourselves through images. I don't view this as necessarily negative, but I did want to call attention to this phenomenon in my work. Because I beleive that the physical form of my photographs is crucial to their meaning, I've decided not to publish them on my blog as I prefer them to exist outside of the internet.

Mydan Gleaning

I feel that the commonly used phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" takes its roots from photographers like Mydans.  His pictures truly are a testament to the decisive moment approach to photography.  Each one of his images seems to capture an essential amount of information to convey to the viewer.  For example, the earthquake image in japan is captured at precisely the moment when the women's foot lands between two cracks in the asphalt as she desperately flees from the smoke and fire.  There is so emotion much captured in this image it is virtually impossible not to feel empathetic.  I think this holds true for all of Mydans' work, even his portraits of McArthur and Churchill are decisively captured to make a statement about their respective personalities.    

Panorama Reflection

This project was a really great way to explore photoshop. I almost wish we had done this project earlier in the semester, because this project really forced me to explore (and learn) the intricacies of photoshop. While I did enjoy learning about the capabilities of photoshop, I feel that I really enjoyed my image before I started modifying it. Nonetheless, my modifications brought a lot more narrative and interpretation to my piece and in that sense I am glad that I did it.

Also, while I do understand the framing critiques mentioned in class, I don't think I would go for a perfectly framed photo if given another chance. Simply put, it's not my style. Although my subject matter is obsessively compulsively ordered, I am not. I'm pretty much the antithesis. For me, this photo was all about the disconnectedness of a super market aisle with the rest of the world. There are hundreds of bottles on the shelf, but only one shopper. Cleaning items often promise natural and pleasant smells through decidedly unnatural combinations of chemicals.

Again, so even though I see how a more orderly frame could exploit this ocd feeling, I don't think that's necessarily what I would want. At the end of the day, I would be happy if my unusual framing of a quotidian scene caused people to pause and think about all this "xtra" stuff in the shopping aisle.

panorama

Elizabeth's Gleaning

For me these two readings both touch upon the same idea; identity as a performance. Rather than being born with our identities we are constantly tweak and act out how we want to be perceived. We constantly perform our gender, race and class in everyday life. The way I dress and act intimates something about all three of these. Thus from this I can see how an image and photography is crucial in constructing identity. Smith's article is a great example of how race and eugenics were performed through the use of photographic images. Images of healthy babies and genealogies reaffirmed people's middle classness and race by creating visual 'proof' of these characteristics. The sense of peril of losing the anglo saxon race further enforces the performative aspect of identity and it was the women, as the bearers of the race, who were the ones most involved in acting this identity out. Bell's reading also speaks to this performance when he describes how the camera allowed the black community to take charge of their identity and image. The camera allowed the black community to dispel the subordinate image presented by "salt shakers, cookie jars and pancake boxes."

Simply put, the image and the camera are a powerful weapons for creating identity. A modern example of this would be facebook, where each individual's profile contains images representing a person's "identity." These images are actively chosen by the individual, which shows how people are agents in creating, or performing, their own identities.

Gleaning

Riefenstahl's images are epic. That is the best way I would describe them. They turn her subjects into heroes. I can see how these pictures could easily be placed in a propaganda setting. Again, this speaks to the power of the image in influencing people, much like I discussed in the Errol Morris gleaning. These images are very compelling, but I can see how the historical context and controversy put a very unfavorable light on them and Reifenstahl. To me, it seems as if Reifenstahl was just trying to forward her own career, which meant that she got caught up in the Nazi regime. I do not believe she was whole heartedly a Nazi, since the New Yorker article describes her reaction as negative to the first jewish extermination in Poland. I think that things are not completely black and white in Riefenstahl's case, but I do not think that her images should suffer for it. They describe a certain period in history and even though it was a dark time, they should not be simply ingored or forgotten.

reflection free shoot/stop animation film

Looking at my freely shot images was a great exercise. It was a slightly strange experience to look at the connections that you have semiconsciously created with your images. While I was aware of what I was doing while creating individual images, I was completely unaware of an overarching trend. I feel that this was a great exercise in that it helped me learn more about my individual style, which helps me in creating future images.

The stop animation film was a very interesting process. While I am happy that I collaborated a good deal with my partner, it also became apparent that collaboration has its drawbacks. Specifically, I really wanted to reshoot the final scene, but ultimately did not because of my partner's wishes and time constraints. The timing and organization of this project could have been better, but we were the guinea pigs and it was an exciting experience. I would recommend, at the very least, a meeting with the music class at the beginning of the semester just to touch base and get ideas flowing early. I think that this would help ease this frantic rush to get things done at the end. But I did think that this was a great project, it has been my favorite project so far. Given that collaboration had some drawbacks, it was very satisfying to see my partner and I's vision come together synergistically.

Krista's Gleaning--Annie Leibovitz

Images that capture an individual's quirks are personality are quite difficult to do. It really is quite difficult to capture something so dynamic in a static medium like photography. I think that Leibovitz has excelled at this in her portraits. It also helps that her subjects are public figures that we, as viewers, already have knowledge and preconceptions of: we tangentially know these people through various mediascapes. In this way Leibovitz's work is inextricably linked with the media, it either confirms what we already knew or it adds to what we didn't. Either way her choice to use these public figures imbues her work with a great deal of cultural value and meaning. The most interesting part of Leibovitz's work, for me, is how she chooses to manipulate or play with these public personas.

I really enjoyed Leibovitz's portraits and I would like to see some more of Leibovitz's work depicting normal or unknown individuals. It would be great to see how she uses her photographic niche without as much cultural attachments.

Playing catch up...flesh (finally)

Playing catch up...The True Meaning of Pictures

This movie was incredibly provocative. Every single person I have talked to who has seen this movie has felt very strongly about this movie in one way or another. The movie is so polarizing because Shelby Lee Adams' images and work are so provoking. Since everyone seems to take a stance on his work, it would be appropriate that I do the same. Personally, I do not see Adam's work as exploitative of his subjects because of the strong relationship he has with them. There is no way that Adams' would have been able to capture (or create) these images without such a strong bond. What I found particularly interesting about Adams' work is that he saw it as representational of Appalachian culture. He took that idea even further by claiming it as self-representation. For me, this is more legitimizing than Adams' relationship with his subjects because, he is representing Appalachia as a member of the culture and because he obtains the approval of his subjects before publishing. By incorporating his subjects into the editorial process he is allowing for a certain degree of self representation. I think problems begin to arise when these photos are presented to a population that does not share the same values as Adams' subjects. There is a simple dissonance of values between the subjects and the viewers. I think that viewers must be cognizant of this difference when viewing these images, otherwise they place too many of their own values upon the images.

happening on the frame

Stop Animation Movie (no sound)

the unseen gulf war

Peter Turnley's photographs are eerily calm and visually compelling. From his photos I get a strong sense of distance between the Iraqi people and the Americans. They are rarely photographed together. In the few photos that they are there is the most minimal of interaction and physical contact. Perhaps that's how it really is, but I don't feel that Turnley gave me a holistic view of the war from his images. I am still left feeling like there is more. This is why this excerpt struck me as a bit odd, "I feel that it is part of my role as a photojournalist to offer the viewer the opportunity to draw from as much information as possible, and develop his or her own judgment." Isn't Turnley limiting the amount of information I can draw just by the simple act of choosing to present certain images. Does Turnley constrain the parameters in which I am making my judgement by electing to show me this images? Also, Turnley admits that he flew from Paris to Rihayd after the conflict was over, which seems a bit like ambulance chasing. This very fact makes it difficult, at least in my mind, for Turnley to acheive his "role as a photojournalist" since he omits the causal aspects of his images.

Lomography

"A bad LO­MO­graph is a bad pic­ture too; a good LO­MO­graph is also a good pho­to­graph."
That was my favorite quote from Alfred's blog. I think the Lomography story is an incredible story, it really is a great marketing scheme. I can't believe that they successfully marketed a cheap ex-soviet camera for $150. That's crazy. It's crazy that people actually would want to pay that kind of money to have a camera of dubious quality. I found this quote from wikipedia that summarizes the Lomographic characteristics, "Characteristics such as over-saturated colors, off-kilter exposure, blurring, "happy accidents," and alternative film processing are often considered part of the "Lomographic Technique." Lomography is one of those things that you wish you had thought of first. I think its incredibly ingenious what they have created by wrapping "happy accidents" and shaky craftsmenship in a warm blanket of hipster nostalgia. I don't want to come across as an anitlomographist, I just think it's pretty absurd what marketing can do.

the truth!

Phtography as a weapon -Errol Morris

Photography as a weapon of mass confusion...
The most interesting part of this blog was Morris' conversation with Hany Farid. Farid brings up the idea of how people process visual information. To our eyes it makes no difference whether or not the photograph is fake, we are still processing the information it conveys. In fact, Farid suggests that when we are told something is fake it makes us remember it even more. So while we seem to be very concerned with fake photography in the media maybe we should just be concerned with which images are being presented to us and how. As we have said many times in this class, all photogrpahy is manipulation. But in the media, its context and use are ultimately what determine how we use and process these images. Morris shows this through his humorous adaptations of COlin Powell's photos.

deviant

dc streets

triangles

Landscape reflection

This project was a good exercise for me.  It was nice to be able to just completely hone in on one object.  Having such a strict subject matter really allowed me to focus on other aspects of the photo, like framing, lighting (and even composition when I started moving the shells around).  I think being on a remote island and photographing one thing obsessively got a little intense.  But it was good to be able to just do something and then be done with it.  Overall, a good project but I will need some time before I undertake something similar again.

crabscapes 2

crabscapes

Pixel Perfect Pascal Dangin: Response

It's amazing how much power Dangin has exerted over the media. More so than any other individual, Dangin is the most responsible for the media's portrayal of the human body. What I appreciated most about the article was the cognizance Dangin shows about his own work. In fact, I think congnizance is what makes Dangin the best in his field. Instead of manipulating photos to the point of dehumanizing the subjects, Dangin is careful to not overmanipulate. He is aware of what he is doing and the societal implications of his work. But at the end of the day, Dangin is just doing a job that is in high demand and he answers to his clients. So while I appreciate Dangin for his judgment, we have to keep in mind that he is limited by his clients desires.

I also appreciated the fact that the author places Dangin's work in the context of photographic history. Photo manipulation is definitely not a novelty, but has been conjoined to photography since its inception. The very act of taking a photo is manipulative; the photographer is choosing to include and exclude within his/her camera's frame, thus completely dictating what the viewer sees. Is postproduction manipulation really that different than production manipulation? I don't really think so. I wish there were more Dangin's so as to avoid photoshop nightmares. Also, when looking at photos we need to remember that they are representations of "reality" presented to us by various persons with varying persepectives.

mash up

green shoot