Light as subject

Here Comes the Sun...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153149096192853&set=a.10150592373852853.447886.653277852&type=1&theater


The Beatles' lyrics as a title is appropriate for this photo for several reasons.
First, the photo was uploaded to my oldest friend Todd's Facebook/Instagram page and Todd is a HUGE Beatles fan.
Second, the photo was taken at an early morning tube station in London.

I appreciate how the light is clearly visible while the platform, the tracks and the passengers are in shadow. We can see what is pictured but the light, with the rays that radiate out from the sun throw a nice diagonal across the tracks and go off the page.
 

Internet Research Assignment #3: Find an image/article/video etc... to provide inspiriation for your Line/Shape/Form Theme Project

André Kertész, Shadows, Paris, 1931

Light as a subject

     Well after looking at a lot a light painting and depressing images i came across this one which instantly caught my attention. I love the way the light is wrapped around the body and it looks so cool! when i clicked on the link there was not really a description of the photo or what he was trying to convey, but to me it looks like its a person lost in the dark trying to find their way. Well I don't really know what else to say so why don't you just look at the picture...ok stop reading and look...

Oh yeah heres the link... well there you go.

Yi Peng Lantern Festival, Thailand

The Yi Peng Lantern Festival takes place in Thailand during the full moon of the second month of the Thai lunar calendar. On this day Chiang Mai people release thousand of lighted lanterns in the sky while making a wish. The sky transforms itself in a wonderful and surreal sea of little lanterns floating away. The spectacle is mesmerizing. Its a spectacular event that I one day hope to have the chance to attend. The festival is a religious ceremony that pays homage to the Buddha.

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/365-photos/yee-peng-lantern-festival/

http://festivalasia.net/festivals/Yi-Peng-2015--Lantern-Festival-.html

http://ifoto.huanqiu.com/gallery/landscape/2013-01/2679484.html

Light as subject, or Light IS subject?

As usual, I'm confused...

 

This research assignment took me on quite a ride.  The search for light as subject came back with many results, all seemingly appropriate for this assignment.  Some of the examples from my classmates seem to really nail "Light as Subject", but they got me thinking...

 

isn't Light always the subject?

 

Sure there are people, places and things within our frames as we shoot images, but what we actually see is the light that reflects, refracts, and highlights those objects, allowing us to see them. 

This week I decided to search flickr for an image to use and there were limitless choices.  While searching, I thought of how important it can be to properly tag photos when posting to help improve your exposure as a photographer. 

 

The photo I chose for this week was taken by Brijan Powell. It's a brilliant shot of a girl, literally holding light in her hands.  Her being back-lit is what really makes this one stand out, as it gives her face perfect shape which would normally be lost if she were only lit from the front.  Love this photo!

link to Brijan's flickr
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/41840907@N08/
 

Light as a Main Subject in Photography

Image by rafoto. http://www.photographymad.com/pages/view/painting-with-light

Light is an essential part of a photograph. We could not have photographs without light. Although we need light to create images it is not often the main subject of a photo, instead our cameras use light to create the images we see with our eye. 

I chose this photograph because light is used to create the main subject. The stick figure on the swing is made entirely out of light. This is done by light painting.  In light painting we use light to create a subject that we would not normally be able to see. This is done by keeping the shutter on a camera open long enough to capture a light trail. This is just one of the many ways light can be used as a main subject in a photograph. 

Light as Subject

Light illuminates and brings color and definition into new situations. In images it can help focus the viewer to where you want, or expand the imagination. In this image, I just loved the simplicity of it the light and how it was placed perfectly to enhance the image.

The simple symmetry of placing the light bulb in just the right place for a sunset was a great start for the photo, but the way the focus is on the light bulb itself, the clear outline of the bulb and the icy foreground just made for a very interesting image.

I found myself disappointed when I clicked on the link and discovered an ad for something called Light Pipes. The photographer did not even get a mention for the image. This lead me down the rabbit-hole of trying to find out the original artist and I found this image all over the place:

CareGiving Club
Badly Photoshopped on PicYou.com
Wallpaper Hub - MetalShip

I know I am a bit off-topic, but it made me sad to find such a interesting image and not be able to take a deeper look into that photographer's art to see if they had more images of the same quality that appealed to me.

Light as the Subject

Light is a key element with photography, without it we would not be able to take a picture. As I looked around for a photograph to capture my eye I came across many beautiful scenes. If a picture is taken at the right time of day with natural light, it can turn the most mundane scene into a beautiful work of art. Even using artificial light, one can get a great picture.
I picked the following photograph because even with there being trees and snow, your eye goes to the sun light behind the tree. Which the light makes it look like the trees could be on fire, yet it's just the way light is able to shine through the tree.

http://favim.com/image/417119/



Light as the Subject

Here is a decent example of light as the subject.  notice that the people in the shot are undefined and anonymous.  your attention is on how the light is used. 

http://tomclarkblog.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html

Truth in Photography

 This is an older image that circulated the internet in 2001 that fooled pretty much every one.  even me at the time.  magnificent and fantastic as we all wished it were true, i was disappointed after doing a little research that this is no more than a good example of Photoshop.   None the less i have remembered it enough for this assignment.  


http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/s/shark-copter.htm#.VOjHCcbJw_M

Boy Attacked by Snake as Photographers Watch

A photograph shows a child being attacked by a snake as cameramen stand by and film without helping the young victim. When in reality another child had sprinted away in search of help for the little girl being attacked. 

But sadly the images of the man who died trying to rescue the poor girl from the snake are not nearly as popular as the image of the photographers appearing to not care as the helpless girl was attacked.

  http://wafflesatnoon.com/boy-attacked-by-snake-as-photographers-watch-real-or-hoax/

Truth in Photography - Cameras Lie

Calvin and Hobbes - Cameras Lie

Source: http://filmmakeriq.com/images/calvin-hobbes-cameras-lie/

Internet Research Assignment #2: Find an image where LIGHT is the subject.

Your prompt for this week is to find an image where light is the subject. The image can be taken from any source you find on the internet. 

Photo by James Henkel

Truth in Photography

 

 Truth in photography: Reality can be slightly altered to the normal eye. With today's software photographers are able to edit images and skew the viewers point of view. I feel that some parts of photography have been flooded with highly edited photos that don't actually portray the natural image. I picked this image because it is a good representation of showing something that is not actually possible in reality unless edited.
















https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view;_ylt=AwrTcYQfN.VU4SwALcqJzbkF;_ylu=X3oDMTIzZHExMmU5BHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDaW1nBG9pZAM4ZDUwY2JjYmM1YWYzYjE3MjkyNDVhMTJlZTlmZjQyZgRncG9zAzUwBGl0A2Jpbmc-?.origin=&back=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch%3Fp%3Dlevitation%2Bphotography%26n%3D60%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Dyhs-mozilla-001%26fr2%3Dsb-top-images.search.yahoo.com%26hsimp%3Dyhs-001%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26tab%3Dorganic%26ri%3D50&w=1024&h=668&imgurl=brianspeicephotography.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FLevitation-Photography-Brian-Speice-Photography-00052-1024x668.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbrianspeicephotography.com%2Flevitation-photography%2F&size=56.8KB&name=Brian+Speice+%3Cb%3EPhotography%3C%2Fb%3E+Raleigh+Cary+NC+%3Cb%3ELevitation+Photography%3C%2Fb%3E&p=levitation+photography&oid=8d50cbcbc5af3b1729245a12ee9ff42f&fr2=sb-top-images.search.yahoo.com&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&tt=Brian+Speice+%3Cb%3EPhotography%3C%2Fb%3E+Raleigh+Cary+NC+%3Cb%3ELevitation+Photography%3C%2Fb%3E&b=0&ni=128&no=50&ts=&tab=organic&sigr=11pb61d36&sigb=15m5pdbo8&sigi=13go0sagu&sigt=12dp95li5&sign=12dp95li5&.crumb=Nn2PhT7RH5t&fr=yhs-mozilla-001&fr2=sb-top-images.search.yahoo.com&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla

Not as it seems...

I chose the attached photo of the before and after photoshopped photos of the brunette for a number of reasons. The model is completely lovely in the before photo and a closer representation of the average female consumer, back fat and all. I do not mind the use of Photoshop for brightening or cleaning up of a photo, such as the Britney Spears one in pink. The model in the bathing suit had most of her body altered to appear forty pounds thinner (they missed her back arm which looks weirdly large). I do not mind that the color of her suit and the background colors were also changed. The problem is that the girl as pictured, does not exist. Similar to warning labels that have been placed on cigarettes, commercials warn that we should 'not try this at home', and side view mirrors caution that 'objects may be closer than they appear',  I submit that any published photoshopped photos be marked as such.

Though this image should be marked as photoshopped, the corrections of the protrusion of her left hip, skin brightening and the smoothing of the suit in her crotch area are acceptable for my, Mrs. Consumer, sensibilities.    : )

Truth and Photography

I looked through a lot of photos to try to find a image that fit the prompt then i came across this image.

after finding the image i clicked on the link and read about it.

This famous image depicts President abraham lincoln looking quite presidential, but the image on the right is the original photo. president lincoln's head was pasted on top of another politicians body.

This proves that not even old pictures can always be trusted.

If you want to see more here is a link to more famous photos that were manipulated. 

   

Truth in Photography 

Website Link: http://landor.com/?_escaped_fragment_=/talk/articles-publications/articles/marketing%27s-last-stand/

The image above is above of a part of the Dove real beauty campaign. The link goes to a website about marketing and how effective the campaign for Dove was. Although it does not really pertain to the truth of the photograph the background information behind the photograph was interesting to learn. Back to the image... On the right side of the image we see a woman how she is naturally. On the left her hair and makeup has been done. Although we cannot tell in the photograph just by looking at it she has also been Photoshopped or edited in the computer. Many times when we glance at a photograph we do not take the time to see if it actually is real. A lot of the photographs we see in the media are not real. A lot of people take what photographs contain as truth, however it is now easier than ever to manipulate a photograph so what we see is not actually real. I chose this photograph because I saw the video connected to the photo a few years ago and I have not forgotten it. The model on the left is not even close to being real. We however want to think it is because it is a photograph and we like to think they tell the truth. When we look at a picture we only see one moment we do not know what took place before, or after we have seen the picture to change it. I also added the video if anyone would like to watch the whole process of the model becoming the women on the left. 

Truth in photography

I had a really hard time find a picture that captured that same sense of unreality as the one used in the example. The example had me questioning the scene, what was going on and why the young girl was dead with no one around but photographers.

Then I came across this picture. It had a false sense to it, but I couldn't place why other than the odd slightly off kilter smiles of both the mother and child. I found myself just staring at them wondering what I was missing.

I followed the link and discovered that it was false in how it represented the family. The child had been freshly washed and then both mother and child plastered on the fake smiles. You can almost hear someone in the background saying 'Smile for the camera!" It was at odds with the background and the obvious poverty that they are surrounded. If you see the image taken earlier in the same photo shoot, it has a completely different feel.

This one rings true just looking at it. It was obviously taken during the Great Depression. You find out the baby has been sick and the family has been on the road for a month. They just arrived outside the Employment Office before the opening of the potato season. You can see the weariness in the mother's expressions and the unhappiness in the child's. The postures, expressions, and surroundings all come together to make a complete image.

It was not a lie by omission, but rather trying to change facts as they were presented. By changing the child's appearance and than plastering on the false smiles that did not match the rest of their faces it created a false reality.

Both photos are by Dorothea Lange, 1939
Source: http://johnedwinmason.typepad.com/john_edwin_mason_photogra/2010/03/how_photography_lies.html

Truth and Photography

As I began my search for a picture to represent Truth and Photography, I honestly didn't know where to start. I searched first by actually typing in truth and photography images and was soon looking at many pictures, but nothing that stood out to me as to what represents the assignment. As continuing my search I came across several photos that I wanted to use, but knowing we could pick only one I went with the one that I kept going back to.

I found this picture very interesting as it was taken in 1992 at a KKK rally. As I read the article that accompanies the photo, I learned that the photographer decided not to stay at the rally and take pictures, he decided to follow a mother with two small children. If he hadn't made that decision than this picture would never have been captured. This photograph shows a curious child in a KKK outfit tracing his reflection in the shield of a black State Trooper. Because of a decisive moment a rare historical photo was captured that would not have been ever seen again.

As a photographer, you have to make decisions on where to go and what to take a picture of. In a split moment you may capture that one perfect photo or only have it as a memory in your mind.

http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/kkk-child-black-state-trooper-meet-1992/

Truth in Photography

Historical photographs have seen a recent spike in popularity amongst blogs, humor sites, and even formal news sites.  I'm sure we've all seen them during those 'down the rabbit hole' search sessions, John Lennon and Che Guavera playing guitar together, Lincoln's widow comforted by his ghost, the Cottingley Fairies, and of course by now we know that all of these images are fakes.  It's not too shocking an idea that since the invention of the photograph, there were those capable of creating false images during or after the painstakingly long development processes.  But the idea that creating a false image that can bring forth more truth than the original, that's something worth not only investigating, but celebrating as well.

I know we were only supposed to choose a single image (the altered being my official choice), and technically I have, but I wanted to show you both and let you decide which image has more truth too it for you, the original, or the altered version.  The first image is a photo taken in 1936 by Dorthea Lange showing drought refugees waiting for the opening of the orange picking season in Porterville, California.

Note: I don't consider Black and White images to be inherently false, but they are only capable of showing half of the story.  I'm only clarifying my stance on the above image as being the "true" image, while realizing that some may have the same assumptions about black and white images that I do.  Also the fact that color is still considerably young when it comes to the history of photography.  

The second image is the creation of a very talented Photoshop Artist by the name of Cyriel Roumen.

Does the addition of color give this image more "truth" than the original?  In some ways absolutely it does, but it also loses some truth in the process.  Although every photograph depicts something that has already happened, black and white images will always have a more immediate feeling of history than their color counterparts.  So, can a truthful image, with a little bit of fiction added, have more truth than the original?

link to images: colorizing photoshppers

Internet Research Assignment #1: Find an image that challenges the idea of Truth and Photography.

This week, your prompt is to find a image that challenges the idea of Truth and Photography. Because photography shows the world to us so similarly to the way our eye sees it, we tend to believe what we see when we look at photographs, assuming that it tells a whole story. Take a look at this article and the video about Henri Cartier-Bresson to get the wheels turning as you go online and search for your image.

Read Article Here

This article refers to the 'Decisive Moment' which is a term coined by photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson.  He describes the Decisive Moment:

"To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression."

Here is a video containing an interview with Henri Cartier-Bresson and his images:

Welcome to the Class Blog! - Opportunities Announced

Gilbert's own Art Intersection is offering an opportunity for you to show YOUR work! I strongly encourage everyone to submit your artwork for this exhibition.
Link to Website

There is a photography exhibition up at the Arizona State University Step Gallery at the Grant Street Studios in Phoenix. Master of Fine Arts in Photography candidate Thomas Locke Hobbs presents a thesis exhibition - the culmination of three years of focused studio art photography development in the ASU School of the Arts.  The opening reception is THIS FRIDAY. I invite everyone to come and I hope to see you there.
Link to Website