Reading #1 : Equivalence: The Perennial Trend by Minor White

I really liked this article because I feel like I can relate to it. It is very hard to set yourself apart from every other photographer..  especially now while in school. It is very easy to find photographs that you feel are "equivalent" to something you have seen before. 

I felt like this sentence made me understand what equivalence means in regards to this article the best: "If the individual viewer realizes that for him what he sees in a picture corresponds to something within himself—that is, the photograph mirrors something in himself—then his experience is some degree of Equivalence. (At least such is a small part of our present definition.)" 

I really liked where the article talked about why we remember images.  It explains that we only remember the images that we want to remember. We either remember them because we simply "love it" or dislike it.  These are those images that will always have an effect on you. When you see it, you have an immediate reaction, either love it or don't. 

It also explains how it can make us realize something about ourselves or maybe the reader has never been quite the same after looking at a certain image.  This happened to me after I started looking at abstract photography. I became very interested in this concept. It was after I saw some of John Coplans abstract photography of the figure.  I wanted to take his idea but do it in a different way and put my own emotion and feeling into it.  This is why I emulated John Coplan last semester. 

After reading this article it really made me think, "How can us photographers set ourselves apart" I think its really important while photographing to always put your OWN emotion and feeling into the way you are taking a photograph. You might get an  idea from someone else or  seen it before, but you can always take your own stance on it. Everyone has a different viewpoint or understanding of something so it is important to put that into your work and I will make more of an effort to do that after reading this article!

One image stuck out to me after reading this article and its because I remember seeing this picture for the first time... Julie had shown it to me, when I was trying to figure out what to do for my self portrait project a couple of semesters ago in photo workshop. After seeing this image, I loved it. It has always stuck in the back of my head. I tried doing something like it, for my self portraits, but it didn't have the same feeling. I felt they were not equivalent. I put my emotion and feeling into my images and made them a little different. In my photograph it was not about the nude figure but instead about the environment I was in and my reflection. I don't feel mine were as successful as Francesca, but I feel like if I took it further I could get something great out of it! 

Francesca Woodman

photomontage!

Here is my color photomontage!!

The color photomontage was the hardest for me. I didn't know where to start. So I cut out a picture of myself and put it on the outer edges of the mat board. Then I chose things that I was close to or represented me in some way. I chose the purple flower because its my favorite color and I love flowers. I chose Pocahontas because people call me "poco". I put my little sisters face in the sun because she always brightens my day. I put a picture of all my sisters because they are my best friends. And I put a hand print because I felt like it represented children and I want to be a 1st grade teacher! 

Here is my black & white photomontage!!

This one is my favorite! As soon as we were given this project, I wanted to do something with all of my old contact sheets. I felt like these were little glimpses of my past and they really represented who I am. And I love the quote in the middle! 

Why I take photographs??

I don't think I could answer this question in a sentence. There are SO many reasons why I take photographs. I love capturing special moments. I like creating art that both myself and other people like to look at. I have never been able to draw or paint but I always loved being creative... I hated that I couldn't create something that I was proud of. Once I started photography, I finally felt like I was able to create something I was proud of. I love creating abstractions in my photographs. I love using different light sources to create the perfect picture. Taking pictures allows me to be creative in my own way and gives me a voice. I learn new things everyday about myself through my photography. I hope to inspire others with my photography. I hope to give people a new outlook and create new and exciting things in my photographs!

I really like this quote! 

"A picture is worth a thousand words" 

FAVORITE PHOTOS!

So, we were asked to pick two of our favorite photographs (one that we took, and one that someone else took). I instantly thought of my darkroom photographs, I made a couple of years ago. For my final in darkroom I did a series called "innocence in young children" A lot of my classmates questioned whether or not they were actually "innocent" This was a big turning point for me. It made me realize that everyone interprets and reads a photograph differently. It made me pay more attention to small detail.  Because I learned so much from doing this series, I think that is why they stand out to me so much. Here is two examples:

(I took these)

This image by Sally Mann reminded me of some of my photographs in my series. I really like photographing children and I think Sally Mann captures so much in this one photograph. I love the expression in all three children. This image really catches my eye and gave me inspiration for some of my work while taking pictures of children.

Sally Mann

Another one of my favorite photographs that I took was part of my emulation project. I emulated John Coplan and I was very pleased with my final product. I really enjoyed using the softbox and it was my first time playing around with a different lighting source. My favorite image from this series is the picture of my models hand all tangled. I love the abstraction and how the lighting hits the skin. 

(I took this)

Arno Rafael Minkkien- Fosters Pond Millennium

Another photograph that has inspired me and that I really enjoy looking at is this one. I love the abstraction and reflections in this image. It is truly amazing! 

Edited images for final project

These are all of the images I was choosing from for my final 9 images. I am picking 9 images so I can create a square format. I loved doing this project! It was definitely a risk for me. I was worried about taking nude photographs in the nature, but I think it went well. I really liked how I can compare some of these images to my previous work. They remind me of my images I took for my final in digital last semester. I chose to do this project because I wanted to combine my abstract, figure, and nature photography. I would like to further this project by continueing this project over the summer!

Contact sheets for final project

Artist Lecture (Museum talk)

Anne Grace Couvillian:
Anne is a previous classmate of mine and through her artist talk, I have seen she has gained a lot of confidence when talking about her work. I really like where she has taken her photography. She does beautiful shots of the nature. Her work in the museum was of tree portraits and they were technically, compositionally and visually beautiful. Her work has come so far. She was very interested in the form of leafless trees. She captured the line, form and shape of these trees through her images. She showed her exploration of nature through her photographs. You can see her love for the outdoors through her images. One of her main inspirations for her work is Ansel Adams. She uses both a digital and medium format camera(4x5). She also used a painting like quality with her willow trees and the medium format camera. Her images are peaceful and calming. Her future plan is to continue to work with nature photography.


Monica:
Her final work was drawings of herself. The self portraits were pretty amazing. She talked about when she first got into the B.F.A program she didn't know what she was getting herself into. When she was trying to make art, she was getting stuck on paintings and worried about making sure she was making "beautiful paintings" for the museum. But then someone told her "it is okay to just draw". This was the turning point for her. This is exactly what she wanted to do. She didn't want to paint. She explained how her personality conflicted with her art. She is not demanding so it was hard for her to get her models to do exactly what she wanted. This is where she got the idea to do self portraits. She wanted to have full control. This was an amazing self-reflection for her. But she began to feel dis-comfort when drawing herself. But the support she had from friends and family kept her going. She began seeing beyond herself as the model. she focused on the flesh, lines, and brush stokes. Through her work you can see her constant brush strokes and time she put into her work. She is hoping to bring her drawing work to paintings so she can see some color. But she is planning to stick with drawing as her focus.

Katie Blankchet: 
Katie is a print maker. She explained that print making is like a "science project". Before this lecture, I did not know what print making was and the process of it. She explained there was a lot of mixing in the process and through her grant she discovered so many different processes. She said her biggest struggle was the "artist theme" She was focusing too much on trying to impress people instead of making art for herself. This was something I could relate to in photography. It was nice to hear someone else talk about the struggle that is always in my head. I feel I am always making work for other people rather than making the work I love. As artists, we should be making work that is most important to us. And when Katie began to do this, was when she experienced her turning point. Everything started to come together. She began to focus on observational dry point. She was trying to capture small moments in time. She wanted to capture moments that everyone takes for granted. Moments she saw everyday but never really payed attention too. Through her work, she showed her appreciation of these small moments. She had a very good eye for light, and it showed she was aware of every bit of light. I really liked her talk, she had so many good points and advice!

Margo Belisle:


Margo is a sculptor. Her work is very playful and simple, but quite beautiful. I would never be able to have the patience for what she does, so I appreciate it very much! Her work is friendly, enjoyable, and memorable to her and her audience. Her work in the show was based on dancers she saw in Italy and the photographs she took of them. She was interested in the costumes and poses they were making. She was interested in the texture of the costume. Her work showed how the muscle and body can stretch and bend. When doing her work she uses physical contact, she likes to be involved in her work, so she uses her hands rather than tools. I really liked when she said, "the figure is the costume". This was shown in her work. I was focusing more on the texture and look of the costume rather than the figure. The fabric of the costume reflected movement, form, shapes and angles.

Kathryn: 
Kathryn is a painter. She really enjoys making connections with her work. She loves vibrancy and bright colors and this was really shown throughout her work. She photographed plants. She liked when the colors interacted. Her biggest inspiration is Owen Newgal but didn't really know but everyone kept telling her that her work reminded them of him. She used oil on canvas and watercolor. Both sets of work connected to each other. She really liked to focus on line work with the watercolor and it was quite beautiful. She liked that she could integrate her family life when doing her paintings. Family is very important to her and she liked getting inspiration from them. In her work she likes to create a family, vibrancy, and an overall good feeling. Her work has a very positive and happy feeling to it. I really enjoyed her paintings!