DB 11

Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado always took their pictures with their subjects aware of their presence. Also Smith enjoyed correcting/ manipulating his photographs in the dark room. Smith would give more exposure time on some parts of the picture and less time on other parts. This creates a great black and white contrast and therefore creates a sharper focal point for the viewer. Salgado on the other hand would befriend his subjects and therefore create a relationship with them. He stated “by spending more time with people, he is able to see their suffering and strength, which approaches at times a spiritual ascendancy.”

On the other hand Andre Kertesz and Henri Cartier-Bresson needed to be invisible when taking the pictures.

In my personal opinion I believe that Andre and Henri have the best approach in terms of a photojournalist stand point. In many of my pass assignments I have written for this online course, I’ve stated my distain for altered/staged photographs. Photographs have a lot sway in the public especially in the print media.

DB 9

The role of photojournalism is huge today. It can alter decisions made by governments, give politicians the extra bump in the elections, and it could effect people’s perceptions on a topic.  Photojournalism is to record what is happening not what the photographer thinks should happen. Photojournalists absolutely have rules to follow because if they are doing apiece about crime and they stage a scene, this can create a large impact on the viewer. The first thing a reader of the newspaper is going to see is the large picture right in the middle. From there they probably already passed judgment and established a mindset before reading the article.

 The ethics behind photos and an article is the same. Both the photographer and the writer have to report what they see and hear. Altering press photographs should not be edited at all. According to the slides “journalists must not alter their images because their role is to report about various events and inform the audience about facts.”

DB 6

The reason the project has significant impact on the society is that it gave a perception of depth to how bad the impact was. Like that old saying goes: A picture speaks a thousand words.  In most of the pictures you see how the people interacted, such as the signs depicting segregation. These pictures allow you to compare the current society norms that you are in to what they had. Which in returns gives some of these pictures more of an impact to the viewer.

In terms of the Migrant Mother it depicts what everyone went through during the migratory farm labor and the great depression. You can see in the mother’s eyes the large amount of despair and sadness in the two children. The mother in the picture seems very uncertain with her future. When you compare this picture to today, it shows you how bad they had it. 

Virtual Essay

Option 2: Find (online) at least FIVE images that remind you of the work of a particular photographer of your choice. Write 600 words analyzing the similarities and possible impact your photographer had on these images. You should explain the most important aspects of the work of the photographer you have chosen. Post the assignment on your blog/website and submit the link through WebCT Assignments.

Andy Biggs

At first I didn’t know which photographer I was going to base this assignment on. As I was scouring the Internet I came across a very interesting picture. It reminded me of one of my favorite movies, which is The Lion King. This led me to find a famous photographer that focuses his work on the African wildlife. The photographer Andy Biggs is known for his black and white safari photography of the wildlife and landscapes but he also takes colour photos also. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Biggs) 

The photograph that led me to the photographer Andy Biggs. Notice how the sky dominates the background.

Andy was born in 1969 in Houston, Texas. Andy’s deep passion for photographing the safari has made him a great teacher. He offers photography classes, which not only teaches you about lighting, photography, etc, but Andy teaches you about the wildlife and culture. He also inspires people to pursue their passions; Andy only started shooting in 2000. Andy has accomplished being the wildlife photographer of the year in 2008.

Most of Andy's photos show the intensity, power and beauty of the safari. I will be examining five of his photo below In the many photos I witnessed of Andy's, there seems to be a common theme. The theme is that there is always an asymmetrical positive to negative ratio. What I mean is the background is always either dominant by sky or land. Andy does this to create a sharper focus on the main "targets" in the foreground.

The photo above perfectly describes my point in the previous paragraph. Essentially what Andy did was he purposely took the picture so that the blue sky dominates the picture. That way the brown in the Wildebeest stood out. For such a calm picture in the background it creates a beautiful scene of raw power coming from the Wildebeests.

In the picture above it is a perfect example of Andy's black and white work. Again he dominates the picture with the sky creating the negative space that I talked about. What is so great and in line with his style is he creates pictures so have the viewer a depth of perception. As you can see he shows you the massive tree which is being compared to the giraffe.

The photo above this time is different from the ones I talked about before. The difference is his use of positive space in this African scenery. He allows the safari landscape encapsulate this photo which creates a sense of great depth. This photo shows that the Safari is a mysterious place and the hot air balloon shows it is very calm and quiet.

Andy did a fantastic job capturing the essences of strength and beauty in the Hippos above. As you can see in this photo he made the background out of focus and the foreground the most dominate. Having no colour in this picture help Andy's viewers focus on the power of the hippo's movement. As you can see the strength of the hippo's movement which caused the water to show up beautifully in the black and white photo.

The last photograph I have from Andy Gibbs is one of the stampeding zebra. What is amazing about this photo is that the only thing you can see is the zebras. The viewers can't see the background or foreground due to the dust. He perfectly kept the one zebra in focus while the others are blurred. This creates a sense of intensity which looks like the photo is following this high speed chase.

Here are five photos I have chosen that I believe are inspired by Andy's photos.

As you can see we can see two styles in the picture above. One being the negative space and two the comparison of the giraffe to the tree.

I didn't want to stick to the African safari to find Andy's style. You can see the water in the picture above takes up 3/4 of the picture.

Like the photo of Andy's Zebra, this picture shows the power and speed of the animals with the focus being on the cheetah. 

Work Cited
http://www.theglobalphotographer.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Biggs
http://www.andybiggs.com/index.php
http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/blog/photographer-spotlight-andy-biggs-4596

 

Press photography versus art photography

Topic 2: Press photography versus art photography - 15% Option 1: Find two press photographs and two art photographs (provide the names of the authors and sources) and explain: The main differences and similarities

- Is it ethical and acceptable to alter art photographs? Why? Why not?

- Is it ethical and acceptable to alter press photographs? Why? Why not? You should use at least two sources from the readings. (300 words).

The main difference between press photographs and art photographs is press captures the moment of truth. It presents a feeling to the viewer and establishes a predetermined feeling prior to reading an article. Press photographs can be altered to give evidence of the author's article. For example the picture of the protester was altered to include the crowd to show "strong protesting".

 Tank Man or Unknown Rebel by Jeff Widener 1989

Though both types can be altered, press altered photos are in my opinion unethical. This is due to the power of the press and the way you can manipulate a person’s feeling towards a subject. Even the selection of pictures for an article can change the reader's emotion and ideas towards the subject. An example of this is the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina. Instead of  publishing photos of the relief efforts, many newspapers would post photos of looting and arrests as their cover photo.

Suspected Looter By Irwin Thompson-Dallas

In terms of art photographs it is ethical and acceptable due to one of it’s goal which is to be aesthetically pleasing to the view.  With art photographs manipulations made in the dark room can be considered the artistic styling of one photographer. For example the fashion photographer Ellen Rogers, she refrains from using digital equipment and enhancing. Her style consists of experimentation in dark room to soften her pictures. 

 Solipsism By Ellen Rogers 2011

 Crow by Ellen Rogers 2009

Sources:
Winslow, D. (2001, September 8). Photojournalists covering katrina fall victim to growing violence, chaos. Retrieved from http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2005/09/hurricane2.html 


Wikipedia, . (2011, March 25). Tank man. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_man

Rogers, Ellen. (2009, March 25). Photoshoots. Retrieved from http://www.ellenrogers.co.uk/photoshoots 

Presentation Week 5: From Roger Fenton's combat photographs to Robert Capa's war photography

Similarities and differences

The similarity between all the photographers is that they are war photographers. They capture images of armed conflict and life in war-torn areas. Roger Fenton took photographs of Crimean war in 1855, Alexander Gardner and Mathew Brady took photographs of American Civil war and Robert Capa took photography of Spanish Civil war.

 Roger Fenton. Col. Doherty, Officers and  Men, 13th Light Dragoons

Roger Fenton was one of the great photographers in the mid of 1800 for works of art on Crimean war. Due to the size and cumbersome nature of his photographic equipment he was only able to produce pictures of unmoving objects, mostly posed pictures. But he also photographed the landscape. Fenton avoided making pictures of dead, injured or mutilated soldiers[1].

A sharpshooter's last sleep, Gettysburg

Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter

Alexander Gardner and Mathew Brady’s photographs have some similarities in style, due to Gardner worked for Brady for several years. When they began photographing Civil war, they frequently rearranged scenes. Gardner was known to place a rifle beside a body to improve a photo’s composition[2]. At Gettyburg, one of his subjects even performed double duty:  In A Sharpshooter's Last Sleep, he was a Union soldier, in Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter, a Southerner. Gardner, unphased by the death and destruction around him, dragged the body 40 yards on a blanket and cocked the corpse's head toward the camera for the second shot. Brady, for his part, once inserted the image of an absentee officer into a group portrait and then reshot the picture. 

Soldier guarding arsenal Washington DC, 1862

Most famous photography of Capa is “Falling soldier” Looking at Capa’s photography during the war, it shows a lot of peoples actions and expressions. All shots were taken up close to capture the action or expression[3]. 

 Loyalist Militiaman at the Moment of Death, Cerro Muriano, September 5, 1936.

Gardner, Fenton and Brady took more optimistic outlook when shooting their photographs. Fenton, Gardner, and Brady were all known to shoot more landscape style photos, which failed to prove the true pain and agony which war entails. Though it can be argued that Brady shared more similarities in style with Capa because he took many photographs of dead soldiers, Capa's were more action styled which set him apart. The photo of the Falling Solider was the one photo that was not meant to shock people, but gave viewers a image of the realities of war.

Juyung Bae - 100662916
Michael Wong - 100664311
Jasmine Wu - 100666507

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[1] History of art: history of photography. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.all-art.org/history658_photography4-2.html

[2] Kulman, Linda. (2001). Dodging bullets and editors. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/usnews/doubleissue/photography/war.html

[3] Whelan, Richard. (2002). Robert capa - in love and war. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/robert-capa/in-love-and-war/47/

Topic 1: The role of portraits in the early days of photography and portraits

1. What are main differences and similarities between portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today?

One of the main differences between portraits between the early days of photography and portraits today is what the portrait conveys. In the early days portraits showed signs of higher social status. Today we can take portraits of our families, which convey a different message: capturing a moment in time.

2. Who was the photographer and who was the subject of photographs in the past and today?

 In the past many photographers were people that took their profession very seriously. Because of the rarity of having a camera and the size of the cameras, photographers would have held shops. Well-established people would go into these stores and get their portrait taken. Compared to today, the camera is more accessible to people and are more portable. Today photographs are used to publish news and document history (minor or significant). From natural disasters to kids celebrating a birthday party they are all capturing a moment in time.

3. What was the impact on technology on the portraits in the past and today?

Technology has a huge part in portraits today. The digital camera, phone camera and the Internet are the three main technological develops that come to my mind. In the past it was very difficult to show portraits in a large scale. Now with the help of the digital age it is as simple as a point a click. In a matter of minutes a picture can be viewed hundreds of times. Also it allows for information to be relayed and felt more quickly. What I mean is the story of the Oil spill can be described in words but one large picture of a bird covered in oil says it all.

Assignment 3 Photo Manipulation Assignment

Before I started the assignment I had an idea to manipulate the photograph into something similar to a painting.  I had the mindset to emulate the same ideas as Alfred Stieglitz in his 1892 picture “The Terminal”. From what I learned in this picture I tried to do what a pictorialist would do. I choose a simple scene, and decide to make the mask the man is holding the focal point.

The first photograph I choose is a screen cap of a scene in The Dark Knight. Things I adjusted were: Colour to Black and white, soft focus, filled a bit of light, I angled the picture so the mask is upright and the focus of the picture. I also wanted to recreate a picture that was taken by a SLR camera and developed in a dark room. Therefore I made a film grain look to it in order to give the viewer a sense of film grain on the light sensitive paper. I also put most of the background and even the man out of focus in order to ensure that the first thing the view sees in the picture is the mask. This also reduced chaos in the picture but making the background out of focus. On top of that a little orange feathering was on the mask so that it pops out of the picture a bit.

 

 

So to further explain each alteration of the picture I need to explain the thought process. For the black and white change I decided to do this in order to create less distraction or chaos in the picture and for the view. I find that the fewer colours can have more of a dramatic effect on the viewer. Next with the soft focus, this was done to reduce the traffic in the background. Like I stated before this was done to keep the viewer fixated at the center of the photo first. With the angling, this was done to make the mask upright.

Due to my limited resources, skills and the program’s options I could not express what I wanted to do to the photo in my full potential.  Therefore it was difficult to work on a photograph in a way a pictorialist would, which is expressing myself.

Hello and welcome to my blog

My name is Michael Wong. I was born and raised in Toronto. Before George Brown College I went to Ryerson for 2 years for Graphic Communication Management. I realized that i was not interested in that program and decided to enter the hospitality program at George Brown.

On my spare time I enjoy listening to music (Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles Led Zeppelin and many more), watching movies & television (The Wire, Community and The Office) and reading. I started learning how to play the guitar last year and I’m enjoying it. I am currently working as a part-time front desk agent at the King Edward Hotel and I am the current treasurer for Sigma Pi Fraternity.