cmophotography-world-blog

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Alt Process Inspiration Artist Part 2

First 3 photos: Mogan Andrei’s “Look into My Eyes” series

Next 3 photos: Suren Manvelyan’s “Your Beautiful Eyes” series

Both of these series were designed to give the viewer a look into the subject and learn more about them. However, if one looks closely at the pupil of the images, when seen digitally, one can seen their own reflection in the screen.

With my project I tried to photograph my subjects’ eyes so that one can see more about themselves rather than the subject in the eye. While this is proving to be very difficult, I am hoping that one can still see themselves in my images.

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On Assignment: Final Documentary Inspiration Artist(s)

For my final inspiration artist, it is actually a collection of photographers. The photographers of the Farm Sanctuary Organization. These photographers work to promote the Sanctuary and the things that it stands for. These photographers work alongside the volunteers (especially since the photographers are volunteers themselves) to capture special moments between them and to show to the world what this sanctuary is doing and how these animals are recovering. 

A lot of their images show the personality of the animals and the interaction that the volunteers have with the animals. These are things that I hope to capture with my images for my documentary.

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Alt Process: Final Project Inspiration Artist

Mike Ware is the photographer that I chose for my inspiration artist for my final project. For my final I will be working mainly with cyanotype with the possibility of toning them slightly. Mike Ware is a photographer that works exclusively with alternative processes. e has a doctorate in molecular spectroscopy and does a lot of lecturing and teaching of inorganic chemistry and is a self taught photographer and enjoys photography because it “provides an ideal meeting ground for science and art.”

I chose this artist as my inspiration because I like the amount of detail and depth that he gets in his images. He also has a beautiful richness that he is able to achieve throughout the tones in his images. This is something that will be important for my project and my images. Since I am photographing eyes, I want to get as much detail as possible so that I can have a nice crisp image. I really the effect that cyanotypes have and I think that I will be able to bring out a lot of detail in my images by using this process.

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Alt. Process: Final Project Proposal

For my final project I will be working with either cyanotype or gum bichromate. I will be photographing eyes for this project and working with the idea that the closer you get to someone and the more you look into their eyes, you begin to see yourself and your reflection. Everyone says and believes that “the eyes are the window to one’s soul” and that you can “learn a lot about someone through their eyes.” However, you not only learn a lot about someone through their eyes, you also learn more about yourself. 

For this project I will be getting as close to my subjects as I can. I want to get a variety of people even though you will not be able to tell who these people are. I will arrange them on the wall in pairs of 2. I will get single images of my subjects’ eyes (left and right) and I plan to have the right eye of one subject paired with the left eye of another. I will also be incorporating myself into this series.

I was thinking about using gum bichromate and use a variety of colors to try to bring out as much detail as i can in the eyes. The other option I was thinking of was using cyanotypes because I know that I can get a lot of detail out of that. I could also use a combination of the 2.

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On Assignment: News Post (April 13, 2017)

Built on Steel, Pittsburgh Now Thrives on Culture

photographer: Jeff Swensen

This article talks about how Pittsburgh used to thrive off of its steel production but since industry collapsed in the 1980s, the city has found new ways to grow and support its communities. This city shows a wide variety of diversity as well as many historical and cultural sites. The article mentions a few of the places that people can visit even on a tight budge and still get the experience of the city. The article talks about some of the hidden treasures of the city such as the Conflict Kitchen and the “House Poem.”

The images in this article are simple but yet they still show some of the characteristic of the city of Pittsburgh. Having been to Pittsburgh a few times in the past, I feel that these images do show a lot about the smaller parts of the city and not the typical things that everyone sees. They give a unique look perspective of the city which I feel adds to the overall feel and purpose of the article.

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Photo of the Week (4/11/2017)

Andy, one of the 14 original horses rescued at The Haven at Skanda, waits by the fence for some attention on April 8 2017.

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On Assignment: News Story (April 6, 2017)

Photographer: Sheng-Wen Lo

Pictures Show the Strange Lives of Captive Polar Bears

This article talks about the conditions that polar bears are forced to live in when they are in captivity. At first the images might appear as if they are advocating fully against animals in captivity. However, this is not necessarily the case. tHe main purpose is to show that some animas are suited for captivity, and which are not. It has been stated that polar bears in captivity are not suited for the same conditions as wild ones because their skin is thinner and they can’t handle extremely cold temperatures. The photographer did not want to show the bears as vulnerable. He wanted to reveal the animals as the complex beings they are.

The images in this story really show the polar bears in their captive environment. The photographs so how artificial made these spaces are. I feel that the images are very impactful because they show spaces that people see when they visit a zoo but they do not really think about them that much. I feel that these images give a different perspective to the zoo setting.

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On Assignment: Project 4 write up

For this project, I wanted to focus on the volunteers of the area and I wanted to photograph them in their environment. I struggled a bit with trying to contact different people and places that I knew had volunteers working with them.

 I heard about the Food Truck 5k and I planned to go and photograph there because I figured that there was going to be volunteers helping at the event. There were some but my focus shifted to the workers of the food trucks that were set up there. Everyone that I talked to was extremely nice and were very corporative. The people from the Stockyard Bar-b-que were nice enough to stop with their set up and pose outside of the truck for me in order to photograph them. I feel that their environment is one that is unique and I thought that it would be interesting to photograph. It was a little difficult to photograph at the 5k because there was a lot going on even before the event started. It was also pretty overcast that day and there was a lot of smoke because of the barbecue smoker. I had to move around the truck to find the best places to photograph and adapt to the environment the best that I could.

I also went to the free meal the the Friendship Inns does every Monday in the basement of the Summit Church in Cazenovia. This event runs almost entirely on volunteers so this was a great place to go to be able to continue my plan of photographing volunteers. I emailed the director of the event, Roxanne Jackson, if I could come and photograph. She said that it was not a problem and I was welcome to stop by and have dinner there as well. When I arrived, everyone was extremely welcoming and they were more than happy to have me there. They let me go into the kitchen to photograph the volunteers there and I was also able to photograph while the volunteers were serving the food to the community members. I was really happy to be able to photograph here because it followed my original plan of photographing volunteers. The environment was really nice to work in because, for the most part, the lighting was fairly nice and the space was very open and welcoming. 

If I were to go and reshoot, I would try to work a little more with trying to incorporate more of the space in the shot and try a different angle for some of the portraits. I would also try to work more with my flash and learn to be more comfortable with it.   

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On Assignment: Project 4

Photo 1. One of the cooks of the Stockyard Bar-B-Q food truck preps for the day selling food from his truck at the Fools Food Truck 5k on Saturday, April 1st in Cazenovia.

Photo 2. Roxanne Jackson, the executive director for Friendship Inns, helps serve corn and sauerkraut at Monday's meal. The Friendship Inns provide a free meal every Monday at the church.

Photo 3. Weese, a hunt seat riding instructor for the college, volunteers to help wash dishes during the free meal on Monday, April 3rd.

Photo 4. Cindy Schallmo helps serve hot dogs during the free meal at the Summit Church on Monday, April 3rd. All the food for these meals is donated by the college. 

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Alternative Process: Inspiration Artist: Liquid Light

Alice Cazenave

Cazenave is a photographer that is a photographer because of his love of science. Working with alternative processes brings out more of the science side of photography that he loves. Another reason that he likes alternative processes is because he get to decide where the image appears and how much of the image we actually sees. He also likes these processes because it blurs the line between painting and photography. In some of his images he incorporates pencil or oil paint onto the image to manipulate it. a quote from his essay on liquid light states that “This series presents my initial experiments with liquid photo emulsion. This process of making photographs permits me to fuse my interest in photography with my inherent appreciation for drawing and painting.”

I really like the idea of playing with the emulsion and making it appear more abstract on the paper. I would like to try this effect with my liquid light prints to see if I could make it appear as if the image is slowing coming out of the paper. I also like that he incorporates other mediums into his work. While I would like to try this also, it would depend on the time frame and if I actually have time to try it. I really like the amount of detail that Cazenave is able to get from his images (they were done on film I am just not sure exactly what size that he used). I wish that he had more images available because I would love to see more of his work.

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Photo of the Week (April 4th 2017)

Volunteers help at the Fool’s Food Truck 5k registration table on Saturday April 1st 2017.

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On Assignment : News Post (3/30/2017)

The Country That Doesn't Exist

By Catherine Zuckerman Photographs by Thomas Vanden Driessche

This article talks about the piece of land that is technically not considered a country despite the fact that it has its own form of currency, a constitution, a standing army, and its own independent government. Transdniestria is located between Moldova and Ukraine. This area is home to roughly 1 million people. The article, mainly explained through images, talked about how despite the fact that many of the citizens are very patriotic, many pledge allegiance to Russia. 

The images in this article are extremely important because the images tell the story of this “country.” The captions on the images talk about the wars that this area has gone through as well as their fight for independence. Many of the images depict scenes from reenactments that the “country” preforms as well as parades that it has. Thomas Vanden Driessche explained that while he was photographing this area, the people did not mind him taking their portraits. However, he explained that the reaction that he got from people was one that he had never experienced before and that was that the "Nobody was happy. But nobody was pissed off.”

I find this interesting because typically people care about whether or not their picture is being taken but these people seemed to not have any opinion on it. 

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Photo of the Week (3/28/2017)

Hip-hop violinist, SVET, performs at the Catherine Cummings Theater on March 22nd 2017 at a CAB live music event, 

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On Assignment: News Story (3/23/2017)

Photos: Mario Tama/Getty Images

It’s Been Just 7 Months Since The Rio Olympics, And This Is What The Venues Look Like Now

This article briefly mentions that despite the fact that it as been just barely 7 months since the Olympic Games in Rio, the venus are completely abandoned and some are falling apart. The article mentions that the organizations that built the structures for the Games stated that these structures would benefit the host city. The article has links to an article published in 2014 in which the president of the organizational committee stated that “the Games will leave a huge legacy for both Rio and Brazil, and are starting to take shape. No other host city will have had such big transformational benefits from the Games as Rio.” The images that Mario Tama captures of these structure show that they have been of no benefit to Rio or Brazil. Many believe that the money would have been better spent in other things because now, Rio is still struggling economically and politically.

I feel that the images for this story are very impactful. They show the damage that has been done to this community. One can see many of the different buildings and areas from the Games that are now left to sit for who knows how long. These images make the viewer think about how beneficial the Games really are to the cities that host them.

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On Assignment: Video Story Write Up

For my video story I wanted to capture the artists at Black Sea Tattoo and Piercing. I chose to do a human interest type video because I have always been fascinated with tattoos and the art itself. I wanted to be able to meet and talk to the artists at this shop and learn their stories of how they ended up where they are now. While I did not include the full story of each artist in my video, I felt that it was a crucial part in the making of my video. Tattoos themselves are unique and are meant to compliment the person that they are one. Talking to these artists, I was able to learn a lot about their style and process as well as some of the stories that they have gathered over the years. The end result of my video was showing the viewer a little highlight of each artist and what they love about tattooing and the shop that they work at currently.

This project was one that pushed me out of my comfort zone a bit. My skills with working with video are not the strongest and I am not really the type of person that goes out of their way to plan something like this. I typically like to stay ”close to home” and not venture out too much. I am trying to push myself more this year and get out of my comfort zone. The artists at Black Sea were extremely welcoming and this is something that I wanted to show in my video. This shop is not the typical tattoo shop. It is a very welcoming space and the people are extremely nice. 

I plan on giving this video to Black Sea as a thank you for all their help with this project.

Video link: https://youtu.be/iMoDgmCeQlE

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Alt Process: Inspiration Artist - Gum Bichromates 

Artist : Billy Mabrey

Billy Mabrey is a photographer that works almost entirely with gum prints ever since he started working with them while in college. One thing that he likes about gum prints is that it allows him to combine artistic freedom and technical skill and after a lot of struggle with learning it, he states that he now sees it to be a fairly flexible medium and he enjoys working with it. He talks about how, with alt processes, the image becomes “a memory, transformed and reconfigured by time continually into a new object.”

I like how with Mabrey’s photos, he shoots from different angles to create different and unique images. I like the clean way that he applies his emulsion but at the same time, you can see the different colors that he used on the edges of the print to prove that it was done with an alternative process and not just edited on a computer and printed. For my photos, I want to be able to have a nice clean edge but at the same time, I might want to be unorganized and kind of chaotic with my emulsion. 

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On Assignment: Photo Documentary

I have looked at multiple different ideas for my documentary project. I have contacted Equine Olympian, Beezie Madden through Facebook to see if I could photographer her for this project. I have not heard back from her and yesterday, I sent a follow-up email to see if I could get a response. I would like to photographer her because it is a topic I am really interested in and I feel like she would be a very interesting to photograph.

Another option that I have thought of for this project would be photographing the workers at the Morrisville Equine Rehabilitation Center. I would like to be able to see if I photograph some of the horses in the different stages of rehabilitation. I would also like to photograph the workers there and how they interact with the horses and help with the process. I would like to be able to photograph some of the rehabilitation exercises.

My final idea for this project would be going to The Haven at Skanda. This is an animal rescue facility for farm animals. I feel like doing a photo documentary on a place like this would be very unique and interesting. I know that this place relies a lot on the help from volunteers so it would be great to be able to see the volunteers interacting with the animals as well as with each other.