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Research Post

Ansel Adams was a greatly known American photographer. He was best known for his black and white photos. His most iconic photos are those of the Yosemite National Park. This is because he had always been deeply inspired by nature with its rocks, forest, and flowing water. Adams was born in San Francisco, California on February 20th, 1902. He had previously trained to be a concert pianist, but then shifted his focus on photography around 1930. With Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston he co-founded Group f/64, which was a movement that promoted photography as being fine-art. This was during a time that photography was just viewed as a tool for documenting.  Adams traveled throughout his career to capture the best of American landscapes. He passed away at 82 in Monterey, California on April 22nd, 1984. His work today is featured in major institutions like the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,  the Museum of Modern Art in Washington, D.C, and London's Victoria and Albert Museum. This is one of Adams pieces that was the most eye-catching to me. It 's a photo from the Grand Tetons and Snake River. I think this picture alone explains how black and white photography can be so interesting without color. The picture is so detailed, clear and it gives me such a peaceful feeling.

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Research Post

Henri Cartier Bresson was a French filmmaker and photographer who is widely known for being one of the founders of street photography. His black and white photography were a main part of photojournalism in the 20th century. He is most famous for his 1952 book, The Decisive Moment, which talks about his philosophy of capturing a photo. Bresson was born in Chanteloup, France on August 22nd, 1908. He began his photography career in the 1930's and was deeply influenced by others like Man Ray, Andre Kertesz, and Eugen Atget. He traveled so much during his career to places like Africa, Europe, and Mexico. He used a Leica camera while on his travels. During World War 2, he joined the French, but was unfortunately captured by Nazis. He spent three years in a prison camp but was able to escape. He co-founded Magnum Photos in 1947 with other photographers. Magnum Photos became a really known agency for documentary photography. Bresson was given various awards like the Grand Prix National de la Photographie and the Hasselblad Award 1982. He passed away in Montjustin, France on August 3rd, 2004. He passed at the age of 95. His work is at major collections like The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery of Canada, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. His photo Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare(1932) shows a man that's mid-leap over a puddle. I really like this photo because it was took at a perfect timing. I think the reflection of the puddle made the composition look balanced from the top and the bottom. The reflection was a natural fun addition to the photo. The dark silhouette of the man infront of everything else ,that can be clearly seen, also gives the photo a pop of fun.

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Research Post

Diane Arbus was an American photographer who focused on black and white portraits. The main focus of her work was to capture those who are judged, misunderstood, and those who are viewed differently from everyone else. For example, she would photograph transgender individuals, circus performers,  and the mentally ill. One of her iconic photos was Identical Twins. Took in Roselle, New Jersey in 1967, the photo shows two identical sisters in same clothing and hairstyle. Though they look so similar, the photo reveals their differences from the vibe that they each give off. Nemerov was born in New York City on March 24th, 1923. She grew up with a privileged family, so she was able to explore art at an early age. In 1941, Allan Arbus, her husband, and Diane were introduced to photography. They both later launched a photography business for commercials. The business produced images for fashion publications like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. Unfortunately by the 1950's, she became a bit unhappy with commercial work so she began to walk the streets of New York with her camera. Instead she focused on capturing the lives of people. Her work got recognition and was included in "New Documents" the landmark 1967 Museum of Modern Art exhibition. She sadly struggled with depression and passed away from suicide at the age of 48.

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Research Post

Martin Parr is a British photographer known for his colorful captures that explore the quirks and contradictions of day to day life. His photos are rich in detail, story, and composition. Parr was born in Epsom, UK on May 23rd, 1952. From 1970 to 1973, he studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic. He had started his photography career shooting in black and white but then changed to color in the mid-1980's. He joined a movement which was led by photographers like Paul Graham. Other than photography, Graham explored fashion, film, and editorial projects. His work is shown in collections at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Below you can see that his work is very detailed. The colors are bright and stand out which adds interesting touches to the piece. I think this photo shows how everyday scenes can be so interesting to focus on. Photography can make anything look like art with the right composition, lighting, colors, and subjects.

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Research Post

Elliott Erwitt is a photographer known for his ability to capture humorous moments in everyday life. Erwitt was born in Paris and raised in Milan. He later moved to Los Angeles in 1942 where he attended Los Angeles City College. He moved and studied film in New York at the New School for Social Research from 1948 and 1950. In 1953, after serving in the military, his photography career took off. His photos appeared in known U.S. magazines which led him to become associated with Magnum Photos. Erwitt later served as president of the agency in 1966. His work is recognized for being playful, black and white, and for capturing dogs and people. One of his most famous pieces was "kitchen debate". It captured a debate between ,the U.S. vice president, Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev. His work is seen at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the International Center of Photography. The picture below named "Dog Legs" shows a small chihuahua in clothing, it's owners feet, and another dogs legs. I think this photo is really cute. The size difference between the chihuahua and the other dog is pretty humorous. I think if the photo would've been in color, it wouldn't have caught my attention as much. The black and white gives the photo a whole different feeling.

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Gregory Crewdson is an American photographer who captures cinematic and surreal images. He carefully stages each photograph like a set on a movie. This staging process involves large crews and careful planning so that he can create emotionally charged scenes filled with psychological depth and mystery. Crewdson was born in Brooklyn and studied at Yale. Now he serves as a director of graduate studies in photography. Throughout his three decade career he's produced major series like Twilight, Cathedral of the Pines, Natural Wonder, and An Eclipse of Moths. His images are quite haunting because of the way everything is set up. He leaves the viewers with more questions than answers.  Below is one of Crewdson's photos. It's a picture of a pregnant woman in a children's pool. There is a kid lying on the left side and another older kid adding water to the pool. I think this photo is so fascinating. I can't really explain what's happening, but that's the fun part. Every viewer is able to make their own story up from just this set-up. The colors are vibrant and give so much life to the photo. Crewdson's work gives me inspiration to think outside the box when playing with photography.

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Research Post

Annie Leibovitz was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and discovered photography at a very young age. Her first camera was given to her by her father who was a U.S. Air Force officer. She spent some time in the Philippines and after she returned to the U.S. she studied photography and painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. Her career began in 1970 at Rolling Stone Magazine. She became recognized from the intimate and striking portraits she'd take of celebrities and musicians. Some iconic stars that she took portraits of were John Lennon, Mick Jagger, and Patti Smith. To continue photographing celebrities, royalty and politicians she joined Vanity Fair in 1983. Leibovitz's work is famous for bringing out the true personalities of people in her portraits. She spends time with her subjects to build trust and to create a strong bond with them before her shoot. She is influenced by painters like Vermeer and Rembrandt, who used dramatic lighting and storytelling in their work as well. During her career she used various tools like lighting setups and different cameras to achieve her cinematic look. In the photo below of Queen Elizabeth,  I can see how her work is influenced by Rembrandt's work. Her photos look like they can be oil paintings from how smooth everything looks. The lighting also gives it an old painting effect.

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Final Photography Project

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Final Project

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Dy5p7Yu2vaCDGwCtdT78oc-N5Sc9HijN1kEHsyucFQQ/edit?usp=sharing

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Photo Book Report

Photo Book Report 

The photo book “Infidel” is by Tim Hetherington. It’s a photo book about the daily life of a group of troops at their camp. Tim Hetherington is a British photojournalist. He was born December 5th, 1970 and died April 20th, 2011. Other than this photobook, he has also produced films and multi-screen installations. His work mostly focused on capturing the experiences of individuals at war. Looking through the photobook, it starts off with portraits of each of the soldiers and their names. It’s like a quick introduction of the soldiers that will appear throughout the book. The majority of the pictures are of them doing their own thing like playing video games, cards, wrestling, and just being them. I noticed the pictures also all have the same look, which gives the photos an extra feeling of life at a troop campsite. The way the book is set up is in a small journal that is normally used as a diary. The title of the album is handwritten in a tattoo looking form. Overall, I think the way the book looks is a smart and eye catching way to present an album. It gives the feeling as if you were looking through a troops personal diary. I think the handwritten title also gives that type of experience for the book. The book ends with a picture of each of the troops sleeping. Also, at the end of the book, there are the drawings of all the soldiers' tattoos. These are tattoos the soldiers all gave each other. Tattoos are very common on soldiers since they’re used to signify their pride and patriotism. The photographer, Tim Hetherington, passed away from getting hit by shrapnel from a mortar blast. This happened while he was covering the Libyan War in Mistrata.

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Project Proposal

For this project I have chosen to photograph my favorite nature spot, Lake Kaweah.

I really enjoy nature and find it a very beautiful place to go find some peace. Lake

Kaweah is a reservoir located in Tulare County. It flows from the Kaweah River which

originates at the Sierra Nevada. This place was occupied by Native Americans groups

like the Yokuts, Wukchumne, and Kaweah. Those groups lived and hunted along the

river. It’s also a great place for swimming, boating, and fishing.

I chose to photograph this subject because it’s one of my favorite places to hangout

with my friends. Friends I had made when I started working in Visalia ,2 years ago, had

shown me the place and it has been my favorite peaceful place since then. I’m very

interested in nature and more right now that I have so much going on with school and

work full-time. I like to go out into nature to take in some fresh air and just enjoy the

moment.

The water looks very pretty when the sun starts setting, so I’ll be taking a few

sunset shots. I’m thinking of taking close-up shots of the water and maybe in the water if

I can find a way . I’m also thinking of taking some nature shots of birds and fish I see in

the river. I want to try to capture a big piece of the lake from a farther distance, so I'll be

making a few stops on the side of the road.

With this project I want to inspire my audience to explore nature more often. Spring

has started so it’s the perfect time to start going out to lakes. Also, I'd like to show my

audience how free it feels to be around nature when you have a lot going on. It’s a good

place to decompress

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Elements of Art

Line: The connection of one point to another. Lines can be straight, curved, wavy, short, long, thick and thin. 

Shape: An enclosed two-dimensional space. Examples are squares, triangles, circles etc. 

Color: The way light reflects off a surface. Color comes in different hues, 

Value: Lightness and darkness of a color that helps create depth. 

Form: A three dimensional object. There are geometric and organic forms. 

Texture: The surface feeling of an object.

Space: Area that shows depth. Around, within, and between objects.

Principles of Art 

Balance: The way visual weight is distributed throughout the composition. Asymmetrical or symmetrical weight. 

Contrast: The differences between used elements like color, texture, and size. 

Emphasis: Drawn attention to one particular element. 

Movement: The use of elements to guide the viewer's eye throughout the composition. 

Pattern: The repetition of shapes or colors. 

Unity: All elements in the design are in harmony.

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Weekend Blog! I work on weekends :( so I took pictures around my house during the weekdays I'm off.

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Hi everyone! Im Esmeralda Rivera. I'm 22 from Selma, Ca. I'm taking this course to learn more about how to work cameras, for use in graphic design, and to hopefully take professional pictures for some extra money. I'm a full-time student and work full-time so I don't really have any hobbies right now. :/