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August: Urban Environment

©2015 Crystaline Randazzo Photography. All Rights Reserved. 

After taking a break from this project in July, we are back to our monthly posts. It’s been a busy summer for me as I left Rwanda, traveled through the U.S., and landed in Washington, D.C. for a few months. I’ll head out to Nepal in January but for now all my posts will be coming from D.C. 

Our challenge this month was to do a post on an urban environment. This lined up perfectly with my transition to D.C. and a look at a “bigger” city than Kigali. The thing that feels most urban about being back here are my daily bus and metro rides. The city seems to be filled to the brink with people making their daily trips in and out of the city. I often find myself popping in my headphones as my cover, while doing street photography on my iphone. As they say, the best camera is the one you have with you. 

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June: Abstraction

©Crystaline Randazzo Photography. All Rights Reserves

As I prepare to leave Rwanda, I am reminded how alike abstraction is to my memory. In a few months, I won’t remember exactly how the curve of the ivy grew over the painted white brick in my yard. Or the details in the leaves of the succulent that lives in the pot on my porch. I will vaguely recall the lush, green landscape that I once looked at daily. And yet the beauty will remain with or without the crisp detail.

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June Challenge: Abstract Photography

ABSTRACT (as related to the Fine Arts): of or relating to the formal aspect of art, emphasizing lines, colors, generalized or geometrical forms, etc., especially with reference to their relationship to one another.  

Abstract art has always fascinated me. I remember seeing Mark Rothko’s color field paintings years ago at the National Gallery of Art in DC and just staring at them in wonder. How was it possible to feel an emotion from a painting with blocks of color? I was hooked and have tried to incorporate color, juxtaposition and emotion in my work ever since.   

Earlier this month I traveled to my hometown in Maine for a photography exhibit and to visit with friends and family. For me, trips like this are always great to reflect and reconnect to the things that matter. 

This image was made during a quiet morning walk along the shoreline of Wesserunsett Lake.  The autumn leaves in the water and the spring buds reflected in it made me stop. New and old. Begin and end. Come home then leave again. And the cycle continues...

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June challenge - abstract photography. 

I would like to dedicate this image to Hannele who is amazing at capturing water. I had an amazing opportunity to spend few days in greek island of Kos and this is where I took this photograph of thin layer of water creased by the wind. Wishing all of you wonderful summer! 

© Magda Rakita

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The Camera-less Photography 

I was really looking forward to this challenge. I really was. But then other things got in the way (its good to be busy -right?!?!?!) and here I am - very late again.

When thinking how to tackle this challenge and create an image with light but  without using camera I thought of an experiment I tried with few class mates while studying a couple of years ago. While working in b/w darkroom we began exposing photographic paper with an iPad displaying an image converted to a negative. It was great fun and the results were surprisingly good. I was wondering how could I replicate this process at home without actual darkroom. Of course at this point I realised that as much as it is alternative process it still involves actual camera, even if it is a phone or a tablet camera. But it led me to buying a photosensitive paper (which can be used for so called “sunography”) and try it anyway. My experiment failed.

Without any alternative idea and well behind the schedule I used couple of sheets as they supposed to be used - by placing objects on them and exposing to the bright sunlight for few minutes. As I don’t really like the shade and intensity of blue colour of this paper I scanned the images and post processed them by converting to b/w and increasing the contrast.

Now off to take some photos for this month challenge! Wish me luck :) 

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May: Camera-less Photography

Inspired by Crystal’s beautiful composition earlier in the month, I sat down this morning at the scanner to complete the May challenge. (Better late than never, right?) 

At first nothing was working the way I wanted it to – even though, truthfully, I had no idea what I wanted. I knew I had a limited amount of time to devote to this challenge, I was already a month late in completing it and was focused on all the other things I had to do. I was not in a creative space and it showed in boring scan after boring scan. 

I was grasping at anything I could find, I even scanned my dog. Yeah, I know…let’s just say, she was NOT amused. 

Then I remembered: I photograph water. Why not scan it? 

I added my favorite flower and finally I had something I liked. I started off so focused on the “I need to get this done” and not on the creative opportunity it was giving me. Once I finally focused on the goals of this project, my mind clicked into creative mode and I had fun. 

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May: Camera-less Photography

Well another month has flown by and I was excited to do something totally different. I’ve followed the work of Ellen Hoverkamp and love the simplistic beauty that she accomplishes with her scanner still lives. It felt like the perfect opportunity to give it a go! 

Sometimes as photographers we get so caught up in the technical that we don’t even really see what is in front of us. Framing becomes instinct while our brain calculates our settings. Working on a scanner it is only about composition and truly an opportunity to stretch your creative muscles. 

©2015 Crystaline Randazzo Photography, LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

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April: Being Photographed

Well I survived the hardest challenge on the blog so far. Being photographed myself! Every time I am in front of the lens I am reminded how hard it is. It makes me grateful to the people who endure my camera.  Luckily, I also got to spend some time with the amazingly talented Laura Pohl who did these photographs for me. 

May we always remember what it feels like to be vulnerable and may the experience make us better photographers.

All photos ©2015 Laura Elizabeth Pohl. All Rights Reserved.

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A Photo challenge without a photograph.

Technically speaking there is a photograph, but it is somehow less relevant to in this particular challenge. Last month we supposed to ask someone to take/make a photo of ourselves. The idea behind this particular challenge was to swap the places and be in front of the camera rather than hide behind it. 

Rather than setting up a photo shoot i hoped to complete this challenge in more natural way. It took long time but few days ago during a reunion with some of my University friends a very talented Dora Laszlo-Kokai took out her camera and snapped few images. It was interesting for me to observe my own reaction to this, slight discomfort at first, being aware of her camera suddenly present and waiting for the right moment. It changed the dynamics of the meeting a bit, at least in my opinion. Changed mood lifted quickly, but I know Dora for a while now and she is a friend of mine.

Of course, others may react differently to this or similar situations, but it reminded me how important it is to make people we photograph feel comfortable and relaxed, to be open about our intentions and spend as much time as possible with them. I haven’t seen any of images from that afternoon yet, and I may post some later, should Dora make them available. 

Thank you for reading and please stay in touch!

Magda

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April: Being Photographed

Our challenge this month was to put down our cameras and have someone photograph us. FInding another photographer with time to do this during the busy spring season proved to be a challenge but luckily Forrest MacComack came to my rescue. Forrest is a portrait photographer based in the DC area and an RIT alum like me. He made the experience of being in front of the camera a little less horrifying than I anticipated. I’m being dramatic, it’s really not that bad…

…especially when you have cute props, I mean dogs, to lighten the mood. 

I’ve always been a little awkward in front of the camera, probably due to shyness and some long held insecurities about my looks. It’s a vulnerable place. That’s why trust and a mutual respect between photographer and subject is paramount. This experience was a good reminder that.  

Plus, it’s always fun to see how other photographers shoot. Forrest used a very simple set up with one main light and a reflector. By keeping it simple, he was able to spend more time working with me and playing with props. 

All photos ©Forrest MacCormack 2015

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©Magda Rakita. All rights reserved.

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March: A Photo I Love

In March, we were challenged to choose a photograph we made during the month that we love and discuss why we love it. 

One of the hardest parts of pet ownership is caring for them as they start to fade away. Sadly, sometimes when pets get old they are abandoned at shelters, left to die in loud, confusing places. Kacey, the senior beagle, was saved from a shelter in southwest Virginia in January by a Washington DC based dog rescue organization. Sadly, shortly after arriving in DC, Kacey came down is a debilitating cough that turned out to be caused by an advanced form of cancer. Since she can’t be adopted, her foster family has decided to care for her in her final months. Even though Kacey has only been with them a short time, their fondness and love for her grows day by day. 

I chose this photograph because I feel that it represents the bond humans can share with animals. As someone with an aging dog of my own, I share the feeling of love and heartbreak Karen (Kacey’s foster mom) displays in this picture. 

©Hannele Lahti

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March: A Photo I Love

©2015 Crystaline Randazzo Photography, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

In March, we were challenged to choose a photograph that we love and discuss why we love it. I choose a photograph I took recently while gorilla trekking in Rwanda.

As an expat, I move about every two years. I love my lifestyle  but I admit that I get nostalgic when I get towards the end of a tour. We leave Rwanda in July and I am entering the reflective part of my journey. I love this photograph because it is a reminder of all the good things in Rwanda and my life in the last two years. Being close enough to touch a gorilla (and in some cases having them touch you) was truly an incredible experience. 

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February Challenge: Monochromatic Photography

I chose to use the snow covered landscapes of Canada as the source of my monochromatic image this month. The thing I love about winter is the limited color palette of blues and grays. It forces you to look at light and texture like you would while shooting black and white. 

This image was made on a cold morning at Niagara Falls, in Ontario, Canada. I've always been drawn to water with my work so I wanted to revisit the falls in winter. I loved how the force of the falls created an icy mist that obscures this monochromatic landscape.

©Hannele Lahti - All rights reserved

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February: 1000 Monochromatic Hills

©2015 Crystaline Randazzo Photography, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Our challenge for February was to create a monochromatic photo. As defined by the dictionary, monochromatic color schemes are derived from a single base hue and extended using its shades, tones and tints.

I was traveling near the volcanoes this weekend and early one morning a fog settled on the tops of the volcanoes. Rwanda is called the land of a thousand hills and I thought they looked dreamy in this monochromatic blue landscape. 

I've been thinking about this project since the beginning of February and tried a lot of different things before the perfect set of circumstances lined up. I love that through collaboration I am challenged to do something that I certainly would not of thought of myself.

I believe that sometimes we need outside motivation and guides to direct our creativity in a direction we might not of gone naturally. This is part of innovation that many artists don't see. We've been taught to "think outside the box" but in reality thinking "inside the box" creates workable boundaries that allow us to come up with creative solutions to problems. Here's to making photographs that challenge the way we think. 

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