Photography

Raghu Rai

2007-11-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

"Mother Teresa at her refuge of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta. During prayer." In being aware of Mother Teresa's contributions to others, I think this photo tactfully conveys her devotion to this mission. She appears very at peace with herself and yet so powerful in her thoughts. I like the contrast of this photo and the white vale that could symbolically represent her pure heart. She seems to gain such strength in the power of prayer. I wonder what task she went on to conquer.

Burt Glinn

2007-11-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

"Seattle, Washington. 1953. Members of the Seattle Tubing Society in full float." I just thought this photo was hilarious. Tubing Society? They have those? The guy with umbrella is priceless.

Library Assignment

2007-10-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

I looked through several different books at the library and studied the work of various artists. Of all the photographs I looked at, these two really stood out to me.

These two women seem to express everything they are feeling through a distant gaze. While one shows determination, the other demonstrates despair. These photos seemed to depict the struggles of women of color and of lower class.

The first photo of the girl and boy was taken by Roy DeCarava and captioned "Mississippi freedom marcher, Washington, D.C. 1963." I felt that I could experience everything this girl was feeling by observing the look in her eyes. As a freedom marcher, she had such an intense look of pride and willpower. The natural lighting of the sun further captured this expression on her face.

The focal point of the photograph is clearly the girl, even though there is a boy standing right next to her. The boy is cut out of the picture and he is not in focus. His positioning, however, helps frame the girl nicely. It is also interesting how the photographer chose to leave the boy’s eye in the shot. In doing so, the viewer is able to interpret the emotions of both characters. The boy has a very sad look on his face, perhaps feeling he is fighting a loosing battle. The girl, on the contrary, looks more hopeful in their march for freedom. The photograph is able to capture a wide range of emotion through the expressions of these two people.

This picture has great contrast, both in the quality of the photograph and between the white uniforms and dark skin of the people. In looking at their matching attire, I wondered whether these people were coming from a segregated school in which uniforms were required.

The second photo of the woman and child was taken by Sebastiao Salgado and left untitled. As with the first photograph, this one tells a story through the eyes of the woman it features. She holds a distant expression as she breastfeeds her child. The child appears malnurished and at an age too old to still be breastfed. With the mother and child's rags for clothing, their small body statures, and the lack of proper food for the child, it is apparent that they are of minimal income.

With the intense look in the mother's eyes, it is easy for the observer to overlook both the child and everything else in the photograph. The mother and child are placed in a dark area with everything around them illuminated by a spotlight. This further suggests a sense of helplessness. The light in the background and the darkness around the figures provides good constrast in the photo.

In glancing quickly at the picture, the image greatly resembles the "Madonna and Child" of Christianity. The way the woman is holding her child is similar to Mary's embrace of baby Jesus. Also, the woman's wrap on her head resembles the wrap Mary is wearing in the painting.

Comparison of Photographs

2007-10-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

Ansel Adams
Joshua Thomas Cooper

When first glancing at these photographs, they appear to be very similar in style. The both look like pictures of water taken in different settings at different angles. The photograph taken by Ansel Adams is of a waterfall flowing down a cliff. The photo taken by Thomas Joshua Cooper appears to be of water rushing into a valley. After examining the picture more carefully though, I believe what I originally mistook for water is actually light coming into the scene.

Abbas

2007-10-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

The children in this photo were imitating Abbas behind his camera. I thought it was an adorable picture that nicely captured the innocent humor of these children.

This photo was captioned "MALI. Bamako. At sunrise, a fisherman in his boat on the river Niger. 1994." I thought this was a very serene photo and found myself wondering what the boy was thinking as he drifted along the water. Was he content with his job? Did he rely on his boat as an opportunity for escape? Was he alone on long journeys trying to make a living for himself and possibly a family?

Leonard Freed

2007-10-21T18:33:00.001-07:00

This photo was captioned "ISRAEL. Jerusalem. 1967. Religious Jews at home in Mea Shearim." I thought the stance of the baby was just hilarious. The people seemed like such a cute and happy family in that moment. While their home appears very simple and plain, the photo conveys a family content with each other. I liked how their lifestyles was one unique to my own.

This photo was taken in 1988 of a refugee family. There is so much anguish on the faces of these women. The picture makes me very curious about the lifestyles they live. I wonder about the relationships between the people in the photo and on what level they interact. I think it is interesting how they wear minimal clothing and yet decorate themselves with jewelry and ribbon.

I really like Leonard Freed's work. I thought he captured moments from a great perspective. This first photo was captured "New York City. 1978. A policewoman plays with local kids in Harlem." I thought this shot was just so fun and innocent. It's nice to see a photo of positive role models interacting with children in a rough area. Usually the pictures taken in Harlem are not as pleasant as this one. It's so easy to focus in on the game and everyone laughing that the viewer easily overlooks the flooding trashcans and graffiti in the background.

Werner Bischof

2007-10-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

This first photo taken by Bischof really stood out to me. I was drawn to the level of emotion displayed in the eyes of the children. With the older woman in the background, it appears as if the photo is forshadowing the life of the young girl holding the small child. One may assume the older woman is the mother of the three children, and relies on her oldest daughter to assist her in the childcare. I found this to be a very moving photo that certainly allowed me to project myself into the lives of these people.

I found this second photo of Bischof's to be a lot lighter in humor. I thought it beautifully captured the excitement of the children in their innocent game of tug-of-war. The caption read "FINLAND. Village of Naarva. Students of a country school during their recreation. 1948."

Jonas Bendiksen

2007-10-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

I looked through the Magnum Photos site and really enjoyed the photos posted by Jonas Bendiksen. The images above were my favorites of his. I usually enjoy pictures that have people in them. Bendiksen's photos incorporate people in unique ways. While they appear to be the focus of the image, there are many other things going on that observers can appreciate. These pictures depict motion and color in fascinating ways. The photos also have meaningful descriptions that provide the viewer with a different outlook than he or she may originally have had. The caption of the first photo of the two people running reads "KENYA. Nairobi. 2005. Scenes from Kibera, Africa's largest slum, where almost one million people live on less than a square mile." The caption of he second photo reads "RUSSIA. Altai Territory. 2000. Villagers collecting scrap from a crashed spacecraft, surrounded by thousands of white butterflies. Environmentalists fear for the region's future due to the toxic rocket fuel."

Garry Winogrand

2007-09-23T13:34:00.001-07:00

Garry Winogrand

2007-09-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed seeing Winogrand's work. I love looking at pictures of people, and I think he portrays them so creatively. In addition to the photograph we depicted in class, I found several others that I liked.

Ansel Adams

2007-09-23T13:21:00.000-07:00

When we looked at Ansel Adams' work in class, I didn't really care for it. Everything seemed too perfect, and I grew tiresome of the image. I looked online to see his other works and found a few that I liked. They each had a level of mystique to them that I thought added more creativity.

"In The Garden"

2007-09-15T13:53:00.000-07:00

Staged: Constructed Narrative in Contemporary Photography
Thomas Gustainis and Amy Montali

I have never been to an art exhibit before, and photography is the first art class I have taken at Stonehill. I was anxious to go and see the photography and learn of the artist’s perspective on the work.
The artists that presented had very different styles and approaches to photography. Amy explained that she was very impulsive in her work. With her background in stage and theater, she worked to capture images that looked like movie still frames. She did not frame the photos behind glass because she thought it reduced the cinematic effect. I thought this was an interesting technique and agreed with the reasoning behind it. Without the glass, the people appeared more intimate. The effect allows the viewer to feel more involved and connected with what the image is portraying.
While Amy was very spontaneous with her work, Tom took a more organized approach. Every picture he displayed was very planned out and strategically set. There was purpose and meaning behind every detail. He was very deliberate with the coloring as well.
While I appreciated the quality of each artist’s work, especially after hearing them speak, I enjoyed Amy’s style more. I felt as if Tom’s pictures were too impersonal for my taste. I liked the intimate look of the people featured in Amy’s shots.
In choosing a favorite amongst the works, I went with Amy’s “In the Garden.” The more I examined the picture, the greater I appreciated its quality. I loved the use of color and lighting in the photo. The woman featured had long strawberry blonde hair that was beautifully captured by the sunlight. While the woman appeared to be a tough looking girl, the impact of the lighting truly accentuated her natural beauty. Such an effect made the photograph and its setting much more welcoming. The woman was merely standing and smoking before the viewer, but the vibrant light and her innocent environment nicely accentuated her beauty.
Aside from the main woman featured, there is a woman standing in the background. I stood wondering the significance of the other figure present. How were they connected? Why was she in her underwear? The women appeared so free and honest. Was there a relationship between them?

After the art exhibit, I stayed and spoke with Amy about the photograph. I shared my thoughts on it and was curious about her intensions behind it. She explained that the women in the photo were a mother and daughter. She stressed that this was of no importance to the viewer though, because she did not want the status of the women to impact their impression of the picture. She said the women set themselves in the scene as the sun was setting. Amy viewed the picture as a portrayal of the aging youth. I was much more appreciative of the photograph after hearing her views on it.

My Nephews! Andrew and Lucas

2007-09-11T10:26:00.000-07:00