Blown Away

This photograph seemed very interesting to me for multiple reasons. The first is I can tell it is a windy day without even looking at the title of the photograph by just looking at the black umbrella on the wall. This umbrella is without an owner and is bent up in the shape of a taco. It not only infers that it is bad weather, rainy, and windy, but it also lets us know that someone lost their umbrella and is probably having a really bad day. The person with the red umbrella makes this photo even more interesting because you can only see the person's feet underneath the umbrella. Since the shoes are high heels, I can tell it is a woman who is struggling to fight the wind so her umbrella does not turn inside out. However, her umbrella seems strong enough to handle the wind since the shape of the umbrella is not distorted. Also, the color red on the umbrella not only stands out in the photograph, but it really makes the statement that it is strong enough to uphold any type of weather and that it is not weak, like the black umbrella. I like how the photographer captures this moment and it is kind of funny to know that someone's umbrella took off without them. I also like how the photographer did not capture the person's face and that the main subjects are objects (umbrellas). The lighting for the photograph is also really surprising because normally on a rainy or dismal day, the sun is not out to provide light for a picture. However, this photographer must have taken the picture with a high quality camera that captures subjects rain or shine. The plain background also makes the red umbrella stick out in the photograph and really captures the moment.

I chose this picture because of its symbolism of spring. Now that the weather is getting nicer, things are starting to bloom and I think that this picture represents this very well. I like how the photographer captures the flowers at a lower level as if you were laying on the ground looking at these flowers. The angle is also interesting because it focuses on three flowers in the center, while the other flowers and grass are blurred out to focus the audience's attention. I also like the color in this photo because purple and white are definitely representing the spring season and it gives the photo a lively feel to it. In addition to the colors and spring like theme, the position of the grass and flowers were also interesting to me. This is because at first glance, this photo can look like a painting due to the way the grass is positioned around each flower. I also feel as though this could be on front of a postcard when someone goes away on vacation.The photographer also used side lighting that really illuminated the flowers, bringing a peaceful touch to the photo. Side lighting on the one flower on the left also casts a shadow of what looks like another petal of another flower near by. This gives me an idea of the location of the picture (garden,back yard, baseball field, open field, etc.). Overall, this photo gives me a sense of calmness when looking at it and the focus on the three flowers with the use of the sun and grass around it makes it even more inviting to look at.

Spring is Finally Here !

Leggo Man

This photo is from a collection of different lego creations from Life magazine. Out of all of the photos in this collection I found this one pretty interesting because it was the most simple out of all the amazing photographs of the other creations. This lego man is what the classic legos looked like and I like how the creation in this photograph doesn't have to look too fancy or complicated to put together to make an impression on someone looking at the photo. The saying on the lego man's shirt and his size bring a message to the viewers that just because someone is small and may not seem real does not mean that it does not have a lesser meaning or is less significant. Also, the lego man's left hand in the photo seems to be framing the lady in the distance walking on the beach toward the ocean. The edges of the lego man's hand looks as if the person could be picked up at any moment by the lego man. This follows up with the analysis of the size of the lego man and his saying on his shirt. The facial expression on the lego seems angry and his stance makes a dominant statement to the audience. I thought that this was interesting considering most of the faces in legos are happy and that the stance of a lego (in general) is less dominant because legos are smaller than us. So the roles are reversed in this photo and it kind of makes me think that if legos were real would they think we stomped around beaches with angry faces trying to let smaller things know we are dominant and not to mess with us? In addition, the photographer places a beach as the background to bring out the wonderful creation of this lego. However, I think that the reason behind this has something to do with his saying on his shirt questioning reality. I think that the photographer did a good job capturing the center of this photograph (the lego man) and the colors on the lego man are the only colors that actually stand out in this photo. From some of the readings in class, I am beginning to wonder if this is an example of a photo that is placed into a frame of another photo.

"The Kids in the Lids" in LIFE magazine

There were multiple things in this photo that I found very interesting. The first was color. I like the fact that even though the whole photo is in color that the only colors I see are the red and white on the hats. The stone background is an off white-ish color and is just that , a background. Although, the colors of the student's and adult's shirts are seen in this photograph, it was not a focus of color for me when I looked at this photo. Another quality in this photo that has caught my attention are the symbols on the outside detailing the steps and how they look as though they are connected with kids and adults on the steps. The connection I got was that the kids on the steps are facing in a downward position and the people detailed on the outside of the steps are facing in an upward position. Most of the decorations seem to be of young faces, which can also be connected to the young faces of the kids we see in the photo. I also liked the details in this photo. You can tell that this was a school trip and from the caption you know where and why they are on this trip. But, more importantly, the details of the name tags and adult supervision of a large number of kids, implies more than ever that this was a planned event for a special occasion for younger kids in elementary school. The fact that the special occasion was for Read Across America and that this photo was taken at the D.C. library also seems interesting because normally you read books or get books to read from a library. The photographer could have taken the photo of the kids in their Dr. Seuss hats when they got off of the bus, but instead the photographer took the photo outside of the library, which represents the event they came to celebrate very well.

Books, books, books!

Triplets by Diane Arbus

I chose this photo because I am doing my photography presentation on Diane Arbus and although I found most of her photos interesting, along with their meaning, this photo and its meaning stood out to me the most. This photo shows triplets wearing the same white button up blouse, skirt, and hair style. The photo is also taken in black and white. Although it is shown through this photo that each girl is wearing the same outfit from a fashion outlook, the internal expressions and genetic part is not shown which makes it somewhat of a mystery. When I researched the analysis of this photo and found out that Diane Arbus likes taking photos that give a mysterious question to them, I immediately was drawn to this particular photo. I find it fascinating that physically I can see that they look the same because of their outfit and their physical features, but mentally and internally, I do not have any information on them. This mysterious question can go even further when I look at each of the girls' expressions on their faces. Because they each have a blank stare and no smile, their personalities are also a mystery. Overall I think that Arbus really captures her mysterious motives in this picture due to its black and white features, fashionable attire, blank stares and the fact that each subject is a part of a genetic triplet.

"Rene Magritte in Bowler Hat" By Duane Michals

I chose this image because of its unique style. It is a photo that I have not come across in most of my findings on the internet. The photographer captures this man in multiple perspectives by showing a close up image that appears faintly in the background and an image of his full body as the actual picture. Both perspectives of the man are framed within each other in the center of the photo and the space around the man is blank. I think the blank space was a good choice for this photo because if there was some other background that was chosen, it would have taken away from the different perspectives of the man the photographer was documenting. In addition, the black and white color that was chosen for this photograph gave me the feeling that the picture was an illusion of some sort and if I stare at it too long, it actually makes me dizzy! However, I like how the photographer took two possible photos and made them into one. The two photos create some sort of fogginess and lightness around each other which makes the photo (especially because it is in black and white) not too dull and dreary. My observations of the man in the photo is that he is old, but well defined. I got the feeling from looking at him from far away that he looks like a happy person. However, the closer image of him looks like he is sad and withered. Overall, I found this photo to be one of my favorites out of the collection I have posted on here so far. I think this is because this is my first time seeing something like this and also because of the different emotions I get when I see the two perspectives of the man.

Changing Seasons

Way Off Track

I chose this photo because of its dreary look and the questions that I had when I first saw it. This photo seems dreary to me because the only lightness to this photo is the snow on the ground and the headlights on the cars. I thought that this was interesting because the car that went off the road does not have its lights on, which separates it from the rest of the cars. Also, the driver walking in the snow has a dreary effect because of the helpless actions that she displays and the fact that the driver is the only person in the picture. I thought the title "way of track" was perfect because of this reason. Another thing I found to be interesting is the divider the car is on. It looked like at first glance that the car was on a railroad track, but when I looked closer, I noticed that it was a guard rail. I think the photographer did a great job capturing an after view of an accident and I think the camera captured details, such as the car imprint in the snow, very clearly. This detail helps the audience understand that it must have been an accident and an idea of how the accident occurred. As shown from the wiper blades on the cars, it looks like it is still snowing/sleeting and that the traffic or heavy volume on the road could be because of the accident from the car that is on the guard rail. However, thinking about it a little deeper, I think that there may have been another car involved, just because there is still traffic after the car is off the road. Overall, I like the angle the photographer used and the actual moment that the photographer captured because although accidents like this are common, they are not often documented before the someone comes for help.

Things Are Looking Up In San Francisco

In this photo there are numerous things that the audience can look at. At first glance, my eye went straight to the trolley car and the people standing on the car on the side. My eye then went straight to the center of the photo where the water and the little island are positioned in the distance. As I kept looking at the photo, my eye was then directed to the horizon and the hills in the upper portion of the photo. I found that having multiple things to look at in this photo to be interesting because even though there is a lot going on in the scene, each portion I looked at did not take away from from the other big portions of the photo. The tree on the left side and the division line between the street and horizon give the photo a square shape. This photo also tells a story and gives an insight to what the town/place is actually like. The trolley carrying people off into the distance gives the audience a sense to where they are going and that there is more to the town. The unknown place of where the trolley is going also tells a story of hope because we do not know exactly where the people are going but the horizon and the island in front of them shows that they are going somewhere calm. Overall, this photo intrigued me because of the beautiful scenery and the complex, but simple multiple objects in the photo.

Two Diligent Students

I chose this photo because I liked how the animals in this photo are doing something out of the ordinary. The fact that the photographer captured two rabbits doing the same unusual thing (standing on two paws)is also fascinating to me. There could be various meanings that this photo brings to the audience. At first glance, I thought that the rabbit closest to the viewer was standing on two paws in front of a mirror and the rabbit furthest from the viewer was the mirror image. However, when I looked closer, I found that the photo was telling some sort of story. The rabbit closest to the viewer is a parent who is standing on two paws. The rabbit furthest from the viewer is the child mimicking his/her parent. I also liked how the photo was in black and white and not color. The rabbits' white fur really stands out in this photo and I think that if this photo was in color it would take away the focus of the two rabbits doing a trick. Another thing that caught my eye in this photo is the arch in the rabbit's back closest to the audience. His back curves in a way that frames the second rabbit doing the trick in the background. This gives the photo some shape and an artistic view.

Andy Grundberg , Camera, Published March 24, 1991

In Andy Grunberg’s article, Camera, he explains how filing photos has become a common problem for most photographers due to how much time it takes to organize them. Grundberg found batches of family photos and slides of old family vacations, however, if he wanted to find a certain photo, he would have to search through the batches of photographs until he found what he was looking for. This process would take too much time if the photos were not organized in some way. In order to solve this problem, Grundberg talks about how most photographers used McBee filing cards. However, this process also consumed a lot of the photographers’ time. Grundberg then reviews a certain computer program, Superset that is supposed to save time by inserting photographs into the computer and organizing them into certain categories of choice. Grundberg proposes that the computer program isn’t the most efficient and quick way to organize photos because of the numerous options and menu tools. This would actually create more work for the photographer because there are more options to choose from and sub categories to organize the photos in. Grundberg concludes his article by stating that only the most patient and persnickety photographers would want to use the computer program because of its multiple menu options. Overall, Grundberg says the computer may do the job of organizing photos, but it does not do it instantaneously and he would rather stick to organizing photos in a shoe-box.

In my opinion, I agree with Grundberg. Although the computer program may have a great way to organize photos, it may actually make it more complicated and tedious for the photographer. I feel as though the simpler the organization, the easier it is to find the photos and quicker it is to organize them. Otherwise, photographers are going to run into the same problem of not wanting to organize their photos at all because it takes too long or it is too complicated. I think that if I were to use the computer program, I would not sub categorize my photos because I would personally forget which category I put that photo in. I think this especially applies to photographers who take 100 photos a day. It would be one thing if there were only one category to place each set of photographs, but to have sub-categories within the major category can make it more confusing. Overall, I enjoyed reading Grundberg’s article about organizing photos and found it interesting that people would rather stay away from the new technology for once and keep it simple by storing them in things, such as shoe-boxes.

Untitled, 2009

This photo is interesting to me because the photographers angle and use of mirrors portray a message of self reflection in multiple points of view. The reflection that the women see in the mirror can have a different meaning than the reflection the audience sees. When the women look at themselves in the mirror they may see personal flaws or strengths that we, as an audience, do not see or feel because we do not know them personally. Also, the mirror shows only a portion of their faces and not their body. Normally when women look in the mirror they critique their bodies, but in this photo it is as if the photographer wanted to get across the strength and weakness of the minds of women. Another thing that I found interesting about this photo was that the position the women are in is a circle and the mirrors are in the shape of a circle. To me, the shape of a circle represents a continuous motion where there are no stops and everything is connected. This makes me think that maybe the women in the picture have things in common with one another or are connected in some way.

Physical Chemistry Lab

 

 This photo was taken by Roe Ethridge at Rockaway Beach in 2008 (http://blindspot.com/store/page4.html?edition_id=ethridge_rockaway) 

I have chosen this photo because it looks like a calm, warm, and peaceful place to be. The surfers in the water, the boardwalk, and the lamp post with the seagull on it represents the season of summer. From the numerous amounts of surfers in the water, I visualize a perfect beach day where the waves are not too aggressive or too calm. Overlooking the water in the distance where the sunset meets it, gives me a feeling of hope, determination, and calmness. From the shadows on the boardwalk and the sunset, I assume the day is ending. The colors in the sunset and the ocean bring out the shadow of the lamp post, which makes it seem that the lamp post is in the background and the water and sunset are up close.