Statement of Intent

COVID-19 has severely limited our human activities from place to place. I want to provide a sense of “desirable” and “hope” to the audience in this set. I want my audience to imagine the scene and the setting I have depicted in my photographs with a scenery photograph.  I will experiment with different kinds of backgrounds, lights, and Affinity software.

Artist-René Magritte

I noticed that René Magritte depicts identity by experimenting with different backgrounds mostly related to nature and settings from these photographs. René Magritte wants the audience to become sensitive to their surroundings. René Magritte isn’t a photographer but an artist. He doesn’t really use elements of photography. One of the elements that he uses is ” interaction” and sometimes “Get in close”. He utilizes different colors, detailed backgrounds, no facial reveal, and expression. His choice of setting and the background is the main point of his photographs. He interacts with the audience through the background, showing a feeling of desire. This artist inspired me to use different backgrounds to show a desire of a person to go to the place during the covid-19 periods. His way to put a set into a person’s body or to use the setting as the background inspired me.

Favorite

The main subject is a person with a hat on. It doesn’t show the details of the person, but it shows his desire to visit the place that is shown inside the subject’s body.  There are numerous details included in this photograph. The repetition of small lines and dots on the brick behind the main subject, the plain brownish background, a small circle-shaped object are all the details in the background. René Magritte didn’t show the actual body of a person, but cut it out and leave the frame of the person. He filled it with a setting of a place inside a person’s body and the frame. The details of repetition of woods, a house with 6 windows, orange lights from the house, snow, small stars, and the blueish sky are all the details shown. From my perspective, the character has a desire to visit the place. The place is replacing his/her identity, and the place represents his character. The place might be his desirable wish or his hometown. When I looked at this photograph, I was a bit confused but my eyes are drawn directly to the small house inside the body. I was confused about the repetition of bricks and the small circle-shaped object as the background. The blueish color and the small details of the place are so attractive and stand out so much in the photograph. The place is focused in this photograph with numerous small details.  It let me feel calm as I look at that place. This photograph is an inspirational image for me. I will be eliminating my whole body including my face, and utilize my editing skills to fit in another photograph that depicts a place and fit it in my body.

Least Favorite

This is my least favorite photograph among René Magritte’s photographs. The background seems gorgeous, giving a sense of calmness to the audience. However, the photograph seems empty. It mainly focused on the background, not on the main subject of the person. This photograph doesn’t use the element of “Get in close” which makes the photograph seems empty. There are numerous details included in the background, but on the person, the main subject. From the audience’s perspective, there is the repetition of rectangular shape on the ceiling, the repetition of green trees, and the grass. The background is zoomed out, it shows the place in this photograph but not time. Like in other photographs, the main subject is a person who wears a black coat and a black hat. When I looked at the photograph, my eyes were drawn to the trees. As mentioned the background seems to be the main focus in this image. The repetition of trees stands out the most for me. Even though René Magritte isn’t a photographer, in this artwork, the image itself seems bright due to the different colors included in the image. It doesn’t use any elements of artificial or natural lights. The background itself provides a feeling of calmness but the negative part of the photograph is that it seems empty.

Planning my shot

Editing

Experimenting Studio Lights

Blue shots

These are my blue shots and are the before photographs from editing. I have chosen these photographs by considering how they will turn out after editing the photographs by cutting out the body only leaving the frame of the body. Then, plugging in a scenery image to show the desire to free themselves to travel to countries. To choose these images, the whole body should be exposed, so the light was important. Some of the exposure wasn’t correct, and I tried to use photographs that utilized different “Quality lights” and colors.

Green Shots

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I have narrowed down my list by eliminating the repetition of lights and posture. I also have chosen photographs that are linked to my artist, who show his character as unemotional. All of these green shots photographs are suitable for editing, because of the correct light setting and the exposure of the main subject.

Red Photographs

These are my red photographs that are chosen and edited to what René Magritte did in his photographs. The idea behind these pictures is to show a “hope” for freedom in the covid-19 pandemic. COVID-19 had severely limited our individuals’ freedom to move and travel. The strength of the images is the color balance, use of the element of “Quality Lights”, use of “Get in close”, and experimentation of editing.  Even though some of the photographs didn’t edit well and were unnatural, it has given the idea of “hope” to the audience. In addition, these photographs are well-followed of the expectations of my chosen artist, René Magritte. For this set, I have strongly developed my editing skills. I have experimented with different tools in Affinity Software. Moreover, as this is my second time in the studio, I have developed the skill to use different lightings and place lighting in correct places. From my previous sets, I have learned to change the focal length for better portraiture. Something that works well with these images is how they show the theme of “hope”. The brighter tone and how the scenery backgrounds replaced one’s identity show a desire of traveling and how close traveling and freedom are to individuals. They shouldn’t be giving up but believe in “hope”. Furthermore, like my artist René Magritte, the small details can be seen in these images. Something I need to develop further is my editing skills. Some of these photographs include messy edits. Some of them have small dots and lines that are interrupting the photograph and catch the audiences’ eyes easily. To further show a clear photograph and ideas, I should develop further my editing skills. For next time, I would like to use the theme of “hope” again but show it by different posing.

Red Shots Critique

Favorite

This is my favorite photograph from my red shots. It’s the image that is most related to my topic of “hope”. All of the elements support the main subject and the theme, including the element of “Get in close” and “Quality Lights”. The white light coming above the head might be distracting the scenery background, but it was intended to show a sense of “hope” to the audience. Bright white color shows a strong sense of “hope” that covid-19 is almost over, so people can go see the scenery sky. I want my audiences’ eyes to be drawn to the white light and the scenery sky to let them understand the theme of “hope”.The exposure is correct, some of the lights that are caught in the camera were eliminated by editing in Affinity software. However, the majority of the exposure including the red, orange, and white lights is correct. It wouldn’t be better if I change the focal length to depict the character. The focal length I have used in this photograph is just right, it is not too zoomed-in or zoomed-out. The head would be too big if we longer the focal length which might be a distracting part. By the character facing the scenery sky, it shows the subject’s desire to free himself from the covid-19 pandemic and go view the beautiful sky. The white light as mentioned above shows a theme of “hope” which shows how close the pandemic will end. The background of the scenery sky is to show the subject’s desired place to travel after the pandemic. The composition or the element of “Light” is strongly emphasized in the image. The “Get in close” element is to show the details of the characters and the background. However, the light covers the image the most. The color in the photograph is accurate. None of the colors are showing a theme of darkness, but the colors are chosen in the photograph show a warmness and a theme of “hope”. The depth of field isn’t really shown in the photograph due to the editing I have done. This photograph shows my vision as the clearest and the most accurate one.

Least Favorite

This is my least favorite photograph from the red set. Even though, it correctly followed the expectation of my chosen artist, René Magritte. I want my audiences’ eyes to be drawn to the details of the scenery photograph inside the frame of a human subject. Moreover, there are some distractions in this photograph which makes it the least favorite photograph in the red shots. In the head part, the editing was a bit messed up.  Furthermore, the unknown green rectangle-shaped on the side is a distracting element. It catches audiences’ eyes very well, and it makes the main subject lose its main focus. All of the elements support the main subject including the “Quality lights’ and “Get in close”. The exposure is correct, when I was taking the photograph in the studio, I set my ISO setting lower so that it depicts the light well in a darker space. Some of the lights shone on the body were eliminated through editing in the Affinitiy Software. All of the lights in the photograph are correct including, the white, purple, and green light in the scenery photograph. The focal length can be longer and the focus of the photograph can be moved to the left to eliminate the dark background and the distraction. The posing is also is a mistake, the posing is kind of irrelevant but it might be better to choose another posing to strengthen the theme of “hope”. However, the scenery photograph is well chosen. All the lights are included in the scenery photographs, and the lights in them are correct. None of them are dark which shows darkness and a tone of depression. All of these colors of lighting are bright enough to show a sense of warmness and hope. The background is just a simple dark image to suit the scenery photograph. There are no universal symbols in the background. The composition or the elements are balanced well. The element of “Quality lights” are strongly focused in the photograph. As mentioned, it might be better to emphasize more on the element of “get in close”, so it eliminates the distractions and useless spaces. This also can be done by cropping the image. The depth of field isn’t really shown in the photograph due to the editing I have done. This photograph kind of shows my vision but it can be developed more.

New vision

These days, during the time of COVID-19, people face numerous struggles and hardships. I want the audience to believe and understand “hope”. For this set, I will experiment with lights to show the message of never giving up.

Artist-Robert Bergman

From these photographs, I noticed that Robert Bergman likes to use face to reveal one’s identity. He depicts people that have different ethnicity and skin color. By the reflection of lighting, it shows a sense of “hope” in each photograph. He utilizes facial expressions to convey the idea and expresses tone to the readers. Moreover, different colors of lightings and simple plain backgrounds are found in his photographs. I will utilize these backgrounds and lightings in my set. In addition, elements of “out of focus”, “get in close” and “Sharp eyes” are noticed.

I have chosen this photographer because of the use of background, lighting, and using face to represent one’s identity. Like in his photographs, I will use a simple plain background and lightings to show the idea of “Hope”.

Favorite

This photograph is my favorite photograph from Robert Bergman, because of the lighting. The main subject of one’s face is clearly shown by the element of “Get in close”; the details like the curly hairs, the bones, the blue-colored eyes, and the dots on the face can be seen clearly. The background of this photograph is what I like. It doesn’t show any information about the time or the setting. It is simple and the lighting attracts my eyes. Even though the subject has an unemotional face without any posing of their body, from my standpoint, the lighting gives a sense of hope. The red, pink, and purple color is bright enough and shine behind the main subject. The subject seems very skinny like he/she has faced poverty or any hardships. However, the lighting and the red flower on the subject’s shoulder seem like there is still hope behind the subject’s life. When I first saw this image, my eyes were drawn to the main subject because it was covering my whole frame. However, I focused on the details, the lighting, the hair, and the red clothes. There is a similarity between these details. The colors of red, pink, orange and purple are all bright enough to catch my attention. The colors are emphasized and stand out because the incarnadine color of the main subject fills the frame. It seems dull and plain by the color, but adding these brighter colors makes it unique.

Least Favorite

This is my least favorite photograph from Robert Bergman. The main subject of one’s face is clearly shown by utilizing the element of “Get in close”. However, the lighting in the background doesn’t fit well with the subject. From the lighting, it seems that the character is facing some pain. It seems like he misses someone of something but there is no hope for him. The lighting is dark which makes the tone of the photograph dark. Moreover, the image doesn’t show any information about the setting of the time. It makes the image unattractive to the audience and depressed. When I first saw this photograph, my eyes are drawn to the main subject’s face, but particularly the left side of the face. The reflection of the light seems a bit interesting to me. It shows a contrast between the skin color and the light. Bergman might want to show an idea of “equality” through contrast and lighting. However, the lighting wasn’t unique, it might be better to have a color change in light.

Planning my shot

Set 2 Blue Shots

These photographs are my 20 chosen images for my blue set. These photographs all link with my artist, Robert Bergman. Even though I didn’t blur and out focus the background as what Robert Bergman had done in his photographs, I was inspired by his lighting skills. In these blue shots, I have experimented with different colors of lighting with different light intensity, warmness, and different angles. I have chosen the blue set by the variation of posing, different colors of lights, and how it links with my artist. All of them have a theme of “hope” by using different posing and using the prop of “mask”. By having photographs that the subject wears masks and does not wear a mask, it shows that hope of ending covid-19. Some posing shows the concept of “never give up”.

Set 2 Green Shots

I have narrowed my photographs down to 10 for my green set. First, I have chosen these images by eliminating the repetition of posing from my blue set. Moreover, I focused on the lighting. I have chosen photographs that are showing a contrast of darkness and warmness or images that show a complete warmness.

Set 2 Red Shots

The idea behind this set of photographs is “hope”, specifically “hope for the end of a pandemic”. I have chosen these 3 images by posing, lighting, lighting placement, and variety of lights. The lights I have used include yellow, white, blue, and red to show the idea. They tell a story through lighting and the mask. The lighting of red and blue represent sadness or hopelessness. On the other hand, white light and yellow light presents hope and warmness. In addition, the mask the main subject is wearing is obviously symbolizing the covid-19 pandemic that people have been facing. By using two colors of hope and hopelessness. It shows that confronting a pandemic is hard, but there is always hope to face it and fight for it. It shows a desire to eliminate the pandemic with the idea of never giving up. The strengths of these images include the use of different elements, tones, and experiments of lighting. In these photographs, I have included the elements of “getting in close”, “Quality lights” and “putting dominant eyes in the center”. I have achieved this through utilizing editing skills like cropping. Moreover, the lights are chosen well; it expresses different emotion and tones to the audience. By looking at these three images, audiences might feel warmness or hope through the photograph with yellow lighting. In addition, people might feel a bit depressed through the photograph with blue color lighting as the background. But also feel a feeling of hope through the small strong white light coming out from the side of the subject’s body in the image with blue lights filling the frame. I have learned to use different lighting to better express the idea and the tone of the images. It is interesting and attractive to others. Something that works well about these images is the tone and the show of my idea through lighting. The color choice of lighting worked well to present the idea of “hope”. Something that I need to develop further is to use different emotions to strengthen my idea. For my next set, I am looking forward to using the same idea of “hope.” It was hard for individuals to go out and travel during the pandemic. I will depict photographs that show a person hoping to travel to a place. Unlike this set, I will be using and developing my editing skills in Affinity software.

Critique

Favorite

This photograph is my favorite of the whole set. There are multiple elements included in this photograph, “Get in close”, “Quality Lights” and “Sharp Eyes”. It would be better to spread out the lighting more so that more lighting comes out from the side of the main subject. The lights might be a distraction, but that was intended to show an idea of “hope” and a “positive future”. When I looked at this photograph, my eyes were drawn to the mask and the lights coming out from the side. The exposure is right and intended. I have utilized the element of “Quality of Lights” and when taking the photograph I have used higher ISO to depict my character clearly. The blue light is correct because it was intended to show the concept of hardship and sadness. In addition, the small amount of bright white light coming from the side of the body is also intended to show the concept of hope. Even though I have used the element of “Get in Close” for this photograph, it would be much better to use a longer focal length to depict the details on the face. The background is simple, it is just a combination of two-color lights, blue and bright light. As mentioned, these two colors symbolize different tones and different concepts. Dark blue shows the concept of hardship and provides a tone of depression to the audience. On the other hand, the small white light coming from eh side shows the concept of “never giving up” and “there is always hope”. It gives small courage to the audience. The element of “Quality lights” are taking up the most. This photograph mainly focuses on light and the prop of masks. They both show universal meanings. It might be better to strengthen the quality and the quantity of the white light. The choices of color are definitely correct. Before taking the photographs, I have searched up for the color that gives the audience a feeling of sadness which was the blue color. Even though yellow was the main color for hope, white was the other option. The depth of field between the main subject and the light can be closer to increase the white light intensity and amount of light. Furthermore, the photograph definitely fits the vision. The mask showing the covid-19 collaborating with the blue-colored background shows the difficulty of facing covid. However, there is always a small amount of hope behind everyone. It tells a story that no one should give up and stop confronting.

Least Favorite

`The photograph I have taken is my least favorite photograph from the red shots, because of the light choice. All of the elements included in the photograph support the main subject of my face. The elements include “Get in close”, “interaction”, and “Quality Lights and Shadows”. This is my least favorite image, because of the lighting. The choice of lighting was a mistake, it would be much better to change one of the lightings to bright white or yellow to show a stronger idea of “hope”. Still, by not wearing a mask, it shows the character’s desire to end the covid-19 era and should not give up to reach the goal of not wearing a mask. When I first saw this photograph, my eyes were drawn to the face. On the face, it showed a mixture and the contrast of the red and blue color. It makes the photograph attractive and interesting by giving two different tones. The reflection of the white light on the glasses of the subject is kind of a distracting element. It makes the audience see the subject’s eyeless clearer. The exposure is right, but the color choices of light are wrong. It distracts showing the idea of “hope”. I have utilized my photograph technique by lowering my ISO in a darker room so that it depicts the character much clearer. The color choice of red seems to make the photograph not hopeful but increases a feeling of brutality and depression. The focal length is correct and just right; I have correctly used the element of “Get in close”. By making the focal length longer it might be too concentrated on the face. The background is simple with different colors of lights showing different tones. Both a bit showing the hopeless and dangerous tone. The composition or the element of “Quality lights’ are taking the most part and frame in this photograph. It is the most focused element in it. By not wearing the mask, it shows an interaction with the audience. It might be better to strengthen the interaction. As mentioned, the color in this image isn’t correct. It might be better to change one that shows warmness and hope. The depth of field between the subject and the light is just right. Unlike my favorite photograph, this photograph doesn’t need to close the depth of field due to the different placing of lights. It does show my vision through the mask but not really by the lights.

Portraiture

Portraiture or Portrait is a type of photography aiming to depict a person showing their face, appearance, feeling, emotion and personality. Picturing portraits utilize different techniques, including adequate lighting, angles, poses, etc. From my perspective, Selfies are definitely considered Portraiture. It can be counted as “Self” Portraiture showing a portrait of the author. As long as the photograph includes faces and people, I consider them Portraiture. In a portrait, people or person is essential; it is one aspect that should be included in portraitures. I believe there are no specific aspects or things that shouldn’t be in Portraiture.  A “good portraiture” should include a blank background; usually, if we see portraits taken by photographers, the background isn’t busy but straightforward. The most crucial aspect that makes a “good portraiture” should definitely focus on the face or the part of a person that shows their identity. A portrait by Mahesh Balasubramanian is a great example. This Portrait has a clear focus on a child’s face and is built without any distraction in the background like trees, but just a simple black background. In general, rules in photography can be broken. You don’t need to focus on the whole body in the Portrait. In Portraiture, it is possible to consist of small details like close up of hands because it shows a person’s identity. In my perspective, picturing one part of the person, which can be handed, can also establish the identity and emotions. For example, a hand photo taken by Eamonn McCabe is a great photo showing only the hands. Even though it didn’t show the face, the photograph showed more meaning, making the readers more interpretations. Hands essentially present the identity.

Moreover, when the focus subject isn’t on an aspect of identity or a person, it ceases to become a portrait. It essentially depends on who people interpret the photograph. However, I think as long as it shows the identity, no matter the photography is blurred, torn apart, or faded, in my standpoint, it is still considered as a portrait. In addition, it is possible to represent photographically without people presented in the images. It can be defined as objects or shadows that make the readers interpret further. From my perspective, if the objects show the identity of a person or people, I think it counts as a portrait cause it shows a part of someone. It essentially depends on how viewers interpret it. Portraits don’t have to be single photographs but sequences of events and images.

Mind Map

Focus

Generally, I am focusing on the social issues of inequality and the famous quotation, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” from George Elliot. I want to show that people are just people; they are all equal. I am trying to present this idea using different unique ways to reveal a person’s identity. The methods include depicting only a part of the person’s body, such as hands, using eyes as the main focus, and the background.

Image Inspiration/Mood Board

Statement of Intent

The title of this project is “Equality.” The social and cultural issue I want to explore with my photographs is a cultural difference. I want my audience to feel a strong sense from different cultures and ethnicity and different emotions such as isolation. I want my viewers to clearly see the cultural difference of people, like how some are different than others. I also want my audience to feel the isolation in different ways. I will get inspiration and develop my ideas by looking for photographs that depict the eyes as the main focus, showing different cultures by their appearance, different poses, and different ways to show identification, such as offering a person’s hands.

Artist- Bill Brandt

Bill expresses emotion in an unusual way to show some part of the body. The body parts and the background catches the audiences’ attentions. Bill set a pretty busy background, unlike other photographers who focus on a plain and not busy background. He usually depicts the parts of the body that represent someone’s identity on a beach or in a room. He slightly uses the technique of “Get in close” to fill the main subject of body parts on the frame. Furthermore, he usually depicts these body parts utilizing “Change your angles.” It doesn’t use angles to eliminate the distractions but instead takes the main subject in a weird angle. We can also find his photographs mainly as a portrait shape. Even though he follows these rules, he breaks these rules more. One of the features that makes his pictures different than others is the editing technique. Most of his portraits are in a Black & White tone. I have chosen this artist because it relates to my intent. He uses just one of the body parts to represent identity and uses a feeling of oldness through the tone of Black & White. I will take his idea of Black & White tone, using body parts to show identity and angles on my experimentation. I want to depict the essence by taking photographs from different angles but without distractions.

Least favorite photograph

The subject of this photograph taken by Bill Brandt is unclear to me. This subject was the first thing that caught my eyes because it took up the most frame space. My interpretation is someone’s ankle or knees, but I don’t really know it. Even though this shows a person’s body part, it is unclear.

On the skin I see a small blemish; this shows the uniqueness of its identity. By the background, we can identify it is near the shore. This photograph is attractive due to its unique part of the body and the busyness of the background, but I don’t like the posing.

Some positive features of this image include the details on the skin, like the fainted lines and dots. The Black & White tone and the shadows created by the subject on the pebbles show the uniqueness of the photograph. In addition, The small pebbles catch the audience’s attention by showing the setting of this image.

As for Portraiture, a simple background is much better than a busy background. This can be improved by depicting from a different angle. By the clearness of the small pebbles, I anticipate this photograph was taken during the daytime.

Favorite Photograph

The subject is taken in this photograph taken by Bill Brandt is very clear to me. It was the first thing I saw in the Portrait. It takes up most of the frame, and the identity stands out clearly. The subject of the photograph is fingers. I like this photograph since it clearly zoomed in and focused on one part of the body to show identity. Moreover, it has a plain background as normal Portraiture than other images taken by Bill Brandt. There are multiple shapes, lines on the hand, and the tone of Black & White presents the photograph as impressive. Furthermore, the element of “light” is well used. It creates the shadows of the hands-on pebble and clearly shows the subject. The shadows provide uniqueness to the photograph.

The feature of the catch in texture also provides a positive effect to the audience. The smoothness of the fingers and the rocks can be identified.

The setting and the time of this photograph aren’t clear. I can anticipate that it is daytime near the sea. From the photograph of fingers, I can see small details like palm lines. The palm lines show the characteristics of the person and the identity. By the number of palm lines,  there is a high possibility that the person isn’t young and works a lot. More palm lines show more ages. People who work a lot of hand movements often have rough lines on their hands. I am predicting he is a diligent and middle-aged person.

Posing and Studio Photography

Inspiration

My goal and my inspiration came from this photo. I wanted to depict portraiture that provides the viewer with darkness but also a little bit of brightness. I have shown this by using a Black & White tone and the control of lights. I also achieved this by putting lights in different directions and positions. The pose was intended to show loneliness and isolation.

Lighting Workshop Planning

Final Portraiture (Light Workshop)

From my standpoint, I think it was successful following the inspiration photo to create a feeling of isolation. I edited the photograph a little bit to add the tone of Black & White. By looking at my face, it shows a contrast of brightness and darkness just like the inspiration photo. The lighting position was almost the same but less bright. I think next time it will be better to wear whiter clothes so that it shows a clear contrast and brightness on the upper body.

My Triptychs and Reflection

Light PPT

Color-coded photographs

Contact Sheets

Set 3 Blue Contact Sheet link

I have chosen these photographs in my blue contact sheet because they relate to my vision and artist. It provides the viewer a calm feeling. Uta Barth, my chosen artist, has taken photographs with brightness and different colors. I also tried to depict different colors, such as green and red. Moreover, I experimented with what Uta Barth did of totally and intentionally unfocusing the background.

Set 3 Green Contact Sheet link

These images are inspired by my chosen artist named Uta Barth. He usually focuses on the element of light and focus. He often intentionally unfocused the subject and uses different colors of light to provide the viewers a calmness. I experimented with different colors of light using different backgrounds. Moreover, I narrowed the list down by relating to my vision and mostly on my artist. The calmness of the images provided by light has been the critical point for me. Furthermore, I also experimented with his use of intentional blurriness in multiple environments.

Red Images

These images are all inspired by my chosen artist, Uta Barth. The photographs emphasize what Uta Barth did, which is light and brighter tone. I experimented using different brighter colors to provide the viewers a calm and warm feeling. Moreover, I also intentionally blurred the photo to make it more abstract, just like Uta Barth did.  The formal elements that I have been focusing on are tone and shape. The aspects of tone and light work well. The light usually affects the tone. Something that worked well for me was using different colors as background and light to present the warmth and the pleasingness. During the process, I used different techniques such as pictured from a different angle. Cropping the photographs to make them more abstract, and editing to make them brighter. For some photos, it has a straight and bold line. The other focuses more on shapes but also has curly lines and straight lines. What makes the photographs interesting is that some of them are intentionally unfocused, and include reflections that catch the viewers’ eyes. Same as my vision, I definitely want the viewers to feel the warmth or the pleasingness of these photographs. Something that I need to improve on was choosing better warm lighting. More yellowish light like the sun in the evening provides the viewer more warmth than other brighter lights. I also want to develop my editing skills to make the photographs more interesting and abstract. I also want to play more around with the warm sun and the shadows.

Photographs

Characteristics

1. Light as the main theme
2. Unfocusing
3. Not too busy in the backgrounds, simple, no humans
4. Always having two photographs in comparison in one artwork
5. Provide a feeling of calmness and pleasingness

As shown in her photographs, the main theme or the focus is light. She also uses blurring techniques in a “not too busy” environment to make the images more abstract. Her photographs use brighter colors that have a brighter tone. This provides to the viewers a warmth or pleasingness which relates to my vision. It is interesting to see as a viewer using different lighting techniques either subtle or clear. Furthermore, she always gives another photograph for comparison. The second photograph is taken either from a different angle or using a different lighting technique. I have chosen this artist because it strongly bonds with my vision. My vision is to provide the viewers a calmness using lighting techniques. Her main theme or focus is also on lighting.

Quote from Uta Barth

“Specificity of time and place drop away and one starts to think about the picture, as much as what it is of. My work never directly addresses the literal subject matter of the photograph but attempts to ask questions about vision itself.”(Uta Barth).

I like this quote because it lets us understand more about Uta Barth and how she thinks about her photographs.

I have chosen this photograph as my favorite one, because the lighting, the color choice, and the shadows provide me a calmness. This is literally what I want the viewers to feel, the pleasingness. The yellow color effectively helped it. It is surprising that the artist included shadows or reflections in the photographs instead of just showing the yellow couch or the background. There is also a contrast in the photograph. It makes it more abstract which I like about it. I believe the formal element that the photograph is focusing on is tone. Even though the shadow might be another main focus, I think the first thing that the viewers will notice is the actively bright yellow color as a theme. It makes the viewers feel a strong calmness and warmth by the color. There isn’t any real focus subject in the photograph. Moreover, adding different elements like shadows make it more abstract. I really like how she is using light and color in her photographs which spread calmness. It shows her uniqueness and interesting style. I will adapt this style or theme by using different bright colors that bring pleasingness, lighting effects, and reflection.

Color-coded Photographs

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Blue Contact Sheet Set 2 link

Green Contact Sheet Set 2 link

Red Contact Sheet Set 2 link

I have chosen the photos by selecting photographs that relate to my artist and my vision. Furthermore, I have chosen pictures related to constructions, objects that are frequently seen, and nature. These photographs in the Green Contact Sheet fit my vision of using colors. This time I used Black & White. I also focused on providing the viewers a feeling of calmness. In most of my photographs, I experimented with the use of shadows and the contrast of the tone. Different other formal elements were also included, such as lines.

Red Photographs

These photographs are red images I have chosen for my set 2. The artist Albert Renger Patzsch inspired me with his use of shadows, Black & White tone, pleasingness, use of frequently seen objects, and reflections to take these photographs. These images link to Albert Renger Patzsch’s pictures because I experimented with depicting the commonly seen objects, including nature and constructions. Albert also used kitchen utensils in his photographs, so I took photos of a spoon, a knife, and a fork. Furthermore, the main focus of the pictures by Albert Renger Patzsch was the tone. He used the technique of Black&White, giving the viewers a pleasingness. After I took the photographs, I went out of my comfort zone of using different colors and edited my images to Black & White. It showed a pleasingness and a clear contrast of the tone between darkness and brightness. The elements emphasized in my photographs should definitely be the tone and lines. The components work together to show a strong idea which makes the pictures “work” and unique. Something that the photographs work well is showing the pleasingness through Black & White. It also includes the use of shadows and clearly shows the contrast of colors. When taking pictures, I used the grid rule and focused on the subject I was taking. Moreover, I also altered the ISO setting in different environments. At last, I used the photo editing skill to change the photographs to Black & White and cropped them to make them more abstract. In addition, the pictures include different kinds of lines, which also makes the photos enjoyable. The lines have curves, straight, bold, and thin.

When the viewers see my images, I want them to feel the calmness and warmth as my vision made them think that. I believe, in general, the Black & White photographs of objects that are frequently seen will provide a pleasingness. Moreover, I want the viewers to think that the different brighter colors will bring calmness and the collaboration of Black& White.

I need to improve on or develop further to focus on different angles and focus on objects. It will make it more abstract. For my set 3, my goal is to continue providing the feeling of calmness and warmth to the viewers using different elements.

Photographs

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Characteristics

1. Black & White
2. Related to Nature & objects seen frequently
3. The background isn’t busy, realistic
4. People aren’t focused, rarely seen in the photographs
5. Use of shadows

Albert takes photographs of every stuff. He is more likely to focus on objects not related to people. One of the most apparent and significant elements included in Albert’s photographs is definitely the Black & White feature. Every picture he takes has Black and White, no matter what the main subject is, even Nature. The Black and White theme grabs the audience’s attention.  Moreover, he also focuses on objects related to Nature or frequently seen things, including buildings or kitchen-related. Furthermore, the viewers can identify the variety of angles he is taking photographs. For construction-related objects, he is taking them below them. Other objects are taken from different angles.

I have chosen this artist because I like how he used the theme of Black and White. It relates to my vision as well since I am focusing on lighting. As I see his photographs, I also kind of feel the calmness just by the theme of Black and White.

“In photography, one should surely proceed from essence of the object and attempt to represent it with photographic terms alone.”

This quote inspires me, and it will remind me when I am taking photographs. I should think about the purpose but also about the main subjects.

This photograph is my favorite image from Albert Renger Patzsch. I have chosen this photograph because of the way he uses Black&White, Shadows, and Shapes. It is exciting and surprising that Albert didn’t show colors in the picture but consistently used the theme of Black & White. The colors are straightforward. Furthermore, the shadows coming out from the glasses contrast the white background nicely, which attracted me. From my perspective, the simple color of Black & White with the shades provides the viewer’s warmth and please. The tone itself from the photograph doesn’t show darkness but calmness. Even though he also included shapes in the pictures, such as circles, the element of style or value is essential here. It is evident by just looking at the photo. The tone is clearly shown. The most attractive part is the Black & White theme, which is related to the tone. These photographs or other photographs taken by Albert Renger Patzsch are all abstract due to the fact that there are no specific main subjects. He takes subjects that are frequently seen and add on with different perception. I like the style of him using shadows showing the contrast and the theme of Black & White. Furthermore, I also like his style of taking photos of subjects that can be seen at any time. It provides calmness, pleasingness, and uniqueness. I will adapt this style by using the sunlight and making shadows with different objects. The objects will definitely be related to everyday used objects or frequently seen by people. At last, I will use the photoshopping skill to edit my photograph into Black & White to show the tone of pleasingness.

Revised intent or vision

My vision is to take photographs that provide the audience a pleasingness or calmness by the colors of the tone of the photographs. I will also investigate using other different elements.

The calmness of Light

The message that I want the audience to think about is how collaboration with different light or tones and other elements including repetition provides a calm or pleasing feeling. I will be mainly investigating the tone including using the technique Black&White but also brighter tone.  When looking at my photographs, I want the audience to feel peacefulness, calm, and pleasingness. I will get inspiration and develop my ideas by looking at photographs from multiple artists. These artists include Uta Barth, Albert Renger Patzsch, Angie McMonigal, and Alexander Jacques. These photographers have several photos that provide the viewers a brighter tone, black & white, and a feeling of pleasingness. Light will be the main theme I will be focusing on especially the pleasing lighting. I hope I can learn multiple lighting control skills and photo editing skills.

Blue & Green & Red Photographs

Blue Contact Sheet

Green Contact Sheet

These photos in a green contact sheet mostly fit with my vision that was linked with the artist Alexander Jacques. The photograph mostly are focusing on the formal element repetition. Moreover, I also focused on different shapes or lines.

Red photographs

The three images above The inspirational photos links with the formal elements of tone, shape, and mainly repetition. I chose these images because they strongly related to my vision and had a strong cohesive theme with elements together. Most of my artists works include different kinds of shapes with repetition. Moreover, the tone isn’t dark but mostly bright. Something that works well with the photographs is that they strongly and clearly show the element of repetition. When taking these photographs, I managed the different ISO camera settings in a different environment. In the darker places, I used higher ISO. I also selected some of these photos to be cropped and adjust to the brightness. The purpose of doing that is to make them similar to Alexander Jacques’s photographs. Moreover, the photographs include specific and multiple shapes and lines. It mainly includes the shapes of rectangles and squares. In addition, there are different kinds of lines- horizontal, vertical, straight, bold, and thin. I want the viewers to feel pleasing when they see my images. In addition, I want to make the viewers think of other usual objects that can be taken with the element of repetition. Something that I need to work on and develop further is my photograph editing skills. I also want to experiment more on the angle, because when taking pictures of the repetition of buildings. It was hard for me to take it under the building rather than in a higher place. To do this, I need to stand in a higher position next time.