Author: Marrisa

798 CONTACT SHEET

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Returned from the 798 photography trips,

the photos I took were sorted into 3 categories, blue, green, and red.

  • The Blue Set (Satisfied)
  • of photos demonstrated the quality of the images that I was aiming to reach. The photographer I chose, who inspired me with many ideas and inspirations. Albert Renger-Patzsch inspired me to focus on glassware, such as cocktail cups and wine cups. 
  • I also focused on the color tone of the pictures; for 2/3 of the photos I took, I filtered them into black-and-white images, which strongly contrasts the object and its texture.

 

  • The Green Set ( More Satisfied ) 
    • The photos being marked with green are the ones I personally think represent my style of taking pictures. I like to focus on objects that have textures of iron/metal, as we can see, a great number of my photos have the objective of either iron-made statues, locks, and even wire.
    • Many of the blue and green photos I took were focusing on tube-shaped objects, for example, pipes and iron pillars. Because I discovered much construction-liked artwork in the 798 districts. The sky was incredibly blue that day, I figured that if I take pictures under the sunlight, the spaces between the object and the sky create a very clean, blue background.

 

  • The Red Set (Most Satisfied)

This picture is taken in a tunnel, the location of the pipes is near the exit (doorway), there is a very gentle fade of sunlight in the very left of this photo, it is actually the sunlight fading in the door.

The contrast of the colors red & blue strongly emphasized the structure of this lined pipe. Because I took this picture with my camera, the high quality of  this picture allows the rusty texture

This picture is taken at the main square in 798, when I walked my way over to UUCA, I spotted this statue. I couldn’t tell what the statue is, it seemed like shells and corals. However, it was noon, and the sun is shining right above my head, so I focused the lens on the statue and a beam of light. When the light hit the top of the statue, the iron formed red-ish

The branches are formed in a very abstract way, the same element of sunlight appeared in this photo, and the beam of light made this photo look hazy. The sky was light blue (light color) and the branches are dark brown (darker) makes a great contrast. These branches are not in geometrical shapes, therefore it makes the photo look abstract. This photo matches with the other two red photos because I took this photo at noon, and the color of the sky faded from dark blue in the morning to this light blue ( afternoon).

 

 

 

 

Mind Map

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Phases of Everyday Objects

I chose to focus on taking pictures of everyday objects because I want my audience to see the different phases of objects that we see in our everyday life. I will get inspiration and develop my ideas by looking for photographs that show objects from different perspectives. Such as glassware and statues. I will develop my vision throughout my life, I will be taking photos as I discover more in my house, in school, and maybe even in other places. I will be working on finding soft tones in photos, and sunlight will be a very important element that I will be trying to capture.

Analytical paragraph- Paper Menagerie

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In Ken Liu’s short story “Paper Menagerie”, dialogue shows how the main character Jack struggles with his self-understanding of his own identity as a half-Chinese. Dialogues are used quite often in this story. Most of the dialogues express the idea of how Jack refuses to accept his Chinese identity. The protagonist, Jack, experienced how it felt like racial discrimination, especially towards Asians who live in the states. However, he blamed his mother, a girl with no family who later got chosen for marriage and got sent to America. The dialogue ” Speak English” showed up more than 3 times in this story. While the mother was trying to communicate how she cares and worries about Jack, Jack refused to continue the conversation with his mother. This dialogue: “We should eat American food,” was used to express Jack’s true thoughts in how he felt he was different from other families who live in America. The repentance of  “Speak English” was also more vital than what Jack wanted. Jack wanted to fit in the western society because being the “Chink” and the “Different one” made him feel embarrassed. Dialogues played a key role in this story, as we can see, how Jack, Mom, and Dad are shifting between the two languages of the two cultures; it emphasizes the main issue that has been bothering this family through words and lines. Jack’s lack of appreciation for his mom and his lack of embrace of his background were both well expressed through dialogues. Overall, dialogues allowed us to get a better understanding of what was going on in Jack’s family when the characters speak different languages, dialogues were able to maintain all readers’ sense of how each character is saying.

Paper Menagerie Thesis

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In Ken Liu’s short story ” The Paper Menagerie”, Jack the main character’s understanding of his identity changes through the use of symbolism, point of view, and dialogue.

 

 

Paul Strand- ELEMENTS OF PHOTO

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Three things Paul Strand might have been interested in when he was capturing this picture:

  1. The shadow reflected on the table (the object)
  2. The texture of the table, it may be marble or groitte, it looks very smooth.
  3. The tones, the colors of the shadow and the table are black and white, they match.

If I was the photographer, I would give this photo the title of

“ Shadow on a Table in the Corner of the Wall”

Because my title basically described everything that I observed in the photo, I guessed that the grey surface behind the table is a wall, and it looks like the table in angled at a position where it is at the corner of a room. The shadow is really outstanding, so I think my title is descriptive.

I think the objective of the photo (the table) is not as outstanding as the other elements in the photo, intact the reflection (shadow) is the first thing that grabbed my attention. I think is it a unusual point because usually we spot the objective of a photo first sight.

The texture of the table seemed smooth and sandy, I’m guessing it is a table made out of rocks or marble, I think I can feel the dull polished texture just by looking at it. The texture of the wall is also smooth, it may be constructed out of wood.

Lines also showed up in this picture, the reflected shadow seemed like a reflection of balustrade/railing. There are also shapes such as rectangular and triangular shapes carved in the shadow.

The tone of this photograph is blurry and dusty, the whole photo seems “grey-ish”.

The focus is pretty clear to see, the table contrasts with the background wall.

I like the whole tinge color style (grey, white), it makes me feel comfy.

Element of Photography

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SHAPES-

The shapes on the CCTV buildings are made of diamond shape glass, the building is covered by diamonds. Most objects are in shapes, and we identify them easily. Shapes and lines creates some basic structures for photos, as it is in this photo, the CCTV tower has really clear printings of diamond shapes on it, which makes the building look more realistic and it contrasts with the soft sky.

LINES-

Alignments is a very important element in Photography. Lines can create frames for photos and lines are able to enhance the visual impact of photos.
The telegraph poles in this picture I took in Shunyi showed how lines connect the poles together, the pictures. The structure of the wires is visually striking

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REPETITION/PATTERNS-

Repeated patterns in photography can make photos look very neat, whether in shape, size or even color repetition, can enhance the overall intensity of the image and other meanings
This picture that I took at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. The objectives are a row of lanterns at the gate of the temple. The lanterns are printed with patterns and words. As well as the drawings/printings on the lanterns are very prominent and makes the whole picture even more attractive.

 

TEXTURES

 refers to the texture structure of the object surface, they may be uneven, rough or smooth. There are various textures, which express people’s feelings on the texture characteristics of the object surface!

I choose a photo of pieces of salmon, I think the quality of the photo allows the texture of the sashimi to show, smooth, and I can even feel how fresh they are.

TONES

Tones can express the mood or the emotion of the photo, it may stronger the photographers’ intentions when taking the photo. Usually, there are contrast between colors, they fade and change.

For example, this picture I took in 2018, when I was on a plane to back Beijing, I felt dreamy and when I opened my eyes, I looked out side the window. I was amazed by this sunset that I saw while flying in the air. The colors faded from baby blue, to grey, then to shining yellow. It also expressed my feelings from homesick(grey-ish) till when I was almost back at my home land (golden).

FOCUS-

Focusing on one object in a photo may help viewers to recognize the main objective that has been included in a shot. For example, focusing on people ( close ups, hand, fingers, facial expressions, etc.) and landscape ( one particular building, or plants such as flowers or insects such as butterfly).

There may be many other existing objects in one photo, but the focus may only be on one of them. For example, some national geographic photographers captures photos of animals that lives or migrated into forests, grass and trees are just the background of the photo, the creature/animal is the actual focus.

This picture I took during film class was a zoom in to one of the trees ISB planted, out side of our cafeteria. There’s a very big contrast between the tree its self and the sky, as well the bit of our building.

 

Thesis Paragraph of “On the Sidewalk Bleeding”

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The main character in Evan Hunter’s short story entitled “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” initially believes he is a part of the Royals, he is a “Royal” but later understands that his true identity has been covered by the purple jacket, and he understood that if he had just been Andy, not a royal, not wearing the purple jacket, he wouldn’t be left on the sidewalk alone waiting for someone to save him until he died. His changing understanding is revealed through the use of

  1. dialogs
  2. symbolism
  3. different points of view

The boy saw THE ROYALS on the jacket then. He turned to Angela.

    • DIALOGS
  • “He‟s a Royal,” he said.

         “What should we do, Freddie?”

         “I don‟t know. He‟s a Royal. We help him,

        and the Guardians will be after us. I don‟t want to get mixed up in this Angela.”

         “Is he – is he hurt bad?”

          “Yeah, it looks that way.”

           “We can‟t leave him here in the rain.” Angela waited.

            “Can we?” “If we get a cop, the Guardians will find out who,” Freddie said.

              “I don‟t know, Angela, I don‟t know.”

  • SYMBOLISM

  • 1. “That’s for you Royal!” the voice had said.

         2.  He was close to dying. When they did find him, he

             didn‟t want them to say “Oh, he‟s a Royal.”

  • DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW

 

  • Freddie stepped into the alley. He walked over to where Andy lay on the ground. He stood over him, watching him. “You all right?” he asked. He knelt beside Andy. “You cut?” Andy nodded. The boy saw THE ROYALS on the jacket then. He turned to Angela.

 

Researching The Starting Point

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How can photography change our relationship to things?

  • Abstract photography changes our relationships to things because it allows us to view objects differently, we are able to capture things from different perspectives.
  • Abstract photography also leads us to think outside of the box.

What is pictorialism?

  • My understanding of pictorialism is when it allows photographers to take pictures that express their own style of photography. Some of them break the traditional “rules”.
  • Pictorialism, an approach to photography that emphasizes beauty of subject matter, tonality, and composition rather than the documentation of reality. 

(Cite: Britiannica-Graphic Art-Pictorialism

What is abstract photography?

Abstract photography can be defined in many different ways. It may be non-objective, it may break some of the traditional “rules” used in common photographs. For example, it may be out of focus or blurry. There aren’t frames that we usually use when taking photos in Abstract photography. Different than the pictures taken with margins or alinements, abstract photography grant us to view objects with more emotions and it also empowers us to think bigger and deeper.

Write a (very) short biography of Albert Renger-Patzsch (just 1 or 2 sentences).

Albert Renger-Patzsch, a German Photographer, was born on the 22nd of June in 1897. He started to make photographs at the age of 12, and he was one of the representatives during the New Objectivity.  Renger-Patzsch believed that the

  • value of photography was in its ability to reproduce the texture of reality,
  • represent the essence of an object.

(Cite: Wikipedia-Albert Renger-Patzsch)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Renger-Patzsch

From looking at his images above, What types of subjects do you think Albert Renger-Patzsch preferred to photograph?

I think he preferred to focus on alignments in shapes, and most of the objects has patterns on their surface, structure, and even reflections (shadow).

Why do you think he entitled his famous book, ‘The World is Beautiful’?

The photographs included in the books are objects we see in our everyday life, such as glass wears, plants and animals, buildings, and places such as roads and forests. I think the reason why he entitled his famous book ’The World is Beautiful’ was because he exhibited his own point of view on many different objects. Maybe we haven’t paid much or any attention to these ordinary objects, but they are pieces of our world, their existence makes up our beautiful world. In conclusion, he gave the book with this title.

Why do you think Edward Weston moved away from the soft-focus of pictorialism to the new Straight photography movement? – the idea that ordinary objects and scenes can be photographed to reveal their beauty

I think Edward Weston may want to emphasize his object more, comparing to the pictorialism style he used, straight photography allowed his photographs to be taken with more realistic details, and I guess that maybe as cameras update their capability of capturing

Give examples of one of his pictorialist images and one of his straight images.

STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY example of Edward Weston

PICOTORIALISM example of Edward Weston

 

(both sources from MOMA-Edward Weston)

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/47745 

9. How has Aaron Siskind (above been influenced by the Straight Photography Movement

Based on the timeline of styles in photography, I assume the reason why Aaron Siskind was influenced by straight photography is that it became trendy. Straight photography captures pictures with higher quality, that might be one reason why photographers were influenced by this style.

10. Name some other photographers that have been influenced by straight photography

  • Bernice Abbot, many of her most famous photographs are categorized as straight photography, for example, pictures of buildings in New York City (Architecture).

(Britannica-Bernice Abbott)

 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Berenice-Abbott

11. What makes the work of Andreas Gursky and Uta Barth abstract. Are they straight photographers? Why?

Andrea Gursky’s photos have packed objects, the objects are close together (exp: seats, windows, packages, etc.) Gursky focused on taking pictures with extreme long shots, instead of close-ups, that showed contract to many abstract photographers. However, I think he is a straight photographer, because his pictures are rich with details, and it shows us a wide landscape of the world in different scenes.

Uta Barth focused more on the lighting aspect, in many of her photographs, sunlight was included. She also took sets of photos, each including one out-of-focus photo, and a focused photo of the same object/scene. Each set has the same objective, but each photo has differences in its lighting, angle, and sometimes she adds filters to it.

Photography- Unit 2 Abstraction

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“Abstract photography can be defined as capturing images in which the subject isn’t the most interesting element”?

I think it means that abstract photography doesn’t need to be fully objective, it can be non-objective. In which the subject isn’t the most interesting ones to take photos on, but if we take the photos in different perspectives, which creates abstract photographs. Other than the object itself, the lighting, the background, the filter are all able to create absract photos.

 

 

 

Learner Portfolio and Goal-Setting

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As an English learner,  I like to communicate with my classmates and I enjoy working on group projects. I love to take notes about what we are learning in class. My biggest strength is I am a strong speaker, I like to share my thoughts. My weaknesses are mainly in my reading and writing skills. I struggle with grammar, sometimes I express my ideas with incorrect grammar, and it messes up my essays. I dislike reading, I can read articles, but it is difficult for me to finish a long passage with my full attention. This school year, I am looking forward to improving my writing abilities, as well as fixing grammar mistakes. English is my second language, I also learned Spanish for 3 years (I am in intermediate class but I’m not feeling confident at all). I hope, with my passionate heart in studying this course, I will eventually reach my goals.