The photographer that I had research is Richard Avedon, who was a renowned American fashion and portrait photographer. By looking through the photo that he had captured, I had got an inspiration about the idea of “Unfazed by others’ opinions.” I will be capturing images with a specific character, who will be showing an emotion from depression to bravery. This idea comes from the photo of “In the American West.” The photo had demonstrated the diversity and complexity of the life in American. In the photo, Richard Avedon had captured various individuals from different backgrounds, which emphasizes their resilience and uniqueness.

In the photo that I am planning to capture, I will be exploring through the concepts of the complexity in the society, specifically about the emotion changes through people in the modern society or the multiplicity of contemporary individuals in society. From this concept, I can be able to focus on the character’s action or express different meanings by the combination of light and facial expressions, which helps me to improve on different areas through photography.

A photograph is being considered as an portrait by the main focus, personality, and the mood.  From the subject focus, the picture can show an characteristic by following the basic rule of composition, which include using the technique of close-up and mid-shot to help to frame and organize the photo in the rule of thirds. Furthermore, the photograph may also show an characteristic with mood. Portraits are mainly focused on to convey with the emotions and feeling of the subject, which can help to create an connection between the audience and the photo. Overall, portrait is a distinct form of photography that focuses on capturing the essence of a person or group through a visual representation, what defines a photograph as a portrait were not only just facial expression; it also includes the context, emotions, and relationships that is conveyed through the image.

A self-portrait is “a portrait that an artist produces of themselves,” which present an interesting case of the portrait. Many people consider that selfies are an representation of the portraits since it often presents a personal context, which involve capturing the characters emotions and thoughts at a specific moment. However, the actual intention behind a selfie may be different from the traditional portraits, selfies may focus more on self-presentation, while portrait represents more through artistic representation.

While capturing a portrait, the different elements to include inside the image may greatly impact the outcome of the photo. A portrait often incorporates background settings, colors, and poses that enhance the subject’s story. The work of Richard Avedon illustrates the various elements inside portrait. The use of colors with high-contrast can remove distractions inside the images, which helps to focusing entirely on the expression and personality. By using the different element that was being mentioned, you can be able to capture a good portrait with an interesting composition that helps the subject to stand out and can show out the character’s features.

Furthermore,  portraits can generate connection with the audiences, by including small details in the portraits, it can evoke strong personal or emotional narratives. One of the small details that portrait can consist include close-up of a hand. A hand thats being include inside the portrait can convey a lot of information, which involve a person’s identity and emotions. Portraits can also be represented in a way of abstraction, images that involve blurred figure or a photograph that is torn or faded, can still be considered as a portrait. The key factors of abstraction elements is the creative intention behind the images, with the different element from abstraction, it can helps to evoke thoughts or feelings about the subject’s identity and essence. These factors may also shown by the work from Cindy Sherman, through her work, I noticed that she often uses abstraction to show the identity; which explores the roles of women in society.

In addition, it is possible for some portrait to be presented without the actual person being inside the image, elements or objects may also portray the meaning inside the image. One example that can present this is through the topics of Still-life, a still-life arrangement of objects can holds significance to the person can serve as a portrait. This type of portrait may capture aspects of a person’s identity, personality, or even life experiences, which allows the photos to be classified as a portrait even when the actual characters were not in the scene. Moreover, portraits does not have to be presented with only a single photograph, a sequence of images can build up a narrative or depict various aspects of a character, which can provide a deeper insight into the subject, allowing to capture different emotions or settings.

CONTENT SHEET FOR 798 PHOTOS:

YELLO TAG CONTENT SHEET:

GREEN TAG CONTENT SHEET:

After a subsequent round of selection, I have identified six images to mark with the green tag. These photographs exhibit a consistent element of blurriness or a sense of being out of focus, which is similar with Uta Barth’s photographic style. The intentional blurriness allows for an exploration of shapes through color and light, which may emphasizing the subjects and guiding the audience’s eye throughout each composition. This approach facilitates a deeper exploration of meaning, which can invite contemplation and interpretation that is based on the interplay of visual elements.

RED TAG CONTENT SHEET:

Eventually, I selected three photographs for my final choice, all of which were marked with red tags. These images exhibit  similarities in the way of the unique compositions and conveys a cohesive sense of mood with context. Each photograph incorporates elements of blurriness and light to evoke emotion connections, which may draw the audience’s  attention into the scene.

Furthermore, upon reviewing the photographs I had captured during the trip to 798, I have identified several areas in which I need to concentrate and improve on. Throughout the whole process of taking these photos, I mainly focused on the aesthetic qualities or the actual visual look in the photos, which may have lead to the result of lack of meanings through the images. By incorporating more meaningful elements into my photographs, I can encourage the audience to engage and brainstorm more into the photos, which enhancing the visual impact of my work. I will also strive to experiment with various angles and perspectives to capture my images, which can introduce through a greater diversity and richness to the series.

By addressing these area improvements, I will try to explore various focal points within the imagery, which might include building on both blurred and sharp elements to generate contrast and tactile engagement with the audience. To add variety into my images, I will also intend to change my point of views and explore different angles. This may include low, high, or oblique perspectives to uncover unique aspects of familiar subjects. I may not change my vision or the may theme of the photos, I enjoy to capture images with natural elements and willing to view the relationship inside the subjects, however, I might involve characters inside my future photos to build meaning through facial expressions.

Analysis of Uta Barth’s Photographic Style

Uta Barth is a contemporary photographer who was known for the exploration through perception and the nature of seeing, her work often show the blends through abstraction with a focus on light, color, and texture. This helps to add on the visual effect to the photographs and challenged the traditional representation through photo styles.

5 Characteristics of Uta Barth’s Photographic Style:

1. Blurred Focus:  The images mostly featured through subjects that are with blurred effects or out of focus, which creates a sense of ambiguity and provoke the audience to think more deeply with the image.
2. Light and Shadow: The images shows the characteristic through the use of natural light, which generates a dynamic interplay of light and abundant the visual effect to the interest through image compositions.
3. Abstract Elements: The images demonstrates the incorporates through abstract shapes and colors, allowing audiences to experience the photograph through sensory perception instead of straightforward representation.
4. Transitory Moments: The photos often captured fleeting moments or subtle transitions through light, movement, and mood, this helps to evoke a sense of time and change.
5. Color Palette: The photos utilize soft and muted colors that can impart a sense of calmness and simplicity, which draws the focus away from the subjects themselves.

Abstraction in Uta Barth’s Photographs:

Uta Barth portrays abstraction through photographs with unclear subjects or narratives, the images shows with various shapes, colors, and textures, which could encourage the audience to focus on the movement and the meaning behind the photo. The blurriness and soft focus detach the image from reality and connect emotional with personal interpretations, which making the viewing experience to become uniquely subjective.

Personal Appreciation of Barth’s Style:

By looking at the photos that Uta Barth had captured, I found out that Uta Barth demonstrates her style from the ability to create emotional connections through simple scenes and blurriness. The blurred details in her work had allowed audience to focus more on the imagination, which endowed the images with more personal and intimate meanings. Moreover, by looking deeper through her work, Uta Barth had using different elements and details to force the audience to let them slow down and truly appreciate the meanings behind the photos scenes and actions.

Quotation by Uta Barth:

“I have never been interested in making a photograph that describes what the world I live in looks like, but I am interested in what pictures (of the world) look like.”

This quote had expressed the understanding that Uta Bath had through the process of capturing images. I selected this quote because it helped me to view through the perspective of Barth and portrayed the different possibilities (creativity, personal expression, emotions) that images can create from scenes, which had supported me to understand Barth’s photos in different point of view.

Connection to My Vision:

Initially, I had chosen to research about Uta Barth was because of her special photo style and the unique understanding through abstraction, the combination and the similar topic through images had really attracted me to research about her. Uta Barth’s work aligns closely with my vision of exploring through nature’s beauty and the emotion connections through imagery with relationships, from Barth’s work, I got inspired through the blurriness and the interplay of light, I found out that simple photos can generate more deeper meanings and inspire more on audience’s thinking. Furthermore, Barth’s work had supported me to balance through the relationship between beauty in the nature and the meanings that exist behind, the usage of various strategy to portray her meaning had helped me to practice the ability to evoke feelings through the scenes in daily moments.

Eventually, after researching through Barth’s work, I am planning to adapt Barth’s style and strategy in my own photography. By incorporating more blurriness and out-of-focus elements in my compositions, I may build up emotions and create a quality with dreamlike style to add on my visual effect. I will also emphasize on the act of sunshine and the relationship between lights and shadows, these elements that learnt from Barth’s work had inspired me to focus more on the blurriness through natural environment and the deeper layers meaning in my photos.

Evaluate One Photo:

I had selected this photo because it had shown a clear sense of contrast between two different color palettes and mood. Among all the photos that I view from Barth’s work, this photo stands out prominently by portraying a clear difference from the color, emotion and visual effects, which invited me to explore more through the meanings of the image

The unusual aspect of this photograph is how the use of comparison. By showing two similar subjects, Barth’s portrayed the color treatment with the left side reflects a bright, clear and airy atmosphere, while the right presents a depressed and a lonely mood, which had showcasing how colors can evoke different feelings and interpretations.

Through this image, color is a crucial element that was being presented in this photograph. As the color creates a stark contrast between the two halves. The soft, light colors on the left generate a calm feeling with relaxing mood, while the bright reds and orange on the right give a sense of sunset and shows the mood with loneliness . This contrast helps the audience to connect the meanings with  different moods of the two photos, which adds on to the meaning and  the story that the image tells.

Citations:

“Uta Barth: Peripheral Vision.” The J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty.edu, [insert the date you accessed the site], https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/barth/index.html.

“Ise, Claudine. ‘Uta Barth.’ Artforum, Artforum.com, 14 May 2011, https://www.artforum.com/events/uta-barth-2-190549/.

“Uta Barth | Field #23.” The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation, Guggenheim.org, https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/5345.

“Uta Barth.” 1301PE, https://www.1301pe.com/uta-barth.

“Uta Barth ‘Sketch for KZC’ Photo, 2006.” Caviar20, https://www.caviar20.com/products/uta-barth-sketch-for-kzc-2006.

“Uta Barth | Untitled 1998-2000.” Uta Barth, https://utabarth.net/work/untitled-1998-99/.

“Top 8 Quotes by Uta Barth.” A-Z Quotes, www.azquotes.com/author/54145-Uta_Barth.

The Relationship between Natural Elements

The message of my triptych will revolve around the emotions and the relationships between elements in environmental scenes. By integrating diverse natural elements, I am aiming to capture images that employs multiple artistic techniques, allowing the audience to perceive the interconnections of these elements. I want my audience to see the beauty through environment and experience the emotion  of peace and relaxation, these emotion can helps to better express the main idea that I am trying to convey, leading to the exploration of nature. For my inspiration of this project,  I have explored and developed my ideas by examining the work through photographers who mainly captured photos on landscapes or focusing on environmental elements, I am particularly interested and tend to identifying the emotions that these photographs evoke through their various components. Overall, my opinion is to delve deeper into the relationships among natural elements, illustrating a sense of tranquility and relaxation derived from the beauty of nature.

From the photo that is being shown on the right of the blog, different elements was being presented in various forms:

01. The first picture portrays an scene that is being separated in two parts, which represents two elements of shapes – basic geometric forms, and the color contrast – the present color of black and white.

By comparing the photograph I took with the first image on the right, labeled ’01,’ it is evident that the ’01’ image presents a better view of the element due to its intuitive color contrast. The ’01’ photograph showcases the element by highlighting the clear contrast between black and white, while my photograph features a distinct black color on the right side, but the left side lacks clarity due to the presence of various other objects in the background.

02. The second picture shows an black square on the background, which represented an element of space from the solid square, it can indicate an occupied space from the photo.

03. The third picture shows an scene with patterns of small dots, this demonstrated a element of  textured surface from the speckled pattern

In comparison with the image labeled in ’03,’ my photograph provides a better representation of the textured surface. My image clearly illustrates the pattern and texture of this surface, whereas the ’03’ picture merely presents the element with small dots, which shows less details and clarity.

04. The fourth picture presents an scene with black and white horizontal stripes, this represents two elements, which is pattern and the lines. Both of the elements combines together and creates a rhythm or flow of the photo.

The fourth image with the labeled ’04’ presents the overall elements more better by showing an clear view through horizontal lines and the pattern. By comparing the ’04’ image to my photo, my photo emphasizes more on the visual effects through the three-dimensional shapes, which did not present well on the element through lines and patterns.

05. The fifth picture shows an scene with two black stripes in an plain white background. Line was the main element that was shown inside, the black and vertical lines indicates the structure of the picture.

By comparing the photograph I took with the fifth picture on the right, labeled ’05,’ I believe that both picture portrays the element of lines well, the two image all show the line element with an clear view, specifically, presenting the lines with white and black colors.

06. The sixth picture shows an scene with an black circle in the middle, the picture portrays an element from the solid circle, which represents the element of fundamental shape.

In comparison with the image labeled in ’06,’ my photograph provides a better view of the element-solid circle, by portraying an basketball being thrown in the air, my picture shows an circle with an visual effect of three-dimensional, which helps to highlight the part of ‘solid’ inside the element. In contrast, the ’06’ picture focus more on the shape of circle, but not the actual ‘solid’ part.

07.  The seventh picture portrays an scene with two vertical line and one horizontal line, the three lines intersect between each other and represents the element of line and shapes. The cross line and shapes symbolize the intersections or connections of the elements inside the scene.

By comparing the ’07’ image and the picture that I capture, the ’07’ picture demonstrates better on the element of lines and shapes, while my photo shows more on the space instead of having clear lines and shapes.

08. The eighth picture presents an scene with 25 black points, these points are being equally separated and arranged in the space, which best presented an element of patterns.

The image that was being labeled with ’08’ portrays an better view on the element of pattern and space, the image shows the same size of circles being separate with same amount of space. In contrast, my photo shows the element of space but not with the patterns of shapes, which did not present well on the element.

09. The ninth picture shows an scene with different lines crossing between each other, this represent an element of lines and the element of grid, which presents an organization and the structure of the picture

The ninth image that was being presented with the label ’09’ demonstrates more better on the through the element of lines and grid, the intersection of line have shown the grid being equally separated with space. By comparing the picture with the picture that I had took, the ’09’ picture shows more better through the elements, while my picture focus more on the three-dimensional shapes.

10. The tenth picture shows an element of diagonal line that went through the whole scene, which emphasizes the movement and  direction of the picture

In comparison through the image that was labeled in ’10,’ my photographs demonstrates more better on the element of diagonal lines through the whole scene, the wall shows the direction of the picture which highlights out the element.

11. The eleventh picture portrays an scene with a huge trapezoid shape, this is usually used when the photographer is capturing the road, which can imply the direction or stability.

Through the picture with the labeled of ’11,’ both pictures shows the element in with an clear view. By portraying an straight line through the whole image, both photo shows the direction of line.

12. The last picture presents an idea with intermittent lines, these wavy lines indicate the element of  textured, which highlights the idea of the scene being shown and add on to the interest of the picture.

The image labeled with ’12’ illustrates to the element of texture through a specific surface, by comparing the two photos, the photo that I took shows an more specific view on the wood surface, which show an better view through the texture element.

“Abstract photography can be defined as capturing images in which the subject isn’t the most interesting element. Albert Renger-Patzsch, Edward Weston and Aaron Siskind photographed the ordinary to reveal their beauty. Uta Barth reversed the typical use of the camera, shooting out of focus and Andreas Gursky photographs the repetition of elements. During this unit you will investigate appropriate examples of abstract photography and respond in your own way.”

The photographer that I chose to research about is Edward Weston. Edward Weston was an American photographer who had been called “one of the most innovative and influential American photographers” and “one of the masters of 20th century photography.” During the 40 year of career, Edward Weston were most likely to capture pictures with a set of expensive objects, including a theme of landscapes, still life, nudes, portraits, genre scenes, and whimsical parodies.

In the photograph that was being depicted, the composition showcases the corner of an oval table, where light and shadows converge to create intricate shapes. Edward Weston may have been particularly capture the still life aspect of the table’s edge, which serves as a focal point in the scene. The interplay of shadows and the exposure contribute to the overall tonal range, which emphasizing the textures and forms present in the image. Furthermore, the entirety of the scene captures elements characteristic of genre photography, suggesting a story beyond just still life. These three features emphasizes Edward Weston’s strong interest in the beauty of light, shape, and setting in his photography.

By looking at the photograph, the title that I will wanna give to this picture will be the “Geometric Shadows,” this title reflects the visual elements that is bring represented in the photo, which features an strong contrasts and patterns that was being created by the light, object, and shadow. The interplay of shapes and lines suggests a focus on geometry, while the shadows being shown highlights the importance of light in forming the composition.

The use of various techniques had created a cohesive and engaging image that invites the audience to explore the interests and meaning inside the picture:

-The shadows inside the picture had created a strong, defined lines that lead the audience’s eye across the image, these lines can demonstrate the movement or direction, which enhancing the visual flow.

-The corner of the oval table introduces an rounded shape, while the shadows forms angular and geometric shapes. This contrast adds interest and complexity to the composition, which made the picture to portray more patterns inside.

-The interplay of light and shadow produces a rhythmic pattern across the oval table. These patterns can create a sense of harmony and balance within the image, which adds more interests to the picture.

-The surface of the table and the shadows shows various textures that can create a feeling of touch. The smoothness of the table contrasts with the sharp edges of the shadows, which enriching the visual experience.

-The range of tones shows the progress of light that emphasizes to the deep shadows. This creates an depth and dimension, which also helps the tonal variation to enhances the mood and atmosphere of the photograph.

-The focus highlights on the sharp of the table corner and the shapes created by the shadows, which draws attention to the special elements. The selective focus helps to isolate the subject and emphasizes the details in the composition.

Citations:

Spence, Charles. “Senses of Place: Architectural Design for the Multisensory Mind.” Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, vol. 5, no. 46, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-020-00243-4.

Di Stefano, Nicola, and Charles Spence. “Roughness Perception: A Multisensory/Crossmodal Perspective.” Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, vol. 84, no. 7, 2022, pp. 2087–2114. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-022-02550-y.

Coates, Gavin. “Texture: Visual and Tactile Sensations.” Naturalist Gallery of Contemporary Art, 15 Aug. 2023, https://naturalist.gallery/blogs/faq/texture-visual-and-tactile-sensations?srsltid=AfmBOorsHxybCSjb5KK8QTHo_WN-fRUQVZoBJW6QgxnIx9XYNdHyFU4a.