Interesting statement about digital imaging and a range of work.
Haiti.
Ok So I don't know how many of you keep up with the news, I know i certainly don't but I went to wegman's this weekend and the Times magazine caught my eye. This month they published a special magazine in which all photographs and articles are revolved around the tragedy which occurred in Haiti. Magazine's NEVER catch my eye but this one is absolutely astounding; one because it is such a horrific event (one that most cannot even wrap their minds around) but additionally because the photojournalism is absolutely beautiful. Anyone looking into that program I recommend this magazine, because the pictures make you feel for these people as if you were actually there. I can't describe it, it's just something you honestly have to see. The one that got me was all this rubble with men and woman trying to find bodies among the debris and sticking out from it all is a dead man covered in mud. It's actually quiet heart wrenching to see. I will say the article is expensive, 12.99, but it is printed exceptionally well (not on the cheap paper most magazines print on), if that makes a difference. I feel if you don't like the news, its a good way to see what's going on in a way that interests us. It allows you to really image what these people are experiencing because until I saw the magazine, I couldn't have imagines what an earthquake, lasting less than a minute could have caused for these people. It's pure hell over there and all we can do if hope for them since many more will loose their lives, and many are fighting for their lives.
Brit
The real key to any good portrait isn't the background, it's the subject; namely, no babies. If you want your portraits to sing just get rid of them, I'll use brit's post as an example. Look how much happier the couple looks with yoda, it's more beautiful and i'll bet you they feel safer. If some one attacks them with yoda, he's got jedi powers, the baby wouldn't even make a good weapon. Have a great weekend everyone!
AWFUL
I just had to post this here. I've been in a negative mood this weekend and this topped it off for me. I was handed a business card at a gallery on Friday night, Some guy that was there to photograph the opening for a newspaper article and said he "forgot his camera" and had his iPhone and decided that was acceptable. I was told that he asked my client who I worked for (newspaper/magazine, etc.) and they laughed and told him "no one, he's a student and shoots for us".
needless to say I was perturbed when he interrupted me shooting to talk about facebook and iPhone apps and give me his card. And had the nerve to talk down on me for my social networking choices and equipment choices (reminding you again that he came with an iPhone).
moving on...
this is from a portfolio I found this morning though.
be mindful of how close you are to your background, among other things....
by the way this is from a professional in the area.
A proposal for all of us
First of all, I want to say how much I'm enjoying shooting film for Robert's "taboo" assignment. I've had some technical and logistical problems and I don't know if I've really captured the assignment with this, but I'm really enjoying going through my older negatives, scanning and creating new bodies of work.
Second-- and of course we would have to discuss this with Patti first-- I've been thinking for a while that it would be really nice to work on a collaborative project with all of you. It doesn't even necessarily have to be for PA, but I think it would be interesting for us to decide on a topic, theme, etc., all go out and shoot it, have a few edits and make it into one cohesive piece. My thought is that this could take the form of a blurb book (or something similar), with all of our work in it, so that by the end of the year we would each have this book of work to take away with us. If we leave the program or never take another photo class, we'll have some of each others' work to remember everyone by. It would also give us all good experience editing and curating a project with several contributors.
If any of you are interested, or have other ideas, leave a little comment and hopefully we can discuss this further in class, and how it will take shape over the next quarter. Since September I've really come to appreciate what each of you bring to the table, and I don't think any one of us are superficial; we all have something to say. I'd love to see what we can make together.
I'm Drinking Coffee From My Lens
Are you thirsty?
Would you like some coffee or tea?
Would you like to be able to use your mug as a weapon?
Well, why not do it in style?
Thanks Maggie for this marvelous link.
Links you all should peruse....
http://seankernan.squarespace.com/
Boredom helps the artist! I knew it, I damn well knew it!
http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2010/archives/7617
Interesting read here as well and some good examples of what you can do to an image via LR and PS.
http://www.thecoolhunter.net
You can sign up for an email version so you remember to check - very cool stuff from all over.
http://www.susanlenartkazmer.net/index.htm
http://susan-lenart-kazmer.blogspot.com/
Those of you "building" your books and family project, this may be very inspiring - I love her stuff and this is where I get my Ice Resin.
The Reason You’re Stuck (and the one best way to avoid the six ways that will keep you stuck)
http://zenhabits.net/2010/01/the-reason-you’re-stuck/
I would like you to read this - I think it will be the base of a good discussion next week.
Lets start it here on the blog.
Climbing Portrait
So I came across this post this morning, it is an analyzation and breakdown of a location portrait of a rock climber. Mixed hard and soft light made up the image. It caught my eye because it's rock climbing though. (Brennah [sp?], he said he was going to post an action shot in a later post too, so keep your eyes peeled)
Tabooooooo!
Found a perfect example of "Taboo" just now while surfing through the interweb. Check out, "Selected Personal", "Personal", and "Pumpkin Heads" (which is a bit strange...)
http://danalaurengoldstein.com/index2.html
Very intriguing.... I like to see work like this every once in a while. It's nice to know that there are people out there who are making their own work, regardless of what other people think. Gives me a little boost of confidence, especially from a day like today (critiques can really suck sometimes). Regardless of whatever people say, you have to know that you're making work to the best of your ability and sometimes you have to say you don't give a shit and come out and tell people, "Here's my stuff whether you like it or not. This is what I am doing. This is who I am."
Enjoy!
Little Chloe Presents: Yes, l am five years old
Hi Guys!
Okay so l thought it would be a good idea to stay up watching movies from my childhood. And l am enjoying Drop Dead Fred at the moment. It just reminds me of how creativity takes many a form. Here's a link to an enjoyable scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpIi34fCu1w
For those of you who haven't seen it, Fred is the young woman's imaginary friend from childhood. He comes back into her life when things start to go downhill.
Enjoy!
Okay so l thought it would be a good idea to stay up watching movies from my childhood. And l am enjoying Drop Dead Fred at the moment. It just reminds me of how creativity takes many a form. Here's a link to an enjoyable scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpIi34fCu1w
For those of you who haven't seen it, Fred is the young woman's imaginary friend from childhood. He comes back into her life when things start to go downhill.
Enjoy!
WOW - which century is this?
http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2010/01/umida-akhmedova.html
Interesting and very scary read about perception and interpretations and all kinds of cultural issues. We should have a discussion about this and what kind of implications these scenarios create.
beach/bum
This is what the beaches in Buffalo looked like this weekend (woodlawn state park for those curious) a far cry from Patti's voyage.
I've been feeling like I'm doing less work lately but in reality I've shot more this month than probably any month ever...in fact my frame count this month is already over half of my 2008 frame count (subtract paid work which made up most of that year) regardless pretty nuts.
As you've all noticed, I've got my camera glued to me, it comes with me 100% of the time now, it even goes to sleep with me (not joking, D3 sleeps next to me in bed with lens mounted ready to shoot). Day to day I don't feel like I shoot more because it's with me, but looking at how many shots I have, I am definitely shooting more. More importantly I'm photographing at times when I wouldn't have before, like the other shot below of the man on my street this morning. If my camera were in my bag, I would've missed this.
I never want to sound preachy with you guys, or sound like I know it all, but one lesson I'm learning and one thing that I feel is finally showing up in my work is that shooting more is good. It sounds stupid, but for all the time we spend talking and editing and printing and learning about some new yadiblah blah blah we could be shooting. I had the comment said to me in critique the other day by a very critical professor 'this was taken by someone with a very well trained eye'. It felt like things paid off.
And if you're like me you're thinking at this point, 'yeah but Brit, Brent, Brett my D300 does not match my coach bag!' and you're right it doesn't, but it never will and it's easier to just bite the bullet and get used to it now and not play catch up later. It's a pain in the ass to carry a DSLR with you everywhere let alone embarrassing at times to have a camera strapped around your neck, but I'm glad I do it and I feel as though it's paying off very very quickly.
moral of story....Western New York is cold, hang in there, shoot more.
Beach I found some nice shell pieces and then played with white balance and color.
Just to think about how you can so alter the mood and feeling via something as simple as white balance and luminosity adjustments.
I got a cat. I was at the pound with my gf and she got one and there was a two for one deal going on and i just can't pass up a deal. I like her a lot, but i'm just realizing that a cat isn't a dog. Any way the moral of the story is to jump without looking. Weirdly my dog gets along great with the cat.
p o i n t l e s s
So, I don't know whether any of you use StumbleUpon on Firefox, but if you ever want to kill many, many hours instead of studying for Western Art or doing M&P homework, this is the way to go. I say this because it often results in some legitimate inspiration for me.
A sampling from my massive Bookmarks list:
Dreams of Flying
Love Letters
Moleskine Art
Colors
Women in Photography
Postage Stamps
World Beard Championships
Gehard Demetz Sculpture
Share Some Candy
Teach Yourself.
And Brett/Britt/Brent, this is for you:
Your Vegan Mom
Happy Sunday night, see you all bright and early tomorrow :)
New World High School - My- Am - EEE
The pics I posted are from a most impressive High School - New World a magnet High School.
There is New World College as well.
the majority of the work yesterday was mixed media - drawing and painting on photos, installations, video and audio. Loved the pieces were the student was embedding the photos in resin. I will share the other pics during class time of the fiber sculptures and even bought some wonderful octoupi tendrils to make necklaces. One student makes some very interesting beaded and sculptural pieces - very cool stuff.
Off in a bit to another full day of reviews and then drive to Sarasota, Fla for another day of reviews tomorrow at Ringling College of Art and Design and then on a plane to be home in time for class on Monday am.
Hope you all are or have made work prints of your triptychs and have plans for the final prints for Monday am. Can't wait to see the finished pieces!
A little family history
Today I received a box in the mail from my uncle in Louisiana. In it was my grandfather's old Agfa 35mm camera that he bought in Germany when he was stationed there during the Korean War. I've seen hundreds of little 4x5 prints that he took during the war and of his kids and family before and after, but I never would've thought that we still had the camera. As far as I can tell, it's still functional, but I'm happy to have it nonetheless, as I never met my grandfather. It's an interesting thing to hold and know all that someone else has seen through its lens, and wonder where you might take it next.Lindsey
Contact Sheets In Photoshop
I was shocked and surprised in Photoshop today that they took out the contact sheet option. I've read about 5 tutorials online now and none of them seem to work. I used to make contact sheets in Photoshop all the time!!
portfolio reviews ala Miami
Hi all, I am in Miami doing portfolio reviews for perspective RIT students.
yesterday we spent the day at a magnet high school,DASH. Doing the same today - New World.
very impressive students.
Here a few grab shots just to give you an idea of what it is like - Colleges from all over the country, London and canada are here doing the same thing - very cool.
Remember - this is work from High School junior and seniors. Will show you some pixs each day.
Lightroom 3 Beta
Hey everyone, I was checking my email and I got an email from Adobe about Lightroom 3 Beta. It provided a link for a download, so I thought I'd post it here in case anyone else wanted to download it.
Beta Download:http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/?trackingid=FCEUD
Beta Download:http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom3/?trackingid=FCEUD
Here are some videos that were on the Adobe website about the new features that were added.
Part 1:http://tv.adobe.com/watch/what-s-new-in-lightroom-3-beta/whats-new-in-lightroom-3-beta-part-1/
Part 1:http://tv.adobe.com/watch/what-s-new-in-lightroom-3-beta/whats-new-in-lightroom-3-beta-part-1/
Printing at ISL
Here are the basics for what you need to do after you run your image through your awesome workflow.
Things to remember, for inkjet printing file needs to be:
-Flattened TIFF
-8 bit
-Adobe RGB 1998
-Resolution 300 pixels/inch
Once your file is ready place it in the transfer folder (remember the file name) and head over to the ISL lab. When you are there you will fill out a job envelope and inkjet print form.
When your print is complete you will have to pay for it with tigerbucks.
It can take an hour or a day depending how busy the lab is and when you drop it off, so remember to leave time for printing and don't go go in 10 minutes before they close especially if you have questions!
Let me know if you have anymore questions and I can find the answers and post them.
Once you make a print it will all hopefully make sense and the people ISL are really helpful.
Things to remember, for inkjet printing file needs to be:
-Flattened TIFF
-8 bit
-Adobe RGB 1998
-Resolution 300 pixels/inch
Once your file is ready place it in the transfer folder (remember the file name) and head over to the ISL lab. When you are there you will fill out a job envelope and inkjet print form.
When your print is complete you will have to pay for it with tigerbucks.
It can take an hour or a day depending how busy the lab is and when you drop it off, so remember to leave time for printing and don't go go in 10 minutes before they close especially if you have questions!
Let me know if you have anymore questions and I can find the answers and post them.
Once you make a print it will all hopefully make sense and the people ISL are really helpful.
Interesting
Just some cool website I found. This guy takes pictures of old shit abandoned in the west at night. He uses color gel over flashlights when he takes the pictures creating weird spooky light.
http://designshed.com/lostamerica/wheels/index.html
http://designshed.com/lostamerica/wheels/index.html
My Own Blog
I've had this for a while now. I find stuff I like and post it on there, post some of my personal pictures, and write short anecdotes on there. Check it out!
http://brennahro.tumblr.com/
Today's Shoot
This is the only shot from today that I rather liked for the portrait assignment. I like it in color a lot, but I'm not sure how I feel about it in black and white yet. There's enough tonal separation, I just don't have it yet. (Also, I'm sorry if this image is really orange or over-saturated, my laptop was damn near blowing smoke at me when I was editing it just now).
I'm suffering from a major artists' block right now. I have no idea what to do with this image, or what two other images I can make to complete it. There's no concept I'm going off, I'm basically out of ideas. So if any of you are struck by a genius idea at 3 AM or in the shower, write it down and let me know, please?
Litter
There's a line from a song, it goes: Roadkill has its seasons, just like anything; there's possoms in the autumn and farm cats in the spring. This reminded me of that song... I thinks it's tom waits.
Crappy weekend
Does anyone know how to earn a couple hundred dollars really fast that doesn't involve selling my bodily fluids?
Also, here's a couple sarcastic snow pictures (by which I mean, overly-happy, Thomas Kinkade/Norman Rockwell-esque, totally not my style pictures)
And this is part of my "inspiration wall" in my room. I'm also trying to start a polaroid wall, but it's pathetic-looking at the moment, so I won't show it to you.
Some essentials (as far as I'm concerned): pretty photos/posters to look at, rubber cement, hard drives, apple (for snacking), smelly candle, cutting mat, scissors/exacto, sketchbook, RIT hoodie
Also, here's a couple sarcastic snow pictures (by which I mean, overly-happy, Thomas Kinkade/Norman Rockwell-esque, totally not my style pictures)
And this is part of my "inspiration wall" in my room. I'm also trying to start a polaroid wall, but it's pathetic-looking at the moment, so I won't show it to you.
Some essentials (as far as I'm concerned): pretty photos/posters to look at, rubber cement, hard drives, apple (for snacking), smelly candle, cutting mat, scissors/exacto, sketchbook, RIT hoodie