SUPER SAMPLER

I decided to trying and branch out camerawise (and I'm rather meh about digital at the moment) so I picked up a Super Sampler off the internets I decided to give it a shot. I tried it out with a really cheap roll of 400 speed film (and it shows, haha) just to get a sense of how wide the lenses were, I had some fun, since there is no viewfinder!

I haven't quite got the hang of it yet, I need to work on my super sampling technique, which luckily I read up on in the nifty booklet it came with. I just need a little more action and probably more light, the negatives were rather thin!

Figure Study

(12/4/09)

Recently I've gotten back into self portraits, I feel like I haven't made any in a long time, but these could be as much figure studies as they are self portraits.I shaved my head again so I could redo and improve on some of the images I shot the last time I cut my hair this short, but this time I had someone check the focus so they would be sharp!

I've tried to take this image a step further by juxtaposing it with a darker print, which was a stab at diptychs, and an attempted at furthering my self portrait. Making it more than just an image of myself. I thought I would take an astrological route and go with the twins, which represent my zodiac sign, gemini.

(12/30/09)

Its taken me all month and I've never finished my post... I wanted this to be my idea for my final project for Basic Studio, because I enjoyed the extremely dark tones contrasting with the regular tones in the right images, also from the symbolism resulting from the diptych, at least my take from it. Ultimately I think I failed miserably (I did pass the class!) at realizing this idea, specifically from a technical stand point, which is the most infuriating (although I did this image digitally, not in the darkroom as was required for the final), as I considered myself somewhat adept at that part of photography even if I end up coming short in the concept part.

I want to work out the technical kinks next semester and possibly switch to color, I just need to find some skinny dudes to continue this series with, self portraits take forever!

Neglected!

So I let my blog languish again, updating rent asunder by work and then school. Oh well, its a good as time as any to put up some images.

This was for an assignment for Junior Workshop called "the space between." I really wanted to focus on creating negative shapes using the body, as well as retaining strong positive shapes. This has to be my favorite piece I've shot this year.

This piece was for an assignment on my dwelling. Now I normally don't think of my apartment as strictly mine, I share it with three other people and when I moved in aside from my clothes and one or two pieces of furniture everything was already here. That resulting in me living in a place that didn't quite feel like home. So I sought out spaces that became strictly mine when I was using them. One of the first to come to mind was the bathroom, where one can be a king, and rule from yonder porcelain throne, or just read a book.

In addition to a lot of the strobe work I've been doing I've been trying to just shoot on the street, just available light, and I've been working on a small series on street shots. They grew out of stress relief, tired of working with studio lights, and over thinking shots, I went out on the streets armed only with a Hasselblad and my eyes (and a light meter). These are just random shots from the series thus far, but are the ones I enjoy the most.


I had to put these images together in a book for a class, (which can be viewed here)
and hopefully I'll be getting my copy of it soon!

Despite my leaning towards black and white film for stress relief I do still have fun with digital. Coercing high school friends to model for me in parking lots at wee hours of the morning is always a good time. I was trying to go Gregory Crewdson with this, but I didn't have nearly as many lights or budget, so I just stole all of the ambient that was around, and voila!



That's all for now, hopefully these series will continue to grow,
and if all else fails get posted!

Time

Recently I've become more and more interested in narratives. Working in a still media, how do I tell a long story with only one image. I could add text, on the print itself or as an artist statement. Or as I have been doing working in a sequence, or series of images. A series of still images has advantages over actual video, as you can stare at each image and appreciate it more than those 24 frames that go by in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, as I am attempting to create a narrative or sense of time or sequence with my images I yearn to work in video, to record motion as it is, or just capture a pan that would just be a blur in a still camera. I think it would start out as just crap artsy movies, but I think if I keep at it, just like I plan to keep working with narratives, and sequences something more can come out of it, like my Photo II final, which I should really scan...

Anyway I got back to Philly today after a couple weeks in New Jersey, did some exploring on the roof, before I move out. Noticed the ladder was missing a rung as I climbed up, probably good that it was my last time on the roof, that ladder won't last much longer. I took in some of the scenery, enjoyed the slowly setting sun, the freedom of being alone, and tried one last time to photograph the roof. What I came up with was, for me, a refreshing look at a place I love to go to, and probably won't be back to for a while.

Untitled Diptych


Airplane and Aerial

Conditioning
These are all from today so hopefully some more fully thought ideas will surface soon.

Years end

Its the middle of the year, and yet the year is almost over. 

The paradox of school ending when the year finally feels like its starting.

The trees are blooming, everything is green, but soon I'll leave the urban jungle for tall trees.

This year has been interesting, it was full of changes, disappointment, good times too.

So it really isn't any different than any other year in that respect.

I don't know how I feel about being half way done with college, I've spent all this time and money but I have not idea where I am going. I like the art I am making, but what to do with it I haven't the slightest clue. 

Finals are almost done, two left two. Maybe I'll have sometime to really think this summer.

In between working, and working some more.

le sigh... My laptop is also broken, but maybe its not so bad, less time on the interwebs, more time in the real world.

I think its time go back into the real world, errands to run! Things to photograph, hurrah!

I leave you with a random photo (well not completely random) from 2007!

Touchy Subject

I saw this ad when I was browsing a photography website. And it brought back to mind the trite debate of Photography being art. Nothing irks me more than someone disregarding all of photography as art. Its not an illustration, or a painting, but its not the media which truly defines whether something is art but the meaning it has. Although the photo in the ad is crap, so maybe it wasn't art until they applied that awful filter to it. Actually, its still not art, or at least not good art...

Alec Soth Lecture

Its always great getting to hear photographers (and artists) lecture, to put a face to the art work you've been admiring. Yesterday I saw photographer Alec Soth (rhymes with both) speak over at UPenn (and I got to ride the L, which is always an adventure, especially around rush hour!) Alec's talk was kind of a downer, in a good way. He spoke about his frustrations with photography, the over saturation of photography, with sites like Flickr, and Facebook, pictures are everywhere. It was great to hear a photographer I admired admit to inner turmoil over his work, it made him relatable, not this unreachable lofty figure. His solution to this problem, was to try and connect his images with a narrative, attempting to follow the Aristolian Arc.

(Actually used this image in his presentation, yay google for helping me find it)

It does raise a valid question, what separates our "art" from these unconnected "snapshots"?

I want to say that a well thought idea is what separates the two, but some great photographs are spur of the moment, taken as Cartier-Bresson would put it, the decisive moment. I've been finding myself struggling with the same issue. Why should my photograph be important, does it have meaning, or a back story? As a result I find myself dissatisfied with most of the photographs I've taken because something was as Alec put it "pretty".

I'm not sure where I'll end up along this path, I love photographing things with backstory, meaning (although my ideas are usually dark and brooding as of late) So I was glad to be cheered up by doing polaroid transfers. And that is what I leave you with.