Platon
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Paparrazi
David Fausch, photographed here outside of his classroom window, is caught yelling at small children. Some feel this is inappropriate behavior displayed by a school professional. Over the past couple of months, the previously cheery and fun-loving Fausch seems to be getting grumpier and meaner everyday. Our source and close-friend of David expresses his concern. "(David) used to be the life of the party. Especially in class! Working with kids was his passion in life. I don't know what is happening to him." Is Fausch's extensive teaching career finally coming to an end? When asked about this David had no comment. Whether it's the winter-blues or a low income that is influencing his bad moods, it is obvious that he needs to pull himself together or he will risk losing his job.
While out to lunch, Mimi and Allie are spotted chatting and gossiping. This duo turned heads today at Vapiono's in the Hague. For months they have been fighting and filling the tabloids with their heated arguments. Could this be a reconciliatory meal? What is more interesting is what Allie is saying to Mimi that shocked her so much. Our sources tell us that Allie has life-changing news that she has been keeping secret for weeks. Allie could not be contacted, but when we asked Mimi about Allie's dirty little secret, she replied, "I guess you will just have to wait and find out," as a huge smile spread across her face. From here, it is only speculation. Is she pregnant? New boyfriend? Is she moving? Starring in a new upcoming movie? No news as to what this "secret" might be has leaked yet. But the public is waiting patiently...
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My Photos - Save The Children
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Universal Education #1
Education is what leads the world today. In this photograph, I want to show that every child has the chance to earn his or her education and take their place in leading the world to make it a better place. The children are our future and they each deserve that chance.
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Universal Education #2
School is a place that children should feel excited about. Children have a right to a safe, fun, and fulfilling education. I believe that every child should have the privilege to wake up every morning excited about going to school, and going to a place where they can learn and thrive. This was the belief that inspired this photograph.
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Universal Education #3
Two minds are better one. When children work together, they share ideas and that is what makes education universal. The sharing of knowledge makes learning different cultures, beliefs, ideas and opinions possible.
Image Bank - Save The Children
Abbie Trayler-Smith
http://abbietraylersmith.com/albums/mali.html
Abbie Trayler-Smith was born in 1977 in South Wales. She studied at Kings College London and studied her law degree. As a side, she took pictures for the student newspaper, and then after graduating, (being completely self-taught) she began working for the Daily Telegraph thus starting her career in photography. She later quite the Daily Telegraph to work as a freelance photographer, and to work more on location. Some of her works include the forgotten war in Sudan, the famine crisis in Malawi, and most recently her 2009 exhibition Still Human, Still Here, which tells the story of the underground world of destitute asylum seekers in the UK. To see more of Abbie Trayler-Smith’s work go to http://abbietraylersmith.com/.
This photograph is part of Abbie Trayler’s exhibition based in Mali.
“Abbie, would you mind going to the Sahel for 3 weeks to hang out with elephants and Tuareg warriors? Oh and you can’t wash or the elephants will smell you. It shouldn’t be too hot, only 43 degrees in the shade and watch out for the camel spiders and scorpions….”
I chose this photo because I love the colors of it and the colors of the desert. It was taken of a herder caught in the middle of a sand storm. I think, though the situation is unfortunate, the wind and the visibility decrease caused by the sand makes the photo really nice and catches your eye. And the herder’s garments, which are being blown around by the wind, are really elegant.
Darkroom Diary - March 19, 2010
This assignment was inspired by a school wide competition for Save The Children. Save The Children was having a photography competition to help advertise for their new campaign, Universal Education. The photographs we took had to somehow embody that idea, of "universal education." Since there are many schools participating in this competition, you want to do something different then what everyone else might think of, and we had to think "out of the box" about what universal education meant to us and how we were going to depict it. I had three original ideas for the photos that I planned to take.
The first was a young girl wearing a backpack, on her way to school, looking very excited. This was to show that school is a place that kids can go to feel safe, happy, and excited about. And to “advertise” it as an enjoyable to get an education, and something that all kids deserve.
The second was going to be two kids in a classroom environment, working together, and learning. This is a very typical kind of picture so I had to be careful, not to make it look too ordinary. To do this, I decided that I would work with the angle of the camera.
And the third, which I didn’t follow through with, was going to be a child and their parent, showing that the child was learning from parent, and the education is everywhere and you can find it anywhere, not just in a classroom.
The first was a young girl wearing a backpack, on her way to school, looking very excited. This was to show that school is a place that kids can go to feel safe, happy, and excited about. And to “advertise” it as an enjoyable to get an education, and something that all kids deserve.
The second was going to be two kids in a classroom environment, working together, and learning. This is a very typical kind of picture so I had to be careful, not to make it look too ordinary. To do this, I decided that I would work with the angle of the camera.
And the third, which I didn’t follow through with, was going to be a child and their parent, showing that the child was learning from parent, and the education is everywhere and you can find it anywhere, not just in a classroom.
Theory Notes: Save The Children
Kate Moss
Her modeling career started in 199_ with Calvin Klien.
Greenpeace
Coca-Cola
Thursday, February 4, 2010
My Photos - Traditional Regalia
American Regalia
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South African Regalia
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For the South African regalia, I didn't know exactly what kind of pose would best represent the country. But for the photograph I tried to focus mainly on the headdress and the earrings. I was hoping that by focusing on those elements, the pose would come naturally to be incorporated with that.
Digital Test Shot
Saudi Arabian Regalia
Because my model is obviously not Saudi Arabian, I was looking for a pose that would better show off the regalia and not the actual person wearing it. My model is wearing a white cotton Thobe and a cotton Ghutra on his head with an Agal to hold it in place. This is very traditional dress for men in Saudi Arabia. There are also different styles in which to wear the Ghutra. The style I have in my photo is very common. In Saudi Arabia, most Ghutras are red and white checkered in the winter months and white in the summer months. Like I said before, my model is not Saudi Arabian or Middle Eastern, so for my pose I wanted as much anonymity as possible. Facing him to the side enabled me to achieve this, and emphasize the country regalia.
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For my country regalia, I decided that I would let the military uniform (in this case, the Coast Guard) represent America. I know at first it may seem very stereotypical (especially with the hand salute) but for me it is a very real and accurate representation. My dad (and his dad, and his dad...) have all been in the military. And my whole life, I have moved around living on military bases. So when I was thinking of poses, I was trying to avoid the salute but then I realized what other kind of pose goes with a military uniform? I tried it, and it I think it worked. During the editing process, I altered the colors a little to give it more of and aged/traditional look, and not so harsh/military like.
South African Regalia
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For the South African regalia, I didn't know exactly what kind of pose would best represent the country. But for the photograph I tried to focus mainly on the headdress and the earrings. I was hoping that by focusing on those elements, the pose would come naturally to be incorporated with that.
Digital Test Shot
I really wanted the colors of her headdress to really stand out. So I played with the contrast and saturation of the colors and the final result makes everything look better. Especially the background. I didn't intend to alter the background when I first started, but I think the colors and tint on the background is much prettier and flatters the model.
Saudi Arabian Regalia
Because my model is obviously not Saudi Arabian, I was looking for a pose that would better show off the regalia and not the actual person wearing it. My model is wearing a white cotton Thobe and a cotton Ghutra on his head with an Agal to hold it in place. This is very traditional dress for men in Saudi Arabia. There are also different styles in which to wear the Ghutra. The style I have in my photo is very common. In Saudi Arabia, most Ghutras are red and white checkered in the winter months and white in the summer months. Like I said before, my model is not Saudi Arabian or Middle Eastern, so for my pose I wanted as much anonymity as possible. Facing him to the side enabled me to achieve this, and emphasize the country regalia.
Image Bank - Traditional Regalia
Lynsey Addario, 2004
Lynsey Addario is an American photojournalist currently based in New Delhi, India. She starting professionally taking photographs in 1996 without any prior photographic training. She takes photographs for The New York Times and the National Geographic. Most of her works photograph conflicts and humanitarian issues.
This is a photo taken of a group of Sudanese women in Selea, West Darfur. There were displaced from their homes when it was attacked by the Sudanese government. However, I chose this photo as something related to "traditional regalia" because this first thing I noticed in this was all the bright colors that the women are wearing. Reds, blues, yellows, pinks, oranges, purples all in one area and its really cheerful in contrast to their lives and things they have lived through.
“Afghan Girl” (1984)
Steve McCurry
This photograph was taken at the Nasir Bagh refugee camp, in Pakistan, after the Soviet Union bombed Afghanistan. In 1984, this girl’s village was attacked and she fled to a refugee camp in Pakistan. Steve McCurry, a journalist for National Geographic Magazine, was there covering a story on the refugees. Steve McCurry has worked as a journalist with National Geographic Magazine for over 20 years, and has spent several years in Southeast Asia, India, Africa, and the Middle East. To see more of his work in these countries visit http://www.stevemccurry.com/main.php
I chose this picture because when it was taken and published in the National Geographic Magazine in 1985, it was during the Soviet War in Afghanistan, and this picture captured the people’s mind. This girl became the face of refugees in Afghanistan to many people in America and it represents the struggle for life that many people face, not only in Afghanistan but in other war torn countries.
“Ballerina” (1954)
Milton H. Greene
Milton Greene is an American fashion and celebrity photographer born in New York City in 1922. For over four decades, his career was very successful and he was one of the most celebrated photographers. Today, he is most famous for his work with Marilyn Monroe, but has worked with many famous figures such as Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Sammy Davis Jr., Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Andy Warhol, Alfred Hitchcock, and Steve McQueen.
This is a photograph of Marilyn Monroe, an American actress, singer, model and fashion icon in the 50’s. I chose this famous photograph of her taken by Milton Greene because at the time it was taken represented women’s fashion in America. I particularly like this photo of her because it is very simple. She is sitting in a studio and she looks as if she was talking while the picture was taken, or slightly self-conscious. But her pose with the dress catches your eye and she looks very elegant.
Annie Leibovich
This is a promotional ad by Annie Leibovitz for Louis Vuitton with Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards. Annie Leibovitz is a portrait photographer. She started her photography career with the Rolling Stones Magazine. Her first job was to photograph John Lennon and after that, she was made the chief photographer for Rolling Stone. Now she works a lot as the Vanity Fair chief photographer. I chose this picture at first because I love Keith Richards. But then when I looked at the photograph and payed attention to the detail, I liked it because of the set. He's in a hotel room and the room's kind of a mess. There's black scarves draped over the lamps with add to the lighting atmosphere, and a skull on the night stand. And then there is a cup of tea and a book on the Louis Vuitton bag they are promoting. I like the detail in this.
William Hogarth
William Hogarth, an English painter born in 1697, was a major painter of his time. He did a lot of satirist paintings and cartoons that made fun of contemporary politics, much like our modern day political cartoons. This became known “Hogarthian.”
I chose this picture by William Hogarth before I knew anything about him or his style of painting. This is because I liked how all the people in the painting are chilled back in their chairs and not at all posed like you would expect in a painting of rich people (or royals) in that time. It’s almost like a behind-the-scenes of what really goes on when they are not in the public eye. So when I researched some more about Hogarth, I realized that was exactly what he was depicting.
Darkroom Diary - February 8, 2010
I think this is our second project with digital prints. So far, I have not decided if I perfer digital or film yet, but I do enjoy both. I like digital because, firstly, for obvious reasons, because you dont have a limit of the photos you take (like with film), and you can delete bad ones. But the main reason I like working with digital is because you can edit the photos later, and its a whole seperate process. For example, you can change the coloring, the exposure, the brightness, etc. Just those things can change the picture drastically and give the photograph a whole new feeling. This is something I would like to explore more in the next projects.
Theory Notes: Physical Poses
The pose of the subject in your photograph is a powerful tool to use to convey the message the photographer wants to convey, along with the expression. The pose also plays a big part of composition of the photograph.
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