Portraits of Self, Portraits of Others

Blog Review

Elisabeth Dare

• The photographer I chose to review is Elisabeth Dare. Her website is very easy to navigate and, aesthetically, plays well off of her style of photography. Sticking to the medium of photography, she does not focus on just one subject, although there does seem to be more portraiture work than anything else. Additionally, she does a fair amount landscape photography; her series titled Dreamscapes is a good example of this. 
• I particularly like her style of photography, as she shoots with 35 mm film cameras. Film gives a certain, indescribable quality to the pictures, a life all its own. My favorite series of hers is her "Double Exposed." The picture above is one from this series, the rest of which is just as captivating and intriguing.
  Overall, her style is very prominent and consistent throughout her work. Her projects are all stunning and I really enjoy studying her images. 

For further browsing, here is her tumblr and flickr.

Screenshot Folder

Steve McCurry

With this series I saved my favorite for last.

     This photo by Steve McCurry is definitely the most well and widely known of his images, for obvious reasons. However, this is not the only amazing, striking, stunning, breath-taking, what have you, picture he is responsible for. This is just one image among this series, all of which are incredible. He focuses strongly on contrast of colors, saturation of colors, depth, etc. in this entire series creating a remarkable portfolio focusing solely on eyes.
     Additionally, you can view the rest of his works here and see that his style in the above link carries over into all of his works. Color and contrast seem to be the vocal point in his style, creating an unforgettable myriad of images, each one just as breath-taking as the last.

Diane Arbus

     Again, this is another photographer we covered in class, but as with the other, I was intrigued to find more by her. This one picture really stood out to me. While it seems to cover mature themes with the (fake) hand grenade, to me it feels very young and playful. The posture of the boy, along with the seemingly silly face he is making, evoke a since of innocence and youth. He seems like he could be distraught over his mom telling him to do something, or maybe his toy broke, or whatever reason you can come up, but ultimately he feels like a child reacting like a child should. It is the hand grenade in contrast with the youthful feeling that gives depth and meaning to this image. The complexity comes across very well and makes the audience think about what they are seeing.
     The rest of her works follow this kind of complexity, showing images of a world we ignore and shun. She photographed the weird, the outcast, "grotesque" of the time period. You can look here to see some other works.

Mary Ellen Mark

     The particular photograph above comes from a series of pictures she took on the New York streets. Overall the entire portfolio gives an air of familiarity. All of these photos represent people in the manner in which we see them, their public image, their daily lives. While we do not know the person or their story we get a glimpse into their world in the few seconds that we see them. This series represents this very well as it captures impressions of these people. 

     Here is the rest of the series.

Amy Leibovitz

 

     I realize that we went over her in class and saw several examples of her work, however I really liked her pictures and wanted to see more. From what I've seen, she photographs a lot of celebrities. Additionally, her work tends to focus on full body portraiture rather than just face shots, a portion of the time dealing with full/partial nudity, like above, which depicts Lance Armstrong on his bike in the rain. I particularly liked the composition of this piece because of the contrast of his skin against the ambiguous dark background. The rain also adds an additional layer of interest to the work as a whole. Ultimately, it is a very impactful image.

     You can see a little bit more of her work here.

Amy Toensing

     I was unable to post a picture from her portfolio, so instead this link Here will take you to the portfolio I am referencing, and more specifically to my favorite picture within that series.
     Her most recent portfolio is a series of photos she took of aboriginal people in Australia. Her pictures in this series are really intriguing and thought provoking. Seeing what she has captured, a representation of people so wrongly represented and stereotyped on a normal basis requires you to reevaluate your point of view on these people. Additionally, she manages to capture a beautiful representation of their culture and ways of life, something we do not see here as Americans.

Questionare

1. What’s your major? What year will you graduate?

     I am a first year student, majoring in English and minoring in Art. I'm seriously considering double majoring in both English and Art though. If I do not double major I will probably graduate early, 2016, instead of 2017. If I o double major I would probably need all 4 years to complete my required hours.

2. Why did you choose a photography class (or photography as a major), and what do you hope to learn from school in general and this class specifically?
     I chose to take this photography class because I love art in all its forms. Drawing is probably my favorite method, however I'm also really big on photography. I'm really hoping to learn how to improve my photography skills in this class so I can be better than I currently am. In general that same answer applies. I love learning new things and gaining more knowledge. Ultimately, I'm going to college to gain more knowledge rather than just for a degree. If money was no option, I could literally happily be a student forever.

3. What are your goals after graduation? Please list your goals in reverse order, starting five years out, then three, two, one, and six months.

5 years: I am really undecided this far out. No matter if I double major or not, I will definitely be done with my undergrad studies at this point. I don't know if I want to go to grad school yet or jump immediately into the workforce.

4 years: At this point I definitely hope to have decided about grad school or not. I'll be just getting out of college and taking the next step to living in the real world.

3 years: I hope to be finishing my undergrad work, hopefully with a 4.0. That is my biggest educational goal for my college career.

2 years: I hope to still be going strong in my classes, whatever my major is at that point. I also hope I can get more scholarships from now 'til then so college won't be such a burden on my already empty wallet.
1 year: I hope to be starting my sophomore year after completing a VERY successful freshman year. I DEFINITELY want to be decided on my major by this point.

6 months: Job, job, job, job. I really need a job. My parents really need me to have a job. Get a job. For sure.

4. What artists, musicians, photographers, writers, movies, books have influenced you/your work?
     I'm big on reading philosophy- Ayn Rand, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Hobbes, etc- and for this reason I'm very objective about everything in life. I'm good at putting aside my own feelings and thinking differently than I normally would. This personality trait carries over into my art and photography. I like taking pictures from different perspectives to try and capture an image you wouldn't think possible or normal. It remain very open minded about everything and it shows.

5. Are there any important websites that you are referencing for art/photo competitions and/or information?

     I don't know of any specific websites to keep an eye out for for contests, but occasionally I look through Juxtaposed and other art magazines to see what they have published inside.

6. What museums and/or galleries have you been to in the past year?

     In February I took a school trip to DC. While I was there I got to go to the Holocaust Museum, International Spy Museum, and my FAVORITE The National Gallery of Art.

7. Have you had any photo projects and/ or training in the past?

     I've had high school photo projects, but never anything extremely serious or educational. I've studied other people's styles and works and read a few educational books on photography but never had any TRUE photography lessons.

8. What is the value of art for the artist?

     The value of the art for the artist depends on the artist themselves. For someone like Warhol or Van Gogh or Picasso art was probably their entire life. For an art student the same may be true. But for a student who just needs an elective it probably doesn't matter as much. Personally art is a major part of my life. I originally wanted to be an art major but changed my mind. Being in this class is what is making me consider double majoring. 

9. What is the value of art for the audience?

     For an audience member who can appreciate the piece, art is more than a picture. It is a story, a piece of history, an emotion. Art transcends the frame it is in.

10. Is photography a vocation or an avocation?

      Photography is probably more of an avocation at this point in my life, however I would be happy if it was my vocation.

11. What is your passion?

     I'm really passionate about being creative, both with writing and drawing/painting/photographing. Hence my wish to double major in English and Art.

12.What are you afraid of? What makes you uncomfortable?

     I'm afraid of insecurity and chaos. I am a person of habit and cleanliness. Mess and clutter stress me out to the point of giving me panic/anxiety attacks.

13. Do you have a passport? Are you a traveller?

     Yes and yes!!! A year and a half ago I went to China for a week. In 3 years I will be going to Europe for a month as part of the Regents Scholars Program. I LOVE traveling.

14. Who is your favorite artist? And why?

     http://agnes-cecile.deviantart.com/ She is easily my favorite artist. I love how soft, yet haunting her pieces are and her mastery of the skills of her trade.

15. Why did you sign up for this class? What do you hope to learn from it?

     I signed up for this class so that I can further improve my photography skills. I hope to be able learn useful abilities I can apply to my own work.

My World

 1. I've been a diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic for nearly two years now. I'm completely dependent on my medications. They are now as much a part of my life as breathing.

 2. Every evening I walk to dinner with my friends. This is the way I travel many times a day. Walking it is routine now.

 3. While some people manage to make it around campus without a bike, I am not one of those. I love riding around campus from class to class. Plus, it's really convenient.

 4. Waiting for Astronomy to start! While I sit outside the planetarium I love to look at the "stars" on the ceiling. One of my favorite classes, for sure.

5. Me and my friends have a habit of sitting in the middle of the hallway and talking for hours at a time. This was one of those times. The setting sun streaming through the window at the end of the hall really illuminated everything.