Appreciation for Sarah Berends

Sarah Berends was an old classmate of mine from SVA, who had ventured off far away from NY to be in the land down under in Sydney, Australia. From time to time, I had checked her photos on facebook, where she had posted numerous photos of her new home and various places of travel. From what I remember, I always thought of Sarah's work as being finely detailed with an expressed sensitivity woven in from her personal feelings, emotions, thoughts, etc... I had always commended her of her own personal repertoire she brought to the table and can see that that hasn't left her through the photos she exhibited on the web. Much of her subject matter pursued a sense of mystery, beauty and awe, much of what I find myself striving after in my own photos. Sarah's works, although mostly for her own personal enjoyment, takes me to a happy place =)

If I Were Blind Tomorrow

Imagery and events surround a person each second of the day. Things that people physically look at creates an emotional experience that can cause sadness, joy, excitement, enthusiasm, anger, so and so forth...If I knew that I was to go blind tomorrow, there would be many many things I would miss seeing. Faces of families, friends and loved ones would only be a part of what I would miss the most. Waking up to see the sun rising, clear sunny and cloudless skies, dark nights with the moon shining brightly, flower petals breaking into pieces as the fall approaches, leaves changing colors, roaring ocean waters, beautiful and luring pieces of ribs laid out on a dish, so and so forth...are only some of the things that I would miss seeing. Without my sight, a part of who I am would be lost into a world of darkness.

Photographing pertaining to this theme was challenging because there were so many things I wanted to capture. But I believe capturing the essence of what brings joy before my eyes was the most important quality to seize in the photo. Working with a conceptual idea from the start of my photographing session was challenging, yet exciting because there was freedom in what I wanted to shoot but with a specific intent and agenda behind the photos.

Your Own Voice, Your Own Eye

For the past couple weeks, I have been able to explore photography in various ways whether emphasizing genre, style, STFV techniques, etc... I even arrived at the point in carrying my digital camera around in order to capture interesting photographs on the fly. And what really tends to capture my attention, while photographing, are ways that I photograph to make the image look interesting. Whether it's close-up or far away, cropping in a unusual angle, or off-centering the subject, I realize I automatically try to set up a unique perspective on the image being captured. I believe that the main reason why I draw to these types of photography is to reemphasize the meaning behind the photograph being taken. I think the way the photographs are being taken, it can send across a strong meaning or emotion when considering the subject matter.

Personal photography, such as recording events and people in my life, have been the best of my interest. Included under that, photojournalism have been a strong interest of mine. Because of the trips I've been on during the summers, I've been photographing and documenting the environment, people, culture and their everday stories. It's been a great interst of mine since my first trip to Cambodia. Ever since then, I've been able to photograph places like China, Afghanistan, and Ivory Coast. Through the images I take, I've seen an interest in movement and activity where images of people carrying out their everyday tasks have been recorded. I've learned to appreciate photographs that are unstaged and natural. I believe that's why I enjoyed going through Robert Frank's photo exhibition because it depicted Americans in the 50s and their lives.

Photography have always been a means for personal expression and documentation of my life. It helps me to remember what I did, where I've been, things I saw and experienced, and how it changed my perspective. Photography will always be a personal way to capture such precious experiences of my life, even if there may be some images that I may not have any personal ties with. It can be an image of a couple who are embracing or showing some kind of affection and care. Although I do not carry personal ties with them, I begin to build a relationship with the photograph that has been taken because it creates and brings out a certain emotion. I have found that photography is an exciting vehicle in capturing moments of stillness in a life that's on the go (story-telling).

Photographer of the week:
Olivia Arthur
- can be categorized under photojournalism, story telling...

Her recent work, "Beyond the Veil" exhibits photographs of women living in Iran, living the life they want despite restricitions of the Islamin law. The series provide beautiful imagery of women living out their daily lives that look very similar to ours.


Photograph of a couple taking pictures of themselves on the Caspian Sea


In the kitchen during a house party in Tehran


Women only photography class in Tehran

Robert Frank: The Americans

"First published in France in 1958 and in the United States in 1959, Robert Frank's The Americans is widely celebrated as the most important photography book since World War II. Including 83 photographs made largely in 1955 and 1956 while Frank (b. 1924) traveled around the United States, the book looked beneath the surface of American life to reveal a profound sense of alienation, angst, and loneliness. With these prophetic photographs, Frank redefined the icons of America, noting that cars, jukeboxes, gas stations, diners, and even the road itself were telling symbols of contemporary life. Frank's style—seemingly loose, casual compositions, with often rough, blurred, out-of-focus foregrounds and tilted horizons—was just as controversial and influential as his subject matter. The exhibition celebrates the 50th anniversary of the book's publication by presenting all 83 photographs from The Americans in the order established by the book, and by providing a detailed examination of the book's roots in Frank's earlier work, its construction, and its impact on his later art."

- text taken from http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/frankinfo.shtm

Response to Printing in Film

My experience in printing in film, so far, has been an amazing, frustrating, and interesting in that it helped me to understand the intricacies of creating a single photo that contains all the STFV elements and appropriate contrasts and lights existing in an image. Just for one image, all these techniques, calculations and most of all, patience, are required to produce ONE image that I really like. Phew. In the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing and the processes involved in making a print, but the more I do it, I realize it has become a pleasurable and enjoyable experience. The development of the film to its product, naturally, became a piece of art work with hopes that the final piece has become what the artist had intended to create.

The most exciting part in printing in B&W is creating the actual negatives! The steps in having the film latch on to the wheel has been a difficult process for me, but after all the steps involving chemicals have been taken and when you finally open the wheel to see if the images came out on the roll (remembering the time I thought my images didn't come out, nearly giving me a heart attack!) leaves me with a sense of accomplishment! The most difficult part in printing is choosing the right amount of light exposure in order to create your photo. Because my eyes are not easily adjusted to B&W photos, it becomes difficult to detect which photos are too dark or light, which ones reveal an array of different grey tones, etc...And your printing skill can indefinitely affect the artist's photography. The final outcome of the development of the photograph can either ruin or glorify the work that's been done prior to the last step in producing a photo. If the negative of the photo that's been taken is great in that it depicts exactly what the photographer intended, and doesn't come out the way the photographer wanted it to, then it becomes problematic in that the viewer may not understand the photographer's intent and may have the possibility of seeing it as a bad photo. Every element of the process go hand in hand. If the photos that are taken aren't great, then the final print won't be great either. If the final print is bad, then it doesn't do justice to the great photos that were taken.

The photographer's choices in the darkroom can affect the meaning of an image because it is the printing process or these choices that create an effect on the final imagery the photo conveys. If the photographer decides to darken the photo, creating more highlights and shadows, it can create a powerful and mysterious imagery to the viewer's eye. On the other hand, because each person's perspectives, dislikes and likes vary, the photographer's choice in the darkroom may leave a negative or positive affect on people who are observing the photo. Thus, dodging and burning may or may not be a technique the photographer may choose to apply. It's a fun yet straining process in that meticulous judgment needs to be made in making certain parts of the photo darker or lighter, depending on what the photographer chooses to highlight. I personally, like the dodging and burning technique but feel a little hesitant in that it is, in a way, a manipulation of the original photo being taken. Because I'm only a beginnger and have yet to be experienced in this area, I find it exciting to see how my preferences will change.

Self-Portrait

What is a Self-portrait?
- representation of the artist
- depiction of themselves as the main subjects
- important character in the art work
- mirrors the artist in some way
- you can have a part of yourself or any representational image that best depicts you


Image taken in Ivory Coast, Africa.

John Coplans: (1920-2003)
- a WWII war veteran who emmigrated to the U.S.
- many of his self-portraits consist of formational images using body parts (in the book, A Body)
- creates distinctive language using simply a hand
- contrast in light and dark and usage of B&W

SP 5 88,
1988 silver gelatin print, 42 x 44" Framed

unknown

Self-portraits convey a single aspect of the artist where the portrait becomes the expression of the viewer in a visual way. As I was experimenting different ways to set up my self-portrait, I tried using different techniques, STFV, to create a unique image that best describes me. For my digital photo, I chose the image where I am looking away from the camera. I like this photo because it describes my introverted self, where I like to process things first before I express them openly to others.

Digital vs. Film

Digital photo take on GWB

For the past three weeks, I've been able to get a feel for both digital and film cameras. Typically, with a digital camera, I've discovered how easily accessible it was to capture an image. With it, I'm able to filter the pictures that I like even before they're printed by deleting images or viewing them on the screen embedded on the camera. With film cameras, you just don't have the option to. It's quick and easy to take out the camera and take continuous photos without having to feel "bad" about snapping away because there are no rolls of film to consider. Digital cameras are convenient and so highly advanced, that it makes it easier for the photographer to take photos. But as I was exposed to being in the dark room in order to process my negatives and contact sheets, I've experienced a whole new attachment towards the photos I took for my class. It became a personal walk towards the final stage of photo development, where a feeling of authenticity surfaced throughout the process. Starting with placing the film on the wheels in the blinding dark and waiting for the chemicals to process the film, then to waiting for it to dry and processing negatives and, finally, to transferring them on to the contact sheets, I felt the intensity and attention involved through these procedures.

Taken at Salem, NJ

View of NYC

View of NYC

Start to Photography 101

I'm taking this course because I have absolutely no knowledge of a camera and in capturing a great photograph. Photos speak many ideas, emotions and convey a visual language without the usage of words. I always loved looking at my old photos and going through albums and albums of past photos that brought me back to the inital memory I had with the people, time, and place. I hope through this class, I'll be able to really get to know my camera, allowing me to be comfortable in taking photos that capture the perfect story through the lens.

I have this old vintage, black and white photo of my grandfather who passed away four years ago. I love this photograph of him, not only because it reminds me of my Halbi, but because it captures his physique so well. It embodies a stoic man who was respectable in many ways. This persona was something that stuck with me for a very long time, but as I got older, I experience much of his warmth, love and care for those around him. It's a perfect picture because ironically enough, it encompasses a demeanor that is misleading to his true persona.

As an artist, specifically as an artist aspiring to be a photographer, I do realize how photgraphs capture and frame a special time and place. It's a still life painting but used with a different medium, a camera. A personal photo may bring the photographer or viewer back to a memory that stood siginificant in one point in their lives. It conveys a specific message and emotion to the audience. Photographs, because of its single frame, may only depict a small portion of a larger, grander scale of what is actually happening. For example, if you take a photo of a stripe, you may miss the idea that that stripe is part of a bigger object like that of a zebra. Photographs help to create an array of mental, spiritual and emotional picture for the viewer. Pictures can be any visible image where as photographs are a specific medium used to paint the picture.

STFV

S: Peanut Butter and Jelly Crackers T:Still on a table. F: The image includes up to the edge of the crackers with some background images going off the page. Blurred background with clear foreground. V: Close up of the subject and on a slight angle.


S: Inkyu and the village boy. This photo reflects the state of Ivory Coast and the message of hopelessness and pain through the child's expression.
T: Ivory Coast, Africa. Still image in midst of active environment.
F: Portrait like shot.
V: Close up, eye-level shot.


S: Landscape of Ivory Coast with people in motion. Encompasses mystery.
T: Moving, evening time, in Ivory Coast.
F:Included scenic image of the sky, foreground and people walking towards the direction of the sunset. Picture is divided into 2 halves (Light, sky vs. dark earth.)
V: Slightly higher than eye-level.


S:Couple in a park, sitting on a bench. Communicates passion and possibly commitment since the subjects are older in age.
T: Lovers kissing in the middle of the day.
F: Subjects in the middle while the bench leans towards the left edge of the frame. Background is abit blurred and trees are cut off, thus refocusing the 2 figures as the main subjects.
V:Camera is placed far in order to capture the whole bodies of the subjects. Possibly to communicate the passion existing through their body language.


STFV definitions
Subject: It is the focus and subject matter of the photograph. It tels the viewer what the photo is about and what it is that it's portraying.
Time: Depicts when the photo is being taken, whether it is still, in motion, if it is timeless, etc. When in moment's history is the photo being taken?
Frame: Shows what is being focused and what you are including and excluding in order to determine that, by depending on the placement of the items.
Vantage Point: Determines the frame by the positioning of the camera.
- Birds Eye View
- Worms Eye View
- Moving position
- Moving your head
- Tilting the camera
- Looking at the edges of your frame
- Changing the light source
- Focus
- Moving in and out