BloGs By LaUrEn

Annie Leiborvitz Exhibit

2006-12-10T22:31:00.000-08:00

The Annie Leibovitz show was amazing. I've never seen so much work that inspired me to do photography before. The way it was set up was that her most famous and best photos were displayed on the walls through out the gallery. They were blown up and placed in frames on the wall. Then as you continued to walk through the gallery, you see smaller photos of work she has done through out her career during the years of 1990-2005. They were placed along a wall and incased, and there were two walls like this parallel to each other. They were like two giant contact sheets of many different prints including ads she did for magazines, as well as personal pictures, in both black and white and color. Most of her work has appeared in magazines such as Vogue, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair and she has done advertising campaigns for companies such as the Gap, and American Express. Some of the people she worked with included Demi Moore, Chris Rock, Jim Carey, Jamie Foxx, and Brad Pit to name a few. However, her most inspirational work in my opinion is her personal work. A lot of her personal work involved pictures of her family and close personal friend Susan Sontag. What made these particular collections of personal pictures speak to me the most was the fact that they were so real. They were taken from real life, no posing, no set ups, just natural takes of times in her life. The ones of her best friend Susan Sontag, a famous writer, were very touching because they reflected Susan in her last years while she struggled with the reoccurrence of cancer which eventually took her life. The pictures taken made you feel like you were right there with her and you can experience the closeness of the two friends by how personal the pictures get. She even took pictures of Susan in the hospital while she was going through treatments and lying in her bed at home. The most shocking and sad picture I saw was the one of a deceased Susan being covered to go on a plane. In a quote given by Annie herself, it stated that she felt weird taking that picture and was in another state of mind while taking it because it hurt so much. Another touching collection of pictures were ones taken of her family with her father in his final years. Those pictures also covered touching times that made you feel like you were apart of the scene. There were pictures of her family doing everyday things and pictures of them embracing each other. You can really feel the warmth and the love that each person has for each other and it's beautiful. Her most current pictures included her three daughters, mostly engaging in family activities such as playing on the beach with other family members, or spending time in a garden of beautiful flowers.
My favorite photos that she has done outside her personal life include pictures of the Olympic Synchronized Swimming Team. These photos were displayed from when you first walked in. The one that caught my eye the most was the one of four swimmers swimming under water and it was a birds eye view. The figures looked distorted because of the movement of the water. It is so different and was captured at the most perfect time. Another favorite of mine was the very famous one of a bare Demi Moore pregnant. It is a very strong photograph that captures personality and beauty all in one. She's so confident and its ironic because most women aren't during pregnancy, so it has a strong concept. There are many other pictures of actors , actresses, directors, models and world leaders that I enjoyed as well. What I liked most about all of them is the fact that they have so much personality. She was able to capture each person's attitude and personality while including what they're famous for. These pictures weren't just pictures of celebrities head on, they were pictures that told what each individual was about in a very dignified and dramatic way. For example, the picture of Jamie Foxx all dressed up with attitude as if no one could mess with him, or the photo of Chris Rock painted up in white paint to stress the fact that not only does he do comedy, but he was bold about what he expressed through his comedy. All these photos spoke out about each person and I think she executed each photo extremely well. I do recommend anyone to go see her exhibit even if you are not into photography, because she is one of the most fantastic photographers I have ever seen. Her work is amazing, creative and beautiful in every shape, way, and or form.

My Final Project

2006-11-20T08:09:00.000-08:00

For my final project I would like to takes pictures of the turning from fall into winter. I want to capture the feeling of the weather's change, and also of the holiday spirit. I think that during the fall and into the winter there are so many beautiful things around us in our enviornment that we don't really appriciate, and I would love to capture that feeling and beauty and put it on paper. It is really ironic because I really don't enjoy the cold. I am more for the summer and warm weather, but I believe that this will create an interesting outcome. It will be a challenge to accomplish taking pictures in the cold outside, but I am up for it. Most of the pictures will be of objects, natural and unnatural. Some will be people, but all will deal with the change of season. Hopefully I can get some good pictures of trees with leaves that are still attached to their branches, but if not I will find away to work it out.
The locations of were I am going to take my pictures will range from three different boroughs; Manhattan, Brooklyn, and The Bronx. The reason I would take pictures in these three areas are because, well for one, I live in The Bronx and there are so many interesting pictures I can take around my neighborhood. Manhattan, because im always in Manhattan, I work there and also there are alot of beatiful sceneries around my job. Last but not least Brooklyn, beacuse i goto school here of course and i think I could get some great shots of people in everyday life preparing for the holidays around Fulton street and many other areas not too far from school.
I am very excited to start working on this project and hope that it turns out the way I plan, and if not hopefully better. I am also very interested in learning what the other students in my class are doing with their ideas and how they will present their concepts to the rest of the class. I think it will be a fun project especially because we get the freedoom to be creative and express ourselves individually through photography.

Favorite Pic of the Week...

2006-10-30T11:13:00.000-08:00

The picture that I took is a Picture that was taken while doing the "City Of Books assignment". It is of the Flat Iorn Building and I think It's Interesting because it is a little under exposed, but the under exposure adds an effect that gives a dark feeling. I love the way the clouds are Passing by over it and Because I took it from the bottom up, it creates a unique sight because this building is usually taken head on. I also like the little bit of blue from the sky that was captured on the upper left hand corner. It was hard to get sunny light from the sky because it was an overcast day and the sun only came out about three times.

Karl Blossfeldt Blog

2006-10-30T00:20:00.000-08:00

This photo that I have chosen to talk about is a cropped photo of a plant's steam and it's leaves. The steam looks like it resembles a cactus. Its hard to tell because the picture has no color to it, but the detail within the leaves attracted me to the picture. The picture almost looks like a drawing mostly because of the gray tone, but also because of the texture in the photo. It is beautiful, especially the way the lighter parts of the veins within the leaves reflect light in some area's. The shadows aren't dramatically dark but they still make a nice impression on the plant. The gray tone as mentioned earlier does give a softer feeling as to a regular picture that would be sharper, this photo reminds me of a very well drawn still life.

Nick Koudis Blog

2006-10-29T22:37:00.000-08:00

This picture is really nice because Nick Koudis took two pictures and combined them to create an image of a girl floating in water. The image of the girl floating is interesting because we all know that she isn't really under water but he creates the illusion that she's swimming. Her hair is up and flowing and her body is very well positioned in such a way that she looks weightless. The shoe on the bottom and the sunglasses also contribute to the fact that she's underwater because they are floating away from her body. The sunglasses look like they're floating up to the surface, and her shoe looks like its going down to the bottom of the ocean. The picture of the girl along with her lost shoe and sunglasses has been altered to have a blue tint to it so that it relates to the image of water in that background. A client might want a composite image rather than a strait photograph because it could relate to a company's concept better than just a regular photo. A manipulated photo could add an unrealistic effect that a real picture wouldn't be able to express to the viewer. For example if Disney wanted a picture to put in their ad with a child flying in the air with Peter Pan,a straight photograph wouldn't be able to achieve this, but a manipulated photograph would. If it wasn't for photographic manipulation, Disney would either drop their concept, or have to invest much money into creating this illusion.

Best Photograph from Student Point of View

2006-10-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know if people understand what it has to do with a college student, but what interest me was the beauty of the shadow from such a simple element. The shadow is from the fencing around the fountain in front of the Borough Hall building. I like the effect that lighting is having on the fence and reshaping it into another form as if the sun were illustrating a drawing on the sidewalk. The Repetition makes it look like it was painted on the floor. As an art student it attracted me, and was the picture I liked the most out of all the pictures I have taken for this assignment.

Student Perspective...

2006-10-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

Walking down the street a student would notice trends, free give always, and inexpensive places to eat. Being a college student myself, I can say that I notice things that relate to my school life. I like looking at the latest trends, knowing where to go to eat good food for not that much money, and I certainly look at my surroundings. Many students may not look at the world around them , but I do. In most of my pictures I focused more on interesting objects and others around me that most people might not notice. Being in college is difficult but sometimes when you just take a look round and observe your surroundings you can really obtain piece of mind.

Compelling Time of Day Blog

2006-10-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

I really like this photo because I think the most beautiful time of day is sun set. I was lucky enough to be able to capture this image and see the sun set through a window on the eleventh floor facing Borough Hall. Although the sun is so bright that most of the buildings details are lost, I still think it is a really good picture. The area is unrecognizable and the light in the picture is bright but also beautiful. The color of the sky is dark and a little gloomy looking, but the sun light has such a strong impact in the picture that it gives off a warm feeling. The way the picture came out is different from the view I had through the window, but it definitely came out better than expected.

A Look at The Work of Joel Meyerowitz

2006-10-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

The photo I'm writing about is the main picture on the website for the After 911 image collection. It is very interesting to me because of the lighting and contrast between the sky and the remains of the World Trade Center. The sky in the picture is so blue and beautiful along with the clouds that sit on the right side of the picture. However, you start to notice a large structure in front of the clouds . This structure reminds us all of the tragedy that changed the world forever. The sky looks as if a storm had passed through and cleared up leaving a beautiful bright day. The clouds have a pink color reflecting off of them as if the sun were setting. This makes the structure look more darker and horrific than it already is. Even without knowing what happened that day, you can tell in this picture that something tragic happened just by the dramatic effect of lighting through contrast that was captured. The fame work is very detailed and shows us how the facade of one of the towers use to look like. It's a sad picture that still shocks me to this very day. On the website it states that these pictures were taken with permission from the mayor's office two days after 911. Joel Meyerowitz thought it would be a good idea to take these photos and document them for historical purposes.

A Look At Bernice Abbott

2006-10-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

This photo by Bernice Abbott that I picked is a picture of an A&P store front. What attracted me to this particular photo is the advertisement aspect of it. I notice the repetition of canned goods and snacks displayed in the window used to attract customers. Stores would use this method to indicate the value of buying in bulk; the more products displayed the more customers would think that if they buy more they save more. I like the angle the picture was taken at. It allows you to see more than you usually would if you looked at it head on. It gives the picture personality. Another thing that attracted me to this picture were the signs on the window. Signs and advertisements back then where more text driven then they are now. Now and days ads consist of mostly pictures and have little to no text. The typefaces back then were also simple and clearer than some of the signs and advertisements that we have now. I think this picture makes an excellent reference when used for comparing then and now photos.

A & P (Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co.) 246 Third Avenue. Mar. 16, 1936. ID: 1219150

Light Transforms Project

2006-10-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

This picture to me came out interesting because light transformed this picture to a kind of abstract. One morning I woke up really early and noticed the sunlight coming form the window. The sunlight was so rich, bright and yellow that it made everything in the room look livelier. I noticed my ipod reflecting the light from the window and decided to take a picture of it. I also noticed that the ipod reflected other bright objects located in the room that where lit up by the sun as well. After taking the picture I saw that the sun light created a mirroring effect on the shinny surface of my ipod.

Chester Higgins Blog

2006-10-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

The photo by Chester Higgins that I have chosen to speak about is the picture with light coming into the room with the coffin in it. This particular photograph is located under the category "Details" and it is very dramatic. This is a black & white picture and is a picture of a room and located within this room lays a coffin right in the middle. What makes it so dramatic is the lighting. The lighting is coming from the left side of the picture and comes in on an angle and shines on to the coffin. The lighting is symbolic to me. I see it as an acceptence of the soul from the body into heaven. I like this photo alot, although it is morbid, I view it as a new beginning.

Advanced Photo Homework 1

2006-09-10T22:17:00.000-07:00

This is a photo I took on the 4th of July of a beautiful building in lower Manhattan. I really like this photo because I appreciate architecture. The way the picture came out really surprised me because it was very dark and I was across the street. Although it isn't cropped to perfection, this image is one of my favorites. I think the placement of lighting is very interesting and gives a dramatic appeal to the building. I took more pictures of the same building but they didn't come out as interesting as this one. This is because I shot the picture with no flash, and from a farther distance than I did with the other pictures.