Myantko's blog

Blog #9

What is more important in self-portraiture – envisioning who you are (i.e. your “true self”) or envisioning who you wish to be (i.e. your “best self”)? Why?

 

I feel that it is always best to envision who you are right now, compared to who you wish to be.  It is more important to not only be true to yourself than to lie.  when you lie to yourself, you are also lying to others about what they see in your photographs.  Its always best to accept the person you have become because if you are uncapable of that, how do you expect others around you can. 

Photoshop

The main points of this article was the magazine industry creating a false visions of beatuy to young generations. It promotes eating disorders and many ditorted mental illnesses concerning the perfect femalebody. This shows that models are not the same on paper than in real life. The pictures we see in magazines are photoshoped and altered to the extreme. Even models are unable to live up too the standards of these companies. People are going against this cooruption and fighting for natural beauty and reality.

I completely agree with the people who are going against these big name companies because magazines are turning into lies and un healthy perspectives. Our generation already has problems with accepting who we are and what we look like, and this just makes it worse. Teenagers are going to be so consumed with apperance and others opinions that they will forget their true self and be proud of their looks. It reminds me of false advertisment. These women on the cover of magazines are so unreal its shocking to me that it fools people as much as it does. There is nothing natural and it is hard to appreciate how we were made and all the beautiful things about the human body. There is nothing that flatters women and nothing that acknowleges anything but their outer beauty.

I feel That photoshop is extremly nessecary when you want to adjust reality and make something picture perfect. That’s why I love to not use photoshop because I capture what is directly infront of me. To me that is true art, and not fake art. Sure photoshop fixes mistakes easily, but when you take a picture and there is no need for quick fixes, that is true beauty. Also what is beautiful to me is that humans are no where near perfect. There is always something behind or ddifferentabout each indiidual. It is amazing how much there is too just one person and how much we fail to realize it. I also feel that when photoshop is on womens bodies, is shows no respect for what women are really capable of. It only focuses on sex and nothing eles.

Blog post: relfection on POV, Macro/Minutiae, Motion

1) What is your interpretation of the purpose of each of these three assignments?

    My interpretation of these three projects is that everything that I have been doing, or that I am used to doing with my photographs has been broadened and expanded.  These projects have helped me expand and look at things in a different 'light'.  The purpose is nothing but learning about what we are capable of portraying on a photo. 

2) What do you think the most important thing was you learned from each assignment?

    From the POV assignment I personaly learned how to change the angle or view of the photo.  This was the most important thing I learned from this assignment, in truth.  From the Macro/minutiae I learned how to appreciate what I am taking a picture of.  This also helps me get to know what I am capturing a little better, which overall helps the sucess of my photo.  Lastly from the Motion picture I learned the art of blurr and how it can be very usefull.  Now I will never be frusturated with taking city photos or any fast moving object any more.  Now I know new techniques to use in my future of photography. 

3) Why do you suppose these three projects were assigned in this particular order?

    I believe that these projects are in this order because they are in order of importance.  I feel that the challenging yet very usefull lessons I have learned so far have been in the beginning projects.  I feel before you can really capture something, you have to study it and find the view that really speaks the language you want it too.  All of these projects helped, but you should always appreciate what is right infront of you before you can appreciate your photos. 

4) How do you feel you did on each project? Be specific about areas in which you think you did well and not as well. 

    I feel I did my best on every project I have been given in this class.  This class is one of the only ones I have that I can actually express myself and my opinions without being judged.  I know I did well on point of view, and macro because I had fun.  My true self came out in my photos in both projects because I love challenges.  You suceed in what you enjoy.  

5) What was one thing you wish you would have done that you didn’t, and why didn’t it happen? (you may comment on any of the three projects or all three) 

    I wish I dedicated more time to the motion project because I was not happy with the results.  I know I could have taken better photos than I did, but overall I did try.  It's very hard to find time in your day to go outside and find things that are unique and perfect for these projects.  Once the weather gets better I'm sure my best work will come out. 

6) Which was your favorite of the three projects and why?

    My favorite project would be POV because of the things I learned.  I found very valuable lesson in that project than anyothers.  I had a great time, and loved how everything turned out. It was a great sucess!

7)Has one or more of these topics had an impact on your photography? How?

    Yes I feel Macro has helped me appreciate what is right infront of me.  I feel that I do'nt take for granted the small things anymore.  It's a wonderful project to open you up to blessing in your everyday life. 

Blog #5

"God is in the details."

To me this quote simply means you have to look harder to see what things are really made of.    I know that sounds like a very obvious statement, but there is always more to it.  It's just like when you look at a person, you may think you know them or the kind of people they are, but the truth is you really don't.  The real problem with people in our everyday society is that we have a general idea of what the world is made of, but we fail to realize all the peices of puzzle. 

I truly believe that God keeps us from knowing everything about everything because if we did we would go crazy.  It seems He leaves just enough for us to notice, and even that is our own choice.  It's up to us to stop and take time out to see all the beautiful details that suround us.  And when we see thoses details we see small parts of God that we haven't seen before.  We need to be willing to think beyond the limits we set for ourselves.  We need to have an open mind and an open heart to really feel the appreciation and all the effort that was put into everyday things. 

Our cameras become very handy when captureing details. It opens possiblities for looking at things in a diffrent way or recognizing things we never have before.  Our cameras can help us appreciate what is right infront of us and show us hidden meanings.  Overall, the camera does not lie!

Blog Post #4

"Photography is about finding out what can happen in the frame. When you put four edges around some facts, you change those facts." -- Gary Winogrand.

This quote says many diffrent things to me.  I think this means that a subject can be one thing when you look at it...but when you give it borders, it becomes something diffrent.  It limits the space and room the sjubject has, and it limits where your eyes may take you.  I believe It opens your ideas to more abstract thoughts and opinions.  I also think that it has alot to do with the point of view the photographer chooses to work with.  It can send mixed feeling and diffrent responses from the audience. 

Lighting Assignment

I personally think I did very well on my lighting assignment because I used a wide variety of different subjects and angles. I do also believe that I incorporated light in many obvious ways. The photo of direct lighting I published was liked by some, but disliked by others. Some said they didn’t like the angle and that they couldn't tell where the light was coming from. I thought the light source was very obvious because you could see the shadows clearly on the subject of my photo. I took a picture of an Egyptian statue and moved close to it so you could clearly see the shadows. Also the face of the statue was looking up torwards the light source which made a reflection very easily. Personally I love pictures that look a little bit different than others and mine was definitly unique. I like that my picture reallt stuck out from all the rest. One thing that some people did comment on was that there was a frame in one of the corners of the photo. People thought it was very distracting and it made me realize that I need to pay attention to every little detail of the entire photo. It was careless on my part but I still loved my photo. Also some had mixed feelings about a frame in side of another frame. Some like the effect it brings to the captured moment and some don’t. I really appreciated the positive feedback because I felt it was one of my strongest pictures out of all the ones I took. Even though it was a simple photo and it did not look very challenging, I did put a lot of thought behind it and really enjoyed the outcome of this project. I did learn a lot and I became very aware of the mistakes I made, along with the best qualities. For further projects, I also learned what my classmates expect, dislike, or are interested in. I have taken all of the feedback I received and took notes on my peer’s views. This will prepare me for the next pictures I will take.

Technical or Emotive?

When I first look at a photo, I would say I take in what is right infront of me.  I am leaning more torwards the technical point of view.  It always takes longer to really understand the motivation or purpose of the painting, never at first glance.  It is, however important that something in the painting needs to grab your attention or pull on a heart string in order for you to come back for more. 

I can gain inspiration from Andy Goldsworthy's work by breaking down and really taking time to find meaning in work that I capture. I will eventually appreciate and see the beauty in the simplest or ugliest things. I can also put this newly found appreciation to use by spreading it on to others.

The point of working on art that has a possibility of disappearing is that you have affected the course of nature, you have altered nature in some ways, and you put your own personality on nature. It involves experiments and explorations. You open yourself to what nature has to offer or give.

1) The appeal of working with all natural/alternative materials in art work is that nature is beautiful and useful. It takes natural sources, and uses them in diffrent ways. Art surrounds you and ideas surround you everywhere you go. An advantage would be learning appreciation. When you use the earth and look at it in a diffrent way, you appreciate your environment.