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| Super Man and Background Finished |
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| Original Background |
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| Super Man Original |
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| Punisher and Fire |
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| Punisher Original |
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| Explosion Original |
Friday, 29 November 2013
Photo Montage
Friday, 8 November 2013
Photoshop: Black & White + Photo Manipulation
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| Brian Before |
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| Brian After |
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| Guy Before |
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| Guy After |
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| Aquarium Original |
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| Aquarium Copy with Crop Tool |
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| Four Courts Original |
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| Four Courts After |
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| Dublin Docks Original |
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| Dublin Docks Colored Pencil |
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| Dublin Docks Glass |
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| Dublin Docks Craquelure |
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| 2 Girls Original |
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| 2 Girls in Red |
'The Genius of Photography: Right Place, Right Time'
Q: What is described as 'one of the most familiar concepts of photography'?
A: Henri Cartier-Bresson was the first person to create the 'Decisive Moment' concept which has now become described as the most familiar in photography.
Q: Should you trust photography?
A: It is widely regarded that we should not fully trust photography. Arthur C. Danto the recently deceased american art critic once said "it was a huge mistake to trust the photograph from the beginning.
Q: What was revolutionary about the Leica in 1925?
A: The Leica was revolutionary because it was compact, quite, a new lens and also it allowed the photographer to have one eye to the side, viewing what they were capturing as the view was now close to the edge of the camera.
Q: What did George Bernard Shaw say about all the paintings of Christ?
A: George Bernard Shaw once said that he 'would exchange all the paintings of Christ for one snap shot'.
Q: Why were Tony Vaccaro's negatives destroyed by the army censors?
A: Acting as the armies official photographer Vaccaro was under army regulations to use a Speed Graphic Camera, however this was far too big and difficult to carry around so Vaccaro decide to use an Argus C3, developing the pictures in army helmets. His photographs were extremely graphic capturing images of dead GI's and the army felt the public was not prepared to see these images and so destroyed the negatives.
Q: Who was Henryk Ross, what was his job?
A: Henryk Ross was a Polish Jew living in the Lodz Nazi ghetto in Poland. He was employed by the Department of Statistics for the Jewish Council as a photographer. He did this was also capturing the horrific treatment the Nazis inflicted on Jewish people, while also maintaing a good relationship with the German occupiers, by taking propaganda photography for them.
Q: Which show was a 'sticking plaster for the wounds of the war', how many people saw it and what cliche photograph did it end on?
A: The Family of Man was the show, first shown in 1955, which was described as a 'sticking plaster for the wounds of the war'. It was seen by over 9 Million people and it ended with a photograph by photographer W Eugene Smith which was called 'The Walk to Paradise Garden'. It was a picture depicting two children waking into sunlight with blackness behind them depicitng the cliched idea of a bright and prosperous future lying ahead for everybody.
A: Henri Cartier-Bresson was the first person to create the 'Decisive Moment' concept which has now become described as the most familiar in photography.
Q: Should you trust photography?
A: It is widely regarded that we should not fully trust photography. Arthur C. Danto the recently deceased american art critic once said "it was a huge mistake to trust the photograph from the beginning.
Q: What was revolutionary about the Leica in 1925?
A: The Leica was revolutionary because it was compact, quite, a new lens and also it allowed the photographer to have one eye to the side, viewing what they were capturing as the view was now close to the edge of the camera.
Q: What did George Bernard Shaw say about all the paintings of Christ?
A: George Bernard Shaw once said that he 'would exchange all the paintings of Christ for one snap shot'.
Q: Why were Tony Vaccaro's negatives destroyed by the army censors?
A: Acting as the armies official photographer Vaccaro was under army regulations to use a Speed Graphic Camera, however this was far too big and difficult to carry around so Vaccaro decide to use an Argus C3, developing the pictures in army helmets. His photographs were extremely graphic capturing images of dead GI's and the army felt the public was not prepared to see these images and so destroyed the negatives.
Q: Who was Henryk Ross, what was his job?
A: Henryk Ross was a Polish Jew living in the Lodz Nazi ghetto in Poland. He was employed by the Department of Statistics for the Jewish Council as a photographer. He did this was also capturing the horrific treatment the Nazis inflicted on Jewish people, while also maintaing a good relationship with the German occupiers, by taking propaganda photography for them.
Q: Which show was a 'sticking plaster for the wounds of the war', how many people saw it and what cliche photograph did it end on?
A: The Family of Man was the show, first shown in 1955, which was described as a 'sticking plaster for the wounds of the war'. It was seen by over 9 Million people and it ended with a photograph by photographer W Eugene Smith which was called 'The Walk to Paradise Garden'. It was a picture depicting two children waking into sunlight with blackness behind them depicitng the cliched idea of a bright and prosperous future lying ahead for everybody.
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
Exposure Exercise = Aperture and Shutter Speed
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| Great Depth of Field |
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| Slow Shutter Speed |
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| Fast Shutter Speed |
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| Shallow Depth of Field |
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| Panning |
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Photography Proposal - Graves/Graveyards
Mark
Collie once wrote “You can outrun the Devil if you try, but you will never
outrun the hands of time.” This to me has always been a very strong statement.
I see it as quite possibly the most apt declaration about life. It calls to
mind the one true connection everybody on this earth has and that is the
awaiting embrace of death. Death has always interested me but more precisely
graves and graveyards have interested me, the final resting places of people
who have passed.
Death
is a mystery, what lies beyond, is there a heaven or is there just nothing? Yet
final resting places are not. Some people have very unassuming markers while
some have lavish and exaggerated monuments.
With
my project I propose to capture these final resting places, from the simple and
modest graves to the more prolific and overstated. I propose to show the
contrast of one persons’ final resting place to another, including the older
graves which have become worn over time to the newer more crisp forms. I would
like to show how as time passes graves become more beaten and old looking
because as the time passes the family members of those who have already gone
begin to pass themselves and how graves stand unvisited and untreated with no
flowers on them while others are covered in flowers and sometimes gifts. Also I
would like to try and show an understanding as to why people come miles around
sometimes other countries to visit certain graves such as those of Michael
Collins or Phil Lynott.
I
would also like this project to capture the haunting aspects many feel when in
a graveyard. I aim to capture the stillness, quietness and the somewhat
otherworldly feeling that can overcome a person while walking the aisles
between graves (perhaps maybe catch a spirit on camera). The project will
hopefully try and show an understanding of the idea behind our final resting
places. Why is it that we choose to be buried and why do some choose to be
cremated and is there a universal fear of death?
The
project has a start date of October 13th 2013 with a proposed final
date of March 14th 2014. For it I will be using a Canon PowerShot
SX20 IS. To accomplish my project I will be visiting many graveyards across
Dublin at varying times of the day, the reason for this is that I believe that
the lighting will be a major factor in obtaining the images I want. I will be
photographing a wide variety of graves, including some of famous people, and to
this I will certainly need to communicate with those who operate the site. I
also intend to gather pictures of people who are visiting a grave, although
this may be a little bit more difficult so I may make it easier by using
friends and family members as my subjects as this would be more appropriate.
Finally
when my project is complete I then plan to publish the best images I have
gathered and publish them in a book and also plan to show them in an
exhibition. My aim will be to show the frailty of life, the waiting hands of
death and what becomes of our names when we finally do pass. It will not be a
bleak outlook but rather it will ideally just make people stop, think and
perhaps realise how precious life is and perhaps make them remember what is
good in their lives. My aim is also to maybe make people think twice when they
are passing a grave and perhaps think about what kind of person they were.
Friday, 18 October 2013
War Photographer - James Nachtwey
Why did James Nachtwey become a war photographer?
James Nachtwey made the decision to become a war photographer in the early 70s when the Vietnam war was ongoing. It was the images which were coming out of Vietnam which pushed James to his profession. He believed that these images showed the straight forward truth of the cruelty and horror of the war and became deeply affected by these and decide to follow in the tradition. He felt such high emotions that it was the witnessing of human history, the history of real and ordinary people with human experiences and emotions. It was not until a night in 1980 when when he eventualy woke saying he was ready for the task and decided to head for New York.
What conflicts and issues did he cover in the film?
In the film James covered a variety of issues, at the beggining we were witness to his first conflict which was after the war in Kosovo. Here we saw pictures of the aftermath of war including the ruins of buildings, the loss of possessions and displacement with families and we also saw the effect it has on human life.
The second issue which James covered was poverty in Jakarta where he was photography the conditions in which people live. People who from his own words are "not drug addicts or dropouts" but rather people who have come searching for a better life who now find themselves sleeping beside and in-between railroad tracks. Here he also photographed a man who lost his leg and arm when he was hit by a train and through the images shows how he lives and copes while having a family to care for.
We also saw James cover a continuing conflict in Ramallah, Palestine and after this we then saw his work in relation to famine in Sudan.
What do you think of his approach to photographing people in crisis?
James Nachtwey has a very tough job in that he is capturing such an emotional aspect of life, one filled with death, murder, chaos and so much heart ache. It was clear from this documentary how much his work affected him yet he handles himself with such composure and deals with it in a very respectful way. It is clear he does not intrude upon peoples lives but works towards making himself welcome by his subjects. James says himself that "normal codes are suspended... I would not be taking these photographs unless I was accepted". It is an approach that he handles with great care and balance, while looking for the shot he still shows certain amounts of humanity and not losing himself.
What kind of personalities do you think photojournalists have to have?
There has to be a sense of disconnection or separation from your surroundings because in order to cover certain stories you would need to be able to hold your emotions in tact and not let them control your actions or your work. However there must be a good balance because when we see James with people we still see his sense of humanity in dealing with others especially ones in the situations he is capturing. You would also need a strong will of character so as not to lose everything your own personal self belief and morals.
What kind of subjects does Stern Magazine cover?
Stern Magazine covers many of the same issues which James covers in his work from war, famine, poverty, conflict, basically it covers social documentary.
What pictures end up being used?
The pictures which will make the final print will most likely be the most striking, the hardest hitting images. Sometimes the most shocking or violent.
James Nachtwey made the decision to become a war photographer in the early 70s when the Vietnam war was ongoing. It was the images which were coming out of Vietnam which pushed James to his profession. He believed that these images showed the straight forward truth of the cruelty and horror of the war and became deeply affected by these and decide to follow in the tradition. He felt such high emotions that it was the witnessing of human history, the history of real and ordinary people with human experiences and emotions. It was not until a night in 1980 when when he eventualy woke saying he was ready for the task and decided to head for New York.
What conflicts and issues did he cover in the film?
In the film James covered a variety of issues, at the beggining we were witness to his first conflict which was after the war in Kosovo. Here we saw pictures of the aftermath of war including the ruins of buildings, the loss of possessions and displacement with families and we also saw the effect it has on human life.
The second issue which James covered was poverty in Jakarta where he was photography the conditions in which people live. People who from his own words are "not drug addicts or dropouts" but rather people who have come searching for a better life who now find themselves sleeping beside and in-between railroad tracks. Here he also photographed a man who lost his leg and arm when he was hit by a train and through the images shows how he lives and copes while having a family to care for.
We also saw James cover a continuing conflict in Ramallah, Palestine and after this we then saw his work in relation to famine in Sudan.
What do you think of his approach to photographing people in crisis?
James Nachtwey has a very tough job in that he is capturing such an emotional aspect of life, one filled with death, murder, chaos and so much heart ache. It was clear from this documentary how much his work affected him yet he handles himself with such composure and deals with it in a very respectful way. It is clear he does not intrude upon peoples lives but works towards making himself welcome by his subjects. James says himself that "normal codes are suspended... I would not be taking these photographs unless I was accepted". It is an approach that he handles with great care and balance, while looking for the shot he still shows certain amounts of humanity and not losing himself.
What kind of personalities do you think photojournalists have to have?
There has to be a sense of disconnection or separation from your surroundings because in order to cover certain stories you would need to be able to hold your emotions in tact and not let them control your actions or your work. However there must be a good balance because when we see James with people we still see his sense of humanity in dealing with others especially ones in the situations he is capturing. You would also need a strong will of character so as not to lose everything your own personal self belief and morals.
What kind of subjects does Stern Magazine cover?
Stern Magazine covers many of the same issues which James covers in his work from war, famine, poverty, conflict, basically it covers social documentary.
What pictures end up being used?
The pictures which will make the final print will most likely be the most striking, the hardest hitting images. Sometimes the most shocking or violent.
Friday, 11 October 2013
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