My thoughts on photo manipulations

My thoughts on photo manipulations...

So far in my photography class my favorite component has been photo manipulations. I have always been enticed by the ability to make something new of something old. To be able to turn one thing into another. Photo manipulations are like magic because they transform and can create illusions. Photo manipulations are not always appropriate or ethical in cases such as photo journalism because as I said they do not portray the truth they project the illusion. I believe the biggest distinction is that photo manipulations are mainly to be used to create an artistic quality to a photo unless the effects are only being used to enhance clarity or focus of an image by a photojournalist or documentor.
In the photos posted above I wanted to create the illusion that the image was painted. I used the PixLr application for the iPad once again and applied the Hagrid and Paint finishes. To me the photo looks drawn or painted now rather than photographed and this effect is a great example of my feelings about how fantastic photo manipulations can be.

Icevska, Gordana. "Week 4 Readings." Weblog post. Photography Shooting the Truth. George Brown College, 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012

Photos Mimicing Andre Kertesz

For this assignment I chose to take my own photos and mimic the works of Andre Kertesz. The reason I chose Kertesz is that even though he is said to be a photojournalist I find him to be an artist. His works use shadows and unique settings. His works are wide in variety and gave me a broad range of images to choose from. Though I know my photos are not to the level of Andre Kertesz I believe I was able to capture some of the essence of his photographs. I shot all of my photos in black and white to be true to Kertesz style.


Photo One: A child’s eyes


My first photo is taken of my niece dressed up as a dinosaur. I used shadows to draw attention to her big beautiful eyes and was lucky enough to catch a smile. This reminded me of Kertesz’s photos of a young boy and a sheep lying on the ground where the boy was laughing. The joy in the expressions of the children felt like the most important of the photograph to me.

To me, Kertesz was different from all other photo journalists because he seemed to capture his photos for their feeling rather than to just document the event. Kertesz valued the thought an image provoked or the light in the subjects eyes. This photo was not documenting the great boy-sheep war but a young boy playing with an animal and having a great time of it.
Photo Two: In Stride


The second photo is of a woman’s legs while she is mid –stride. The reason I chose to shoot this is I feel Kertesz’s photos empower women and depict them as confident powerful individuals. I feel capturing a woman walking with purpose would show something similar. The image is again in black and white and slightly blurred which I would normally not like but I think it adds feeling and shows she is on the move so I liked the blur in the end. I got down to floor level to capture the photo straight on.

Satiric Dancer

When you read how Andre Kertesz spoke in his interviews and then looked at his images you could tell he was a very unique man. He had a different view of what to capture and what is important. He wasn't frantic when he couldn't photograph a riot, he was content taking in his surroundings and fighting for his freedom. People would ask why he photographed friends or family or just people living their daily life where there was no breaking news story and his response was simply, "why not them too?" and that was indeed his true question, why not? he captured images that he felt had an impact and those images need not be from war or pain but sometimes just the beauty and confidence radiating from a woman.
Photo Three: Shadow and pride


In my third image I took a photo of myself standing near my Toronto Maple Leafs scarf to be similar to the image Shadow and Lion by Kertesz. I caught my profile facing the scarf which I feel represents pride which to me is what a lion symbolizes. I used a candle behind myself to cast the shadow on the wall and zoomed into the wall to capture my profile without my arm interfering. I was actually very happy with the end result because the focus was actually on my profile rather than on the other object, in this case the scarf.

Shadow and Lion

This photo reminds me of how instinctual Andre Kertesz really was. There is no telling what he was actually doing in this situation or how he actually came to be in this position but he captured the photo and it in turn will now stimulate thought in so many people wondering the same things and I think that is something he knew is people would always wonder about his photos.. the who what when where why and how. and unlike other photo journalists his photos did not always show these answers. It was a mystery.
Photo Four: Burning Flame


My fourth photo is of a candle burning and the light it illuminates across the room. I took this to mimic the photos Kertesz took of inanimate objects. I tried to use the shadows to my advantage by turning my flash off and letting the flame give the image its own life. This is the photo I am most pleased with because I feel the candle and the candle holder both look romantic and inviting and really make you wonder where the candle was lit, what it was lit for and what may have happened with it. These are feelings I get from many of Kertesz photos.

This photo of mine reminds me of many of Kertesz's photos but in particular I'd like to compare it to the glasses and the pipe photo. There is no specific reason for this photo it is just a candle but the shadows and the flame create a wonder. I emphasize this because it just makes me feel more and more that though Kertesz didnt stage his photos that he was more of an artist than a journalist.
Photo Five: Eternally Alive


My final photo is of dried roses from numerous occasions that my boyfriend gave me. I took the photo of them to show the life in death as Andre Kertesz does in Melancholic Tulip. I feel that the message behind the image was that though the tulip looks dead it in fact is in clean water and is alive. Or is it dead? And the water and petals just seem alive. I wanted to make the roses seem like they were still alive as they are for me because they are alive with memories. I used a very bright flash from above the roses and turned all the other lights off.

This is Kertesz at his finest. This photo brings the unknown to life and it tests your beliefs. What is real? what is not? what is bad? what is good? are these flowers dead or alive? is the glass half empty or half full? I think that this is why I like Kertesz as a photographer so much. He always seems to push to bring something more. For an image not to be cut and dry but to have to read between the lines. He seems like he was a true intellect.


Capturing these images in the image of Andre Kertesz was quite difficult because I could not edit them and I decided that even though I find it ethical to edit photographs in terms of brightening or sharpening or cropping I decided to take them the best I could with my own lighting and candles. I know that these pictures are not as beautiful and intricate as Kertesz's photos but I am quite proud of the end results.

Sources Cited:

Google Image Search : Andre Kertesz Works Icevska, Gordana. "Week 10 Readings." Weblog post. Photography Shooting the Truth. George Brown College, 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Mar. 2012.

Photo Journal 2 -- ART vs PRESS

1. To me, the main difference between art and press photography is emotion and truth. A press photograph may be taken of an emotional situation but the photo is truly being taken to capture the scene not the emotion the scene invokes. To document the event not the feelings there were. If the feelings come along side it, thats one thing but the photos aren't meant to hold that alone they are just meant to hold the truth. Art photographs can be based on just the emotion behind them, they don't even have to make sense or seem relevant visually to be art. Examples of this can be seen in Andre Kertesz photo of the two pairs of glasses and the pipe and tobacco. This photo doesn’t have much context but stimulates thought and makes you wonder, who wore these glasses? Who smoked that pipe? Another example is the photo I have taken of the ceramic fire pot as art and the burning car as press photography. They both feature fire and inanimate objects but have completely different meanings and purposes.

2. I believe it is acceptable and ethical to edit art photographs because it can emphasize the beauty of a photograph. Some photographers like Andre Kertesz have an instinct a gift to naturally capture a beautiful moment. “Look at the atmosphere, the reflection. Why did I do it this way? Instinct. I have no other explanation the subject offered its self to me and I took advantage ” Not all people who wish to capture a feeling that can move someone have this instinct. Kertesz had this instinct and never edited or staged his photos. People such as myself have the power to take an amazing photo, thanks to modern technology by having my Cannon Power Shot SX30 IS camera on a tripod and taking dozens of frames per second. I then go through the photos to see which is the caught the scene the way I had imagined. Once I find an image that pleases me I run it through a photo editor to turn it into what I intended it to be. The photo of my boyfriend Keegan and I on an island we canoed to in Muskoka is an example of this. We left the camera to do as it pleased on the tripod with the zoom on and started to dance on a rock. I found the photo pictured of us below where you can see how care free I am laughing like nobody’s watching, not even the camera. I wanted to make the photo seem more frozen so I changed the exposure so there was a bigger difference between us and the water and turned the photo black and white. After this I feel the photo radiated the emotions we were feeling at that moment.

3. I believe it is unethical to edit press photographs unless it is to enhance the visibility of the scene of the image. Press photographs are supposed to document a event. A time. A story. I feel if the photo is edited it is untruthful to the events. Also, A press photograph should never be stages because thjat would not depict what is naturally happening in the scene. This is why Cartier-Bresson spoke of always being invisible as to not inmterrupt the scene unfolding around him. Cedo was a true journalist to me because it crushed him that he could not capture the story that was unfolding in front of him because the protesters in Macedonia destroyed his camera. He was not concerned with the look or feel of the event. In my opinion, he was concerned with not letting the event going undocumented, unseen. Cedo even went back the next day to attempt to photograph the aftermath. In my photo, I took a picture of myself and a customer while working. I did not edit at all for fear of compromising the image. I simply wanted to document the event for my clients news letter.

Because these images are supposed to be real and raw, editing them can make them deceiving. If the image is edited for clarity for example Sharpening or adjusting lighting I believe that is acceptable but when it comes to editing a half closed eye to look open or a police officer raising a hand with a baton in it and making it look differently or any component that tells or supports the story is messed with, I believe it is very wrong. Press photography must show the facts and be based on the facts. It must be honest, based on truth not assumptions or false reality.


Sources Cited:


Icevska, Gordana. "Week 10 Readings." Weblog post. Photography Shooting the Truth. George Brown College, 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

Assignment 3 Week 7 Peter Burkholder, Callie Warren, AnneKathryn Fernandez, Rolin Mcquade and Melissa Fonseca

Similarities


Each artist has similarities, but still easily distinguishable from one another. All three photographers were considered photomontage artists and were concerned with showcasing a creative spin on events in their time.(Wikipedia contributors) They took it upon themselves to raise awareness and show the truth behind propaganda and other government and societal happenings.


Differences


Alexander Rodchenko
Alexander Rodchenko was an artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. As a photographer he was a photomontage artist structuring his work to reflect current issues and events happening around the world. He was known to document political change in his art. He was a socially engaged photographer who used an innovative painterly aesthetic. He was analytical with his documentation but often shot at odd angles to add shock value such as high above or very far below subjects. His photos were emotional, colourful and intense. ("BBC" OCT)

Photomontage for Majakovski's "Pro Eto", 1923/1950-1956, silver gelatin print, 21.5 x 16 cm, Ludwig Collection


John Heartfield
John Heartfield, best known for his anti-Nazi advocates pieces and his experimentation with cut outs. His early montages were collaborations with George Grosz resembling the Dadaist work of the Dada movement in the 1920's. He experimented with cut ups and made mocking cartoons of political propaganda. Heartfield made many photos but few contained people. Most of the images had the sepia tone to them and had forest backgrounds. (www.towson.edu, 2000)

In 1918 Heartfield began at the Berlin Dada scene, and the Communist Party of Germany. He was dismissed from the Reichswehr film service on account of his support for the strike that followed the assassination of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. With George Grosz, he founded Die Pleite, a satirical magazine

Peter Kennard
Peter Kennard is a photographer whose photos have a very cold ominous feel. He was very big with anti war pictorial cartoons and many photos featuring human arms and hands. His photos show hands clutching one another holding on, white knuckled with pressure. Others show hands trying to grip a wall with all their might and sliding down failing but still trying to hold on. Peter Kennards photos had the most expression of emotion in them although they were very eerie but still got his point across. (peterkennard.com 2009)

The Kissinger Mind, by Peter Kennard


Impact and ability to change


These photographers absolutely had an impact on society at the time. Their works showcased the truth behind the scenes and treated the viewers with respect. These photographers evoked fear to show the viewers that there is a reason to be afraid and that not all is as it seems. They each had an impact on society but in different ways. While John Heartfield was directly documenting and mocking the Nazi Party in many publications, Alexander Rodchenko was documenting events but with less of a bias or indirectly expressing his opinions (not including his political cartoons). Kennard’s work does not protest a particular side of war, but the very idea of it. His popular peace sign breaking a missile or bomb portrays exactly what him and many others believe in. It appears that Rodchenko’s work has a lot of strict organization involved while Heartfield’s sticks strictly to satirize or harass an opponent. Photographers definitely have the ability to influence society, especially during Heartfield and Rodchenko’s times. Since propaganda was such a big component, photographers had more say in what they wanted to produce and expose to the general public. This speaks strongly to the attitudes of each photographer who used propaganda to express an opinion.


Works Cited

"Bbc. (Oct). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/photography/genius/gallery/rodchenko.shtml"
http://www.museenkoeln.de. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.museenkoeln.de/museum-ludwig/default.asp?s=2071
"peterkennard.com. (2009, 10 02). Retrieved from www.peterkennard.com"
"www.towson.edu. (2000, 10 27). Retrieved from http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/"
"www.towson.edu. (2000, 10 27). Retrieved from http://www.towson.edu/heartfield/artarchive.html/"
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photomontage

Delerium - Silence

Give me release
Witness me, I am outside
Give me peace

Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe
that I'd get caught up
when the rage in me subsides

Passion chokes the flower until she cries no more
Possessing all the beauty. hungry still for more

Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe that I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides

In this white wave
I am sinking
In this silence
In this white wave, in this silence, I believe

I can't help this longing ...
comfort me

I can't hold it all in ...
if you won't let me ...

Heaven holds a sense of wonder
And I wanted to believe that I'd get caught up
When the rage in me subsides

In this white wave, I am sinking
In this silence
In this white wave
in this silence I believe
I have seen you
in this white wave you are silent
You are breathing in this white wave


I am free



Delerium Silence - Paul Oakenfold ft Sarah Mclachlan
This song and these photos I believe are true to describing manipulations and hidden feelings

Sources Cited: Icevska, Gordana. "Week 4 Readings." Weblog post. Photography Shooting the Truth. George Brown College, 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012

Photo Manipulation. Assignment Two.

Original Photo One "Breath of Fresh Air"

The first photo I am using I have titled “Breath Of Fresh Air”. It is a photo of my boyfriend, his brother and I. I chose this picture because I captured it using my Cannon camera and a tripod. I took the photo from behind the leaves of another tree to create the image of being watched. I didn’t want it to have an ominous feel, I wanted it to feel like it’s coming from the eyes of an innocent animal watching and feeling a serenity and have the eyes its being seen through seeing us as a friend and not feel threatened. I decided to edit this photo with Photoshop Express for the iPad. I increased the contrast to make the colors more intense and stand out against one another better. I then applied greyscale to the image to make it black and white. I did this because I thought a black and white effect would make the image more classic. I felt it would emphasize the serene essence. The leaves closer to the camera became almost solid black which I thought added to the watched by an animal vibe. The lack of color makes me feel like the elements and the nature surrounding us is frozen, encasing the moment in this picture, as if this photo is a perfect rendition of the feel of the surroundings. Finally, I cropped out the time stamp to make the image reflect and evoke the feelings I wanted to come across to the viewer with any obvious signs that it is a photo and that you are not looking directly at people through an animal’s eyes.

Manipulated Photo One " Breath of Fresh Air "

Original Photo Two "Do On To Others As You Would Have Them Do On To You"

I decided to use a self portrait for the second photo because I recently dyed my hair dark and ever since then I have had a fascination with the change in my features. So, because of this, I decided I wanted to use a photo I took of myself. I decided to smile in the photo I took because I wanted it to represent balance. I titled it "Do On To Others As You Would Have Them Do On To You". This photo depicts me smiling, I am smiling genuinely, to reflect positive energy. I used an application for the iPad to create the effects I used on this photo. This application was called PixLromatic. This application gives you the opportunity to edit the photo using effects that change the photos colors and add texture but not change the shapes in the image itself. I cropped the image to improve the size and center my face. I added the "Tony" effect to create an ethereal glow to my face and eyes. After this I used a boarder and texture effect called "Trashy" to give it a rough look to remind the viewer that everything no matter how perfect or beautiful has two sides. And that you get what you put in.

I chose these images because they are meaningful to me and the extra beauty that the manipulations brought to them truly makes me feel my photos have become works of art. I feel my manipulations are ethical because they are my photos, and I am not putting someone elses face on my body. I am not making anything to be something it is not, simply editing images unlike the photo in week 4's readings of Abraham Lincoln. When people see only edited images their perception for what is real and what is not is blurred. When the image is not your own and you are falsifying it (such as putting your head on someone elses body) people feel tricked or betrayed. I feel it is only ethical to edit an image when it belongs to you or you have permission. Otherwise it feels sneeky and like a lie rather than a beautiful art form. for example if you take two photos, one where your eyes are partially closed and one where they are open but you dont like your smile, editing the eyes from one onto the other is ethical because it is not a lie, it is your image, your property and it enhances the over all beauty of the image. It makes the image more like you yourself want it to look. The fact that a simple picture that was beautiful as a photo can turn into a peice of art with such small manipulations makes me proud of my work as a amateur photographer.

Manipulated Photo Two "Do On To Others As You Would Have Them Do On To You"

Icevska, Gordana. "Week 4 Readings." Weblog post. Photography Shooting the Truth. George Brown College, 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012

History of Photography

The questions being answered in my blog today are;
- Main difference between photography in the 1800's and today, 2012?
- Which photographer/subject from the Victorian days is still a subject of photography today?
- Impact on the technology in the 1800's have on todays technology.

The biggest difference I saw between photography in the 1800's and now was time and quality. It took much longer to develop pictures we can now develop in seconds. The quality of the photograph as well as the time and effort it took to capture a picture was a fraction of what we have today. Though this is an inconvenience to us today, back in the 1800's this was the hight of their technology. To take and print a photo in 2012 it takes under a minute. To take a photo, edit it in Adobe Photoshop save it and print it takes under 5 minutes. These photographers created amazing works of art without the fancy, yet convenient methods we use today.

Out of the photos I read about this week my favorite was "The Two Ways of Life" and "Hard Times" by Oscar G. Rejlander. The process of combination printing (which would be a simple image overlay in todays Photoshop) was breath taking. In this day and age most people, like William Newton practiced photography to be a help to artists not an art in its self. Today we can recognize these these photos as art though they were not praised in that time the way they are today. For instance, "The Two Ways of Life" is true art. Its intricacy, time and passion oozes from the morbid, ominous photo. Though today photos are a known form of art, it does not take this level of work for one to be praised. Six weeks and thirty images later in the case of "The Two Ways of Life" we have really fascinating photo to ponder. With out these artists continuously pushing the envelope back in the Victorian age we would not have advanced in the same way we have today. These ways would not have been able to be honed by an amateur photographer and produce a fantastic result as we now can with our computer software. Our photographing technology would not be what it is today without these veterans of photography that provided us with such beautifully moving stepping stones to move forward from, allowing us to take photography to the next level.


If you have any questions or opinions on my post please feel free to comment on this blog post or reach me on our class discussion boards.


Works Cited:

Icevska, Gordana. "Week 3 Readings." Weblog post. Photography Shooting the Truth. George Brown College, 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

Introduction - me as a student

Self Portrait of me on Christmas!
I am 21 years old and in school for Business Admin - Marketing.
To relax when I'm stressed I read supernatural books by authors like Jeri Smith-Ready and Kelley Armstrong. I also enjoy TV and my favorite shows are Dexter, How I Met Your Mother and The Walking Dead.
I am in school for Business Admin - Marketing and this is my blog for my Photography class!
I am taking this course because I adore taking pictures and want to learn more about the history of photography and how to improve my skill and over all knowledge. I hope by learning this I can take photos with more depth and with a new style.

Through the next few pictures I will introduce pictures of people and things that I love.

Though I love Christmas time, I don't like the cold. This picture says "I love my amazing boyfriend and the warm weather!" It was an amazing 30 Degrees in Muskoka on our anniversary the weekend of October 10 <3

I love my family. In this picture you see myself, my niece, my nephew and my younger sister on Christmas.

I also absolutely LOVE the Toronto Maple Leafs! #LeafsNation