mareemac's blog

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 definitely think that in self portraiture, envisioning your true self is by far more important than who you wish to be. A self-portrait is you and should let people know who you are as a person not who someone else is. It is important also because you are you for many reasons and a self portrait of you should display the beautiful you because everyone is unique and has their own character. You need to stay true to yourself before you can true to anyone else. Therefore you want your self portrait to be true or real rather than a fake appearance of who you really aren't.

What were the main points of the article?
Do you agree with the general push or overall idea(s) of the article?
When should Photoshop be/not be used to alter a photograph?

The main point of the article was to put emphasis on what photoshop can do to a picture. Although, what it can and cannot do is not always a positive thing. The author of the article expressed on the topic of how the media uses photoshop to enhance people and places, but is it really enhancing them or just making them look acceptable is the question. Magazines, celebrities, models and adds are made out to be these perfect people, with perfect bodies and skin tones and white teeth, but with a reality check, that is not really who they are. After reading this article I realized that flaws are not even in the question to some editors. They take their job of editing to an extreme level, I mean look at the example of how Reese Witherspoon’s chin shape is different on the cover of 3 different magazines. It’s pretty absurd the things they do to make them appear the way they do to the reader. The point is that there is a lot of talk about if this is ok and if it is wrong. I personally think that photoshop used to such a great extent, the way they use it, is wrong. People shouldn’t have to be fake and look completely perfect to be idolized because no one is that perfect. And who even knows what perfect is. I agree that this should be debated over and that the there should be limits on the use of photoshop for media purposes such as weight loss images, skin, hair, shape, etc. It gives the wrong image to the viewer and should be taken into consideration for the self esteem and attitude purposes. I think photoshop should be used to enhance pictures and make them have better lighting or contrast but it should not be used to change the boob size of a model, or make a mans muscles look bigger, or give someone perfectly white, straight teeth when they aren’t, and so on. Photoshop should not be used to transform the person being photoshoped either. It is degrading, I think, to realize that they have to do all that work just for it to look good enough,

blog due monday

1. What is your interpretation of the purpose of each of these three assignments?
POV- The purpose I thought was to capture one object from perspectives at which different people might see it and to be able to acknowledge how much it changes a picture. Macro/Minutiae-The purpose of Macro Minutiae was to allow me to see what different proportions of pictures could do together to tell a story. I chose small pieces of big pictures that stood out. Motion- The motion project allowed me to catch a movement in action. I was able to use different options on my camera to catch motion and it made me pay alot of attention to the timing at which i took the pictures.

2. What do you thinkg the most important thing was you learned from each assignment?

I would have to say that the most important thing I learned from each of the assignments was the importance of timing and how much you can really change a picture to make it say something totally different from what you expected in the first place or from a certain angle.

3. Why do you suppose these three projects were assigne in this particular order?

Point of view was first because it allowed me to really learn what to take pictures of and from which perspectives pictures look best. Second was the Macro minutiae one because it allowd us to see what was the best piece of different pictures and what they told to the viewer, knowing what angle and spots were best because of the previouse point of view assignment. Last was the motion because it was taking both of the first 2 projects to use the tools and tips to get the best possible motion picture captured.

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 like I actually did a pretty decent job on the projects. I think that the point of view was my best project becasue I was really able to get different angles and perspectives of the basketball hoop that I chose to use. On the Macro Minutiae project, it turned out well but I think the only thing that could have possible messsed it up was the words I had. They told the stroy by giving away that it was a CAVS theme. On the motion project I turned in a picture of someone caught in mid air jumping I think if she would have been higher off the ground it wouldve turned out better and maybe a better looking background besides the parking lot. The quality of my pictures though were good and I think they met the quota of the project quidlinese.

5. What was one thing you wish you would have done that you didn't, and why didn't it happen?

I wish for my motion pictures I would have taken more and caught different objects in motion. I wanted to catch a ball bouncing in the air so that it looked like it was floating in air. It didn't happen because the timing didn't work that well and I didn't catch in the position that I wanted after many tries.

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

My favorite project was the Macro/Minutiae because I like so many of the pictures I take but often times I have to choose one. This project allowed me to take parts of my favorite pictures of a particular topic and use them all. I like the way the final piece was when it was all put together and I was able to tweek the pictures so that they all fit together well.

Has one or more of these tipics had an impact on your photography? How?

I  would have to say the point of view assignment had the most impact on my photography. It really made me step back and see how I could change a picture by taking it from different persepectives and angles. I learned how to really imagine what Im taking th picture of and how it was going to be before I took it. I think it enhanced the way I look feel about the pictures I take also.

"God is in the details."

Detail is everything! Without detail we would get nowhere and we would understand nothing. This quote perfectly describes what detail is. In my values I believe that God is everywhere and plays a big part in my life. I think, also, that God is in details because of what he created on earth. He is seen through the pedals of a beautiful flower or the smirk on a child's face. This quote is telling me that the more we look into deatils the more we are going to find. So connecting to photography, the more we look into a picture or change it up, the more were going to find. Details speak the picture just as I've seen through using photoshop that color, contrast, and birghtness, etc. make the picture what it is.

"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.

I really like this quote and I really think it captures the essence of what a picture is. Often times I think memories are taken for granted and we sometimes forgot things or details of moments that have happened in our lives. This quote to me is saying that photos are about what's in them, not necessarily the angle they are taken at or the distance but whats inside the 4 edges. This quote speaks loud words for photography. You can choose the facts or story behind a photo by picking what you take it of. Photos are proof and according the them its whats inside thats tells the proof of them.

The importance of the lighting assignment was not teaching us to take a perfect picture or to focus on an object, but it was simply teaching us to capture a photo in certain lighting situations. In this project we had to work around just taking a picture with the lighting in your room or outside on a sunny day but to set it up and make sure that you followed either silhouette, diffuse, or direct. Each of the different lightings definitely gave a different feeling to the picture that you take. We saw this when looking back and reviewing which one best displayed the types of lighting. I think I did a pretty good job on this project, my only thought about it is that my pictures werent as interesting as I wanted them to be, because at this point I am still not sure of what to use as the focus in my pictures. Although I had one picture that I loved and it was the spilled water, I thought it was an awesome picture to look at and displayed the certain type of lighting.

When you first look at a photograph and make an initial judgment of it as being 'great', is it because it is technically great or because it makes you feel something? In other words, are you reacting to its technical quality or its emotive quality? Explain in detail.

To be honest when I first look at photos I look at them as being great or good photos because they make me feel something. For example when me and my friends take pictures, I think there are some that are good pictures cause they make me feel happy when we all look happy. I don't necessarily look at the technicality of them as being in good lighting or not being on bit blurry or having no red eye. Or the pictures of objects that we take, I think some of mine are good photos because of the feeling they give me of being a so called "cool" picture, like I captured it as a more potimistic or pessimistic photo not techincal at at a certain angle or scenario. I think there are different ways though to judge great photos.

1. What might be the appeal of working with all natural/alternative materials in your artwork? What would some advantages/disadvantages be?

I think that working with natural and alternative material is very appealing mainly because it draws in attention to the viewer. It makes the artwork more personal and it is appealing to the eye because of the details it provides. An advantage would be the fact that anything can become artwork. There doesn't have to be a certain scene or type of work to look at. On the other hand, a disadvantage would be that it is harder to provide appealing things only because some people wont be as interested in natural things they see all the time.

2. Why specifically do you connect or not connect with his work?
I found that I very easily connected with Goldsworthy's work because I am fascinated by exploring the natural things in the life that can become something so different. He used a unique perspective to convey his feelings, thoughts, and emotions through his work.

3. What do you think makes something a piece of art? Is Mr. Goldworthy's work art?
I think that many people can define art in different ways but to me art is anything. literally, I think that anything that you see can become a piece of art. I think that color and fascination though is a big part of art. Mr. Goldworthy's work is most definitely art because of the effort he puts into finding the most appealing things that are natural. Goldworthy is unique in his art and because of the one of a kind types of art he finds naturally, his work is art!

Welcome to TypePad! This is a sample post you can edit or delete later.