Final Critique

Weaknesses:

Sometimes, it's hard for me to focus on shooting an image and not on the post-processing.  A weakness that was pointed out is that sometimes I tend to focus on the gimmick too much instead of working these things out while I'm shooting.  A weakness that I could have avoided, but thought of after the fact was that I used 2 black mattes for my work and the other 8 mattes were white.  All things considered, I would have made all white mattes, which I learned from critique is most common now days and generally accepted in the art world.

Strengths:

People pointed out that my best work was my architecture work, which is not surprising, since It's my favorite subject matter to photograph.  Also, people commented that I have a good eye for design, and I seem to control my frames very well.  I like to convey a sense of emotion with all of my pieces, and even a sense of mystery with some, and I think this worked, judging by everyone's reactions.  Also, I attempted to branch out of my comfort zone in photography and try to photograph some different subject matter.  I acomplished this goal, and achieved a much better sense of landscape photography and portraiture.

Looking Forward:

Next semester, I hear that Photo 208 is going to be less focused on Photoshop and post-processing, and more focused on techniques in the camera.  I look forward to continuing my photographic education by shooting much much more than I did this semester, and forgetting about the gimmicks for now, while focusing on straight photography.  I enjoyed IDM, and look forward to my photographic future.

My Picks

Julius Shulman

Julius Shulman, who resided in California for the majority of his life, was one of the greatest architectural photographers of all time, and he is also one of my greatest inspirations.  He is most famous for his iconic shots of architectural structures designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and Pierre Koenig.  Shulman focused on architectural photography throughout his entire career, and he even brought new architects to light that had not been recognized before he shot images of their structures.  Compositionally, Julius Shulman's work is extremely strong.  He took every detail into thought and made sure everything came together for a very cohesive and beautiful body of work.

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Scott Vallance

Scott Vallance is a commercial photographer currently residing in San Antonio, Texas and teaching at San Antonio College.  Apart from Scott being my photography professor for upwards of three years, his images inspire me because of their composition and flawless technique.  Scott attended college at Brooks Institute of Photography, one of the most prestigious photo universities.  After working in California for years, Scott moved to San Antonio, Texas to find a different client base and a new outlook on his career.  Apart from working full time as a photography professor at San Antonio College and full time as a commercial photographer, Scott also sells fine art images on the side for a little extra profit.  He is a true photographer and believes that spreading the knowledge of photography to future generations is just as important as the excellent work he puts out for his clients on a daily basis. 

Slideshow Pros and Cons

When I began working on my images for the slideshow assignment, I knew immediately what I wanted to photograph.  Architecture is a very interesting subject matter for me, and I saw so many different styles of architecture on our campus alone.  Overall, I got some very interesting images, and I think my slideshow was very effective.

Pros:

1. The Music

The music I found for my slideshow on lastfm.com was perfect for my subject matter! It had an upbeat, instrumental feel, and I think that it went right along with the themes of design and form.

2. The Perspective

When I photographed the design around campus, I had some trouble finding interesting angles, but I kept pushing through until I came up with some very interesting shots.  It took much energy and persistence to complete this assignment, but the end result was successful.

Cons:

1. Variety

The only con that I could see is my lack of variety in image selection.  I had 2 or 3 images of the same bridge here on campus, and I think this subtracted from the diversity of the other photos I had.  When you begin to see just about the same image again and again, it makes the project far less interesting, and I wish I would have realized this before i completed the slide show.

Self Assignment

Objective:  To clearly portray some of Texas A&M Commerce's unique details including architecture and design aspects.  All design elements MUST be from the TAMU-Commerce campus, and I will attempt to find the most interesting details possible.

Method:  I decided to make sure that my photographs all include some sense of design, and I will use angles and lines to clearly portray this.  I will take my tripod around campus and find very interesting lines and shapes in the architecture and environment.

Influences:

Julius Schulman:

Jeffrey Jacobs:

William Klein and Elliott Erwitt

William Klein

      After looking at William Klein's images, my mind kept going back to Henri Cartier Bresson and his storytelling type of photography. Each image that I see tells a detailed story, not necessarily clear, but still effective.  The image that I chose to talk about (right) really struck me the second that I saw it.  I opened a window with numerous Klein photographs and this image jumped out at me like....well....like  a person pointing a gun at me!  Obviously this photograph is showing anger and possibly rage, but at the same time, the calm face on the right begs the question "What else is going on in this image?".  The composition is very nicely put together, and the expressions in the image are very bold.  Overall, Klein did a great job of conveying a message simply with one photograph.





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Elliott Erwitt

Elliot Erwitt's family emigrated to the United States from France when he was only 10 years old.  By viewing his work, you can see that many of his photographs are taken in France and rightfully so, because this is the place where he grew up.  Some of best examples that I saw included many leading lines and  compositional genius.  Erwitt amazes me because he was able to photograph many different themes and ways of life.  Many photographers stick with one subject matter or one mood, but Erwitt on the other hand chose to explore many emotions and different situations in his photographs, and I admire this.  The photograph that I chose (left) was my favorite for a few reasons.  First of all, the leading lines of the road and trees lead the eye right back to the main subjects on the bike in the middle of the frame.  This photograph has special significance to me because as a child I grew up riding a two person bike with my father, and this brought back memories of those simple, relaxed rides along the open back-roads of Oklahoma.  The connection between the two subjects, and the child to the photographer never cease to capture our attention in this photo, and the composition adds the visual aspect that this photograph needs to be successful. 

What the class liked. What I like.

1. Above is the image that the class found most interesting.  The main points that were made is that this image is visually dramatic, and that the silhouette adds emphasis to the image.  The negative aspects that were mentioned is that the location is somewhat hard to determine, and does this image have a universal appeal?  If I were to re-shoot this assignment,  I would have probably found a way to shoot this image with a football player in full uniform on an actual football field.  This would make it obvious what the location was and why the model was there.  



2. Below is the image that I find most interesting.  A few things about this image really make it stand out to me.  First of all, the environment that I chose for this image was one of a run-down alley, a strong contrast  to the well-dressed model.  Andrea (the model), with her very nicely done hair and fancy dress, stood out quite nicely in this environment and I love to create contrast (not necessarily color contrast, but rather aesthetic contrast) in every image that I shoot.  The model's pose is very nice, and I enjoy the way the small section of the wall she is standing by is decaying and breaking down.  This decay makes you want to read into what exactly is going on in this picture, and to me, gives it a universal appeal.

A little bit about Collier Harrison Whitefield

Collier grew up a military brat.
Collier was homeschooled until his Junior year of high school.
Collier has people issues, probably because of being homeschooled until his Junior year.
Collier is a believer in Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of His life for us.
Collier wishes he would share his beliefs more often.
Collier used to be a nerd, maybe he still is....
Collier wore glasses, and had braces at the same time all the girls were shorter than him.
Collier is extremely strong-willed.
Collier has a crazy amount of self-discipline.
Collier is one of the world's greatest procrastinators.
Collier took forever to decide he wanted to be a photographer.
Collier doesn't enjoy taking pictures of people.
Collier LOVES taking pictures of buildings.
Collier wishes that he could be everyone's best friend, and sometimes he tries.
Collier is perceived as a very nice guy.
Collier really is a nice guy....deep down inside!
Collier isn't looking for a girlfriend, and it's difficult.
Collier worked at Chick-fil-A for 5 years, and never got tired of the food.
Collier has a twin named Troy, but not really.
Collier has another twin named Collin, but again, not really.
Collier finds himself more and more every day.
Collier wishes that he had the money to buy better camera equipment.
Collier will probably put this on his Facebook.
Collier has 3 siblings whose names all start with the letter C.  (and a dog)
Collier loves music.
Collier loves kids.
Collier loves playing music for kids.
Collier loves the B.I.B.L.E.
Collier loves life, but sometimes he forgets this.
Collier hopes you read this, he read it many times.

George Krause and Mary Ellen Mark

George Krause

When I began to look through the photographs that George Krause took,  I began to notice that much of his work is very similar.  I noticed that he does many portraits, and in these portraits he used almost the exact same lighting in each and every photograph.  Although this method makes it easy to identify a George Krause portrait, to me, it does not seem to fit each person that is photographed.  For instance,  in the portraits below we see on the top, a  young woman and on the bottom a working man.  These two people I'm sure have very different personalities and different lifestyles, and yet he chose to use the same high-key lighting for both people in his photographs.  As much as I have to respect Krause as a photographer, I do not like the idea of using the same lighting to portray two completely different people.  Reasonable people could disagree, but that is my opinion.

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Mary Ellen Mark

After looking through the photos by George Krause, Mary Ellen Mark's work was a breath of fresh air.  I immediately started to notice that her goal as a photographer was to capture the essence of humanity and portray people as they truly are.  Also, I noticed that she was a master of the controversial.  Some of my favorite photographs of hers are also probably the most controversial. I've included an example below of a photo in which most of the general public would be disgusted, but rather, I am intrigued.  What would spur a photographer to photograph a young girl smoking?  This is the question I asked myself.  But, many other questions may be asked of this photograph.  It is extraordinary to me that this photograph includes two children, not sitting on the porch or on the couch, but rather, in a kiddie pool.  This photograph is not about an image on paper.  This image is telling a story.  Perhaps, a story of a very troubled family is being told.  Or, we could be witnessing a young girl that wants to be just like her mom and dad and thought it would be funny to pose like her parents.  Either way,  this image gives us much to think about and Mark Ellen Mark knew this would be the case. Her thirst for the controversial is extremely evident. 

YOUR Decisive Moment

Before I ever heard about Henri Cartier Bresson, I had already heard the phrase "The Decisive Moment."  It is a phrase that my first photography professor used time and time again.  Little did I know that my professor was copying Cartier every time that he said this.  After hearing the phrase so many times, it began to stick in my mind and I really contemplated what this "Decisive Moment" meant.  To the best of my ability, I would define this "Decisive Moment" as the one and only time that a specific photograph is meant to be taken.

Let me explain myself.  When I walk around each day and see things and places and people and objects,  I have this tendency of seeing photographs that are meant to be taken.  The moment that I walk away from that place, person, thing, etc. without taking a photograph, I have missed my "Decisive Moment."  Unfortunately, there are many photographs still in my mind that I neglected to capture, and now regret it.

Cartier explained photography as "A very quiet anxiety," and I completely agree.  Knowing what to place in a photograph and what to leave out of a photograph are decisions that must be made, even if they are very difficult decisions.  Beside having to determine what stays and what goes in a photograph, one must also determine how each thing is arranged in each photo, in other words, designing the photograph.  Cartier was a master of design and it is evident in all of his photographs.  His knowledge of an aesthetically pleasing design made Cartier the photographer that everyone recognizes to this day.

Next time you're walking down the street and you just so happen to be carrying your camera, (this is a very good idea) try to find the photographs that you were born to take.  Do not miss your "Decisive Moment"

.....this is my favorite Cartier photograph.....

What do I want from this Photo I class?

Simply put, I want to get whatever I can from this class.  

        I've already taken a few photo classes in the past, but I'm ready to take what I have learned and apply it to what I am learning now to get a totally fresh and new view of photography.  I'm excited about the opportunities that are coming with this class and look forward to the knowledge that I will gain.  

        I'm especially looking forward to learning about Lightroom and the many possibilities that it holds.  I've used it before, but I've never been properly trained, so I know that I can learn the basics like I should have before.

<----- Here's an image that I shot last semester.  Let me know what you think!