Self Critique & Writing Assignment

Self Critique:
Within my photo essay, I recreated the scene of a man kicking a ball. My initial idea was to have him on a green field with a few friends running around and I would focus on just his feet and the ball. Because of the weather and limited timing at the end of the semester, I was forced to think of an alternative location. I wanted the background to be all white to make the foot and ball stand out. I achieved this by having my figure stand against a white wall and placed white towels across the ground. I played with the lighting and angles of the photos. I am very proud of capturing the foot in motion as the ball stood still and the white background. I also like how the photos are photo-shopped to black and white so the viewer sees the figures and motion versus the color of his shoes or the details in the ball. If I had to go back, I would have changed the timing of the photos and made sure that the ball was faced the exact same way in every photo.(In some photos the Nike sign is not faced the same way which throws the viewer off) By taking part in this project, I was able to understand my camera’s ability to capture motion and how angles and lighting can create extreme moods and affects to the photos.

Writing Assignment:
Within the Stephens College library, I came across multiple photos that drew my attention to Freeman Patterson’s book called Photography Of Natural Things. Although Patterson’s photos did not deal with the same subject matter as I had wished, something about his artistic talent and ability to capture nature, angles, and beauty caught my eye. Although there is not correlation between nature and soccer, I wanted to use his same concepts within his photos and recreate them through mine.
Amongst a collection of pieces titled ‘The Garden”, a particular photo called ‘Repose’ created an inspiration to my work. In this simple photo, there is a red chair that sits un-centered against a black background that seems to have some texture. The chair is facing outwards and the dark background makes it looks like it is sitting on a porch looking out onto a vast amount of land. Although this scene is not depicted, the imagery and imagination one may find from such a simple photo is enormous. In my project, I used a plain white background and the wall against the back added texture to the photos. On the ground, I used plain white towels which gave a nice flowing effect against the harsh backdrop.
Another thing I like about Freeman’s photos were how they were lit up. In the same photo “Repose’, the red chair is lit up from the back side making the red-ish wood extrememly vibrant against a simple background. In my photos, I played with the lighting using lamps, white poster board, and shadows. This control of light helped give a different effect to my photos that tell a story, just as Freeman is able to do.

Soccer Edited

Soccer Story

Immense Lighting

In this project I focused on various aspects of lighting such as reflection, back lighting, and shadows. I enjoyed manipulating and playing with mulitple lighting effects and in fact enjoyed it more than natural lighting.

Documentary: Interview

Motion

I asked Denise McGill about her photography in Africa and if it was difficult to capture such a difficult time.  Her reply was stated something like this: "It was very difficult and very emotional to photograph such ill people and was impossible to not get emotionally attached.  I had hoped my work would remind others how difficult life is outside of the world they are accustomed to."

Edited Framing

Framing

Framing A Landscape

White Fire

Edited Property

Unedited Landscapes

"The Tetons - Snake River" By Ansel Adams

Transforming Nature