Photography Series
"Exposure" |
Size: 3(91.44 x 51.45 cm)
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Exhibition Text
"Exposure" is a digital photography piece comprised of three distinctive monochromatic images. It belongs to a series of work exploring the unique stages of grief. Inspired by the photography of Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, the piece tells a story of youth and longing. I aimed to engage in conversation with the audience, asking them what story they make of the images and then offering my lens to them to show my perspective.
Process
Brainstorming |
Planning |
1. Write down potential artistic inspirations, story concepts, stages of grief, and metaphors you can incorporate into a three part photo series.
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2. Create two to three planning sketches. Incorporate concepts from your brainstorming. Rather than staging the photograph, consider ways that your story can be depicted through symbols and candid photography.
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Still Life Photography |
Street Photography |
3. Locate and photograph a still object in low light using a 50mm f/1.8 lens. To properly expose the image, place your camera on a tripod while completing a long exposure. Experiment with shutter speeds and ISOs until your photograph has nicely contrasting highlights and shadows. In regards to composition, frame the image with your subject maintaining the most weight in the center. Consider how the negative space frames the subject as well.
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4. Surround yourself with people and scenery be it in the city or in quaint neighborhoods. Street photography is less about creating photographs and more about capturing moments. With a 50mm f/1.8 lens, wander about and capture moments with the understanding that you want your photographs to tell a story. In regards to composition, aim to capture the scene and its most important components.
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Editing
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The entire editing process took place in Adobe Lightroom. Overall the three edits share a similar edit. After importing the photos I converted each photograph into black and white. The main goal for each photograph was to accentuate the three subjects through a juxtaposition of highlights and shadows. This was achieved by adjusting the highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks sliders. I also added a bit of clarity to each image. The final adjustment occurred in the tone curve. By adjusting the shadows, I added a faded look to the images while further building upon the contrast between light and dark.
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Experimentation
Throughout the entire process of photographing and assembling the three part series, I experimented with a variety of lenses, editing styles, and even images. For this series, I used a Sony A7 with a Canon FD Mount 50mm f/1.8 lens. I tried using an M42 mount 135mm lens which ultimately was too great of a focal length for me and street photography. I also used a 70 - 210mm lens as well as a 55mm lens. In the end, I used a 50mm for every photograph. The focal length was perfect for me in terms of framing and sharpness. Furthermore, it forced me to immerse myself in the environment where I was shooting. To compose with a prime requires closeness to the subject. And by getting closer to what I was photographing, it became less of a photograph and more of a moment I was capturing. I further experimented with different ISO, aperture, and shutter speed combinations. This experimentation applied primarily to the still life photograph. In regards to post processing, I experimented with the effect of color on images. My decision to turn the series into black and white images was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson. He believed that color was merely a distraction from the truth of an image. The subject should be the main subject of the photograph, not colors. I didn't understand this until I edited the photos. At the heart of a photograph is a story. Colors are like curtains that veil the story. Color often creates a sense of liveliness and vibrancy that I did not want my photo series to possess. I wanted the story to tell itself. Black and white strips a photo down to its core and its essence. To tell my story, I needed this stripped down aesthetic. The story these three images tell is dependent on their placement, order, and subject. I experimented a great deal with different photographs and different orders. My other images drastically changed the way people perceived the series. At one point, my three images appeared to be a PSA for wearing seat belts. The order matters as well. I intentionally separated the children and the parent and child with the hand in concrete. It helps guide the narrative along. The small detail of photo order has drastic consequences on this narrative.
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Artistic Inspiration
The piece "Exposure" draws inspiration from the photographers Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Famous for his portrayal of the American west through black and white photographs, Ansel Adams utilized his medium to create strong contrast between light and dark. His photographs have a strong sense of mood and depth due to his shadows possessing such richness and his highlights being so bright. With my first image in the series, I aimed to emulate this juxtaposition to establish mood and to accentuate the subject of my image. My emulation of the lights and darks is effective in establishing this mood, however it lacks the natural gradations of Adams's work. Whereas Ansel Adams's work features a smooth transition from light to dark, my photos have a harsh contrast between black and white. The next photograph of the hand print in "Exposure" was inspired by Imogen Cunningham and her still life photography. Her photographs, especially those of flowers, were infamous for their detail and clarity. I aimed to achieve a similar sense of sharpness in my photograph of the hand print in concrete. Cunningham's still life photographs often possess a strong sense of realism because of this sharpness. I also drew inspiration from her photograph, "The Unmade Bed" as she managed to contextualize the small objects laying on a bed while simultaneously removing the bed from any specific location. To me, the photo speaks of a universal understanding of an unmade bed, as in she photographed a particular bed that could be really be any bed. I wanted the hand print in concrete to also share this universal sense of existence. Rather than it being confined to one place, I wanted the hand print to be able to transcend the photo and for the viewer to place it on any sidewalk. My final photo was inspired by Henri Cartier-Bresson. His candid street photography and belief in the idea of capturing the decisive moment inspired me to wait patiently and find my image rather than create it. Capturing and documenting reality as it once was is what makes the final photo in "Exposure" so impactful. It's also what makes Cartier-Bresson's work so captivating. As such, I successfully emulated Henri Cartier-Bresson's photography.
Reflection
Throughout the completion of this piece, I have further improved my still life and street photography skills as well as my visual storytelling, Prior to this piece, I had done still life and street photography for years but I never used my photographs to communicate a story. This piece challenged me to incorporate themes into my photography. I learned that telling a story through a series of images is difficult as each photograph alters the narrative drastically. Even seemingly insignificant things like order and placement of photographs in a series can change the way an audience perceives its messages and story. Overall, I consider "Exposure" to be a success because my ordering of the photos and the photographs themselves deliver a narrative I wanted to share. Furthermore, the photographs all successfully emulate their respective inspirations. The first photograph features a strong juxtaposition between light and dark as is prominent in the work of Ansel Adams. The second photograph portrays a sharp reality that transcends the boundaries of the photo much like Imogen Cunningham's "The Unmade Bed" does. And finally, the third photograph in "Exposure" highlights a candid, decisive moment like those captured by Henri Cartier -Bresson. In regards to areas of improvement, I believe the photographs could be more easily understood as a story. I can see how an audience could mistake the series as separate images and so for future photographic series, I will try to make my images more obviously thematically connected.
Meaning
"Exposure" is a three part photographic series that explores a personal stage of grief through a narrative of youth and separation. This piece is part of a larger series of my experiences with grief and how I traverse them. One of the first stages of grief I experience, I call exposure because I think of myself as a roll of 35mm film when I am vulnerable. After one of my favorite teachers from middle school passed away, I remember how everything I saw stuck with me and how I over analyzed every little detail. It was like a shutter opening and closing, exposing me, the film. When I grieve, I take in everything as more than it is. Everything seems like a sign to me. I often grab a camera, whether its film or digital, and I roam around. When I grieve, my photographs speak volumes because grief often leaves me speechless. So exposure also describes how I cope with loss. In terms of the actual photographs, their narrative describes the grief that stems from the divorce of parents. At first glance, the photos might appear happy and representative of growth and childhood. But the way I see these photos, is as follows. The two children are in limbo. The hand shows how the children are frozen in time. And the child reaching out to the father who continues to walk away is the distance the divorce ultimately introduces to the family. I myself have never experienced this grief as my parents are married. But I know young children I am close to whose parents are separating. And I wondered what their grief must feel like. I couldn't bare the thought of it. So I dedicated this piece to them.
Connection to ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
I am able to identify the cause-effect relationship between my inspiration and its effect upon my artwork by analyzing the juxtaposition of light and dark in my photographs. As Ansel Adams utilized light and dark in a similar manner to convey mood, it is evident that my piece was inspired by Adams's photography.
2. What is the overall approach of the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration.
The author's point of view regarding Imogen Cunningham is that she was a great still life photographer who defied gender roles in her pursuit of art.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
While researching, I've come to the conclusion that black and white photography captures the essence of an image while color distracts the audience from the main subject.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme of my inspirational research was visual storytelling.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
While reading my research, I inferred that photographers like Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and Henri Cartier-Bresson utilized black and white photography to capture truths about the world.
Sources
Websites
Center for Creative Photography . “ANSEL ADAMS.” Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents for The University of Arizona, www.creativephotography.org/artists/ansel-adams. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum. “Imogen Cunningham.” International Photography Hall of Fame, International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum, iphf.org/inductees/imogen-cunningham/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
THE ART STORY FOUNDATION. “Henri Cartier-Bresson Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, THE ART STORY FOUNDATION, www.theartstory.org/artist-cartier-bresson-henri.htm. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
Books
Adams, Ansel, et al. Ansel Adams in the national parks: photographs from Americas wild places. New York, Little, Brown and Co., 2010.
Alinder, Mary Street. Group f.64: Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and the community of artists who revolutionized American photography. New York, Bloomsbury, 2016.
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, and Michael Brenson. Henri Cartier-Bresson. New York, Thames and Hudson, 2006.
Center for Creative Photography . “ANSEL ADAMS.” Center for Creative Photography, Arizona Board of Regents for The University of Arizona, www.creativephotography.org/artists/ansel-adams. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum. “Imogen Cunningham.” International Photography Hall of Fame, International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum, iphf.org/inductees/imogen-cunningham/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
THE ART STORY FOUNDATION. “Henri Cartier-Bresson Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, THE ART STORY FOUNDATION, www.theartstory.org/artist-cartier-bresson-henri.htm. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017.
Books
Adams, Ansel, et al. Ansel Adams in the national parks: photographs from Americas wild places. New York, Little, Brown and Co., 2010.
Alinder, Mary Street. Group f.64: Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and the community of artists who revolutionized American photography. New York, Bloomsbury, 2016.
Cartier-Bresson, Henri, and Michael Brenson. Henri Cartier-Bresson. New York, Thames and Hudson, 2006.