Saturday, 19 November 2011

Kertesz and Cartier-Bresson versus Smith and Salgado

All the photographers that are mentioned are in opposite to one another, Andre Kertesz and Henri Cartier-Bresson believed in taking photographs, which are not modifying in any way leaving them the way they were taken allowing the viewer to capture their own idea’s, essentially capturing the moment, in doing so never altered or staging their photographs. While Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado modify their photographs in darkrooms, adjusting features such as lighting to emphasize certain points in the photograph helping the viewer capture what Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado really believe what’s important in the photo.
The similarities of Andre Kertesz, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eugene Smith and Sebastio Salgado are that they all believed in capturing the truth, telling a story within their photographs. All four of these photographers created a great impacted towards what photojournalist means today.  

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I believe Andre Kertesz, Henri Cartier-Bresson have a better journalistic approach, for they keep true to there photographs by not manipulating them in any way, they wait for the right moment and capture it. In doing so keeping true to the ethics of photojournalism. By not editing there photographs they are not giving the wrong impression of the subjects in the photographs.


Henri Cartier-Bresson Photography


Henri Cartier-Bresson Photography
"Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer considered to be a father of the modern photojournalism."





Andre Kertesz Photography

Andre Kertesz  Photography
"Andre Kertesz was a Hungarian-born photographer known for his contributions to photographic compostion and photo essay."




Eugene Smith Photography


Eugene Smith Photography 
"Eugene Smith was an, American photojournalist known for his refusal to compromise professional standards and his brutally vivid WWII photography’s."



Sebastio Salgado Photography

Sebastio Salgado Photography
"Sebastio Salgado chose to abandon his career as an economist and switched to photography in 1973, working initially on news assignments before veering more towards documentary-type work"





Sunday, 6 November 2011

Photo Essay

Eve Arnold


Eve Arnold is one of the most famous portrait photographers to represented Magnum Photography. Arnold moved to England in the early 60's and take some of the most famous photography of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1980 the American Society of Magazine Photographers awarded Arnold a Lifetime Achievement Award. She is known for her brilliant shots of Marilyn Monroe, many of which were taken in 1960 on the set of "The Misfits". 

Eva Arnold had an amazing ability of get close to people; to capture their character in those rare moments, this really defined her as a photographer. She was the first female member to join Magnum in New York in 1951, which put her beside the greats of that era such as Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson. During her career, she photographed Hollywood stars and Joe McCarthy, Francis Bacon and Isabella Rossellini. 


Eve Arnold is a photojournalist possibly the ultimate kind of photojournalist, since her work in the field of reportage includes interviewing and writing to complement her photographs. Eve Arnold has traveled the world as a photojournalist, working primarily for Life magazine and the Sunday Times, she spent ten years as a contract photographer. 

Eve was able to deal with and photograph some of the trickiest stars of Hollywood: Joan Crawford, Monroe and Marlene Dietrich. She was the first photographer to snap movie stars and movie sets as reportage, as the portrait in action, rather than the usual set up studio shots, which hides and masked the personalities of the stars. She captured those moments when a face is unguarded and the character is revealed. Being one of the few female photographers could be an advantage. She was able to be part of the intimacy of the dressing room and beauty regimes with none of the awkwardness of a male photographer. And actresses seemed unusually willing to bare themselves to her.



Eve Arnold shots the truth, she has photography that is studio set up, which is absolutely beautiful, my favorite photographs are the ones with Marilyn Monroe as the subject. "Arnold’s photographs of Marilyn are unique.  Unusually benevolent, these intimate photos of Marilyn Monroe expose the icon’s personality rather than her flesh.  In these photos we see a person, not a sex object; a human, not any kind of object at all."Arnold captures the beauty in her subjects every time, being a serious shoot or a playful shoot there is always an exhilarating vibrancy of exquisiteness in every photograph. Eve Arnold also branched out into shooting photographs in the moment, in doing so capturing true emotions in her subjects face, not set up. These photographs are brilliant they capture all the true emotions in her subjects, the sore (in her Hati shoot), and happiness (in her Cuba Island Girl shoot).

Below are a few examples of Eve Arnolds photography below.
USA. Marilyn MONROE (USA). Actress & singer 1955- E.Arnold



Below are photographs that remind me of the work of Eve Arnold:
Turkairo
This photograph reminds me of Eve Arnold's Hati Shoot.

This photograph reminds me of Eve Arnold's in the moment Marilyn Monroe shoots.

 
This photograph reminds me of Eve Arnold's studio Marilyn Monroe shoots.
This photograph reminds me of Eve Arnold's Vintage family shoots.
This 3 photographs above remind me of Eve Arnold's  Marilyn Monroe shoots, which are me favourite, serious shots yet there is a glow of beauty projecting off the subject.



As Arnold wrote in a memoir, In Retrospect: "If the photographer has forged a relationship which permits an atmosphere in which the subject feels relaxed and safe, there is an intimacy that allows the person being photographed to be uninhibited and to reveal unknown aspects of herself."




http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox&ALID=2K7O3R14AYQ2&IT=ThumbImage01_VForm&CT=Album
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eve_Arnold
http://www.google.ca
http://www.picsearch.com/pictures/Celebrities/Photographers/Eve%20Arnold.html
http://www.photoicon.com/modern_masters/42/
http://www.collectorsquest.com/blog/2008/06/09/eve-arnold-photographs/

http://www.worldphoto.org

Photo Journal 2- Press & Art Photography

The main differences between Art photography and Press photography are that the “Art photography is staged” -Henri Cartier-Bresson-

The similarities between art and press photography both tell a story. All photographers have their own style, and technique.  Both types of photography can give the viewer an emotional connection.
I believe art photography can be altered and play with as much as the photographer wish. Art photographers can rely on technology such as Photoshop to alter their pictures and modify them until they feel that the pictures have achieved what they want to communicate to the audiance. I believe that there is nothing wrong by altering art photography, it is way of expressions that a lot of photographer are practicing and they need to alter some of the photographs in order to display the Idea, such as the role of colours. Art photography, is the mix of  digital art and photography.
“Kertesz was not a journalist, but his pictures tell the stories as they happened. He was able to freeze the information on his photographs.” Press photographers to me are not allowed to alter their photography at all. They have to wait for the perfect time to take a picture and capture moment as best as they can, as soon as they take the picture, their job is complete. The objective is to capture an image that tells a real story as it happens. Press photographers are able to see the photos and to capture them in the right moment, because for them even just by getting a light-meter out or a tripod the moment is lost, once the moment has passed, it is gone there is no such thing as asking somebody to pose again or try and get the same expression once more. 'A camera for Kertesz was a little notebook, a sketchbook that connected with his life.'


Press Photography :
Here are two photographs that you can see the raw emotion in the subjects faces.
Lu Guang 
The oldest is 9, not going to school. The youngest is less than 2 years old. They lived in severely polluted area. There hands and faces were always dirty. April 10, 2005




CHINA. Shanghai. December 1948-January 1949. As the value of the paper money sank, the Kuomintang decided to distribute 40 grams of gold per person. With the gold rush, in December, thousands came out and waited in line for hours. The police, equipped with the remnants of the armies of the International Concession, made only a gesture toward maintaining order. Ten people were crushed to death.




Art Photography: 
Here are two photographs that where staged, however you can appreciate the art and technique behind the photos.
Marilyn Monroe, New York City, Ballerina sitting from the Hilton H. Green


Lesley Silvia

Above is a photograph taken with a fisheye lens. 'It is a form of wide-angled lens which gives a curved effect to a image ,an image taken with a fisheye lens resembles what the image would look like through the eye of a fish.The resulting picture is an image in which the center appears normal and in focus but the but the concentric elements appear distorted.'









http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxzaG9vdGluZ3RoZXRydXRofGd4OjQxM2EwNGMxMDY3ZTVhZWY
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxzaG9vdGluZ3RoZXRydXRofGd4OjUyODU5MmVmMDJjMWIzZGI
https://gbc.blackboard.com/webct/urw/tp0.lc5122011/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct


Friday, 4 November 2011

Photojournalism



What's the role of photojournalism?
Photojournalism is documenting history in photographic form. Photojournalists communicate a real story through photos taken in moment. Photojournalism involves portraying accurate news through photos, by collecting many images, and broadcasting them in the media, including newspapers, magazines, books, or television. This is a visually effective way to portray a meaningful story behind the image. Photojournalism replaces words, instead of describing a scene in detail a photo can be taken and the viewer can see what was happening at the exact time of the event. When most people read the newspaper, they look for photos, if the photo looks interesting they will than go onto reading the body copy. Photojournalists essentially show you what's happening in the world with their photographs. Photojournalism is to try to tell the story without changing the reality and preserve its images as a matter of historical record.

Are there rules that photojournalists should follow? Why? Why not?

The main rule in photojournalism is, to capture the truth and not to mislead the public. With this being said, as much as I love Photoshop, it should not be used in this case.
Photographs should not be manipulated; editing should not give the wrong impression of the subjects in the photograph. A photo should not be staged, it should be caught in the moment, and the photographer should not interfere with the atmosphere or subjects.

Is the ethics of taking journalistic photos different than the ethics of writing a news story?

I strongly believe photographers and reporters should never manipulate an image or a story to give it a new meaning; wonder should not be twisted and photos should not be staged or manipulated. Photojournalists and news stories help each other make a strong story, photograph can help the readers to understand the articles or stories better and explaining things that are indescribable by the human language. Both photojournalists and news storywriters must follow the same ethical guidelines when publishing a photo or a story to the public. When we open a newspaper we all want to see images and stories that are credible and truthful. Photographers as well as reporters try to paint a truthful picture.


What's the impact of altering press photographs? Should they be edited (at all) in postproduction?

Over time photography editing has grown, it now makes a huge impact in the media. Reporters have the power to manipulate what people think, and even to sway the population’s vote, or believe. Altering press photographs should not be allowed because it can change the viewer’s perception and can impact the society in many ways. However; “the only acceptable changes are those used to improve the quality of the photograph, but without changing the context/facts on the photograph in any sense.” (Icevska). I believe photographs can be altered to a certain extent, and depending on its media, changes should be very limited. Taking someone or something out of the photo, changing the background or structures, altering facial expressions and features, are things that’s should not be allowed within photojournalism. A photograph should not be altered to make a better or more interesting story; the original photograph should be able to speak for itself.

Shot the Truth! Don't make it up!


True Emotions

True Emotion- G20



Staged Emotions


True Emotions



Thursday, 13 October 2011

Documenting the Great Depression


Why the project has significant impact on the society?

The Farm Security Administration (FSA) developed a project to document the life of families and individuals who lived in the rural poverty in America, that were effected by the Great Depression and World War II between 1935 and 1944. The FSA collection was a historical benchmark for documentary photography it had and still has a major impact on society. When the photographs were published and publicized, people finally seen what went on during this time, they where completely shocked.  These pictures say 1000 words without talking, you can see it in the subject’s faces. This project had and still has significant impact on society since it reminds us all of the struggles people had to face when the Great Depression hit, it also helps us remember to not take things for granted, for some people had nothing at all. Life was difficult; families could not afford the basic needs like food and shelter to support their families. People went to bed hungry hoping that tomorrow would be a better day, simply wishing that they would find employment and be able to provide for their family, many families were force to move from their home to search for work.  There were certain areas that got hit harder from the Great Depression than others. This documentary provided us to see how people had to live; some couldn’t even imagine the extent of the Great Depression without these images.

Bud Fields and his family. Alabama. 1935 or 1936. Photographer: Walker Evans.



What was the role of Migrant Mother photograph in the period or great depression and what is it nowadays?

Dorothea Lange took the Migrant Mother photograph in 1936. The subject’s name is Florence Owens Thompson. These pictures became one of the most well known photographs for Lange and the FSA collection. The role of the photographs portrayed the hardship of mothers that where faced during Depression.  The photographs are heartfelt and alarming to realize that this could have been any women’s reality. The role of the photograph nowadays is to be the icon of the Great Depression. It represents the suffering people lived through; it is an icon of poverty. For me it is an awakening call for us to realize how lucky we are to have the kind of lives that we have right now and that we did not have to suffer like how they did. 

Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother," destitute in a pea picker's camp, because of the failure of the early pea crop. These people had just sold their tent in order to buy food. Most of the 2,500 people in this camp were destitute. By the end of the decade there were still 4 million migrants on the road.










Saturday, 8 October 2011

Photo Manipulation

Original



This is a photography I took of the Old City Hall. By using the adjustments in Photoshop I changed the lighting of the image, the contrast/ brightness, levels and vibrance. Also by using the Ruler tool the image was straightened since there was a slight tilt to the photograph. The Healing brush tool also came into play to take out the fire hydrant. I felt that the yellow hydrant was distracting the viewer from the city hall and Canadian flag; therefore I removed it completely. Lastly, with the Burn-tool I crated a slight darkness to the edges of the images in order for the viewer’s eyes not drift off the page. Small changes where made in this image, but it just goes to show you do NOT have to over Photoshop images to improve them
 --


Original



This is a photograph I took of a homeless man on Queen Street. I thought it was a great photograph for a poster. Therefore have composted a poster for an organization that assists homeless, which is called ‘Touchstone Youth Center'. This organization helps homeless off the streets and back on their feet. I have composed this poster by using Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. Photoshop, was used for cropping to a 10 X 8 image. By using the Adjustment I changed the contrast/brightness, and the curves in the image, also I have used the Burn tool, all of those tools where used to focus in on the male in the photograph. Illustrator also was used in order to re-create Touchstone’s logo, so that it could not be pixilated for the size of this poster. Lastly, InDesign was used for to match the typography of the type in the logo in order to create a balance. 


Thursday, 22 September 2011

Can art be mechanically reproduced?

When something is reproduced for so many times is that art? What's the importance of the mechanical reproducibility of the art? What was the impact on mechanical reproducibility on the society?

When something is reproduced over and over I do believe it is still art, it is merely a copy of the original art. If it is an exact copy of a painting or photograph I believe that is a complement to the artist. Don’t we all have photographs or painting around our schools, malls, church’s, even our own home; a majority are probably a reproduction, and don't we all do appreciate seeing these? Also; if it is a reproduction no matter how many different iterations people have of a painting the original message is always there. This allows us to open our mind and see one art piece in many different ways. The importance of the mechanical reproducibility of the art according to Benjamin is the “intimate fusion of visual and emotional enjoyment with the orientation of the expert. Such fusion is of great social significance. The greater the decrease in the social significance of an art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public”. Through mechanical reproducibility the negative feel that come with some works of art have been lessened and easier for society to look at. Mechanical reproducibility has become important to society because it is a way to learn more about history therefore learning about society.
This is a reproduction of an original.
Do you still receive the original message?


Is photography art, or contribution to the art? Is it just a tool used by artists?

Photography allows us to express feeling and emotions. Photograph is a form of art which makes it both an art and contribution to art. Artists have used photography as a tool to create other forms of art, but it is more than just a tool. It is used by artists as an instrument that describes who they are, by captures beautiful moments in life. To be a photographer you need to have the skill and eye of an artist, therefore yes photography is an art form.
Can you still feel the emotion?

How and why Henry Pitch Robinson created Feading Away? What was the 
reason?

In 1858 Robinson exhibited Fading Away, a picture printed from five different negatives. This work illustrated the peaceful death of a young girl surrounded by her grieving family. Although the photograph was the product of Robinson’s imagination, many viewers felt that such a scene was too painful to be tastefully rendered by such a literal medium as photography. The controversy made Robinson the most famous photographer in England. This controversial photograph, made some feel that the subject was not suitable for photography and that only painters could portray images like this one and it was not right for photographers.


Photography has impacted the world of art and influenced some changes in the area of accessibility to art. If mechanical reproduction created revolution, what is happening now with the digitalization?

I personally embrace digitalization, the world has changed a great deal since the beginning of time, and if you ask me its all been for the better. Digitalization is just making it easier for people to do things; it is opening things such as photography to a larger crowd of people, allowing a lot more creativity and less of the technical aspest. Yes, it is probably going to take away all the skill needed to do things for technology is growing so much pretty soon we wont even need to push a button to change the settings on a camera, turn on a computer or write a text message. However, the antique method of doing things will always be around, so embrce the future. 


Wednesday, 21 September 2011

Assignment 1 - Photo Journal 1

In the early days portraits where one of a kind; exclusive, portraits where made for wealthy families and highly valued they would be passed down from generation to generation for there was only one copy of each photo. In the past there were only a few people who could afford a photographer, and a fewer who could call themselves a photographers. Taking photos with early day cameras was extremely complicated some say almost a science. Daguerreotype and Calotype photography were introduced, both methods used many chemicals and salt water, and many hours to develop a photo, that could have been horrible eg, head titled too much, eyes closed, blurry and so on. A photographer took photography as there profession and devoted their time to taking photos. Photographers were hired by nobility there subjects where mainly people, more specifically portraits of nobility. 



However, now almost anybody could call himself or herself a photographer, technology has advanced so much that you see five-year-old taking pictures. We now can take as many pictures as we desire, delete the bad ones and take some more. Everybody can manage to take a great photo once in a while, because everything is the subject. Any subject you can think of has an image available somewhere; it can range from a bear, fruit, landscape, shoes, a toothbrush, even a mint anything goes. Everyday people use photos to express themselves and capture moments to remember, most of us have albums and a camera with us 24/7 (camera phones) cameras are tinny nowadays, even on phones there is editing software for the photos, than you can send it directly to the internet within mater of seconds for the world to view.


But don’t get me wrong there are still photographers like back in the day that take photos as there profession and devote there time to capturing beautiful images, photography is just more simple now and is opened to everybody. Plus photos don’t even have to be perfect with the use of technology like Photoshop, you don’t even need a background you can import your subject into a beautiful background off the Internet. It is possible to mesh images together to create something only the imagination can come up with. We can also soften blemishes, change the lighting, fix red-eyes, air brush skin tone, add in make-up add hair and different eye colors.  In the past photography was a science; now a day it seems to be everybody’s hobby.


If you ask me thats a huge change!


















  • "History of the camera." wikipedia. N.p., 21092011. Web. 21 Sep 2011.   <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_camera>.
  •  Alex, . "The Wonderful World of Early Photography." Neatorama. N.p., 29082006. Web. 18 Sep 2011. <http://www.neatorama.com/2006/08/29/the-wonderful-world-of-early-photography/>.
  • "pearbulb." Photograph. observer. Web. 21 Sep 2011. <http://vi.sualize.us/view/dreamwarrior/6c6b57358fb9bed9525509243b52f86b/>.
  • Mesias, jinky. "The Impact of Digital Technology In Photography." jinxes search wrap. N.p., 23082005. Web. 18 Sep 2011. <http://jinmes.searchwarp.com/swa15144.htm>.
  • "Portrait Photography." Wikipedia. N.p., 18082011. Web. 18 Sep 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_photography>.
  • Leggat, Robert. "A History of Photography."rleggat. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sep 2011. <http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/>.