Photography Journal

“It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:01:00 -0400

“It’s one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it’s another thing to make a portrait of who they are.”

Paul Caponigro

Inspirational Photographer Essay Alfred...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:00:00 -0400

Inspirational Photographer Essay

Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German-American photographer and photojournalist born into a Jewish family of Dirschau, West Prussia, Imperial Germany in 1898 and died in 1995 at the age of 96. Alfred Eisenstaedt’s candid photographs command the attention of the audience by showing captivating scenes such as this of the Celebration of V-J Day on August 14^th, 1945 in Times Square, New York City. His dramatic approach to real life events creates pathos for the viewers and allow for successful photographs. Alfred also had a special technique behind his photos. He admitted, “They never saw me clicking away. For the kind of photography I do, one has to be very unobtrusive and to blend in with the crowd.” For the photo of the V-J Day Celebration, Alfred explained “[he] saw a sailor running along the street, grabbing any and every girl in sight…I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder… I turned and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse.” In all of his works, Alfred Eisenstaedt captures fearless historic moments, feeling as if “its more important to click with the people then to click the shutter”. With this being said, I feel as if his goal of this V-J Day photograph was to capture a historic yet spontaneous moment following an announcement of the end of the war with Japan. His realistic approach to photography and subject of every day people allowed his photographs to be memorable since they were influenced by social, political and economic factors of his time period. By being one of the four original photographers of LIFE Magazine, producing over 2,500 assignments and 92 covers, Alfred was able to communicate his message through the media, enabling the world to experience history and current events through his photographs.

The image of the V-J Day Celebration is framed with the subjects in the middle of a crowded street in New York City known as Times Square. With an audience men and women watching, an American sailor kisses a young nurse, expressing his joy of the announced victory over Japan. The overall lighting style creates great contrast of light and dark, with the bright light of the background and an emphasized focal point of the couple. The main light source is coming from the sun, considering the photograph was taking outdoors, with brighter light in the background and to the right side of the photo. The photographer did not really manipulate the light to create a mood since this photograph was taken quickly in the spur of the moment, unplanned during a historical event. Thus, Alfred’s vantage point was standing eye level with the subjects as they were running in the crowd. This photograph became a skilled and successful image that arose from pure timing and luck.

“When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:59:00 -0400

“When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls.”

Ted Grant

Studio LightingIn teams of four, we were to perform visual and...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:58:00 -0400

Studio Lighting

In teams of four, we were to perform visual and textual research on an inspiring photograph that was created with studio (artificial) lighting, or that you can reinterpret with studio lighting. The purpose of this assignment was to increase our knowledge of
historical and contemporary lighting techniques and to apply studio lighting in
creating compelling compositions, evocative moods and conceptually engaging content.

Our concept behind this photograph was a play on the anti-fur advertising campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA). The campaign usually carries a variation of the slogan “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” and features nude celebrities (mostly women) in poses that strategically cover private areas.

For our project, we decided to use the same style and concept that PeTA has used, except make it the opposite. To do this, I was photographed in a way that would make me appear to be partially nude but for the fur I hold against my chest. Because the PeTA ads are at their core fashion photographs, we also strived for the same feel and effect to our final image.

Ultimately, our intention was to bring together exquisite imagery that had elements of dark humour and serious undertones. To do this, after several test shots, we used artificial lighting (strobe lights to be specific) with additional ambient lighting, against a white backdrop. Although we had some difficulty in syncing the strobe lights to the camera at first, we were able to correct the issue and proceed with the shoot.

F Stop: 13
Shutter speed: 1/200
ISO: 100
Metering: Evaluative

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Twiggy