Movie Monday - The Photo League

Ordinary Miracles - The Photo League

1. The incentive was to photography and teach more people photography. They really believed that human kindness and such associated emotions can be forever immortalized in photos. They believed that photos can convey different feelings, despite the fact that the entire audience is presented with a single photo. 
2. The Photo League broke off from The Film and Photo League
3. A photo class offered by the Photo League. The Photo League taught basic photography techniques to ordinary individuals and transformed their lives forever. These people are living testaments of positive benefits of photography.
4. Sid Grossman taught "the Workshop"
5. I would really want to devote my life to capturing nature and its inhabitants. The Human species is the most violent and explosive of the millions of species that exist on planet Earth. I am curious and I want to show others how different organisms and ecosystems get by with our presence. 
6. It was a project to document life in Harlem during the depression and to raise awareness for it. They took photos of the desolate living conditions that ordinary people had to go through on a daily basis. 
7. The Harlem Document was started by Aaron Siskind.
8."The children looked like they came out of a Caravaggio painting."
9. The photo looked like it was painted by Caravaggio because the boy in the photograph was illuminated by the sunshine and looked unique. Many of Caravaggio's works are dark but have the main focus of the painting very well lit. He was able to masterfully use this technique in order to illuminate ordinary scenes within a city.
10. Lewis Hine was a photographer who worked tirelessly to end the cruel nature of child labor. He photographed American Red Cross relief efforts during World War 1. Although his intent was to raise awareness for the war, I was able to take away a completely different meaning from the photo. I saw the importance of the role that women had in the war and the bravery and valor that went into the fighting.
11. Arthur Fellig, also known as Weegee, was a photographer and photojournalist that was known for his sharp black and white street photography. He photographed crime and brought the stark reality of urban life.
12. When the Nazis took power, the Photo League was joined by talented photographers who had escaped from Europe. Since they were directly exposed to the horrors of war, they were able to divert these melodramatic feelings into their work which instilled emotion into the audience.
13. Photo league members used cameras to support the war effort in America. Many female members of the League took over operations of the effort at home while many of the Photo League's men photographers went overseas with armed forces.
14. Aaron Siskind brought the concept of abstract expressionism to photography, different from the sociological realism from the Harlem document.
15. The Saturday Evening Post was a bimonthly American magazine that was published weekly. Most of the photographs used in the articles were taken by members of the Photo League.
16. Barbara Morgan was an American photographer famous for her depictions of modern dancers. She was a co-founder of the photo magazine, Aperture.
17. The League's intimate connection to Communism and Soviets soon undermined the photo league.
18. The "Growing Menace" was a nickname for the Soviet Union
19. Eugene Smith agreed to serve as President when the League was under investigation.
20. The league continued their efforts to raise awareness about issues such as child labor but they soon disbanded in 1951.

Multimedia Fest 2015

Poster Assignment

Period 4 - Semester Final

Part 1
1. My favorite photo from this Lens slideshow was the last photo, the silhouette of a bird standing atop a deer. I like this photo because not only does it provide the viewer with a sense of mystery is also provides a story. The hazy feel and the rough edges of the surrounding shrubbery and overhanging branches provides a natural and unique frame. As a photographer, I've always had a difficult time with framing and this photo is an embodiment of something I would very much want to emulate. Lastly, I like this photo for it's contrasting fields of depth. More of the woodland can be observed at the middle of the photo. It's very intriguing how a single photo, a two-dimensional medium, can relay two fields of depth.

2. The best photo from the slideshow was the sixth photo, where a 1960 Mercedes-Benz 190D is observed crossing the Hakskeen Pan. Like all great photos, it captures the vastness and beauty of this world. Although the shot only captures a car,  a bare lake led, and the sky the contrasting colors of blue and brown is pleasing to look at. Although I'm sure the car is moving at a high speed, the photograph masterfully utilizes the rule of thirds creating more energy and interest in the composition. Lastly, this photo deserves to be crowned the greatest photo because of the discrete but masterful cropping. The photographer cut out all unnecessary details and the attention of the viewer is focused fully on the moving car.

3. My best work this semester has to be this photo, because I enjoyed working with such a cohesive and awesome group. The group was very patient and obedient to my directions as I was taking the photo. In photography, most subjects rarely listen to the photographer, which is why I liked taking this photo. I also liked this photo, because it captured a range of emotions. Like many photos, I wanted to convey a story and a tone to the viewer. I think that I captured happiness, distress, and confusion very well in this photo; this type of shot reels in the viewer and provides a stronger tension. Lastly, I think this is my best work, because I of the numerous technical edits I made. Before the photo, the ground was riddled with gum, but takes to my skills in Photoshop CS6 I was able to remove them. This photo was taken in September, a month that was known to be relatively poorly lit for the likes of a good photo. I was able to turn that around in Camera Raw and provide viewers with an outstanding light-shadow gradient. Although this is considered my best work, I believe that a better background could have been used. There are many things cluttering the background and it detracts from the overall tone of the photo. In addition, I feel that the photo would have been better if I had contacted my group members earlier and coordinate matching apparel. This would have discerned the subjects from the background by providing a sharp contrast of color.

4. My three rules of composition is as follows: Rule of Depth, Rules of Thirds, and Rule of Perspective.

5.

 

Master of Photography Project Photo Recreation#1
In this photo I am simultaneously utilizing the Rule of Thirds and the Rule of Depth.

6. Your first rule was to "get close". This rule is a very excellent rule, because this is what needs to happen when you're trying to capture the full extent of a story. Getting close captures the most detail and with the most detail there is a greater story. 

7. Working in a group entails a lot of benefits. For starters since there are five people, there's five times the amount of amazing ideas. I was only able to get these awesome shots because my group members helped me decide on a plethora of options such as background, setting, depth, etc. Next, a group is supportive and helpful. Although some of the photos I took weren't the best, my group members supported me and provided me with invaluable constructive criticism. I'm a better photographer I am now than I was at the beginning of the year thanks to them. Working in a group can also help strengthen communication skills. I'm not the type of person to talk a lot, but because of this class I was able to develop stronger communications skills. Working in a group also refined my understanding of the concept behind photography through discussion. Usually, when I work along I miss a lot of key concepts and points, but my group members were able to help me learn editing photos through saturation, hue, opacity. Lastly, working in a group increased the productivity and performance. There is a broader range of skills that can be applied to each individual photo and sharing ideas play a crucial role in understanding such complicated rules in photography. 

8. Working in a group can be beneficial but there can also be a lot of complications. When working as a collaborative group there is always bound to be conflict, as it is in human nature. There was a great contrast in personal styles which led to a clash of ideals. Unequal participation can also be commonly observed in a group. There's usually a tendency for some group members to sit back and let the others do all the work for them, or there is a case when a single group member hogs all the work for him or herself. Groups also may take more time to complete an objective than an individual. Since there are so many ideas being circulated, group members can be tasked with the meticulous job of choosing an idea. Even more so everyone in a group do things at different speeds. It takes time for the entire group to understand a concept and that can detract valuable time needed in order to complete a task by a certain deadline. lastly, different personalities entail people not being comfortable. Some students are naturally shy and are less inclined to talk to people, as they feel extremely uncomfortable when working with others. 

9. This photo is my favorite photo produced by Karthik Ramesh Period 4.

A little history

10. I studied and reproduce the work of Julia Margaret Cameron. Julia Margaret Cameron was ahead of her time, she purposely avoided perfect resolution in favor of soft focus, carefully directed light, and long exposures that allowed the sitters' slight movement to be registered in her photos.Julia Margaret Cameron was known for her portraits of contemporary celebrities, and for photographs with deep heroic themes. She contributed a new perspective regarding photographs. She showed the photographers of her time that photos can still be beautiful with a luminous, dreamlike soft focus instead of the favored meticulously detailed photos.  

11. Dorothea's Lange most popular photo was called the "Migrant Mother". She was able to get this amazing shot in Nipomo, California during the February/March 1936. She took this photo for the Resettlement Administration. 

12. The creator/founder of Life Magazine Henry R, Luce. Life Magazine was founded January 4, 1883, but it began publication on November 23, 1936.

13. Robert Capa was responsible with the founding of Magnum Photos. This (phtojournalism) magazine began to start publishing in the year 1947. 

14. Robert Capa took the photo known as "Falling Soldier" in September 5, 1936. The photographer claimed that the photo was taken at the battle site of Cerro Muriano, but modern research actually proves that it was taken in the town of Espejo, which was about thirty miles away. 

Album Cover Recreation

Parallel Lines "Blondie" Recreation ISAAC HONG #10

Masters of Photography Project

About the Photographer

Julia Margaret Cameron was born June 1815, and pursued a photographic career that usually followed a heroic theme. She took may portraits and even took self-portraits from time to time. She grew up in the Britain controlled part of India. She was an educated women and her photography was unique in that her photos captured the audience in awe and inspiration. She would always photograph people in an 'epic disposition', incorporating the full effect of the background as well.

Your View

I chose this photographer, because I really admire the masterful use of basic techniques such as 'soft-focus'. I've always wanted to emulate great photographers through the usage of basic technique, and Julia Margaret Cameron gave me that opportunity. I am inspired to shoot more in my free time and bring joy to others though my photographs. I was also inspired by the amount of time and dedication that Julia Margaret Cameron devoted to make these photos. Likewise, I spent a lot of time editing and refining my photos so that they would have that 'soft-touch' feel. Initially, I thought that the subject should be the main focus of attention. Julia Margaret Cameron taught me that the background is just as important as the foreground and for future reference I hope to carry out that mentality.

Second Portrait

I used camera raw to highlight Melissa against the sunlight and effectively implement the Rule of Depth. There is a sense of depth that comes from the back building and the scenery in the back.