before folio presentation

i'm am even more freaking out today, right now!

folio is done and dusted (by means of finalization) and i'm just waiting for my turn!

i'm just really worried about my little slideshow movie not working or if there's a glitch in my photos or something!!!

i am now listening to another presentation and it's not making my feel any better about presenting

gah!!!!!

wish me luck!!!

night before presentation of folio

i'm am soooo freaking out right now!!!

tomorrow i'm presenting my final folio and well.......i'm stressing out about how i'm going to present it

i mean i do know that i'm going to use a slideshow on my laptop or on the uni computers but i don't know what i'm going to say, how i'm going to discuss my photos or anything like that

i'm also still selecting my last final images

as of right now i still have to remove about 10 to 15 photos to reach the aprox limit we've been given.

i'm so stressed out right now and the only way i can think of relieving myself from some of the stress is to type a very rough and possibly dodgey blog post about how stressed out i am which you are reading right now!

(boy that was a long sentence!!! :P)

anyways

back to finalizing my folio

i most likely will post a blog tomorrow just before i present and after but if i don't it's been an awesome 12 weeks and i would like to thank you for following my journey through my course via either this blog or my flickr

wish me luck for tomorrow!!!!!

happy snapping fellow photographers!!!!!

^_^

EM

images relating to last post

the cast from the movie playing members of the band:

dakota:

dakota and kirsten and cherrie and joan:

and this is the image i directly referred to in my last post:

(i know it's small but it's the best i could do)

i haven't seen the movie but what i have seen from trailers, Cherrie constantly changes her on stage appearance depending on her mood and the performance.

this directly relates to my work by means of having to change your outward appearance for the stage because your afraid of being seen as yourself or as an average person and not some quirky, interesting, strange, pathetic (and so forth) type person!

see the trailers is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTpdXKocacQ

http://www.movieweb.com/movie/the-runaways/VIFDIGGKAzMOKH <--- this one has the image just above!

new inspiration - The Runaways 'Cherry Bomb'.

i'm currently going through my folio or all of my images and i decided to take a break in my mind right now by listening to music on my iPod.

as i am typing this i'm listening to the move version of the song called Cherry Bomb originally recorded by a female rock bank called The Runaways.

i'm in love with this song right now and i can't wait for the movie title The Runaways to come out in june/july i believe starring Kirsten Stewart and Dakota Fanning.

anyways back on topic!!!!

i'm listening to the movie version sung by Dakota (who plays Cherrie Currie in the movie) and it got me thinking about their look and appearance.

i have to be honest, i've never heard of the original band from the 60's but i'm definitely a fan of their music now. they also had a very distinct person style too.

what i have seen of movie trailers and videos on YouTube of the band and from the actors talking about playing these historical figures, they definitely had a strong present on stage.

mainly their style fitted in to the time but it also stood out and made a statement.

as i'm listening to the song, an image of Dakota (playing Cherrie) painting a large red lightning bolt across her face pops into my head.

i think i may have to put some image of the band The Runaways style and look on here as inspiration

that's it from me!

rock on always from the theatre stage!!!

photos on my blogger account

here's the link to my flickr account if it is easier.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48074155@N07/

i have/will be uploading a lot of photos, hopefully!

i have just recently (as in about 30 minutes ago) uploaded images that were inspired by webcam shots i tok a few months back and which i wrote my last blog on.

enjoy!

folio work

well since my oral presentation is now done i can focus more on completing or continuing my folio.however i do have one major problem - Stepping Out closed late march!

but i do want to continue with my theme - behind the curtain of the stage.

i do have a few ideas theses are as follows:

1. take photos of my friends in my dance classes when moving and/or waiting for classes to start
2. staged shots (pardon the pun)

the first idea is pretty self explanatory I believe and is pretty straight forward. I just have to make sure i have my friends permission for photos to be taken of their image and also to be uploaded/shown on a public domain.

the second idea is possibly going to be a little harder to accomplish.

i'm thinking about using my own image and set up alot of stereotypical scenarios within my own home.

the images below (which i may include in folio - not sure yet) is a start and an inspiration for what i want to do.

i took the pictures shown on this blog about 6 months ago on my webcam on my macbook pro.

in both these photos, i put heavy/stage type make-up on only half of my face while leaving the other side plain and not done up. then using my bed side lamp as my main light source.

the idea behind the photos was the contrast between 'the performer' and 'the person behind the performer'.

the colour change was done on my computer afterwards. both shots were taken in colour. i changed the one on the left to black and white as an experiment. i quite like it in black and white.

i also believe that the colour image was edited a little. i think i may have changed the brightness and contrast slightly but not alot.

so yeah,

this is the end of my blog about the start of my continuation of my folio. =D

oral presentation TODAY!

i am freaking out a little about my presentation today

mainly because i've only changed my topic in the last 2 weeks from Atget to Theatre/Stage Photography.

i changed because i didn't feel like i could talk for 10 - 15 minutes on Atget confidently or well. i felt with my experience with stage and theatre (or what little experience i have) that i might be able to talk better on theatre/stage photography.

i've also found researching a little hard since there isn't much in books or on the internet about the history of this area of photography, it's mainly parts about how photography developed then how this art form was used in documenting productions.

it has been quite a challenge also with the time restraints - but i suppose that's my own fault really for changing topics so late!

this also why i haven't been posting a lot on here the last few weeks except for things from class. i've been to stressed out about my presentation and well mainly he research behind it.

I'm hoping I do a great job today,

well...........

I'm hoping i don't stuff up is probably the closest correct statement to make right now.

oh well...... hopefully things will turn out alright

here's to a good presentation!!!

week 5 class notes

bridge:

• there's a paintbrush tool at the top tool bar in photo raw
• can use to change aspects of the photo
• blue text line - tells what format the file will open at, the size of the file, and dimensions if open in photoshop - if click on it though can change those options!
• rely on srgb right now!
• interpolation - figures out how to add more colours in between pixels if resized or enlarged

burning and dodging (photoshop)

• when using soft light grey layer make sure when u click edit --> fill make sure you keep the bottom half of pop-up the way it is at default!
• burning and dodging with a grey soft light layer doesn't destroy pixels or the image

sharpening (photoshop)

• duplicate the background/original layer first!
• filter --> other --> high pass (make sure on original image/layer)
• change the bottom thingy to 1.5
• once clicked okay, change the 'normal' setting in drop down menu above the layers to 'soft light'

notes from wk 5

producing quality images

• make sure you don't touch the front or rear of a camera lens
• this can make the light refract when the image is being taken making a warped image
• UV filters can be purchased to help fix this!
• also be careful when photographing outside - especially during windy days or rainy days
• take care of equipment!!!!!
• tripods ---
• make sure it's lightweight so it's easy to carry and hold steady!
• no tripod - remember the focal rule! (1/200 or 1/60 <-- second one better option)
• use anything that can help you holding the camera steady!

working with photoshop

• when using bridge - can open any image in the raw window even if it is a jpeg!
• to do that select the image(s) you want, right click and click on the raw option in drop down menu!
• with colours in photography - R.G.B (red green blue)
• 0 of all 3 = black
• 255 of all 3 = white
• photoshop is not a tool that is used to fix mistakes!!! get it right and correct with the camera when taking the shot!
• use photoshop to ENHANCE our images
• photoshop = pixel editing program = can damage/destroy the pixels
• worked and learnt about masking/montage images in photoshop
• open images that you want in photoshop in separate windows --> drag one on to the base one --> layer > mask layer > hide all --> click on the masked layer (black image) in the layers palette --> use white paint brush to reveal moved image/use black paint brush to re-reveal original image! TA-DA!!!!
• 
  

overview of wk 4 - typed on wk 5

folio details:

• my show Stepping Out has closed - it closed on saturday nite
• hopefully i have got all the shots that i can use
• i think i may also use some shots that i took for memories and no necessarily for the course!

artist details:

• still researching artist
• most likely will choose Atget - i like his simple photography approach
• 
  

notes on artists from wk 4

richard misrach

• colour in his images is phenomenal
• many of his works were about the amount of light and colour
• using a large camera, he doesn't leave anything out!
• his photographs were used as a way to express the relationship between us and the landscape
• 
  

richard avedon

• 8 x 10 self portrait series
• made name as fashion photographer
• sometimes made frame to hold negative bigger on purpose to show full image and to prove that nothing has been cropped out, nothing edited!
• this creates a border that sometimes acts like a frame
• spent time travelling in the west (corrrection?) taking photos of 'strange' people
• amount of details is amazing and mind blowing
• in 70's, 80's sometimes, colour photography wasn't the best idea or way to display something
• 
  

gregory crendson

• controversial
• creates stories for his work and creates stories within his work
• creates work like a film, figures out lighting, space, hires extras and then captures the scene after much time of planning and setting up
• nothing is left out, what ever is there at the time gets put into the photograph

andreas gursky

• contemporary
• some of his work is lost in translation
• manipulates photos in photoshop to create the uber(spelling?) real and perfect!
• shoots from a great height
• photographed anything from supermarkets to race tracks

jan groover

• kitchen series - photographed things in her own kitchen
• detail was very high, used large camera to photograph everyday things, like her kitchen sink
• 
  

other notes:

"all art aspires to the condition of music"

-- Walter Paier (spelling?)

research and notes for the class dfap

wk 4

• still researching different texts for artist for oral presentation
• still researching texts from library, found a few books that i have a few quotes on photography itself but really nothing on artists of interest to me!
• i've taken a lot of images for my final folio but still choosing from them
• also, i've also got 1 week left to take photos at theatre - show finishes on saturday, set being struck on sunday!
• still quite random - my photos, there's no real theme or setup when taking the photos. i see an aspect of backstage and then take a photo (without flash mainly) if i have my camera.
• also have used up to 84% of my space on flickr!
• may have to use this blog to display my images for a few weeks!

work notes from week 3

artists discussed in class on wk 3:

• Eggleston
• rodchencko

notes from class - week 3

• photoshop - photo pixel editing program
• photoshop - great tool for photo montage
• 1024 - blog (maybe)
• 750 - flickr (maybe)

photo measurements

photo: P1242605 (image of mirror with lights on around the frame)

• #1 -
  R 254
  G 254
  B 255
• #2 -
  R 5
  G 6
  B 1
• #3 -
  R 84
  G 67
  B 57
• #4 -
  R 65
  G 55
  B 43
  
  

photo shop resizing:

• image --> image size
• click OFF resample image
• change resolution to 71
• close image size box
• image --> image size
• click ON resample image
• change height --> 768 and width --> 1024
• click okay

to save for web

• file --> save for web and devices
• once window comes up click 4-up tab up the top
• change to jpeg at drop down menu --> change different setting on the 3 view

other photo editing programs

• gimp
• picassa
• bridge

a bit about Eugene Atget

Info from:

http://www.masters-of-photography.com/A/atget/atget_articles2.html

Eugene Atget (1857 - 1927)

• Atget was born in Libourne, in 1857 but then orphaned at an early age.
• in the 1880's Atget undertook acting, performing and entertaining on the stage at provincial theatres. He moved to paris in 1890 to pursue his career of the stage but soon realised this was basically impossible.
• Atget then moved into visual arts, and mainly photography.
• He chose photography because of his limited art training
• he had really not interest in the already happening photography art movement that was occuring at the time he changed to visual arts. instead he wanted to capture the light and shadows and display that to the world rather than try to conform to the movement.
• Atget photographed many different scenes. most likely over 10,000 photographs were taken by him. These were mainly store fronts, private gardens, public spaces, arcades, everyday people on their way to work and things like that, but he never wanted to photograph upper class events or places.
• This created a part legend, part dream, yet profoundly real side to Paris
• When Atget died, Man Ray's technical assisstant, Berenice Abbott raised enough money so she could buy Atget's negatives and prints and took them back to America on he travells home in 1929. Atget's work grabbed the attention of many American photographers and collectors, resulting in 1968, the museum of modern art bought the large and still mainly uncataloged collection of Atget's work and put them on display.

a bit about Alexander Rodchenko

info from:

http://www.masters-of-photography.com/R/rodchenko/rodchenko_articles1.html

Alexander Rodchenko (1891 - 1956)

• a russian born artist
• born in St Petersburg in 1891, then shortly his family moved to Kazan. He died in Moscow 1956
• he studied at Kazan School of Art in Kazan
• before turning to photography and photo montage, Rodchenko was a graphic designer and painter
• to make his artwork stand out, Rodchenko would look at odd and interesting angles when photographing his subjects.
• Rodchenko - "One has to take several different shots of a subject, from different points of view and in different situations, as if one examined it in the round rather than looked through the same key-hole again and again."
• he was influenced by German Dadaists and their photomontages. He used found images until 1924 when he started using his own photographs for his own work
• in 1928 Rodchenko joined the october circle of artists. however he was expelled and been charged with formalism only 3 short years later.
• he turned back to producing paintings in the 1930's and had stopped photographing all together by 1942.

A little bit about Photography (work in progress)

info from:

Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia

Bram, Hendelson and Morse

# 19 PFITZ - PUNIC

• a camera is used as a machine or a way to capture a lighted or illuminated scene or subject in which a roll or film can not be exposed to because of the light