Expectations & Transformations

So as of this weekend, I have altered my concept even further (imagine that, ha) and am really interested in studying transformations and expectations. This first came about as I was observing my sisters and planning to do a photo project on them and their lives. As I began sketching and making word associations, I ended up with the words "transformation, perform, band, expectation, succeed, failure". This made me start to wonder if doing a photo proj on this would be interesting...so I took some photos of both my sisters in their band outfits. The basic concept of this is that the first picture is an ordinary picture where the viewer has no expectations of the subject. After this picture, I took numerous pictures-with each picture I would add an item of clothing that fit the setting. By the end of the photoshoot, the viewer should have some expectation of the subject and as to their performance. In the last picture, I captured the subject's clothing and items on the ground so that the viewer can decide whether that individual succeeded or failed at what they did. The whole point of this project is to study and reveal what kind of expectations people put on each other and how these expectations can lead us in the wrong or right direction. I plan to capture many other individuals and their hobbies/jobs in this same manner. For instance...an actress, hunter, and beauty queen.

PS...you should have seen my sisters and I get all this band stuff from the car to the field...let's just say there were a lot of gates and teamwork involved...probably one of the craziest/funniest things we've ever done haha

Before I Die Project

So along with my previous post for this week...I also looked at a photo project that is very similar to the project I am currently doing. In this project, the photographer went out into communities and asked people what they want to do before they die. Then they would take their picture on a polaroid camera and let them write it down on the photo. It's a really neat project and inspires me to keep digging with my own.

Get Back in Your Book Series & Thoughts

So, as I've been re-contemplating what I want to do for my photography project, I came across this series and really enjoyed it. I've been spending a lot of time rethinking what I'm doing and trying to come up with some concept in which I could use whimsical/out of place elements, like this photographer was doing. I honestly would love to work some photoshop magic in my projects and set up actual photo shoots.

I also have still been thinking about directing my series toward stereotypes, but I've also thought about doing a series about growing up. My sisters have been a HUGE inspiration for this. As I've been watching them grow up and go through transitions, I've wished that somehow I could capture it all. So, perhaps I could capture this with my photography project. There is sooo much I could explore with their relationships, band, friends, family, church, high school & middle school- this is just to mention a few of the things in their lives.

Diane Arbus

As for hours spent outside the classroom, I had the opportunity to research and write a paper on Diane Arbus' life and work. I focused on one picture in particular- Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park.

For some reason, I find this photograph to be very disturbing yet very interesting at the same time. In my paper I discussed the point of “punctum” for me within the picture. To me, his little curled up hand causes something within me to wince. I went on to say that I believed this boy had some sort of disorder and was probably running around Central Park in a mad rage. Something I learned from this project was that Arbus, yes, Diane Arbus, had to take a few bad photos before she got to this one… In the pictures below, it seems that it took Diane a while before she got “the shot”. That is encouraging to me because when I went out the other day, I felt like only 2 or 3 of my 30+ photos turned out. It just goes to show that even the best of the best have to practice and learn from their mistakes in order to get a picture that is worthwhile.

Photo Project- Round One

This past weekend I was able to go out and actually interview someone who could potentially be a great part of my series. I was a little intimidated at first to go to the flea market and just randomly find someone to talk with and take pictures of...but Mr. Danny made it a little easier than I thought it would be. I like to call Mr. Danny "The Coin Man" because he has a huge collection of coins he sells and shows every Saturday at the flea market. He has been collecting them since he was in grade school he said. Danny also told me that he was in the Army and lived in Germany for a couple years. He also shared how he had tragically lost his best friend in the war. He also has a rare lung disease and joked that his smoking was going to cure it. I really enjoyed getting to know him, but it was really hard to carry on a conversation while also trying to take photos in a non-evasive way. I also need to spend more time scoping the area and coming up with some good photo layouts before beginning to talk with people. I need to also take in consideration all the physical elements around my individuals that would help the photograph better reflect them as an individual and what they have been through and believe. Here's a few photos from Saturday's shoot...

Well today was kinda a fail...

Well I woke up fully hoping to go out and photograph some people for my project. I did have a camera ready but then its owner ended up needing it...so...I was not able to go out. It also was pretty rainy today in Gville so that effected my plans as well. Hopefully I can find some time to go out and do some shoots before Tuesday...but on the bright side...I did get a chance to research some more photographers and really enjoyed some biographies on Dorothea Lange. Since a lot of her work was about capturing the very natural essence of individuals, I was very intrigued. Also I found the works of Robert Doisneau to be very inspiring because many of them capture the lives of everyday people in France. I liked the somewhat playful atmosphere of his photos. Here's a link to a video if you'd like to check some of his photos out. I also found another video where a guy is giving street photographers tips on how to interact with their subjects in a natural way and how to capture interesting elements of daily life.

Photo Research

So after more thought and research, I've decided to go in more of a spiritual direction for my project...I am really interested in seeing people's spiritual beliefs and learning where they come from. I became really interested in this after living in New York over the summer. New York is

soooo diverse and I loved hearing people's stories and how they ended up there. To continue, I hope to start my project off by asking people where they're from, what they do- and then tell them I'm doing a photography project in which I hope to get to know them better and their spiritual beliefs. I really want to make sure that I open up in a way that is will not take sides or offend anyone. I really believe this question could open up great conversations and really shed a lot of light on their past and their personalities. After conversation, I'll ask them if I can tak

e their pictures for my project. So- these are the basics of my project so far, and I will probably add on as I go. Right now I am debating how to photograph my subjects- should I keep a consistent background such as putting up a white sheet or should I just photograph them in their natural habitat? I also am debating whether to photograph my subjects in black and white, color, or muted tones?

Here's some pictures I've looked at from Amy Arbus, Dianne Arbus, and Richard Avedon's collections: