SELF REVEAL

A letter to my scars:

You are no secret, and you are out in the open for all to see. As a teenager, it has been a long and tiring journey learning to love and accept you for all you are. Now, being almost two years since I have known you, I have come to be proud of these you for you have become a part of who I am. Without your presence, I would be a very different person. You are representative of what I have gone through and who I have flourished into because of you. So thank you, scars, for I have found serendipity in the havoc you brought have me.

 

Museum of the Moving Image

This was a great place to start in the museum. This was one of the first things that I saw when I first walked in, and it just set the tone for the whole visit. I loved seeing the beginning phases and early stages of film. The way they broke down the shots, and depicted the “moment of rest” between images helped me to understand the beginning of the film era.

Seeing this was absolutely crazy. I walked up to this in complete awe, thinking: “two year old me is screaming right now”. Sesame street was something I watched religiously as a baby and growing up. It was one of the things that would calm me down and kept my mother sane. Seeing the original puppets was so cool for me because they had such a huge impact on my childhood.

This was one of my favorite things in the museum because I love portrait photography and faces in general. Seeing the video they had was so cool because it showed all different historic moments in film. I sat and watched the whole eight minutes because I could not get enough of it. I loved looking at all of the portraits because of the inspiration they gave me.

Video Outline

Idea:

  • Female empowerment
  • how your personal style defines the way you are and empowers you as a female
  • song: Donatella by Lady Gaga

layout:

  • Interview questions:
    • What was the low point in your self confidence?’
    • What was something you experienced that made you feel the most vulnerable/least confident?
    • what does empowerment mean to you?
    • what does it feel like to be empowered?
    • describe how your personal style affects your self confidence?
    • how does it feel to be able to express your style freely in New York?
  • beginning:
    • focus on interviews
    • no music/overlay audio with music quiet behind it.
  • general idea:
    • four locations, four different girls
    • Locations: Brooklyn Bridge, Dance Studio, SoHo, & Times Square
    • Dance studio:
      • post it notes with insults all over mirror
      • At the end of the video: go ham on all the notes and rip them away (fight scene zoom/slowmo)
    • Times Square:
      • sticky notes on jacket
      • take jacket off at end
    • Brooklyn Bridge:
      • sticky notes on rail
      • walk away from them at end
    • SoHo:
      • sticky notes on dress or legs (not sure)
      • fall off when walk or stick somewhere else
  • Need to rent:
    • Canon 6D
    • 35 mm lens
    • some type of zoom lens
    • Zoom H6N
    • Shot Gun Microphone
    • Video tripods (2-3)
    • over the shoulder stabilizer

International Center of Photography

This photo was a part of the Cartier-Bresson “The Decisive Moment” exhibit. The emotion in this picture is priceless. This picture was taken in 1938 in France. This was during the Great Depression and at the dawn of the next World War. I can only imagine how dark of a time this was in France. To see such a light hearted and happy photo in that time makes the emotion priceless. It makes me so happy to see such joy. The photo is also so compositionally beautiful. It is such a good way to begin his exhibit and his book. It really sets the tone for the rest of his work on display.

This was one of my favorite displays in the museum. It drew my eye at first because of the girls face. She looks just like my younger cousin, Evan. The resemblance is shocking. Then I kept looking at all of the pictures individually, and realized what it was. The ensemble of all of the images is like a coming of age. I think it is so interesting how she took two pictures in the same day and lined them up exactly behind each other. It shows the many sides and phases of being a tween in America. Everyone experiences different phases when they are growing up, and this displays them during this year in her life. I really enjoyed this because it is very honest and a creative take on something that is just part of growing up.

This photo is definitely one of my favorites that I saw. The photo was taken in the fifties by Elliot Erwitt. During this time, racism was so prominent, even in the north. The boy looks as if he is joking and playing, but the underlying message is not like that at all. The gun to his head could represent his underlying desire to just end it all before he has to experience worse things. The composition of this photo is beautiful because the rule of thirds comes into play. He is positioned in a way that he is not the center of the picture so your eye is automatically drawn toward him and the tree. The silver metal of the gun also adds a stand out type of contrast. This immediately draws your eye to it first.

the unrecognizable face



There is a part in the human brain that is specifically made for recognizing faces. My idea behind these photos was to deconstruct the conventional aspects of the face to a point where they become almost unrecognizable. I began with the more detectable features of the face, and then worked my way down to the more indistinct features. By doing this, I have broken the barrier between what we know and what we think we know about the human face. I reorganized the automatic cognitive response that comes with recognizing faces. By doing this I created images that look like something other than what they are. Is it a nose? An ear? A crease? Your mind can decide. Despite them being abstracted versions of facial features, they still maintain their humane qualities.

Museum of Modern Art

The composition of this photo is so well done. I really love the way the two boys are dressed in white, and the girl in black. And the fact that it is done in black and white shows the contrast between the relationship of the three people. Is it a love triangle? Are they siblings? What is the pull between the two boys that there is such a heavy contrast in color from the girl between the two boys? The way they are positioned suggests that the girl is reliant on the boy on the bottom, but the boy on top can’t let go of her or wants to push her down.

This was such a cool photo series. The picture was taken of a bunch of different people all lined up and staged sitting, standing, etc. The photo was cut up so that each person had their own frame, but it was lined up all next to each other in the same order that the photo was taken in. The photo, the people are all at different levels and when they cut it up, they lined them up so that all the faces were at the same level. This photo was also taken in black and white. I feel like when a photo is taken in black and white it is more honest. It separates boundaries and creates more of a collective aesthetic. I think the photographers concept was to show how each individual is different, but that we all deserve to be seen at the same equal level.

This photo is the only one that is not in black and white. I think the way this is set up is so compositionally interesting: he is laying in a field on a super sunny day in a thick denim dress with pants and tennis shoes. It is almost like he is in some sort of ecstasy. It makes you question what is really going on. I think this photo is successful just from the way the arms are positioned. It could mean so many things, and it makes you question what is really going on. The way the hand is covering their face in a way that you can’t really see what they are expressing leaves room for so much questioning.

Walker Evans

Born: November 3, 1903

Died: April 10, 1975

Walker Evans is  known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) during the Great Depression.

While working for the FSA, he used a large-format 8×10 inch (200 x 250 mm) view camera.

His goal as a photographer was to “make pictures that are literate, authoritative, transcendent.” He is one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Considered the progenitor of the ‘documentary tradition’ in American photography, Evans had the ability to see the present already as the past. He put that knowledge and vision into his art that has made an everlasting impression on our country today. Almost all of his work is shot in black and white. He is best known for his documentary and portrait work throughout the Great Depression. 

Work Samples:

 

MY TAKE:

 

coney island

Guiseppe

“I was born in the South of Italy, but I live in the Netherlands. Enjoy the day! Ciao bella!”

Ralph

“Tell your teacher to look at the books! I’ve been here twenty years already!” (Italy)

Alex

“I’m from Portugal. I am a model; I’m shooting for a brand called proper clothes–right now actually!”

Garrido

“I’m from Cuba. Would you like to play chess? I’ve been in New York since 1980. I like it here because it is the capital of the world…. what do I get out of this? can you buy me a coffee or give me a few dollars?”

A rainbow lollipop? On Coney Island? Never heard of her.

Finding Nemo on the boardwalk.

Joseph

“I am from Israel. I speak English little! What you say?”

Seren and Milan take on the unexpectedly breezy Coney Island.

“You want to use a camera to take a picture of a camera?”

Today was very interesting and fun. First, it was my first time in Coney Island. I didn’t really know what to expect but I can’t say I was let down. There was such a diverse pool of people there. I had so much fun going up to people of and asking to take their photo. Having conversations with them was very interesting. Everyone had a different story and place and reason. I didn’t meet one person who was originally from the United States. This is something I have never experienced before where I am from, so having that today was very cool.

I don’t really know if there is a theme. I wanted to kind of do different things. I feel like it is hard to develop a theme when photographing strangers because you never know what you’re going to get. Unlike a planned shoot, strangers can be unpredictable–especially when you want to capture candid pictures. When you say “act normal” or “just keep doing what you’re doing” they freeze up and act in a completely different way. I didn’t tell them what I was looking for today, all I asked was if I could take their picture, and whatever they gave me I took. I guess the theme to these photos is unpredictability. You take what you get and you don’t throw a fit.

5 pictures for july 11

 

1. SUNFLOWERS
I used a low ISO (125). I tried to use 100 but it just kept coming out too dark. I used a low shutter speed (1/60). I also used an f-stop of 3.2 (I am almost positive). I took this picture outside of the market across from my dorm.

2. SEREN

I put my camera in monochrome and took the picture over one second. I zoomed out on her face, then zoomed in a half a second later.

3. SUBWAY

I stood outside of the subway steps in union square near 16th and took a few photos of people walking down and onto the steps. I used a higher ISO (500) and set my camera to monochrome. My f-stop was at 3.5 and my shutter speed was at 1/500 (I believe).

4. NICK
I took a picture of my friend Nick in my dorm room with the flash on his phone. I used the bulb setting and held it down for maybe five seconds and then let it up.

5. $30 PORTRAITS

I walked into a store and a man was painting portraits for $30. I asked to take a photo of him and he said yes. The settings were the same as the subway.

wonder

To be an artist: ah, what a wonderful concept. I would compare artists to children in a sense that their imaginations are everlasting. Artists would be nothing without their imaginations. What a crazy and sad world it would be without imagination. The term introduced in the article known as “deep travel” is such an interesting concept. An effort to push past societal norms, dig deeper than before, and learn all there is to learn. The concept is creates change, sometimes needed and sometimes unneeded. Regular travel is such a blessing on its own. Without regular travel, I would not be on this earth. My grandparents would never have come to this country, my parents never would have met, and I would most definitely not be here.

This reading really made me think. What would the world be like today without deep travel or imagination or sight or wonder? Bland and overly original, and the thought alone scares me. I can’t fathom a world without creativity. I think this reading was assigned to do what I did: think–to give us a different view on things like wonder and how it dies out eventually and how there is really nothing we can do about it. As we grow, we learn things. And as we learn things our innocence slowly dies. This is inevitable. It’s not like you can go through your life without learning. With no learning, there would be no creativity. And as I stated, without creativity, the world would be an unsalted cracker.

I think deep travel can be triggered anytime you want to trigger it. As long as there is a push to exceed the norm, you should have no problem access the concept of deep travel. This is a broad concept, and I think that everyone has their own unique way of reaching it. I think I trigger this by doing things that I love: reading, writing, photographing, hanging out with people that I love. By accessing things that I enjoy, I can create a portal for deep travel and delve into the far corners of my brain easily.