A Body of Water

Fall 2007 #11

A shot from my year in Rhode Island. This roll of film got exposed during developing which explains the murky effect. I think it actually works here.

#1 & #24

Fall 2008 #1 & #24

Fall 2008 #1 & #24

This is one from my archives. I took this photo with my Spartus Full Vue, hence the square format. I was on a whole tangent of shooting straight up into the sky for a couple semesters. Here is the artist statement from this project:

"As an artist I strive to create art that is simple and easily understood. I find myself and the world around me to be extremely complex. I ponder them all the time. I try to make sense of something that I will never fully understand and become frustrated. I am a very emotional person and my feelings almost always take over in a way I cannot control and I again become frustrated. The most appealing art for me is art that can be summed up in one sentence or thought. The art I create can usually be described by "this is beautiful because the elements and principles of art are working cohesively." The emotions I most express in my artwork are peace and simplicity. It is an escape from my usual experience of chaos and difficulty.


For this project I took my usual formal approach to photography and gave it the constraint that I would be pointing my lens straight up. The unique viewfinder of my Spartus Full Vue led me to shooting in this manner. Holding the viewfinder like a regular camera, out in front of me, pointed the lens into the sky, exposing me to a new perspective. For this project I was in search of interesting compositions using the elements and principles of art as my guide.


I hope that when person views these photographs that he or she simply sees shapes, lines, pattern, etc., and how they come together to create something visually interesting. Perhaps the viewer takes them a step further and gains an appreciation for the point of view expressed by pointing the camera straight up. These photographs are meant to be taken at face value, and what you see is what you get. "

Links:
Elements of Art
Principles of Art

Takeoff

Summer 2008 Omaha, NE

Summer 2008 Omaha, NE

After a 6 am shift at the Rex, a 5 hour nap (if you can even call 5 hours a nap), an art lecture and opening reception, and working on two big projects due next week, I totally forgot to snap something new. So here are a couple from the archives. I took these two photographs in the Omaha airport while I waited for my flight back to Colorado after visiting Eric & Rachael. They were taken with my Panasonic point and shoot.

Links:
Layover
Shoot the Terminal

Formalism

10/14/09 This Way

I took this one on my walk to campus with my Panasonic point and shoot. I converted it to black and white in Photoshop to draw focus to the line and shape within the composition. The emphasis of compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context or content is called Formalism. Artists such as Piet Mondrian and Edward Weston produced formalist works. I really like working within this art theory because what you see is what you get. There's nothing to read in to. Sometimes its nice to just enjoy a photograph or painting for what it is, not what it means.

Links:
Piet Mondrian
Edward Weston

Detail

This is a strange semester as I am not enrolled in any photography classes. It has been two years since I've had a photo-free semester and I've been taking the freedom for granted. I haven't been taking any photos! For someone who wishes to one day make a living taking pictures, I'm thinking it is pretty important to actually take pictures on a daily basis. Which brings me to purpose number one for starting this blog: Take some pictures!

Next semester I will be working on my photography thesis and I do not have a clear direction for it. I've thought of a few ideas in passing but I haven't actually shot any of them. I'm hoping that by taking pictures every day I will come up with more ideas and work through any problems. Purpose number two: Get some ideas for my thesis.

Taking photographs is one way I choose to communicate. I don't take pictures so I can develop them and keep them hidden in a shoe box in the back of my closet. My photographs are meant to be seen by others, to show people what I see when I look at the world around me. Finally purpose number three: Share my work.

So here goes!

Necklace Detail 10/6/09

I love photographing details. I like how, as individuals, we are all just a compilation of a million little details. Our appearance, surroundings, relationships and thoughts.

I like to dress in dark colors for drawing class since charcoal is a bitch to wash out. So today I donned a pair of black pants, a black tank top and some black gladiator sandals with a black sweater in my black purse in case I got a chill. With all this black, I needed something to add a little interest to my outfit. I examined my cork board of necklaces and chose the long, layered silver pearl chain I got at American Eagle on hella-clearance. The perfect detail.


Links:
Jason Mraz "Details in the Fabric"
What I Wore Today