Photography

Antonin Kratochvil Antonin Kratochvil (originally from the Czech Republic) is an American photojournalist. In my opinion, most of his images have a dark or rebellious context. I enjoy this photo of a woman in the street because it is taken on an angle which gives the feeling of motion to the image. In addition, the lighting of the photo has an intense contrast because the only bright part of the image is the woman's face. This makes it easy to focus in on her features. This photo gives off a much different feeling than the previous one. Most of the image is well lit. The use of the reflection gives the photo more depth because you are able to see the other side of the street. The use of centering gives you no option but to focus on the subjects face. One thing that I don't like about this image is that the subject's hat is cut off so I don't feel like I'm looking at the whole picture.

Jan Groover Jan Groover is an American photographer from New Jersey. Most of her still life pieces seem to be household items like kitchenware, food, and house plants. I chose this photo because I enjoyed how there is a lot of silver objects in the photo but the objects are still able to be told apart. When looking at the image quickly you just see a mass of one color with some green peppers breaking it up. When you look deeper into the photo you can notice all of the different objects in it. I also like how Groover used shadows and reflections to add depth to the photo. The way that Groover photographs these objects makes me look at them differently like they are not just household items. This is one of my favorite images that I have seen by Groover. One of my favorite things to photograph is my house plants and this definitely gave me inspiration. This photo has a sharp contrast between the plants and metal utensils. Once again, the reflections and the shadows add more depth to

Steve McCurry Steve McCurry is an American photographer who is known mostly for his environmental portraits. Being from PA, McCurry attended Penn State University. He did freelance work as a photojournalist and is most well known for his photo called "Afghan Girl". This image of a young girl holds a lot of emotion. The serious look on her face contrasts with her bright dress and her unruly curls. The thing I like most about this image is that the background is completely out of focus so you cannot see where the little girl is and you are forced to look right in her eyes. The use of the photography technique of centering also adds to the intensity of the image.

Dinka Cattle Camp, 2006 Sebastiao Salgado is from Brazil and was born in 1944. He is labeled as a social documentary photographer and photo journalist. This photo of a cattle camp is rich with culture. The rule of thirds used with the cattle horns draws the viewer eye right in. Because this photo is quite dark, it has a very ominous feel. Churchgate Station, Bombay, 1995 This photo of a train station was taken at with a long exposure which gives the image a blurring effect. This helps the viewer to understand that the people are moving fast bustling through the train station. This creates a paradox because the trains are standing still but the are the ones that are moving fast.

Pablo Picasso 1954 Arnold Newman was an American photographer who was born and lived in New York. Newman was especially known for his environmental portraits and some abstract still life photos. This black and white image of Picasso uses a play on shadows to really show the emotion in the photo. There is a high contrast between light and dark is what I enjoy most about the photo. Jackson Pollock, 1949 This photo by Newman is completely different from the one of Picasso. First of all the use of color in the photo changes the vibe completely. Another difference between the two photos is that the one of Picasso I zoomed in, giving it a much more serious feel.

Nude with Guitar, ca. 2000 Ralph Gibson, born in 1939, is am American photographer who is apparently known for his photographic books. A lot of Gibson's photos had a strong theme of contrast. In addition, many of Gibson's photos include erratic or mysterious themes. This photo is of a woman's back and guitar strings. There is symbolism of this photo. The guitar strings make it seem like they are part of the woman's spine.  Untitled This photograph creates a very mysterious feeling for the viewer. The hand in the photo draws in the eye along with the lines of the floorboards. The contrast between the darker hand and the light hallway creates imagery that might represent a darkness with in the light. 

Yosemite, 2004 Lee Friedlander, born in 1934, is an American Artist and photographer. One thing that Lee focused on was "social landscapes" like store-front reflections and street signs. This photo however is a beautiful land scape of Yosemite National Park. There is nice contrast between the dark, shaded water and bright sky. The reflection of the landscape on the water creates a mirror image that gives the photograph more depth. The rock in the center of the water pulls in the viewers eye and makes you wonder if Friedlander did that intentionally to break up the image into two parts.                            New York City, 2011 Keeping with the theme of reflections, this is a photo of a store-front window with the reflection of the street, buildings, and sky. I enjoy reflection photos because it seems like there are two photos in one. Both images may make the viewer feel a different way. My favorite thing about this photo is that the top half of the mannequin i

Corno Grande Reflection Michael Kenna was born in 1953 in the United Kingdom. Kenna is best known for his unusual, black and white, landscapes. The Corno Grand Reflection is a breathtaking image by Kenna that captures the depth of the scenery in the photograph. This photo has high contrast between black and white which makes the image much more dramatic. The reflection of the mountain on the water is blurred so that adds an additional contrast to such a sharp image. The completely black hill/mountain creates a nice break in the image between the sharp and the burred. Six Gondolas This image by Kenna is one of my favorite ones that I found while researching him. This photo was taken in the city of Venice, Italy, but it does not look like it was taken in a city. The white, fog-like, background creates a sense of mystery to the viewer. The Gondolas themselves are slightly out of focus which has me wondering if it was intentional of a rewarding mistake. The entire background leave

                                        Adam Fuss is a photographer that focuses on the contemporary style. Fuss was born in London in 1961 and later moved to New York City. Fuss chose to express his art using the photogram technique. This photo, from the series My Ghost, is a photogram of a children's dress. The contrast between the deep black and the stark white gives the viewer an eerie feeling. The sheerness of the middle of the dress also makes me feel like there is an intention of emptiness. The association between emptiness and children also give the viewer a feelings of sadness.  This image by Fuss is interesting because he made the artistic choice to leave parts of the butterfly's wings blurred. This is a less intense photo because there is not a harsh contrast between black and white. I even enjoy the depth of the background because it is not just one solid shade. I'm not sure that I like the artistic choice to leave the wings blurred because it tak

Glass Tears 1932 Man Ray (or his given name, Emmanuel Radnitzky) was born in Philadelphia in 1890 but spent most of his career in Paris, France. He significantly contributed to the Dada and Surrealist periods of art. Man Ray expressed himself through film, paintings and photography. Glass Tears by Man Ray was created in 1932 during the dada period. Some sources say that the model is an unnamed dancer but others say that it is not a real woman, but a fashion mannequin. The tears are glass beads placed under the models eyes. The models eyes give a sense of ambiguity which makes the viewer wonder what the model is looking at. In addition, the over coating of mascara on the eyelashes leaves me feeling like the model has a strong sense of vanity. The nose and forehead being out of focus make the eyes the focal point of the image. larmes-tears glass-tears.jsp Ingre's Violin 1924 This photograph was taken any Man Ray to turn the woman's body into an instrument. After th

When thinking about what photography means to me, the first word that comes to mind is: Expression. Photography is an outlet that can be used to express emotion, tell a story, provide information, capture a moment, and so much more. What I find most interesting about photography is that one photo can her interpreted differently by each person that views it. In Photography Changes Every thing, author, Marvin Heiferman touches on why photography was made and what makes good photography. In this writing, Heiferman quotes an art historian named Geoffrey Batchen. He said photography, "is a sprawling cultural phenomenon inhabiting virtually every aspect of modern life." To me this means that photography is forever changing and adapting to the culture. Not only does the technology of photography change, but also the use for photography. A portrait photo that was taken 100 years ago is absolutely nothing like the portrait photos today. In addition, Heiferman touches on how photograp