My First Engagement

Serge & Olga, soon to be, Husband and Wife.

Photography is a lifestyle

...a beautiful one indeed.

Getting to know the Studio

This summer I'm taking PH148, Artificial Lighting/Studio course. Yesterday was my first time actually using the studio. I realized that lighting your subject correctly is harder than it looks. You can light your subject however way you like but what matters is understanding how the lighting is effecting the mood of the overall image. I'm not gonna ramble much today, I just really wanted to share some photos from the shoot.

I worked with MUA and hairstylist, Robb V., please visit his page---> http://www.myspace.com/damdatsrobbyo

Testing the light with my two beautiful friends/models, Kristine V. and Amanda B.
(We called this the senior portrait pose)





MUA, Robb working on Amanda.

















Final results





Hope you enjoyed!

<3

Do you think about this too?

I'll be graduating soon. 

 

I'm a bit concern because I feel I'm not quite ready to let go, so to speak.  I feel without school, I'd be lost.  I am probably just a tad over-dramatic.  But still knowing that I'd be out soon, makes me panic like an ant stepping out of its original route.  

I should be happy.

I should be stoked! (I feel an exclamation mark is always appropriate after the word "stoke")

But, those aren't the only emotions I'm getting from this time of celebration.  I'm also feeling a tad sadden.  I like the fact that I learn something new everyday--that it's a guarantee I'll be taught new things.  Knowing that that would end soon, kinda sucks.

I've thought of grad school.  I'm not quite sure if I'm ready for that either. 

*sigh*

We shall see. 

  

    

Eugene Atget

“The answer must be in the pictures, not in words that attempt to describe the pictures; but without trying to describe them we might risk trying to name some of the qualities that reside in them.” –Szarkowski

I'm taking a short break from writing a 10 page, single space paper on Eugene Atget.  Technically that's a 20 page paper...  

How do you go about writing a 20 page paper on a single artist?  

Jaws dropped when my ART 101 professor mentioned that not only does it have to be 10 pages, but also single space.  

He just didn't see the point in double spacing.  

I thought, "joking right teach?"  

"No."

He was serious as a heart attack.  

...

So, here I am, writing my 10 page, single space paper.  Just lovely.

I can't say I have a favorite photograph from Atget's 10,000 prints archive.  Bu here's one I would like to share.

    

Can Beauty Save?

After a long 2 hours of discussing in PHOTO 111, about Robert Adams' essay, Beauty in Photography, I've come to realize that I have very little knowledge of "beauty" in art and photography.

After reading the essay over 3 times, I began to have mix feelings about my understanding on photography and art. During my 8 semester of studying photography, Adam was able to pull out a part of me, I didn’t know existed, so to speak. Notice I use the word “studying” because when people hear me say that I’m going to school for photography, first thing that comes to mind is, learning how to compose a ‘good’ photograph and sitting in front of a computer all day, photoshopping, if you will. No, that’s only 1/3 of what student photographers do in school. Now that I've gotten that across, let’s get back to Adams’ essay.

Adams expresses himself in a very vague and ambiguous way. Here’s my understanding. Please do correct me if I’m wrong. After our discussion in class today, I’ve realized I wasn’t exactly hitting the nail on the head, if you will. Here goes…

According to Adams, the goal of art is beauty. What is beauty? He suggested that beauty is not only an important part of art but it is also an important part of how we communicate a meaning. Successful art “rediscovers” beauty for its viewers. Now beauty can be define differently according to individual experiences. He also mentions that successful artworks usually have the widest diversity. In other words, photographs that viewers tend to find beautiful are the ones that contains more of what humans can relate to.

Beauty is there, however, we do not pay sufficient attention to it. A photograph does not have to be over the top to be considered beautiful. However, it should present a new Form. I understand Form to be the contents contained in a photograph. In respect to its predecessors, a successful photograph should be unlike what has already been created.

Adams believes beauty can heal but can also be painful. Painful? How can beauty be painful, you ask?

He believes that when we are in a good mood, art can be helpful and healing, making one feel at ease. Then there are times when beauty can hurt.

There was a time when Adams had to pack his camera and leave to a local café after witnessing a magnificent beauty.

“…city tract houses so inhumanly beautiful that they had over them the chill of empty space.”

Adams realize that the presence of beauty brings one back to reality.

My professor used a great example for this. Ever loved someone so much that it was painful when trying to express yourself? What Adams experienced was a little something like this. Although love is beautiful, it can be healing and it can be painful. It can be emotionally painful in expressing your love for someone.

After our discussion in class, I not only learned about beauty in photography, but a little bit about myself.

What is my relationship to the world of beauty, where do I stand when it comes to the beautiful and the sublime?