Pay attention to the number of ways in which you encounter humans’ interaction with nature and the physical land. Write these down. Using these as inspiration, describe an idea for a piece of “land art” that you might create that would be documented by a photograph. Describe an idea for a piece of “land art” that you might make in a man-made landscape that would be documented by a photograph.
Camping, climbing trees, digging holes, construction, cutting down trees, swimming, boating, hunting, hiking,
I would consider road construction a way in which humans interact with nature. The workers must dig through the land and depending on what's underneath, do different things to create the road. I'm not too familiar with road construction, but I assume the presence of clay or the amount of clay in the ground affects them. Also, if the ground is very wet, it might drastically change. Or if they find something in the dirt that could be scientifically or historically significant. I think photographing a piece made on a construction site would be interesting, because the piece would surely be taken down and would then only exist as a photo.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Blog Prompt #12 - Memory of a Photograph
There's a photograph on the fridge at my parents house of my sister and I coloring on the steps of our old house when we first moved to Michigan when I was two years old. We lived there for about a year, and I don't remember this place at all except for getting this picture taken. I have no doubt that the only reason I remember it is because I've been staring at a picture of it on the fridge probably since it was taken. I remember me and my sister following my Dad out the door carrying his camera. We were carrying coloring books and that plastic box with all the crayons in it. Dad wanted to take our picture, so we sat down on the front steps and he knelt down and snapped the picture.
I think it's needless to say that I've changed a lot since then, as I was two years old, and I'm 21 now (if you want to argue otherwise, please do so in the comments). When I look at it, I think about my Dad, who honestly hasn't changed at all. If I went home right now, I can see him calling me out on our front steps and taking a few pictures.
I've been to that place once since I've been old enough to remember it, and I didn't recognize it at all. Not because it was different, but because I was three when we moved out. But the front steps looked just like the steps in the picture, and that was pretty cool.
I think it's needless to say that I've changed a lot since then, as I was two years old, and I'm 21 now (if you want to argue otherwise, please do so in the comments). When I look at it, I think about my Dad, who honestly hasn't changed at all. If I went home right now, I can see him calling me out on our front steps and taking a few pictures.
I've been to that place once since I've been old enough to remember it, and I didn't recognize it at all. Not because it was different, but because I was three when we moved out. But the front steps looked just like the steps in the picture, and that was pretty cool.
Blog Prompt #11 - Memory of a Place
I used to think my elementary school was quite large, but every time I visit I can't believe how tiny the hallways are. I can easily touch the ceiling in several of the hallways, and bending down to drink from the drinking fountains is quite literally a joke. I see the outside of the building occasionally because my friend lives on the border of the playground and when we're all home we sometimes go there and swing on the swing sets and take pictures. But I don't go inside very often. If I imagine myself inside, I see myself right outside the cafeteria where we would put our lunch bags at the beginning of the school day - at least, I think that's what we would put in the carts? Now I can't really remember, but for some reason there ARE carts. In a photograph, I do think it would look exactly as I remember, but with little reminders that the kids were not born in the eighties, but ten or even fifteen years later. I can't actually imagine any exact colors except an off white and blue curtains. I'm pretty sure we had a blue curtain on the stage, and blue seats in the cafeteria. For some reason I'm by myself, probably because I went a couple years ago by myself as I was riding by and I figured I may as well see what it's like. Pretty much, it was small, but the same. It even had a painting from a girl in my class still on the wall.
Blog Prompt #10 - Photos as Reminders
“All photographs are there to remind us of what we forget. In this - as in other ways - they are the opposite of paintings. Paintings record what the painter remembers. Because each one of us forgets different things, a photo more than a painting may change its meaning according to who is looking at it.” ~John Berger
I don't think all photographs exist to remind us of what we forget, although perhaps this was more true when John Berger said it than now, when conceptual photography and image manipulation are both becoming more common among photographers. But I would agree that with most photographs this is the case. At least a recording of something so that we don't forget, if not to remind us of something we have already forgotten. I also agree that a painting is a record of what the painter sees or remembers. Therefore a painting tells us more about the artist than the scene. With a photograph, we see the scene and only sometimes can the photographer record him- or herself along with it.
I don't think all photographs exist to remind us of what we forget, although perhaps this was more true when John Berger said it than now, when conceptual photography and image manipulation are both becoming more common among photographers. But I would agree that with most photographs this is the case. At least a recording of something so that we don't forget, if not to remind us of something we have already forgotten. I also agree that a painting is a record of what the painter sees or remembers. Therefore a painting tells us more about the artist than the scene. With a photograph, we see the scene and only sometimes can the photographer record him- or herself along with it.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Forgetting Oneself and Reflection
Yes! My first stop motion film is up! If you don't understand what is going on, please comment! I would really appreciate any feedback.
Forgetting Oneself from Kim Berens on Vimeo.
Reflection:
I really wanted to use Photoshop for this project, so I came up with this idea where a person is invisible. Of course I needed a story around that, and our assignment was about an everyday moment. What I came up with was a person forgetting herself. I didn't think it would be that hard, but when I shot test photos, I realized how wrong I was. However, when I shot the actual photos and actually went into Photoshop, it really wasn't that bad. It helped that all the shots where she is invisible have the same exact background, so I could just use a shot sans person and just cut her skin out, add a little gray to the inside of her sleeves and collar, and voila: invisible person. It was a lot of fun, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
But the person is not the only thing I photoshopped. I also photoshopped the lamp. Either the light was (of course) too overexposed or the surrounding area was (of course) too underexposed. So I just shot the lamp underexposed and photoshopped that light into the normal images, so that you could see the detail.
What I found difficult was keeping focus when the camera and subject both moved. That's why the feet go out of focus, and even though I don't mind the blurriness because it actually looks kind of cool and if I were a cinematographer I might use that for something again, I do wish there were a way to keep the shots all in focus as the camera moves. I suppose I could just not use continuous exposure and record the pictures the old fashion way: one at a time.
I recorded my own audio, but my version of Audacity is not compatible with the campus computer's version, and although Audacity is free, I didn't think the computer would let me install something on it, so I just went with freesounds.org, which has many many useful soundbites. I had to add the new audio in only a couple of hours, so hopefully I chose well.
I really loved using Final Cut. I want more reasons to play around with it. My credits are so simple, and yet I got so excited about them!
Forgetting Oneself from Kim Berens on Vimeo.
Reflection:
I really wanted to use Photoshop for this project, so I came up with this idea where a person is invisible. Of course I needed a story around that, and our assignment was about an everyday moment. What I came up with was a person forgetting herself. I didn't think it would be that hard, but when I shot test photos, I realized how wrong I was. However, when I shot the actual photos and actually went into Photoshop, it really wasn't that bad. It helped that all the shots where she is invisible have the same exact background, so I could just use a shot sans person and just cut her skin out, add a little gray to the inside of her sleeves and collar, and voila: invisible person. It was a lot of fun, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
But the person is not the only thing I photoshopped. I also photoshopped the lamp. Either the light was (of course) too overexposed or the surrounding area was (of course) too underexposed. So I just shot the lamp underexposed and photoshopped that light into the normal images, so that you could see the detail.
What I found difficult was keeping focus when the camera and subject both moved. That's why the feet go out of focus, and even though I don't mind the blurriness because it actually looks kind of cool and if I were a cinematographer I might use that for something again, I do wish there were a way to keep the shots all in focus as the camera moves. I suppose I could just not use continuous exposure and record the pictures the old fashion way: one at a time.
I recorded my own audio, but my version of Audacity is not compatible with the campus computer's version, and although Audacity is free, I didn't think the computer would let me install something on it, so I just went with freesounds.org, which has many many useful soundbites. I had to add the new audio in only a couple of hours, so hopefully I chose well.
I really loved using Final Cut. I want more reasons to play around with it. My credits are so simple, and yet I got so excited about them!
Fake Sun, Fake Horns, and Fake Drama
My three final images for assignment #2 in my color photography class. My favorite is the last of my sister. She's being overly dramatic making pie, it's hilarious (to me).
This first picture is of my friend, Susan. This is a candid picture taken just after she bought the horns, but I thought it worked really well for the assignment. I altered the colors slighting, made them less vibrant, and gave the shadows a cyan-tinge.
When I took this picture is was simply a candid of my friend, but after I had chosen it for my project, I looked at it as a piece of art to see what it was saying. I think it literally says, "I'm trying on these horns, and I feel kinda dorky, but I'm okay with that". But if the person looking at this doesn't know it's candid, he or she might think it means, "I work for the devil, but I don't take my job seriously", which is what I imagine Susan thinking when I look at this picture. Or maybe she's thinking, "Yeah, I'm the devil, but don't judge me, there's really nothing I can do about it. I'm just trying to make a living just like everybody else," which is also funny.
The image of me sleeping on the coach was a lot of fun to work with. I shot the picture myself, so I was running from the camera to the couch over and over again. It looks like I just get to lie there and sleep, but it was actually a very active photoshoot! I really like this one because the colors looks great (the prompt for this was complimentary, hence the red and green), and of course I love it because Hagrid makes an appearance. I thought of taking him out, but I really wanted to keep him in there. For a couple of years I have actually been kind of embarrassed about the my enthusiasm for Harry Potter, which came from someone close to me telling me that it was sad that people only read Harry Potter and never moved on the bigger and better books. What I think this person didn't realize was Harry Potter was the gateway book, which is exactly the opposite of what he thought. At least it was the gateway book for me (this is the very reason my blog is title Unembarrassed Enthusiasm, as a reminder to myself. Anyway, I know that seems off-topic, but all of that thought went into keeping Hagrid in this picture (and any picture with a Harry Potter reference), so I thought I may as well mention it.
The bright streaming sunlight thought the window is 100% completely photoshopped. Sorry to anyone who thought it wasn't. Well, technically, the highlights on the couch, blanket, and my hair are not photoshopped, but the huge yellow glow is. I tried many different angles and intensities for the light and ultimately went with this one, feeling it looked the most natural. I am completely aware it doesn't look natural, but I like the way it looks and it creates the type of mood I wanted originally but couldn't achieve in-camera due to the actual sunlight and the angle with which is doesn't stream into my window.
This image is inspired by an image I did in my Photo 2 class that I took with a view camera. I loved the original pictures, but unfortunately for my kitchen, the film was black-and-white. The brilliant yellow of the walls, the blue of the hat, and (you can't see it here), the array of colors of the apron my sister, Beth, is wearing look too amazing to be recorded only in black-and-white. And so ever since shooting with view camera, I've wanted to reshoot in color with the exact same clothes. And we did! I also dressed up, in a big pink dress and dark red lips, and Beth took some pictures of me. So while I shot these pictures, that's what I'm wearing.
During the shoot I kept directing Beth to act like a dramatic, lonely house-wife, and I wasn't really sure why. I'm still not sure, but I knew what I wanted. I think I achieved it. Beth definitely looks like a way overly dramatic house-wife making pie (we actually made the pie during the shoot - sweet potato pie sans butter and sugar! - and ate it while looking at our shots. If you're interested in our attempts at healthy cooking, we have a blog called Fourth Broomstick).
This first picture is of my friend, Susan. This is a candid picture taken just after she bought the horns, but I thought it worked really well for the assignment. I altered the colors slighting, made them less vibrant, and gave the shadows a cyan-tinge.When I took this picture is was simply a candid of my friend, but after I had chosen it for my project, I looked at it as a piece of art to see what it was saying. I think it literally says, "I'm trying on these horns, and I feel kinda dorky, but I'm okay with that". But if the person looking at this doesn't know it's candid, he or she might think it means, "I work for the devil, but I don't take my job seriously", which is what I imagine Susan thinking when I look at this picture. Or maybe she's thinking, "Yeah, I'm the devil, but don't judge me, there's really nothing I can do about it. I'm just trying to make a living just like everybody else," which is also funny.
The image of me sleeping on the coach was a lot of fun to work with. I shot the picture myself, so I was running from the camera to the couch over and over again. It looks like I just get to lie there and sleep, but it was actually a very active photoshoot! I really like this one because the colors looks great (the prompt for this was complimentary, hence the red and green), and of course I love it because Hagrid makes an appearance. I thought of taking him out, but I really wanted to keep him in there. For a couple of years I have actually been kind of embarrassed about the my enthusiasm for Harry Potter, which came from someone close to me telling me that it was sad that people only read Harry Potter and never moved on the bigger and better books. What I think this person didn't realize was Harry Potter was the gateway book, which is exactly the opposite of what he thought. At least it was the gateway book for me (this is the very reason my blog is title Unembarrassed Enthusiasm, as a reminder to myself. Anyway, I know that seems off-topic, but all of that thought went into keeping Hagrid in this picture (and any picture with a Harry Potter reference), so I thought I may as well mention it.The bright streaming sunlight thought the window is 100% completely photoshopped. Sorry to anyone who thought it wasn't. Well, technically, the highlights on the couch, blanket, and my hair are not photoshopped, but the huge yellow glow is. I tried many different angles and intensities for the light and ultimately went with this one, feeling it looked the most natural. I am completely aware it doesn't look natural, but I like the way it looks and it creates the type of mood I wanted originally but couldn't achieve in-camera due to the actual sunlight and the angle with which is doesn't stream into my window.
This image is inspired by an image I did in my Photo 2 class that I took with a view camera. I loved the original pictures, but unfortunately for my kitchen, the film was black-and-white. The brilliant yellow of the walls, the blue of the hat, and (you can't see it here), the array of colors of the apron my sister, Beth, is wearing look too amazing to be recorded only in black-and-white. And so ever since shooting with view camera, I've wanted to reshoot in color with the exact same clothes. And we did! I also dressed up, in a big pink dress and dark red lips, and Beth took some pictures of me. So while I shot these pictures, that's what I'm wearing.
During the shoot I kept directing Beth to act like a dramatic, lonely house-wife, and I wasn't really sure why. I'm still not sure, but I knew what I wanted. I think I achieved it. Beth definitely looks like a way overly dramatic house-wife making pie (we actually made the pie during the shoot - sweet potato pie sans butter and sugar! - and ate it while looking at our shots. If you're interested in our attempts at healthy cooking, we have a blog called Fourth Broomstick).
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