Digital Darkroom

Freeze Motion

Design

Motion

I really enjoyed playing with the long shutter speed on the camera and experimenting with creating two figures instead of just one.  In this photo I thought it would be interesting to create a sort of duality by having Leyla make two different expressions while I snapped a picture.

I think this photo is sort of mesmerizing in the overlapping lines it creates.  What I like most is that by having a longer shutter speed, more than one moment is captured in one picture. 

Again, in this photo I played with having the same figure appear twice in the photo.  For this picture I started out far away and then when I snapped the picture, I ran forward, creating the effect of simultaneously being close and far.

In this photo, I told Ella and Leyla to move their arms and legs while I took the picture.  The result was the illusion of multiple arms and legs.  I think they look sort of like mythological creatures here.

Silhouettes

In this photo, I aimed to create a different shape using shadow. Because of the absent of light on the figures, it created the illusion that the person has two sets of arms. 

This photo also plays with concept that shadow can trick the eye into misidentifying the subject. I thought this photo would be more interesting than simply a shadow of a persons because it forces the viewer to try and figure it out. 

When I took this picture, I tried to use the sun to create a silhouette with the hands. The line of light from the sun was not something I anticipated but I really like what it does to the silhouette of the smaller hand. 

Since in my other photos I used the sun as a background to capture my silhouette, in this one I chose to make it the center of the photograph. 

I didn't expect this photo to turn out dark enough, but the fact that the sun was behind the building created a great contrast to the darkness of the 

building and trees. 

 I especially like this photo because it captures the subjects profile with a clean, sharp line but the mesh of the gate adds a softness to the overall composition. Some of the silhouettes I took (in the form of shadows) looked hazy and unfocused, but I was happy with how this one turned out extremely sharp. 

Avedon

 In this photo I experimented with having Leyla walk away from the camera and then turn towards it at the very last second.  I found that giving her less time to 'pose' was effective in capturing a natural looking photograph.  I think this picture channels Avedon's focus on the eyes of the people he photographed as well as the serious expression that many of his models had.

I especially like this photo because I was able to incorporate movement into the portrait.  As I mentioned in the photo above, I think one of the hardest things about taking someone's portrait is that people tend to try and mold their expressions for the camera.  What I found really interesting is that through taking what can be considered an action shot, it was much easier to capture the genuine expressions that Avedon looked for.

One aspect of portraiture that is difficult is that many people don't like the photos that are taken of them.  Eva wasn't the biggest fan of this picture, but it's one of my favorites because I caught it right as she looked up, which I believe gives the viewer immense insight into her authentic emotion at the moment the photo was taken.  Also, the intensity of her eyes interact with you when you look at this picture - a characteristic of many of Avedon's photos. 

This was the last photo of quite a few that I took of Sydney.  In the documentary about Avedon, I found it interesting that he told his models stories and was in many ways as involved in the photograph as his models were.  When I was taking these pictures, I tried to keep talking the whole time to keep my model relaxed and I thought it worked well.  At one point I pointed out to Sydney that I thought she was posing, which made her laugh and it was at that moment that I took the photo. 

 This photo was taken in a similar way to the one above.  It was the very last photo I took and yet it is the one that I think demonstrates the most sincere emotion.  I was inspired by Avedon's portrait of Marilyn Monroe after a long day of work, which shocked the public because it presented her in a light that the public had never seen before.  I especially like the portrait because it shows a more subdued emotion that isn't caught up in falsely appearing cheerful.

Favorite Assignment

 

This photo is taken of a window and so the building depicted is actually a reflection.  I attempted to create a frame using blurred leaves in order to draw the eye to the center of the photo which is the tower.  It is not necessarily important to come to the realization that the building is a reflection, but I think once you see it, the picture gains more depth through the use of background and foreground especially through the darker reflections of the leaves.

 

 I used the rule of thirds by placing the stairs across the lower third of the photo.  I think this photo is interesting to the eye because it plays with the angle and in the process creates geometric lines.  The stairs also create repetition and the trees are leading lines.   

  

 This photo demonstrates rule of thirds as well as foreground/background.  I think the focus on the branch really makes it pop because the blurred background establishes depth through making it look farther away.

 

 

 I think this picture is really cool because it has both a blurred foreground and a blurred background.  The point of focus is in the center of the photo.  It almost gives the impression of being underwater because of the way the light is falling on the plants.

This shadow in this photo creates rule of thirds.  I really like the use of light because the dew creates a really interesting texture, while the slight reflection in the glass creates depth.  It is more subtle but the angle of the photo almost creates leading lines and a foreground/background effect because the glass begins to blur towards the right side.