Recreation 2

Amber Bembnister


August Sander
"Young Farmers"

August Sander was a German photographer best known for portrait and documentary photography. He got his start assisting a mining photographer and learned to document what he saw. Because of the time period, and where he live, under Nazi rule, it was hard for him to be creative the way he hoped, but in 1929 his book "Face of Our Time" was published. The book contained people of the 20th century photographed in portrait form.

Blog Assignment 3

Prompt #5:
“Photography records the gamut of feelings written on the human face, the beauty of the earth and skies that man has inherited, and the wealth and confusion man has created. It is a major force in explaining man to man.” ~Edward Steichen




In my opinion, I agree with the content of this statement. As I have stated in previous blog posts I think photography is a very effective way to capture raw human emotion. Although it is possible to stage photographs they can also save that moment in time. As far as "explaining man to man" photography is a major form of communication in our modern, technologically-based world. For example, when a crisis happens, such as Hurricane Katrina, or more recently the present state of Egypt, the story is more effective when the audience is able to see what is really going on.

Prompt #6:
Advertising first and foremost is the main form of beneficial digital altering. Is it ethical? That depends on the view point of the consumer, but does it work? Obviously, otherwise we would not use it, and it would not be such a controversial topic in photography. An instance unethical altering would be when magazines lighten skin tones on darker women. An instance on beneficial alteration would be in senior class photos, no one wants their acne on the hundreds of pictures circulating among unknown friends and distant relatives.

Promt #7
Photos that cross my path in everyday life consist of friends pictures on facebook and twitter, cell phone pictures, images from cnn, magazines, advertisements etc. Content on facebook and twitter don't usually vary much from the person's profile. Pictures are usually focused on them or things that surround them in their life, almost a photo diary. Images from new sources such as cnn or bbc depict current events, sometimes in awe-inspiring manors, sometimes in deeply disturbing manors. It is up to the photojournalist to capture what they believe will tell the story of that scene, in that moment, with one photograph. Intents between all these forms of media are similar in a sense that they can change opinion and let the viewer see only what they want them to see based on the perspective of the photograph. They differ between "importance" of content, skill level of photographer, digital editing, etc.

Final Pictures

*The background elements are really important to this image because it gives almost a background story to the picture. It also adds detail to picture, providing the viewer with more visual information.
*I cropped out certain elements that weren't as important such as sewing machines and windows, which added an unnecessary brightness to the photo.
*I took this image because the topic of what we were talking about, in conjunction with the action in the photo was very ironic. It almost reminds me of women around the time of WWII, Rosie the Riveter style, sewing for the war.
*As mentioned in my motivation for the picture, I believe the context behind it shows modern day females, even a representation of feminism.
*Finally, this picture represents the mixing of the old and the new, the headphones, laptop and speakers, along with the yarn, needles, and the actual concept of knitting, show a modern spin on an old art form.




*I chose to use this perspective because at this angle, it almost makes the bras look abstract.
*This also effected the cropping because I obviously would not want a coke machine in the back of the table, it would take away from the photograph.
*Finally, I chose to keep the lighting fairly monotone in grayscale to coincide with the context behind the picture, everyday life.
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*This picture represents repetition, coupled with the of everyday chores, like doing laundry.



*Contrast- I chose to show contrast between textures, with the smooth bottle and candle and book, and the bumpy skulls
*Lighting- I also chose to show high dramatic contrast lights and darks
*Clarity/blurring- I tried to focus on the detail in the front and the blurring in the back
*I was motivated to take pictures of this because I really wanted to evoke the viewers emotion, hopefully in a dramatic sense, or maybe even an uneasiness with the skulls, wine, and eerie lighting.
*The concept behind this photograph is to show the darker side of fashion. Not everything is beautiful and glamorous. The designer on the book portrayed, Alexander Mcqueen, my favorite designer, committed suicide last year, a blow to the fashion industry. I tried to capture a bit of foreboding while still keeping the element of fashion.

Blog Assignment 2

Prompt #3
“Photography deals exquisitely with appearances, but nothing is what it appears to be.”~Duane Michals

I half agree with this quote. To me, it depends on the photograph. There are certain moments that are captured that could never be staged and are completely in the moment, and the happenings of the photograph are captured in a way the viewer knows it is true. I have seen instances of this quote in agreement and disagreement with it. With fashion photography the pictures are wild fantasies and always gorgeous, whether in the stereotypical sense of beatuy or in the horrific, depending on what the theme of the shoot is. I believe this is a direct relation to this quote. Although I have come to discover through my photography, it is possible to capture raw emotions in the moment that are not staged and seem to convey exactly the emotion that the viewer feels toward it.

Prompt #4
#4 “If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera.” ~Lewis Hine.

I definitely feel this quote is applicable to photography that I've experienced. I interpret this as the old saying, "a picture tells a thousand words." I think everyone, whether involved in photography or not has experienced a picture that captures such an event or emotion, it is not possible to describe the way it made them feel at that very moment. Situations in which photographic images reveal the story are photo albums, magazines, and art. Situations in which words reveal the story would be novels. To me, the reader is able to use their imagination in order to form pictures in their mind based on the story being told.

Blog Assignment 1

Blog Prompt #1: Imagine a world without photographs. Describe what this world would be like.

A world without photographs is extremely hard to imagine. There would be no way of knowing history, what happened in the past, what did things look like, what did people look like? I also think it would make technological advances difficult, and not only technology, but also architecture, fashions, and personal family history. There would be no way of knowing what other parts of the world look like, everybody would be very uninformed. Photographs provide so much information in all different aspects of our life, they allow us to experience people, places, and things without being present to view them.

Blog Prompt #2: What does the word "photograph" mean to you?

Photograph to me is emotion. Can make you feel happy, sad, uncomfortable, angry, or excited. As we talked about in class, it's capturing a moment in time that other than that one photographer, there is no other proof of it's existence. Photographs are also pieces of art, of fantasy. For me, magazines, fashion photography are large parts of my life, I am enamored by the finished product of the shoots. You don't see what goes on behind the scenes, only the finished product.

Recreation 1

"At the Heritage" Boris Ignatovich .1930


Boris Ignatovich, born in Lutsk, Ukraine in 1899 started at a newspaper as a journalist in the 1920s. After becoming editor, he tried his hand in photography starting in 1923.
Boris became famous for his work with perspective and "unconventional angles." He did many in birds eye view, areal, and avant garde angles. The framing of this picture is off balance, it feels heavier on the right side because of the large foot yet because of the lighting it does not make the viewer uncomfortable. Perspective was Ignatovich's specialty, this picture looks as though it was taken from a high angle. The contrast comes in the form of lighting with bright whites in the left background and dark blacks in the foreground. Contrast is also visible in size the small people and large leg/buildings. The ground and the sky are almost identical, giving the eggect the foreground melting into the background.

"Recreation 1" Amber Bembnister


I chose to do the shot focusing on light, perspective, and proportion. The lighting is brighter on the left side while it is darker in the right corner. The model is much smaller than the poster, mimicking the proportion of the foot and the people on the sidewalk. Finally the angle of the picture has been taken from an aerial perspective, as in the photograph above.