Photograph 1

                Irving Penn was a studio photographer. He liked studio photography because he could remove whatever he thought was not essential to the photo. I chose the image above as my inspiration because I love the lighting. I personally do not like portrait photography because I don’t like people. However, I do like dramatic lighting. I also considered who I wanted to photograph and how they would look best in a photo. I chose my mother as my subject. She can be a very intense and dramatic person so I thought that a black and white studio portrait with dramatic lighting would fit her personality best. I also had some experience with using dramatic lighting from a previous portrait assignment.             I like dramatic lighting because it can provide information while at the same time concealing it. It provides mystery and suspense. It reminds me of old black and white crime movies. T...

     Steve McCurry is a traveling photographer. He has traveled through all seven continents taking unforgettable pictures. He photographs conflicts, cultures, and traditions within a culture. McCurry has been awarded several awards throughout his life. McCurry has even risked his life for photos. He was smuggled into Afghanistan just as the Russian invasion started to close off the country to journalists. The only way he was able to get his film out was by sewing it into his clothes. He is a very dedicated photographer.       I’m not a big fan of portrait photography but I still admire Steve McCurry’s dedication and love for his work. I can also respect how memorable his images are. I remember learning about the photo on the top when I was in 8th grade. I did not remember the photographer's name or the story behind the image but I do remember the image. McCurry helps to open people’s eyes to what is happening in the world around them. When peopl...

Marvin Heiferman never really explained to use what photography means to him. However he did explain what it was, its use, how it changed, and how it influences us. He stated "Photography was essential to each of our pursuits. And each person in the room, because of his or her training, responsibilities, or interests used and spoke about photography differently." Showing us that photography is not just an art but a tool used in many different pursuits. Since it is used in many different ways and for many different reasons it does not hold just one definition. However Marvin defined it well when he said "What made an effective, good, or even beautiful picture depended entirely on who was doing the looking and the talking." I believe that he meant that art holds a different sort of beauty for every person. A biologist might find photographs of a germ or virus beautiful while an archaeologist might find photos of an ancient civilization beautiful. As a wise man once...

       Jerry Uelsmann combines multiple negatives to make blended images like the ones above. The Image on the far left combines a negative of a house with a negative of a tree trunk. He was able to blend the two together so well that it looks like the house grew out of the trunk. He makes the transition look so seamless and natural. The middle image is a combination of two negatives. One is the moon and the other has the boat, water, and sky. He was able to find the perfect way to blend the moon with the other negative. It looks like the moon is some kind of portal or vortex that is pulling the boat in. The last image on the far right is made up of at least three negatives. The first would be the sky, then there’s the room, and finally the man on the desk. I love this image because it is so abstract and it has an “Alice in Wonderland” vibe to it. The amount of time and dedication he puts into his images is amazing. Each one takes a couple hours or more to make depen...

     Chuck Kelton makes photograms and chemical paintings. Above are three of his chemical paintings. Kelton's chemical paintings are abstract landscapes based on nature. It must have taken him a lot of trial and error, and experimentation to make these prints. Having that smokey-looking background is not something that accidentally happens multiple times. It also looks like he did the top and bottom separately. If you look at them around halfway down there is a black line or a white line. The bottom half is a landscape while the top half is the sky. Looking at the first image it looks like the bottom half is an actual image and not just painted on with chemicals. These images are beautiful and memorable. These may be chemical paintings, and some may think this is not photography, but I consider this photograph.

       John Dugdale is an American photographer. Above are three of his cyanotype images that I found really interesting and beautiful. The shades of blue that he got in these cyanotypes are so diverse and crisp. They have light blues that look almost white, they have gray-blues, and they have bright blues.  I also like the different lighting he has. It looks like it's mostly natural light. The lighting in the far-left image is very bright and direct, while the lighting in the middle image is light and soft, and the lighting in the image to the far-right is mainly on the right side of the image. While the main focus of Dugdale’s images is usually a person I found these images more appealing. I like how in the middle image, not all the flowers are in focus because in life everything isn’t always in focus. I like that he made these images into cyanotypes because it brings in a color that would not usually be their natural color, and it makes them look more three-d...

       Alec Soth is an American photographer. Above are two of his still-life photos. I picked these two photos of his because they both gave me strong vibes, and in life, I tend to follow the vibes that things give off. The best way to try to explain what I mean is it's like a feeling. When looking at something it gives off an aura or emotion. Like when I look at the picture on the left I feel an older and darker vibe. It kind of feels like anger, despair, and mischief. The lighting and what looks like bars on the outside of the window gives off the feeling of despair or sorrow. The knife gives off the feeling of anger. And the book gives off the feeling of mischief. The picture on the right gives off a sad yet a fatherly and loving aura. It looks like a father reading a story to his child which gives off the fatherly vibe. The fact that someone took the time to lay these dolls here so carefully and that the dolls were kept in such good shape gives off the feeling o...