Color / B & W / Digital Photo Contest - Celebration

Want to enter a photography contest, exhibit your work, win some cash? We have the MJC Celebration of the Humanities with big cash prizes going on - enter by March 24, this Thursday at 5 P.M. in the photo lab. And after that, we'll have another chance to enter a different show - with much different work - so get your experience down this week. Purchase your $5 receipts at Business Offices on East or West.

Special request to color photographers who did not enroll this semester - we need your entries from Fall '10, or before.

Also, extra credit is offered for entering at least two photographs.
Here's the link for rules, etc.:

http://celebration.events.mjc.edu/

Projects and Portraits

Please bring your project descriptions to class tomorrow. In working on them, you may want to look at the ideas and methodology of others. In addition to my recent blog posts, here's a helpful resource.

Photography Now.Net offers extensive portfolios of many diverse contemporary photographers. Go to the link above, click on the index of "Selected Contemporary Artists" and select Robert Adams and Sheikh Fazal. The latter may be helpful in looking at simple lighting used in portraits that could be similar to our lighting assignment. Also, here's the info on Sheikh's reasons for doing this project.

We've seen Robert Adams many times in class and at galleries. Here's a program about Adams on the PBS (Public Broadcasting System) Art21 site. It's about a 11 minute video, somewhat slow and definitely contemplative. Once you read Adams' bio, click on the "Watch Now" and then move to Chapter 9, The New West, on the bottom bar.

Project Ideas - Like Thrift Stores?

I asked you to write some ideas down for your final project this weekend - something that has intention and that you care about, whether it's about picture structure or society's structure. Here is a project that appears to be very personal even though the photographs are fairly formal. Read the artist's statement and get much more out of the fascinating images.
AND very importantly, use the Helsinki School website to search through other's projects and their statements for photo projects.
photos by Riitta Päiväläinen

Let's Get Involved - Ideas for Inside Out PhotoMurals?

Here's the link for the Inside Out project related to the video I showed in class Wednesday: http://www.insideoutproject.net/ It's about 4 to 5 minutes long and explains how we can get involved. Please watch and we'll discuss it on Monday. Also, if you go on the March in March, please take some pictures of yourself there (and much more) - I will not count you late if you bring your work in Wednesday - if you go to the March.
http://www.insideoutproject.net/

Diptychs and Lighting Assignment #2

The Diptychs assignments are due on Wednesday. Lab day all day Monday. Please be ready for class critique so all work will get viewed and get full credit.

In the meantime, Lighting Assignment #2 should be fun and good for working inside on these un-spring-like gray days.
Here's some guidelines for preparing for LA#2:
Use your photo or clip lights - this time you'll need them and not just house-hold lamps. Pick an appropriate ISO setting for making sharp pictures (hand-held or tripod) of live people.
Think about the pictures you want to make and be very intentional about the following:
1. Pick a person that will be an interesting subject; ask her/him/them to wear what you want them to, including make-up if you want. Be bold.
2. Make a a choice of interesting interior backgrounds for this portrait.
3. Find an area inside that you can control the lighting so your clip lights will be the ONLY lighting. You'll need a space large enough to clip your lights to chairs, lamp poles, and whatever (check out lightstands in lab) you can move around for lighting arrangements. If you want props, pick ones that will shop up against whatever is behind them (tones, colors, etc.).
4. Decide what pose and expression of the sitter you want. Be sure to try several different moods/expressions for editing later.
5. Use tinfoil for covering the edges of lights so you don't get lens flare or light spills into areas that you don't want.

I'll have a handout tomorrow to give specifics about what pictures to make. (Advanced repeats use the studio and strobe lights to create your photos.)

Also, find a portable flash to work with in the next part of our lighting assignments - bring it to class 3/14.
Photo: Doug Smith ©2009

San Francisco - Pier 24

We're leaving tomorrow morning and have to get there, park and enter close to 10:30 A.M. Since the forecast is for rain, bring a rain pancho, or raincoat (maybe one of those cute yellow ones we used to wear to school?). It may be wet but at least the umbrellas (oh yeah, maybe you'll want to bring one) will be colorful for pictures. Tripods may be in order if it's overcast and you want to do landscape; flashes may be interesting with rain - I'll instruct you on flash if you bring one. Don't forget your lunch and a snack to share?

See you at 8 A.M. in front of Sierra and Adams Hall.

Photos by Andre Kertesz and Wm. Eggleston

In case you want to look up any artists we'll be thinking about at Pier 24:
Artists presented in the exhibition From the Collection of Randi and Bob Fisher include:
Robert Adams, Diane Arbus, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Harry Callahan, William Eggleston, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Andreas Gursky, John Gutman, Helen Levitt, Richard Misrach, Man Ray, Charles Sheeler, Aaron Siskind, Alfred Stieglitz, Thomas Struth, Paul Strand, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Edward Weston, and Garry Winogrand.