Ephemeral

Harvest Hope Food Bank is located at 2200 Shop Road in Columbia, South Carolina. It strives to help underpriviledged individuals get food for themselves and their families.

Today I headed up to Harvest Hope Food Bank to do my first shoot for our digital photography narrative final. It was interesting to take pictures of the people involved as well as the process. I was able to pretty much walk in this loop around the main part of the facility.

The first section contains an area where a consultation is done to see what people are eligible for. Then they are able to wait for their turn to head into the grocery-like area. They take a buggy and pick what food they want.

Although this was just my first visit, I am sure that I will be able to capture many interesting photographs since there are many people who come here for assistance.

The Sandhills Farmer’s Market took place on October 25th, 2011 in Columbia, South Carolina.

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Diane Arbus has become famous for photographing people who are rather eccentric or in blunt terms seen as ‘freaks’. Her work didn’t really become famous until after she committed suicide.

Her photographs caught my eye because they weren’t just pictures of people that you would see everyday. And most of her work is in black and white and that is my favorite medium of photography.

The subjects in her picture also have a surreal-like quality to them. And sometimes, even simple images like the one above can keep you staring for quite a while. My eye keeps moving back and forth between the two girls.

Philippe Halsman did this photograph in collaboration with Salvador Dali.

Dali Atomacus shows 3 cats flying in midair while a bucket of water is being thrown from the side. Also, Salvador Dali stands there painting his Leda Atomica. It took 28 attempts before they were able to get a good enough picture.

I love this picture, granted I would never be able to throw cats in the air like that. I love cats too much.

I think the idea for this picture was very unique. Using the cats and water was a dynamic way of approaching it and certainly keeps it from being too boring.

Also, exploring the idea of suspension was also a very interesting move. It would probably be difficult for any average photographer to do. And alot of money would probably have to be invested into a suspension project for it to be achieved properly.

Either way, this photograph helps to give you inspiration to try different things with your pictures. Keep it interesting.

Zhang Jingna, also known as `zemotion on deviantart.com, takes such stunning portraits in fashion photography. I happened to randomly see the image below while browsing deviantart one afternoon. And then, I was able to see her website.

I love the lighting techniques that she uses. It states in her biography that she uses inspiration from her dreams and that makes her pictures look so ethereal. In some it almost looks like natural light, but then I imagine like in the picture above, she used an off-camera strobe. This reminds me of the football picture we saw in class the other day, where only the face was lit as it was the most important feature.

These pictures of hers make me want to experiment more with lighting. And perhaps even try out some fashion photography.

Francesca Woodman was recently shown in my Arts 360 class (Advanced Black and White Photography). Upon first seeing her images, I loved them.

I already love black and white photography. So seeing how elegant her photos are made me easily love her style. She has such a strange technique of photographing people (if they are in the picture) in a way where they are only half-way shown or that if their faces are showing, they are in a odd/almost creepy way.

But the picture I have posted is of a door (the picture is untitled). I just love how this is set up. And the tonal range is amazing. It’s so simple yet eye-catching. It makes me wonder what the story is with the door. Who moved it? Or what moved it?

I really love her work. It saddens me that she committed suicide at the age of 21 I believe? It would have been nice to see what type of photographs she could come up with using the newest technology.

It is difficult for me to pick an image that I specifically like by a photographer, because I am not really a photography buff. However, I decided to go more for an inspiration this week instead.

Basically, I really love the Japanese culture. Sushi fanatic, I love Sony, and I just love most of the Japanese style in terms of anything.

This is just a random picture of a Geisha that I found on google. I found a few on flick which I thought were very compelling but I can’t save them to put here. So these are the links.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelchandler/4386784837/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/barbery/5846955514/

I really love how much effort is put into an identity of a geisha. I suppose, I would like to be able to have all my photos have some sort of  identity or story behind them. Not necessarily that they have to be a photo essay of sorts, but just that, they have a certain emotion or element about them.

Not to mention, a geisha wears such an assortment of bright colors. If my photographs were to display such elegant colors in a precise manner, I feel as if it would really draw the audience into my photographs.

My boyfriend was trying to enjoy a Butterbeer in peace until a not-so-polite T-Rex crept up on him.

This picture was taken at the Island of Adventure theme park in Orlando, FL. Basically, the genre would be humor in this case seeing as…there’s a T-Rex, butterbeer, and my unsuspecting boyfriend involved.

The strongest element of the photo would be the coloring I believe. The natural light is also quite good seeing as the shadows fall in appropriate areas, yet they don’t seem to hinder any of the main elements.

I would want to keep this photo just because it’s a good laugh and it always brings a smile to my face whenever I see it.