Edward Burtynsky

Edward Burtynsky photographs images of industrial landscapes that come out beautifully but portray the damage, devastation, and destruction that we as humans have caused to this earth. So far of the artists we have watched he is my favorite and I think that is a combination of the meaning behind his photos as well as the photographs themselves. His photos are very pleasing to the eye but then when you really take in what message he is trying to get across to the viewer it makes you want to do something to help the issue. Lots of his images almost send out a political message. He has a very abstract way of coming up with the projects he does. For example, when he was talking about driving down the highway and then it lead to him thinking about doing a project on oil and how the use of oil has led us to lead the lifestyle that we do in the twentieth century.

(cont.) Book idea

Sometimes as I sit in the ocean when surfing I look back at the cliffs (of Grandview) and notice that no one or hardly anyone is sitting in their backyards or on their porches enjoying what they have worked so hard for. I feel as if many San Diegans take the coast for granted. So what I want to evoke through my photo book is the true maybe hidden but more so forgotten beauties of the San Diego coastline. That is why I want to get images of many different spots throughout the coast and not just all at one or two locations.

Photo book proposal

For my photo book I have decided to do the 40-80 page 8×10 landscape hardcover. As my theme I think I want to shoot photos of the San Diego coastline, which would be from Oceanside to possibly Imperial Beach so I could get some shots of the border. I would like to get shots at all times of the day but mostly at sunrise and sunset because I think that is when the lighting is at its best to take coastline photos. As of right now I only have about 10 good photos from this beach called Grandview in Leucadia, where I usually surf. I would like to get photos at Oceanside Jetty and Pier, Tamarack, Carlsbad campgrounds, Ponto Jetty, Grandview, Beacons, Swamis and the gardens at the Self-Realization center, Seaside(Cardiff) at low tide because of the tide pools, Blacks and La Jolla reefs, and then hopefully Imperial Beach.

Sophie Calle

Sophie has a very interesting way going about getting her photos. I think at times that it is somewhat creepy and stalker-like, but then at other times I find if very different and descriptive. It really allows to understand the whole story or who she is following and that persons life might entail. I found it a bit weird that she had her mom hire a private detective to follow her, but then again it allows her to put herself on the other side of the lens and witness what it was like when she was playing detective.

9.23.08

Sally Mann 9/16/08

Today we watched a short video about Sally Mann and her old fashion techniques and lifestyles. She grew up in an atheistic family where she was the youngest of three children. Her father was into photography, which is how she ended up with about half-dozen of her first cameras. Sally lived in the south and took pictures using a large format film camera, usually printing them in 8×10 format. She took many spontaneous photos because she believed that art should be fun and not overarching. Many of the photos in her early career were of her children, and usually naked, as well as, usually in the water. For some reason most of the shot consisted of the kids either being in water or just getting out of the water. She later switched her art photography to landscapes, which is what her kids believed were going to be the last impression she left with people.

James Nachtwey

Today we watched a short video about James Nachtwey, a professional photographer and journalist. Very different from Jim Brandenberg, Nachtwey depicts war, humanity, and death through the art of photography. He does so to create awareness without censorship. Nachtwey has covered many wars in many different regions and countries of the world since 1981. Through his images he tries to show society the truths of war. He says that politicians say one thing and photographers say/depict another, and he chooses to believe photographers. To me his photography is very inspirational because they are images of people, places, and things that the everyday person doesn’t normally get to see. He truly presents a message along with each and every photo.

Class session 2

Today in class we went over some basics of Photoshop. We covered layers, hue/saturation, levels, black/white, inverting, cropping, image size, paint brush, as well as camera raw, and the use of the bridge. The bridge will be a helpful tool once you upload many images and need to look at them all at the same time to sort them out.

We also continued a video about Jim Brandenburg, that the class began the first day. I missed the first day but I basically got from Brandenburg that through the use of photography you can change peoples decisions and perspectives. He would sometimes take a group of photos and then not end up using them until years later for a different project than he originally intended.