Homework #7

The theme that was addressed in Robert Franks photographs is the national pride of America. Frank has captured photos of people who are living in America after the events of World War 2 were everyone is living happily. These photos are a form of art showcasing the lives of many Americans. Also the photographs are not staged but natural. We look back at Robert Franks photographs as a symbol of America.

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Homework #7: Robert Frank’s America

Robert Frank, Drugstore, Detroit, 1955-56

Robert Frank, Drugstore, Detroit, 1955-56

For this homework assignment, please watch a short video on last year’s exhibition at Stanford University’s Cantor Center for Visual Arts. The exhibition highlighted Robert Frank’s seminal photography book The Americans (1958) and the photographs that didn’t make it into the book. The book contains only 83 photos but Robert Frank took many more. The video gives you a tour of the exhibition with the curator Peter Galassi, formerly of MoMA. What do you think of the themes addressed in Frank’s photographs, do you find them artistic? bleak? or political?

Take a short tour of the Cantor exhibition on Robert Frank here. 

To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #7, Hearts and Clubs will submit a Post, and Diamonds and Spades will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).

Please submit your posts by Thursday December 10th!.

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Homework#6

Food photography is currently one of the trending photography topic there is as of today. Although it’s been overly done, this photography style can be useful in other form. There’s people who take picture of food for their own pleasure and there’s some who do it for other purposes. I personally believe that food photography is a great use for marketing. Especially using it through Instagram. Social media played a huge part when it comes down to marketing something. It’s a great way to sell their idea to the audiences. Since currently Instagram is one of the top social media in our society, using it as a marketing tool is fantastic. This helps promote the restaurant and their food. It can also helps increase restaurant businesses as well as gaining fame to the Instagram account owner. It’s a win win. Although some people find food photography is a form off art but it’s just not as powerful as using it for marketing purposes. No matter how nice you make the food is, the way you took the picture (The camera angle, the composition, prop uses, etc), you’re still promoting something. So in this particular case, I strongly believe food photography is mainly good for marketing whether than a form of art.

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Homework #6

I believe the difference between food photography for marketing and food photography for art is how devoted you are to your photographs. Food photography for marketing, is a great way to use your artistic image to make money. Post it on social media, quote the place and the name of the food, to gain interest. Although, the Instagram users has confessed that if it didn’t taste spectacular as the image, they’d still continue to post it because of their relationship with the restaurant. Especially some of the food that’s used for marketing, is only used for false presentation and advertisement. Food photography for art, is a way to demonstrate the perspective view of the food, and it’s reality. Martin Parr may not have the most appealing imagery of the food he is eating, but at least he has shown what is true. Knowing that the food looks exactly the same as the photo, can most definitely become pleasing, rather than being disappointed. An example is, Wendy’s burger or KFC chicken and microwavable food that looks promising, but doesn’t look like the photo you’ve seen. Honestly, either one is preferably fine, as long as the food that you are taking a photo of, whether it’s art or marketing, looks like the actual thing. As well as posting images, where the food is tasty as it looks(referring to the Instagram users).

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Homework #6

When viewing Martin Parr’s work I saw that each food didn’t look as appealing. While Instagram photos did look appealing. Which made me think of  food that’s used in advertising which can be showed everywhere. For example every fast food restaurant that makes their food look amazing. But when you order it and see it you notice it doesn’t look like the pictures. Instagram food photographers always post images of food that looks so delicious and they might even provide an address. It’s literally advertises restaurants and even reviews them. Both Parr’s photographs and Instagram are alike because they show what’s on their plate. They show the real thing the moment they get the meal. Which marketing doesn’t do. We all see delicious food being advertise but it’s not the real picture. I prefer Instagram photos because I take images of the food I just got as well.

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Drilon Dushi: Instagram and the Art of Food Photography

As a photographer myself and user of Instagram, Instagram allows you to collaborate with different artists and companies. It is known to be a “social media” platform however I believe it’s just a pamphlet for companies to look at and decide which photographers to work with. Some are compensated with cash, others with free products, food ect.

Many of my friends such as (@Inijie) on Instagram and (@rach.esq) are food photographers that have made a living through this platform. I highly recommend you to look at these pages before commenting.

As a photographer I have tried to take photos of food, I will say that it not easy as it looks. You need to be very patient and be very technical with lighting and setup on how everything will be placed on the table. Lighting is key to make food look appetizing, which Martin Parr fails to do. Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist, not a food photographer. He does not have the right skill set to take these kinds of photos, and for these reasons his work on food is honestly bad..

Companies are seeking artists on these platforms because it allows companies to have work created by the new fresh ideas rather than the old and traditional from agencies. I have seen amazing work done by aspiring photographers than those who have been in the field for 30 years.

Saying what is the difference between food photography and food photography for the art is like saying whats the difference between photos that tourist take of the city vs. photos done for architecture and design. Photographers tend to take what a person sees everyday and puts a unique perspective that wasn’t once seen so obviously. Everyone can be a photographer these days and takes pictures of the way things are presented but its takes a real photographer to take a way something is presented to then flip it around.

 

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Homework #6: Instagram and the Art of Food Photography

Martin Parr, Untitled (Turkey and Lamp), 1994, from the British Food series

Martin Parr, Untitled (Turkey and Lamp), 1994, from the British Food series

Happy Thanksgiving! This week seems an appropriate time to consider how photographing food can be an art form. A recent article “Food instagrammers turn their accounts in professions” in the Wall Street Journal highlights how some people have turned their obsession with photographing food into real-world perks, like free meals or cash! Using social media outlets, like Instagram, these foodie entrepreneurs have turned their love of eating out into a viable marketing tool for the hospitality industry. Read the Wall Street Journal article and compare these amateur photos to food photographs by an art photographer like Martin Parr, who is a member of the esteemed photography cooperative Magnum Photos. Parr created a series dedicated “British Foods,” which includes the photograph of the turkey shown here. What do you think are some of the differences between food photography for marketing and food photography for art? Do you prefer one over the other?

Read the Wall Street Journal article here.

Look at Martin Parr’s series here.

To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #5, Diamonds and Spades will submit a Post, and Hearts and Clubs will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).

PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR POSTS BY TUESDAY DECEMBER 1st, 2015. Same day Writing Assignment #2 is DUE (please make sure you choose one exhibition on the list, do not try to review the entire museum, rather pick one of the exhibitions to review)

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Homework #5

When reading the article the writer mentioned that both The Falling Soldier and the photograph, showing a man in a further state of collapse show the same man. Both man do look similar but you can’t really tell. It can be possibly due, to the angle of the image that it’s hard to tell if it’s the same person. When looking at both images I can’t really tell if they are staged. Even if it was staged it ended up being publish and the photographer became famous for those images. Everyone views the photos differently and we can’t be certain if they are staged or not. Both images will forever be viewed as the best war photos that still has controversy regarding if it’s staged or not.

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Homework #5: Robert Capa’s Death of a Loyalist Soldier

Falling Soldier

Robert Capa, “Death of a Loyalist Soldier” 1936

At the age of 23, Robert Capa took a photograph that many have labeled the greatest war photograph of all time.  Taken during the Spanish Civil War, the renown of Capa’s photograph, Falling Soldier or Death of a Loyalist Soldier, reverberated around the world as it was published and republished in contemporary news magazines.  However, Capa’s photo has been shadowed by controversy, including accusations of fakery.  Read an analysis on the image by Capa’s biographer, Robert Whelan, on the authenticity of the photograph.  Do you find his arguments convincing?  Do you think Capa’s photograph is staged or not? And do you think its authenticity matters?

Richard Whelan’s discussion of Capa’s photograph

To complete this homework assignment, note whether you Post or Comment. For Homework #5,  Hearts and Clubs will submit a Post and  Diamonds and Spades will Comment (choose any of your classmates’ posts to comment on).

Please post your responses by Tuesday, November 24th.

 

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Drilon Dushi: Walker Evans’ Subway Portraits

Evans’ subway portrait series captures the raw emotion of people during the great depression. He wants us to feel or try to feel what these people are going through. Some images include a man reading a magazine or what seems to be doing a crossword puzzle. Another of a fellow looking up and around at the ads on the train. The way Evans is disguised with his camera under his jacket and takes portraits directly infant of these people, allows us to be Evans for that moment, reviewing the true skin of these people.

The subway is a very interesting place, that strangely shows the true being of people. As I take the train everyday, I generally tend to look around to how people are acting. For starters eyes contact with other is a NO, and people usually don’t talk to the person next to them. Most people today are focused on their phones, trying to pass time on their commute or others are napping. There is wide array of emotion shown on subway carts. Some people look happy others not so much.

The emotion shown in the subways today are the same from when Evans took photos of people during the great depression.

Evans captured individuals and couples that seemed distressed. People today also are distressed from work and personal matters, but there is always an occasional smile exchanged from one to another, or when there are showtime performers who dance.

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