Robin Michals | COMD 1340 Photography 1

Author: Erika Juarez

Final Project statement

 I plan on taking pictures in Bryant Park as well as the New York Public Library. The park is small, but it will always be full of people, holiday cheer, and busy people. I choose Bryant Park because I have a lot of memories of working in the area and then hanging out in the park or library before going home. So, it would be nice to revisit the area and take pictures and use the tools I’ve learned in class.

My theme for this project will be the stress of living in New York in a pretty environment. I feel like people romanticize New York even though the people that live here have many issues with how it’s being ran. From the mayor, the police, rent, and living expenses it feels like we are just being worked overtime for the tourist to feel happy.

I really enjoy pictures that look depressing especially in New York because that’s what it feels like to live here. To help make my pictures look gloomy and gritty I’m going to use exposure, blurring motion, direct light, and more. I think that the juxtaposition will be make for interesting photos and make a vibe a lot of people will relate to.

I plan on going at different times from early morning to night to show the flow of people and different lighting. I’ll take pictures of people rushing, resting, smoking, and their surroundings. The pictures in the library will help too with the vibe of people just wanting to be in a calm quiet environment to themselves.

HW 1 Composition Erika Juarez

https://www.michaelkenna.net/gallery.php?id=14

This is photograph is by Micheal Kenna “Central Park Reservoir, New York City, USA, 1998”. I picked this image because I’m a fan of the frame within a frame rule. The image has you looking through a fence where in the distance there is a city with a symmetrical building in the middle. I think the intent of this photograph might have been to show the viewer this quiet serene scene. The city that is usually so loud and chaotic looks so simple and silent being so far away. The feeling I get from this photograph is peace. Micheal Kenna work is done in black and white with a minimal style to capture images. So I think his work have that same peaceful feeling to them.

         In this image I instantly noticed the frame within a frame element which in this case is a wire fence. The fence frame is very thin and has some plants as a silhouette at the bottom. Another element that I noticed after looking through the fence is the symmetrical building. The buildings have spiky cone shaped roofs that stand tall above the rest. The third element that I think works in this image is figure to foreground. We just have to look through the fence to see the subject is the buildings. The dark buildings contrast with the bright white background. I think with all these elements combined make for an interesting image.