COMD 3330 OL 30 Spring 2021

Professor Michals

Page 3 of 3

HW1: Gordon Parks

February 1, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Working with the Gordon Parks photo assigned to you, start by reading the biography of Gordon Parks on the Gordon Parks Foundation website

https://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/gordon-parks/biography

and the resource given below for that photo. Write down on paper the three main points from the biography and three main points from the resource. Take a photo of your notes and attach it to your final post. You may use other sources as well as long as you credit those sources.

Write two paragraphs in response to the photograph:

Paragraph 1: Describe the photo.

  • What is the subject matter of the photograph?
  • What are the main characteristics of the composition? Use at least two terms from the Week 1: Composition Review page.

Paragraph 2: What is the meaning of the photo?

  • Put the photo into context. When and where was the photo taken? Take this beyond the year and the location. What were the important events of the time that we need to know about to understand the photograph? Who are the people in the photo and what is their significance? What was Parks’ intention when he took that photo? What ideas and/or feelings does the photo convey?

Photo 1 – Diana Florissant, Darius Freeman, Lorena Gonzalez

American Gothic. 1942.

Resources:

American Gothic by Grant Wood.

https://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/gordon-parks/photography-archive/washington-d-c-and-ella-watson-1942

From A Choice of Weapons:

P. 230

P. 230Download

P. 231Download

Photo 2-Egly Hoyos, Jennifer Humala

  • Red Jackson at a window
    Red Jackson. 1948.

Resource:

https://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/gordon-parks/photography-archive/harlem-gang-leader-1948

Photo 3 – Chris Jean-Baptiste, Dominique Joseph

Man emerging: Harlem. 1952.

Resource

https://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/gordon-parks/photography-archive/invisible-man-1952

Photo 4 – Thalia Lloyd-Frontani, Ecquase Onaghise

Evening Wraps, New York, New York, 1956


Resource

https://www.vogue.com/article/gordon-parks-photography-fashion-jack-shainman-gallery

https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/gordon-parks-fashion-photographer-the-gordon-parks-foundation/UAJSPtL5fwxKIA?hl=en

Photo 5 – Daniel Rodriguez, Milan Rodriguez

Malcom X. Malcolm X at Rally, Chicago, Illinois, 1963

Resource

https://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/gordon-parks/photography-archive/black-muslims-1963

Week 1 – Composition Review

January 26, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Needed for this class

  • a camera or cameraphone
  • an account on openLab and membership in our class
  • an account on Flickr and membership in the class group

Composition Review

Rule of Thirds – Instead of placing the main subject in the center of the frame, divide the frame into thirds horizontally and vertically and place the main subject at one of these intersections.

Photographer: Michael Wu.

Diagonal Lines – lines that reach towards opposite corners of the photo

PHILIPPINES. Quezon. Manilla. 1986. American cemetery. 
Photographer: Steve McCurry

Leading Lines – lines in the photograph that lead the eye to the main subject

Photographer: Michael Kenna

Patterns – repeated elements. Break the pattern for visual interest.

Symmetry – If you fold the image in half the two haves are very similar and have equal visual weight. Or make it asymmetrical to add tension to the composition.

Gordon Parks. 1952. Elijah Muhammad’s daughter, Ethel Shariffin in Chicago.

Figure to Ground -the relationship between the subject and the background sometimes described as negative and positive space.

Calla Lily. 1988. Photographer: Robert Mapplethorpe.

Contrast of Light and Dark – The darks are close to black and the lights are close to white with few mid-tones.

  • Red Jackson at a window
    Red Jackson. 1948.
Red Jackson. 1948. Gordon Parks.

A Frame within a Frame

BURMA. Rangoon. 1995.Steve McCurry.

Lab Exercise

Scavenger Hunt

Homework

HW 1: Gordon Parks

Welcome, Students!

January 26, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I look forward to working with all of you this semester to make visually engaging, meaningful pictures. I hope that we will all have fun and learn to be better photographers. The good news about photography is that you can make a great image with any camera.

We will use a lot of technology to be able to share and communicate about our photos.

  • Zoom-Class meetings will use Zoom. A meeting link for each class will be sent to your City Tech email.
  • OpenLab-Course information, course content, and assignments will be on OpenLab. You will use Openlab to submit lab exercises, quizzes, and comments on your classmates work. Please join this course. Instructions below.
  • Flickr-Photo homework will be submitted via Flickr. You will need a Flickr account. Please join the class group. You should have received an invitation to join. If not search for COMD 3330 Photography II OL30 Spring 2021 and request to join.
    For each homework assignment, upload your work to Flickr and organize it in an album.
  • Blackboard-Your grades will be here. You are responsible for checking your grades during the semester and bringing any mistakes to my attention.

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