The maternity picture that Annie Lebowitz created for Demi Moore and Awol Erizku created for Beyonce are both very stunning photography.  Both of these picture’s purpose is to pronounce the bump of these public figures.  The photos also emphasizes women’s ability, grace and strength.  Both of these photos, the model has their arm framed around their belly. 1 to emphasize it more and 2 to shows how a mother will always protect their baby.

The portrait of Demi Moore mainly shows strength and courage.  She looks like she wants to pass her legacy to her future child and protect it with all that she got.  The lighting illuminates the subject and the background.  The light is coming from a high angle hitting 80 percent of the subjects face as well as casting a shadow underneath her.  This shots is simple but powerful at the same time.  it got to do with the way she is positioning herself too.  Her body is sideway which this way you can see the contour of her stomach and her facial area is turned to the opposing side.  This makes her look powerful and optimistic.

The portrait of Beyonce on the other hand.  This shot in my opinion is not as elegant as Moores portrait even though the photographer adds a floral background to try to make it match. I understand that different artist has different styles but i believe in less is more.  i feel that the floral background as well as the thin cloth that on her face; there is just too much going on!! it seems very unnatural.  What i like about this photo is that she looks very content, very loving and nurturing.  She looks like she is going to take care of the babies(twins) with all that she got.

Philip Lorca Dicorcia is an American photographer that his work alternates between reality and fantasy.  His shots are carefully planned, he take shots of everyday occurrences and adds a twist of cinematic feel into it.  The color in his photography are very vivid and you can say that all his shot can pose as an advertisement.  All his work really emphasizes on the model’s expression/reaction.  He is one of my favorite photographer because he’s a guy that can make a boring situation full of life and excitement!

In this gallery “Hustler” Philip Lorca went around LA shooting images of male prostitutes. instead of paying them for sex he would pay them to have their picture taken. This gallery is all staged.  The men he found came to LA from all over the country for a glamorous new life that they believed could be found in Hollywood. The titles of the photos included the subject’s name, age, hometown and the fee exchanged. My favorite shot from him for this gallery would be Roy, ‘in his 20s’, Los Angeles, California, $50. This shot is perfectly proportioned.  The subject is lying directly in the middle of the bed while having his head dangled over the edge of the bed.  Th subject has perfectly mid length hair which makes a beautiful symmetric shape for the shot.  The main light source seems to be coming from the left side making the right side of the subject face darker.  The meaning behind this photo tells me that he did not expect Hollywood to be like this.  He made a huge mistake and hes having flashbacks of all he did till this very moment.

As a class we took a trip to see different photography galleries specifically in the chelsea area. These were all very interesting to look at, especially at the fact that they were all selling for at a very high price point.

The first stop was at Apperture Foundation: Prison Nation.  This gallery explores inmates and incarceration in the United states. The selection of photos shows the different sides to life  behind bars.  As we start our tour with this fine lady which was an intern for Apperture Foundation, I have noticed that most of the prisoner that were presented was not the expression that i had expected. I thought they were going to look sour, upset and perhaps even suicidal but instead they were posing happily in front of the photographer; throwing up the peace sign, having a big smirk and laughing.  What i found amusing is that one of the photographer was also correction officer at the time.  Photography was one of his main hobby i would say.  We then the came upon portraits of inmates that were either going in there for life or may have a death penalty.  These portraits had a black background and what i have noticed is that these set of photography looks drastically different from the photos that we saw earlier.  The models were more serious and they seem like they have a lot of thoughts going through in there head.  The pictures was taken inside of a bleacher, that was how the black background come to be about.  They were all dressed in costumes for a play that they had to do.  It doesn’t seem like they wanted to do the play or even be there at all.  These feelings were greatly expressed greatly through their faces.  When i walked in to these set of photos i didn’t really enjoy it that much until i heard the story behind it.  it immediately changed my perception of viewing these photography.

The second stop was a gallery called Leaning out.  This was one of my favorite gallery through the whole trip mainly because the pictures was at a birds eye view of the cities  of New York and Los Angeles.  At first i thought it was taken from a drone and i was surprise of how the picture quality came out.  These photos were huge and most of them were even taller than me.  I spoke to the receptionist and later found out that the photos were taken from a helicopter which  explains the high definition in them.  Through this gallery i cant help but imagine how it would be like to take these photos especially from so high up in the air.  With the propeller spinning and the wind all up in your face it must takes some great skills to keep steady. I would like to be in his place one day because i love heights!!!

The final stop, Yossi Milo Gallery.  This gallery focused on photos of churches.  This was a interesting gallery because according to the tour guide these pictures were made up of thousands of close up images of the same church.   The photographer would take pictures of every angle of the church day in and day out. He would then mesh all the good pictures in to one glorifying beautiful top to bottom photo of the church.  It was super interesting to look at because no matter where your eyes moved its like you’re look at that portion of the building directly.  This take massive amount of skills to execute. kudos to the artist!!!

The work of Michael Paul Smith is really interesting because we can see every detail of his projects. Also, it is amazing how he can get photographs to look so real with only a compact camera. And the Last thing that I liked about his work, it’s that every project is like a challenge because every project is not the same as the others that he had worked.

For our next class, some ideas that I have to make my shoot more successful is to use depth of field and broad lighting.

Benrubi Gallary Exhibition: Leaning Out Photographer: Jeffrey Milstein.

Last week, we visited Chelsea art galleries and we looked at many photographs. I loved three photographs which interested was Benrubi Gallary which was at 521 W. 26th St. The exhibition was leaning out and photographer Jeffrey Milstein. I was amazed to see how bird’s eye view photography. I never imagined a ship would so interesting to see from the top view. It is so colorful and it allows us to see how color harmony works in our surroundings. Benrubi Gallary enhance my vision of photography. It has from all around to get the most out of the ship.The colors are vibrant and require a lot of light to get this kind of shot.

Yossi Milo Gallery Exhibition: Facades- Grand Tour Photographer: Markus Brunetti

The second image which got my attention is this one at Facades at the Grand Tour at the Yossi. It was amazing to see how this image was taken by Markus Brunetti. I was amazed by the color and how the photo is taken at the center. The most amazing thing is every detail is captured in the photo and for a photographer, it is an achievement. The light is perfect for this kind of shot because of you able to see each detail in the image. Again I mention the color is very hard to get in outside location. For architect this the best example to idealized this building.

Jack Shainman Gallary, Exhibition: I am you Photographer Gordon Parks

The photograph is taken By Gordon Parks. The image has a different angle from where it is taken from. It is a very unusual composition of this image. The kid in the image is looking very thoughtful and the two babies are handing in front of him. The image has al lot curiosity because you want to understand what is going on. The light has created a contrast effect on images which focuses on the babies and the kid.

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting a hand full of art galleries located the neighbourhood of Chelsea. After visiting these galleries, I had a discover three photographs that I found quite powerful and define the true definition of art.

The first gallery we visited was in Aperture with the pieces by Stephen Tourlentes. One photograph that that allured my attention was that one titled “Rawlins, Wyoming State Death House Prison”. Looking at this photograph, we can see that glimpse of light that draw attention and us question “what is are those lights?”. In terms of lighting, it is very soft with a grey to black gradient. It’s beautiful and looks like 19^th century painting. On the contrary, this photograph has dark meaning behind it. Like the title stated, this a death row prison. Thus, this is  the meaning of the dark side of beauty.

This photograph by Jeffrey Milstein, titled “Newark Airport Terminal B, 2017”, was the most powerful photograph I had the pleasure observing. This struck me because it reflected something I wanted to be. As a little boy, I wanted to become a pilot. This love of aircrafts and flying was all I wanted to do. I had the opportunity to attend a college for aviation and there I believed in 2020 I would be flying for Lufthansa or Delta. Unfortunately, my dream was crushed due to finance reasons and I was forced to go elsewhere. To see this photograph, it showed me a dream that lost and a career I could have had.

The last photograph I will discuss is the portrait of Ella Watson by Gordon Park. This photograph was captured during the 1940’s, when the majority of the US was racist. With that noticed, blacks where restricted from high paying jobs that their white counter parts had. So, we had to settle for the jobs that white people didn’t want to do.  Like cleaning, farm work and especially taking care of their very own children. We this so strongly represented here. We see a black woman, most likely tired and bored of a job, but strong, as she stands upright with no expression one her face. Broom and mop, she stands in front of the American flag, looking determined to provide for her family.

The photographs at Facades – Grand Tour at the Yossi Milo Gallery was simply amazing. It’s not because of the pictures but the effort and work went into creating those pictures.Each picture was created by putting together thousands of photographs. No matter where you stand too look at the photos it seems like that’s the center of the picture. That’s truly amazing.

Jeffrey Millstein’s leaning out displays a lot of aerial photography. The pictures are very nice but at some extent I feel like that the photographs were over edited. The composition and and the subject of most of the photos were very nice and pleasing.

Gallery: David Zwirner

Exhibition: Scenes from the Blackout  (Photographer: Stan Douglas)

This galley showed us photographs of an event where New York City had a power blackout. I really love this exhibition. The photos were beautiful and very thought out. Every single one of them were eye-catching. I really loved the one where the woman was stuck in the elevator.

This photo at the Jack Shainman gallery caught my attention because it showed MLK at his prime. The was be geared towards him at his strongest without him even knowing. the black and white photo is what makes it clear that it’s only him that carries out the message of honored power amongst people who want equal right and to be treated as humans.

At this exhibit it didn’t interest me at all when I first, took a glimpse at it.That’s until the guy actually explained what was happening in this photo. the church itself was composed of thousands of pictures to create such vivid details in this photograph. It slightly got me intrigued by the other exhibit photo after hearing the background story of what i’m seeing.

Take me to church

This photo immediately caught my attention when I walked into the exhibit. I had originally thought that this piece was a painting. when i gazed at it, it took me back the major black out of 2003 in NYC. It was hot dark, the crime rate was high, but in the end it somewhat what brought us closer together as a city that never sleeps. This photograph embodies camaraderie and survival.

Apperture Foundation: Prison Nation

The United States has the highest rate of incarcerated people per capita in the world. The exhibition Prison Nation, as the name implies explores the theme of prison and incarceration in the United States. The selection of photographs in the gallery shows many different sides to life in prison and the prisoner’s themselves. Prisoners and Ex-convicts are often stigmatized as being morally incapable or lesser humans, rather than being put there by a failed legal system. One of the photographs that I was most intrigued by was Troy Holding a Guinea Fowl Chick, GreenHouse Program, Rikers Island Jail Complex, New York by Lucas Foglia. I love this photo because it humanizes the prisoner. (Troy) The moment captured here shows that not all prisoners aren’t these hardened dangerous menaces to society because even they can appreciate the little things (literally)

Yossi Milo Gallery: Grand Tour – Facades

The current exhibition at the Yossi Milo Gallery explores the different facades of churches around the world. Regardless of one’s religion, I don’t think it’s up for debate that some of the greatest architecture in the world exists because of churches. The series of photographs are extremely crisp and detailed and highlight the complexity of the architecture. What makes these photos even more impressive is that they are each made up of thousands of close up images.

Benrubi Gallery: Leaning Out

The exhibition /Leaning Out/ on display at Ben Rubi Gallery shot by Jeffrey Millstein celebrates aerial photography. Personally, I’m not very impressed by aerial photography. I find it to be like a cheat code, of course, people are supposed to be wowed by aerial photography cause humans don’t fly and we never see that point of view. There was, however, one photo from the exhibition that I was fascinated with (pictured above.) The reason why I enjoyed this photo, in particular, is because it’s not your cliche aerial photo of NYC instead it shows a directly vertical perspective. The rooftops of some of the buildings in the photos are instantly recognizable (at least for someone who pays attention to architecture and trespassed on rooftops.) I thought it was very interesting to see the difference from rooftop to rooftop, it is a very uncommon way to appreciate the architecture of a building.

For class on Feb 28 we took a trip to Chelsea where we viewed eight galleries. Here are three of the most memorable to me.
Prison Nation at Aperture
Artist: Lucas Foglia , Bruce Jackson, Emily Kinni, Jesse Krimes, Jack Lueders-Booth, Deborah Luster, Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun, Zora Murff, Nigel Poor, Joseph Rodriguez, Jamel Shabazz, Sable Elyse Smith, Stephen Tourlentes
This exhibit was a collection of images that were taken inside of prisons of inmates, recently released from prison and getting reacclimated, and art made by inmates. The main series of the exhibit were the images that were of the inmates who were performing religious plays. The mood of the inmates seemed to be indifferent to the situation. They sat in costume staring into the camera while they waited. The portraits were well lit on the subject against a black background in high contrast, which helped to bring the focus to the costume and facial expressions. Most of the subjects were placed right in the center and cropped near or bellow the waist. The exception to this was one image of a man in costume armor. He was exposed from head to toe sitting on a stool draped in black cloth. This image allows for the audience to see more of what is taking place around the photograph.

Moving Stillness at James Cohan by Bill Viola
Focusing on The Sleepers instillation, we enter a room that is painted all black with several barrels filled with water and placed around the room. The barrels have a blue glow coming from them and once inspected reveals a t.v. screen at the bottom displaying a sleeping person. The room is still and quiet, while peering down on to this sleeping person I get an uneasy feeling, like I am violating this person’s privacy. Yet I couldn’t look away, I pulled out my phone and recorded this moment of protected exposure. The videos were very close to the subject, giving little context to the whole room they were sleeping in. What was strange was that none of the subjects rolled over.

DCTs and Scenes from the Blackout by Stan Douglas at David Zwirner
The works on view are a series of images that started off as staged photographs that depict what if scenarios in the event of a blackout. The images are dark with minimal sources of light, high contrast. What makes this work more interesting is how he edits them. Douglas manually manipulates color, frequencies and amplitudes to create the desired feel, then prints them on coated surfaces to give them a more surreal feel. One image shows a loot. A hand is shown in the near center of the image, top left of a glass window with a hole in it. The hand is lit by a single light, highlighting the theft.