The first photograph by Bonnie is a black and white composition with tons of values and contrast. I really like how the fingers are elongated which creates a neat distortion. I noticed with the negative space and shadows, this creates a frame within a frame and gives off an abstract feel. In addition, the foreground not only has different textures, but the synchronicity of the lines and values really makes this photograph stand out.
The second photograph by Damuel really caught my gaze due to the vibrant colors and shapes. I really like how this photo is balanced because the magenta color on top is strong with the added fractal bits in comparison to the muted colors in the bottom with the squares. The angle is also interesting and seems like it’s an obtuse angle.
Helen Levitt was a remarkable photographer and cinematographer who captured organic moments in time. Levitt, a Brooklyn native, is well known for her spontaneous photographs and expert capture of street scenery. Drawing inspiration from her own surroundings, many of the photos were taken in working class neighborhoods of New York City, displaying an introspective into everyday life. Ultimately, this became an integral component to future street photographers to emulate and inspire the genre itself. Levitt stated, she wanted to capture life just as she viewed it. This opens a new visual world of surreal photography.
Levitt was born on August 31st, 1913, in Bensonhurst, a neighborhood in Brooklyn. Her parents were Russian – Jewish immigrants. As a child, she studied different artforms such as dance, music, and film. She drew inspiration from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. This is where the essence of her theme came to be as she had a deep appreciation of human movement. She educated herself through reading publications and visiting exhibitions, commonly finding herself in the works of Ben Shahn and Henri Cartier Bresson, who were also street photographers. Soon after, she worked as a part time art teacher in Spanish Harlem. During this period, she noticed and gained an appreciation on stoop life, sidewalks, and the walls of the city. The idea sparked that she’d document life around her and so she began her photography career at the age of eighteen, assisting in a portrait studio in the Bronx.
She was successful in fruitfully capturing moments of everyday life. One of my favorite photographs by Levitt is a black and white photograph taken in the summer of 1939 in New York City. I have gained an appreciation of this photograph because it shows a simple moment with many compositional elements and emotion. The image displays a wet working-class neighborhood with kids lounging on the stoop of a building. The fire hydrants are opened to provide a refreshing and cool spray for the neighborhood during a hot summer day. The subject (the toddler) displays dissatisfaction and annoyance, so it runs to its mother. Levitt’s decision to shoot at an eyelevel brings an overall balance because the point of view is straight forward. The lighting in the background creates a foggy cast in which creates movement with the eye. The lighting also touches the reflections on the ground. The side light on the subjects generates obvious shadows which contrast the lightness in the background. Levitt is trying to show the everyday mundane moments through her lens, and we see the people in the picture simply being present. This goes back to why she was so passionate about street photography and used it to show the rawness and true nature of everyday life. I truly connect to this photo because it reminds me of time in summer of 2003 where there was a heat wave along with a blackout. It pushed the kids in my building and our guardians to spend the day outside playing and mingling, many for the first time by the cooling spray from the hydrant.
I used a white canvas meant for painting as my background. Using this gave me 18×24 area space to play with. The images shot was during morning time using natural window light. I used a little flashlight as a fill and a small canvas white board to reflect the light. I believe I achieved better results using a fill because the additional light source to reflect the organic window light not only casts a shadow, but the fill emphasizes the shadows making it clearer and the fill also adds dimension to the overall photograph. The image that I think is best is the “backlight fill 3/4” photo. The light source in this image is recognizable and I really like the highlight on the garlic. I also like the different values in shadows that is created by the reflective light.
1. Garlic and porcelain pig object photographs on kitchen granite
2. Garlic and porcelain pig object photographed on an espresso wooden table.
The first photograph pictured with a light granite background casts a shadow behind the objects and the light source coming from the opposite side. I noticed with a lighter background, the shadow contrasts better.
The second photograph pictured with an espresso-colored wooden table differs from the lighter background picture because the shadow casts are in front of the objects and not as clear as the first one. It’s hard to say where the light source is coming from too.
For both photographs I increased the exposure and brightness in Lightroom. I also sharpened and added a bit of definition. In my opinion, I believe the lighter background picture stands out than the darker background because the light source and cast shadows are apparent and clear. This exercise emphasizes the importance of background and the relationship it has with the other components of the composition.
Wide angle distortion can be achieved when using a lens that has a wider cut and also being very close to the subject in order to emphasize the distortion. The object will look abnormally larger when compared to the objects in the photograph. Distances are also altered in a way that is extended. This happens because if the subject is abnormally larger than the objects in the distance, then objects with appear smaller which creates more distant. Wide angle distortion is great for exaggerating or being creative for a project of any kind. However, since the lens are wider than normal lens, this distortion is not ideal if you want to shoot proportionately without abnormalities.
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