Digital Photography 1

Wing Wat

GRA 2330 – Digital Photography

Professor Michals

Photo – Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao LIRR, Hunters Point, 2004

1. A large-scale panoramic photograph that was taken near 7 train station during sunset.

2. I guess Jeff Chien was trying to show people how nice the view is while taking the 7 train. And the photo was taken during the sunset, sort of giving some warm feeling to it.

3.  I think the photographer was trying to emphasis the atmosphere of the photo that is warm and relaxing feeling with the large-scale and also the magnificent details of the urban environment.

4. I don’t think technical matters help the image. But I think the main point of this photo is the light. Without the sunset, the whole image would not be much contrast.

5. The thing I see is the guy in the middle, and then I would think if this is a combination of two different scenes since the photo is in high contrast and the left side of the photo which is the subway station under the bridge is in low key.

6.  I found the shadows of people, buildings, cars and the colors of the clouds very interesting when I looked close to the photo.  They created more straight lines of the photo.

7. Obviously the photograph has emotional impact like peacefulness and warmness.

8. Compare to other photographers, Jeff’s photos show emotions by the light, high contrast and large-scale.

1.  The photo appears to be taken at eye level where the buildings sit horizontally in the center of the photograph. It is a low-key backlit photograph of Manhattan. There is a high contrast between the buildings and the background lights from behind the buildings that cause the buildings to appear as silhouettes. This photo is very sharp and has somewhat of a texture over the water making it appear as if it was completely still.

2. It appears that the photographer tried to make Manhattan look as simple as possible. In Manhattan there are many famous buildings where one can tell which is which. Just by looking and the shape of the building and where on the photo it appears you can tell where he was standing and from which direction was the picture taken, as if the simple silhouettes of the buildings tell the story.

3. Well there is a huge emphasis on the buildings in this photograph. The contrast between the buildings and the lights emanating from behind them makes the shape of the buildings very sharp and defined. Also the water emphasizes on the distance of the photographer and the buildings making them appear very far apart.

4. Simply because of the distance of the photographer and the buildings there is very little to no detail at all in this photo. Although  there’s a lack of detail it does not take away from the photo at all. I feel that this simplicity was exactly what the photographer was going for.

5. Graphic elements are very important in this photograph. When I look at this photo I look directly at the buildings to see which of them I could recognize. Although I mainly look at the buildings my eyes keep moving back to the texture of the water, which is the only part of the photo that has any detail at all.

6. One thing that isn’t immediately noticeable is that the empire state building is easily identified on the right hand side meaning that this photo was taken from New Jersey.

7. This photo is very plain and emotionless. It has a somewhat apocalyptic feel to it without any destruction.

8.Many of his photographs are take from the same angles as this one of Manhattan. Although the others are similar to this one they have far greater detail than this one.

Bathroom Scene.

1.  This photo was intended to be shown in a gallery.  It was taken to shine light on an area that is not well known or thought too much about.  People also have very different ideas on Chinatown, as mentioned on the website, people think of it as a place to go to get cheap sunglasses and Chinese food, but what a lot of people do not think about is of the people living there.

2.  I believe that the photographers intention was to have the viewer get the chance to see how a family unlike their own lives in their everyday life.  Holton also wanted to discover more of Chinatown himself since his grandparents had lived there.  All the objects in the photo are in focus so the view point is right in the center.  There are many objects in the picture and lots of colors.  When I first looked at the photo my eyes were drawn to the reds; the flowers in the tub, to the coat hangers, to the red gloves, and the symbol above the mirror.

3.  There is an extensive depth of field, and it does not seem like there is a window in their bathroom so I believe that there is probably an overhead light.  I think that he wanted to make the emphasis that all the objects were important.

4.  I do not think that there were any technical problems.  Though, the room seems very small so to capture all the elements he did have to get really close and I am sure there were a lot more interesting things that just did not fit in the focused field.

5.  There are important graphic elements in the photo, starting with the bath tub.  The top of it has a very definite line stretching from the left side of the piece well past the middle area.  This jumps up to the line the sink makes.  Above the bath tub there is a line in the wall, changing colors even, witch helps break up the picture and the objects.  There are many more lines in the sink, and the mirrors.  This helps lead the eyes in what would otherwise be a very jumbled photo.

6.  This is not your average bathroom.  Sure, they probably shower in there but it also seems to be where they wash their clothes.  There are MANY sponges; hanging up, in trays, in containers, etc.  The sink has some kind of an attachment on it…this is probably for cleaning the clothes.  What I do not understand is if the sectional soap dispenser is for shampoo, or laundry detergent.

7.  There is a lot going on.  I feel a sense if sadness because they have to do their laundry in the tub but at the same time there is a sense of peace.  Everything seems to have its place, and even with all the different objects you can tell everything is settled with love and has purpose.

8.  This photo simply shows another part of the Lams family.  They live a very different lifestyle from me so each photo I was able learn so much more about them.  I can tell that the photographer understands how important objects are.  Looking though the other collections on his website, I can tell that he wants to capture parts of society that are not that well known.  I think that this is important, it is always good to know how other people live and what their conditions are.  Many people in New York do not even have any idea how people in other parts of this country live.

–Athena Wyman Battalen

http://michaelkenna.net/gallery.php?id=14

“Hoboken Station NJ”

1. The photo I chose to me has a very private feeling, some what of an outsider that is looking in. It is a stand alone image that can be creatively incorporated into an ad. It can also be portrayed as lonely or even perhaps enlightening. It created so many different and contradicting feelings and this is why i liked this image.

2. When I see this image I get a feeling of melancholy and isolation. But after seeing the title I get contradicting feelings. One side maybe the photographer is trying to say how NJ even though so close to new york is really isolated. It is a well transited station yet the image shows no signs of organic life. Or maybe he is showing how NJ is able to break through and the time and effort it takes to do it. That may explain why the photographer chose to capture the light breaking through the clock.

3. The emphasis in the photo I think is the bench. Light breaks through and shines on the bench, which can also translate to a shining light to the people of NJ.

4. I think technical matter helps the image because the angle at which it was taken (floor) allows him to capture both the bench and the light breaking through the clock.

5. Perspective in this image was key for dramatic effect. Because the photo was taken from below the view point the bench has a sharp angle towards the vanishing point. This drives your eyes down the bench and essentially makes you focus on the light hitting the bench.

6. Although it is not possible to know what the photographer was trying to say unless we spoke to him my guess is that it invokes more than just a bench. As I mentioned earlier, I believe the photo speaks volume of the people of NJ. As only a human would sit in a bench on a train station, this could mean that the people of NJ are isolated or that light on the bench can be interpreted as the people of NJ being able to break through.

7. To me it induces sadness, isolation, disconnected and melancholy.

8. I believe this work in this particular portfolio section is all about an industrialized society. He never shot an image of a single human and even when there was a tree involved, it was shot in the winter when trees are dead. Therefore it is a sight of industrialization but the one image which was the “Hoboken train station” was the only one that was not part of NYC. This tells me that maybe the photographer sees NJ as a far second in this industrial world when compared to NYC. As whole I do believe that it all goes very well together, it keeps the same mood throughout the photos and yet distinct enough to stan as an individual image.

1.  This photograph is a black and white photograph of two buildings in New York City and the sky above them.  It is taken from a low position looking up into the buildings with the lower building in the foreground and the higher building in the background.  There is steam rising both in front, on the sides, in back, and above the background building.  It creates a sort of “halo” effect above the background building.  This is basically a realist photograph, with the steam adding some transcendent elements.

2.  My guess is that the photographer wanted to portray what these two buildings look like from a lower perspective, and what they look like when steam is rising around them.  I would guess that they wanted to convey a stark lonely image, with a sense of beauty, but also with a sort of mysterious look about them.  The halo may convey some religious or transcendent elements.  The photographer might be trying to make a statement about these buildings having of a sort of important or quasi religious important element about them.  Either that, or they may be trying to say that simple steam dwarfs these mighty buildings, or adds to their sense of grandeur.  But more than anything else, I think the photographer is simply trying to show how beautiful a simple image such as this, with steam being the additional factor, can be.  It could be a metaphor for the stark raw menacing beauty of the city.

3.  The photographer I think was trying to emphasize the dark starkness of the buildings,as contrasted with the bright halo of the steam.  He has done this by using a backlit scene which keeps the building dark, and the white steam bright.  The light seems to be directional diffused, with soft-edged shadows, or contours around) the steam.  The steam slowly blurs into the sky around it.  The back light creates a silhouette of the buildings, making them very dark against the steam and sky.  There are three basic tones.  The buildings are very dark.  The steam is bright white, and the sky is a sort of dark grey.  There seems to be a sort of selective focus, with the buildings very focused, and the background of steam and sky less focused.  This creates a mysterious contrast.  The two buildings seem claustrophobic and close together because of the low level point of view of the shot.  The most important form is the bright mysterious steam.

4.  Technical matters help the photograph.  The low level angel of the shot adds to its mysteriousness.  The backlit aspect makes the buildings seem dark and imposing, and the steam to be holy.  The silhouette makes the buildings look more imposing and mysterious as well.  The glowing light of the steam makes it look more dramatic.  The contrast in tones makes the images more dramatic.  The buildings looking close together makes the scene more intense and dramatic.  They therefore, are interacting with each other more.  It is more of  a relationship.

5.  The graphic elements are not only important in this photograph, they are basically almost the whole photograph, and the whole point of it, I believe.  If the point of it is to show drama, intensity, mysteriousness, and the starkness of the city, the graphic elements are what makes this all happen.  One looks at the buildings first, then the mysterious steam surrounding them. One looks at the bottom of the lower building, and then one’s eyes go upwards to the top of the second building.  The three tones make for the contrast and the drama.  the darkness of the lower building adds a menacing edge to the photo.  The white steam creates a sort of religious theme to them.  (Is the cities true religion commerce, as reflected in these buildings, with the steam being the ‘incense?’  The line going up makes a sort of worshipping quality to the buildings.  The shallow space creates intensity and drama.

6.  As already stated, I believe that this photograph could be a statement about the state of the city, and the role of commerce and religion in them.  The steam creates a holy atmosphere much beyond what simple steam usually represents.  This is what creates the beauty of the photograph.

7.  The photograph induces awe, and a sense of  mystery.  It makes one want to figure out its mysteriousness, and to try to figure out the mystery of the images.  Overall, I would say it creates both a sense of mystery and religion.

8.  This photograph definitely relates to the others in this series.  Many of the others also deal with images of the city, such as the bridges.  Many of the others also create a sense of awesomeness to them.  They also use black and white, with three contrasting tones, of dark, grey and white.  They also use dark shadows creating by the natural back lighting, and one of them, “Empire State Building from Twin Towers Viewfinder”, also uses the “halo” effect around a building.  Many of them such as , “Chrysler Building, Study 1”, uses this same low level point of view, looking up at the building.  Many of them, such as “Empire State Building, Study 3”, have the buildings in large dramtic silouhettes.  So the photographer seems to like photographing black and white photos of the city, with no humans visible, and lots of shadows, with three basic tones.  He likes to shoot from unconventional angles, and create drama with simple lighting and images.  The photography is all realistic, but creates sort of transcendent and unworldly atmosphere at the same.  It might be called “urban landscape”, but with transcendent elements.

Response to Daeoud Bey – Harlem.

The picture that I’m looking at is A women with hanging overalls.

1.I think this photograph has more focus on expressing people’s life style and life attitude.

2.The intention of this photographer is to express some kind of life style, because all of his photos are in black and white. He is  trying to use full scale, high/low contrast to express life stories, it can give the audiences some kind of old style feeling.

3.This photographer creates a lot of low contrast, high contrast and full scale, therefore most of his photos are in black and white. Like the photo named A women with hanging overalls. The photographer uses low contrast and high contrast to show a some kind of depth in the photo, and it makes some shadows around the corner.

4.Actually, in my opinions, those technical matters help the photos a lot. Technical skills can create different kinds of depth, so can help the photographers to express what exactly they want to say. Generally, technical skills can embellish a photo.

5.  Yes, they are important. For example, when you give out a photo, the first thing you will feel or look at it is the tone. It will give you some sort of concept about what the photographer trying to say or express. Also, space and perspective can give the audience different feeling, or even can lead the audience look at the photo in a direction.

6.When i spend more time on the photo, i can also feel some kind of life attitude, and life styles. It feels like you can even read stories from their faces.

7.I can feel some kind of casual life style in this photo. Life is quite and peaceful. I can also feel that time in the photo goes so slow, i am feeling like looking at a slow motion photo.

8. The majority of his photo are in low contrast, high contrast or full scale.

Thomas Holton “The Lams Of Ludlow Street”
1. I think this photograph is more of a documentary photograph.
2. The Photographer was trying to give the audience a sense of family although you see buildings in the background the rack of clothes shows that a family is involved.
3. the photographer didn’t make all the buildings blurry and some of the clothes are a little blurry but i don’t think he needed to blur the background to make the rack of clothes pop out because they pop out on their own the colors and brightness puts emphasis on them.
4.Although blurring out the background was not needed i think he should have maybe darken the background a little to contrast the clothing. theres more backlight in this image.
5.My eyes automatically go to the clothing on the racks also the racks make your eyes move you follow the rope down the picture it flows right down.
6. Besides the racks of clothes the buildings in the back also give off a family feel the buildings don’t look like cooperate buildings their more like apartment complexes too.
7.The photograph doesn’t really give a powerful feelings its more casual and normal like an everyday routine someone in a household hangs up the clothes to dry which is why it also screams out “family” to me.
8. Thomas holton’s has a lot of family oriented photos like a family in the bedroom laying on the bed, photos of a photo of a family, a mother watching over her kids while they shower. the photographs in “The Lams Of Ludlow Street” is family themed.