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I was happy with the way my photographs were viewed. The feedback I received was good for the most part, but there are definitely some things that I would change if I had the opportunity to go back and re-shoot. Although all of my photos shared a common theme, distortion of reality, there wasn’t much else involved to connect them as a series. So, as a group they did fit together, but since the subject matter and color palette of each photo was so drastically different from the next there was not a strong connection between them. The way I used reflections and shadows to convert the mundane into something unique was appreciated, and the framing and camera angles I used were complimented. I was most happy with my picture of tree branches reflected onto water. The angle at which I took the photo and the cropping I did afterwards distorted the picture in a way that made the simple reflection of the tree branches almost unrecognizable. The actual branches and their trace did not match up, and the water was still enough that the reflection almost seemed like the actual thing.
When we were first assigned this project, “the trace,” the first things that came to mind were shadows and reflections. It was a pretty basic idea of the trace. Just some sort of sign that something was left behind. I took lots of pictures of trees casting their shadows against different surfaces or reflecting off of some sort of watery surface. What was I getting at with these pictures?? Beyond the fact that they were pretty reflections and shadows there wasn’t much else to them. I wanted to keep my original idea of the trace, but I wanted to do something to make my pictures less simple. When I was looking through my photos I noticed one of a tree casting its shadow against the grass in front of it. The framing of the camera and the angle at which the picture was taken made the shadows sort of morph into something almost unrecognizable. This gave me an idea, I could incorporate some sort of illusion or sense of distortion of reality into my photos to make them more interesting. I looked at multiple photographers for inspiration. I noticed that some of the most important aspects of capturing this sense of illusion or distortion was framing and camera angle. If the camera was tilted or flipped and the frame was maybe more tightly cropped then it seemed to work better.
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After hearing my photos criticized I now have new ideas about what I should have done differently when photographing and what was generally liked. The angles I shot from (the ground, below the subject, and from up above) were interesting ways to capture things, especially when they were in movement. What I found to be the case was the pictures that were shot from a low angle tended to capture motion better. The subjects were clearly moving in the frame. The pictures that were shot from above didn’t capture the movement quite as well. Even though the subjects were moving when I was shooting, the pictures makes it seem as if there was little motion. I also wish that my series of pictures were better related. Beyond the fact that they were all taken on Beloit campus, there was little relationship between them. I should have paid more attention to creating an actual series of related photos that captured movement.
For our third project we were assigned to capture motion. We could convey this motion in many different ways; shadows, expressions, actions, etc. I first just simply thought about ways in which I could capture people while they were in action. I took pictures of my friend dancing around with her scarf twirling and blowing in the wind. From my window, I took pictures of people biking and walking through the quad. I then thought about what I could do to incorporate the surroundings with the motion of the people. I paid special attention to shadows and lines (from tree branches in particular). I photographed at times of the day where the sun wasn’t directly overhead so stronger shadows were able to be cast. Unlike most of the street photography pictures I chose for inspiration, my pictures were not in black and white. They were brightly colored. I also played around with contrasting colors, I photographed subjects with bold, bright colors against dull, brown tree branches. This contrast allowed the subjects to pop out more and placed emphasis on them and their movement.
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http://www.noise-to-signal.com/
This color and shadow in this picture are what make it so interesting.
http://www.usefilm.com/images/4/5/8/1/4581/1172781-medium.jpg
I really like this point-of-view shot it makes a great perspective. The tones and contrast are perfect. The shadow also adds a lot to the picture.
This is another photograph by Stephen Wright. I like the contrast between the spiral floor tiles and the striped doggy sweater, it allows your eyes to move across the entire frame. The cropping of the photo is interesting also, it emphasizes the dog even though it is dramatically smaller than the human who is also in the picture.
