10/31/08
Edward Weston Original Photography
White Dune, 45SO

The texture in the sand dunes at the bottom of the picture is interesting. It shows where things have been and traveled - humans or animals. It adds to the shape and composition of the photograph and allows for more contrast in the photo. The lighting used was probably natural and he used it to his advantage. There is a good amount of contrast that draws the viewer in and keeps their interest in the center of the photograph where the darkest area is, essentially making the viewer look at the picture as a whole.
At first glance the image is calming, but if the viewer looks closer, the texture of the photograph has a sense of distress and the clouds in the sky warn that a storm is coming. The picture is a good representation of "the clam before the storm."
I like this photograph. The contrast holds my eye and I like the message it conveys and how the viewer doesn't really notice it unless they look closely. I want to shoot dunes too, so this image has helped me to know what I should look for for if/when I do that shoot.

Taken: October 8, 2008

Printed: October 17, 2008

The Assignment: A fashion/still life picture using mixed lighting

For this shot I used two lights - one to light the model, and one to light the guitar. I found this shoot extrememly difficult since everything that could go wrong, did. The first light I went to use didn't work, it would flick on and off when it felt like it and wasn't reliable at all. Then when I finally got a second light and started shooting, my camera battery died. Luckily I had another roll of film and put that into a camera I borrowed from my teacher. However, I did not know how to meter the camera from the teacher and according to her hand meter I had to use a tripod otherwise the pictures wouldn't be lit properly for the camera. Fine. I used a tripod, but that decreased the options when it came to how I wanted to take the picture. Also, if that wasn't bad enough, the teacher of the class I borrowed the model from gave me a time limit of 20 minutes which I ended up going over because of everything that went wrong. On top of all this, because I became so frazzled about everything that happened, I forget every pose I ever thought up and couldn't think of inovative new ones to save my life. Overall, I pretty much hate this shoot. I can not wait to do my version at Seaport. That shoot will be a thousand times better and I'm sure I'll be a lot more satisfied with those prints.

Lastly, I would like to thank my model and apologize to her. Thank you for putting up with me and I'm sorry about everything that went wrong and about the pictures not turning out that well. I wish I could say I liked them more, but I just don't feel that way. I've been told I'm overly critical of my work. Personally, I am just fine with that. If it makes my shots better, that's all that matters.