Movie Monday Photo League

1. What was The Photo League's credo?

The Photo League's credo was that the camera has a potential to change the world; it's more than a device for taking pictures.

2. What organization did The Photo League separate from?

The Photo League separated from an organization called The Film and Photo League.  This organization mainly took pictures of class conflict and labor unrest.

3. What was the workshop?

The workshop was the organization's principal focus, and it was open to anyone with a working camera and a five dollar tuition.

4. Who taught "the workshop?"

Sid Grossman taught "the workshop."

5. If you were to devote one year of your life to one project, what project is worth your time and energy?

I would devote my time and energy to capture the moments of the world's unique cultures.  Then, I would publish them to let the world see each countries's special cultures. 

6. What was The Harlem Document?

The Harlem Document was a portrait of black, urban America and the people, culture, and lifestyles of Harlem during the 1930s.

7. Who started The Harlem Document?

Aaron Siskind started the Harlem Document. 

8. A photographer discusses a photograph where "the children looked like they came out of a __________ painting. Who was the painter? 

The painter was Caravaggio. 

9. Why did the photograph mentioned in #8 look like it was by the painter? 

Caravaggio's paintings were known for having intensely dark and somber backgrounds. He also extended the action of composition beyond the picture plane and into the viewer's space. Caravaggio was known for the intense detail in his paintings. 

10. Who was Lewis Hine? (name two significant contributions)

Lewis Hine was a photographer and a sociologist.  He took pictures of child labor, which helped change child labor laws.  He also took pictures of the drought relief in the American South.

11. Who was Weegee?

Weegee is a nickname for a man called Arthur Fellig.  He was known for his stark black and white street photography.  He took photos of mostly crime, murder, and death in New York City.

12. How did The League change when The Nazis took power?

Many talented refugees escaped Europe to avoid Nazi rule.  They began to take part in The Photo League, but they were seen as "alien," which caused problems.

13. How did The League change during WWII?

The Photo League began to move away from photographing impoverished neighborhoods in New York City and also from the realist side of documentary photography. It reduced the number of photographs that were taken of class and the daily struggles of workers. 

14. How did Siskind change after WWII?

He turned away from the social and political world after WWII.  Instead, he looked inward to seek meaning in the many insentient forms that he observed around him.

15. What was the Saturday Evening post?

The Saturday Evening post was a magazine that was first published twice per month.  In then started publishing weekly in 1897-1963, and then biweekly until 1969. 

16. Who was Barbara Morgan? What did she photograph?

Barbara Morgan was a photographer that mainly took pictures of modern dancers.  She was the co-founder of the photography magazine Aperture.

17. What eventually undermined the Photo League?

Many of the members of the Photo League were strong believers in progressive social and political causes. However, The FBI accused this of being communist and "subversive and anti-American". The Photo League was placed on the U.S. Department of Justice blacklist by Attorney General Tom C. Clark.

18. What was the "Growing Menace" mentioned in the film?

The "growing menace" refers to fascism in Europe and of Japanese imperialist conquest in Asia. 

19. Who agreed to serve as President when The League was under investigation?

W. Eugene Smith agreed to serve President when The League was under investigation.

20. What happened to the league?

In May 1949, FBI informer Angela Calomiris testified that the Photo League was an organization that supported the Communist Party. Recruitment slowed down and many old members left. The League disbanded in 1951.

MultimediaFest Poster #2

This picture is great because it portrays the main information in bold. In this picture 

there are many elements that cause the picture to stand out. 

Many times posters don't look appealing enough or portray the right type of feeling.

However this poster portrayed the details just right, focusing just on the main details of the poster, such as the place and time. 

This picture is better than the first because there is ,much more color and variety.

We added more pictures to capture attention and incorporated all the colors that make a 

nice blend of the photos. We used a significant amount of layers in this poster which

allowed the respective pictures to pop out.

First, we thought of the color scheme we wanted to use. We did not want to leave the background just white. Then, we found a font we liked that fit our theme. Then, we went and took some photos for us to put on our poster to show photography. Once we got all our pictures and information we need to put, we began making individual layers while editing the photos in Camera Raw. We then continued to dabble around with our poster, editing it to our group's liking. 

Multimedia Festival Poster

Album Recreation Draft

Period 3 Final

1. What is your favorite photo from this Lens slideshow? Provide three reasons that it is your favorite.

My favorite picture from this Lens slideshow is this lighthouse picture. In this picture is a dark stormy background with waves crashing along the coast. The composition is blended really well, with colors showing contrasting to the American flag. I really like how the water crashes into the lighthouse beacon however the lighthouse is blocking it, which makes an awesome effect. All the colors blend in together so the mist and the sky look like one.

      2.     Which photo is the best from the slideshow? Provide three reasons.

From the slideshow, I think that picture number 2 is the best due to various reasons. There's a baby and two women checking the baby with a soldier by their side. One of the women is checking the baby's vital areas to give the baby a vaccine. The photo is very well captured due to the rule of thirds and the proximity of the photo. I like how the photographer got really close to the subjects to intensify the moment, which creates an effect as if you're there. The photo is focused on the baby as it is the one who's in the middle of the picture as well wearing bright distinct color. While the three other subjects are covered in dark black clothing, the baby's  face is visible. The rule of thirds is also in check because if  you were to equally distribute the photo into nine equal pieces, all the colors and compositions would be nearly equal

     3. What is your best work this semester? Include the blog link. Give three reasons why this is your best work. If you had more time, how would you do to improve the project.                       

        My best work this semester is probably The Cable Car (first) photo that's part of my Masters of Photography Project. I originally went to San Francisco to capture photos and tried to capture a cable car with its director. While trying to create a photo inspired by Robert Frank, I strived to create a photo which was both realistic and interesting. I think the photo came out well because of its composition, lines, and proximity. Even though surrounding the subject and the cable car are trees and city life, the photo mainly focuses on the cable car and the subject. This picture includes many lines such as the cable car tracks, the pole on the side, and the cable car itself. The composition was blended together with various shades of cement red, neutral colors, and green. I really liked how it turned out even though the colors weren't mixed together, they were bright and vivid.

   4.    You chose three rules of composition. What are your three rules?

1) Rule of thirds) By adding nine equal square parts to the photo, you get a balanced and neater photo.

2) Symmetry) By making all parts equal, there are more eye-catching compositions and scenes.
3) Closeness. By cropping the photo or getting close to the subject when one is photographing, the subject becomes the 'focus' of the picture and doesn't blend into the background

    5.  

  

The Distance of Perception 

In this picture, I tried to use symmetry and closeness to portray the subject's feelings and the subject.

6.       I have three rules of composition. I have explained one already. What is my first rule?

Getting close to a subject to focus on him or her.7.      What are the benefits of working in groups? Provide a list with five benefits.

When working in a group, there are a few advantages such as 1) having more perspectives on a portrait 2) having more ideas on how to take photos 3) gaining more experience 4) having a more open mind to objects and pictures 5) learning more tips on working with others

8.    What are the difficulties of working in groups? List five difficulties.

  There are various difficulties in working in groups such as 1) being productive 2) working together 3) having differing ideas on how to photograph 4) Difficulty making decisions 5) Different workloads. In a group, some people will just focus on having fun and nothing else. It may be hard to work together when people have differing opinions, don't contribute into work equally and possibly having difficulty making decisions. There may be ineffective leadership and people may not be able to work effectively.

9.

I liked this album recreation of Catherine Hou's picture because it was really creative and original.

A little history

10. Robert Frank was the master photographer that I studied and reproduced his work.  He contributed greatly to photography by showing a realistic depiction of American life and showed a side of photography that hadn't before. It challenged traditional values in which the glamorous side of photography was shown; Robert Frank didn't only choose more aesthetically pleasing situations but portrayed real life situations in good photo quality.

11. Migrant Mother is Dorethea Lange's most famous photo; it was taken in March 1936 at a camp for agricultural workers 200 miles north of Los Angeles.  

12. John ames, Mitchell and Andrew miller created the pictorial Life magazine in 1934; it began publishing in 1936.

13. Robert Capa was a founding member of Magnum Photos which was started in 1947.

14.  In September 1936,Robert Capa took the photo known as "Falling Soldier" in the village of Espejo.

Masters of Photography Project Reflection

1. How do you think your project represents your work as a student?

 I think my work represents me as a student in a few ways. I'm a student who's 

constantly learning  and improving myself. As a student, I look up to 

photography masters to reflect my work. My work in photography has influenced

my thought processes and one of a photography master.

2. How has your understanding of photography changed during this school year?
 As the year progressed, I've learned a few interesting things about photography.

I've learned the basics of taking photography from the rule of thirds to filling in the frame.

I've learned to pick out specific details about a picture and highlight its 

main points. I've learned to appreciate art more as a student.

3. What are some of the benefits of working in a group?
 Once you work in a group, you learn different perspectives of art

and learn to adapt to it. As one works in a group, one becomes more 

open to new ideas and think divergently. One learns more

team work and how to improve one's own work. 

4. What are some of the disadvantages?
When working in a group, you have to be prepared to work together as a team. If a team member has differing opinions from others in the team, there has to be a compromise. Sometimes it's difficult to include everyone's desires and visions into one photo. Also sometimes there are people who prefer to let others put in more effort and it causes an unequal amount of work.

5. Now that you have had more time to reflect, is there anything that you would have done differently with your recent project?
I would have tried to take even more pictures because I have a variety of photos to choose from. Therefore there would be a variety of photos that I can evaluate.

6. Is there anything else that you want to include?
 This project really taught me about the different perspectives of other photographers. I learned how to use a different technique as well as style in photography. I've also learned to take more precise photos and better my photo quality.

When considering your response, please review all your blog posts, including your first blog posts of 2014-2015.
In addition to your Masters of Photography project, review other students' projects too. How does your work compare? Were you surprised by some students? Did you surprise yourself?

Album Cover Recreation

Recreated from Beatles' Help album

BEATLES