Manipulations

Manipulating photos can easily be done now with the advancement of technology and photo editing softwares that have been evolved now. For the photos I chose I picked one with my friends and one as a landscape. I wanted to choose two different styles of photos to have a wide variety of what can be done with photo editing software.
The first photo I picked to edit with picnik.com is from a trip to Fiji that I took. This is from the island I was on looking out to the water through the palm trees. I posted the original photo and then the manipulated one to show the difference.

Original photo - July 2008

The difference between the first picture and the second picture is that I enhanced the contrast of the photo to make the palm trees more of a focal point, whereas in the first picture they kind of blend into the calm colours in the background. To make the sunset more red and yellow makes the colours stand out more against the sharp black of the foreground. I decided to do this to this photo because I really like the originally and playing with the contrast makes the photo more vibrant and exhilerating.

The second photo I chose is of me and my friend at the Luminato festival. The first copy of the image is very sharp and the colours are very strong I find. This is a professional photo so to see the colours come from a professional camera makes the cameras that I usually use seem dull.

Original photo - July 2010

The changes that I made to this photo were to dull the contrast and the saturation of the photo. I then took the colours down and made them a bit lighter to even out the colouring of the skin. I made the focus more on our face and blurred out the edges a bit to make more of a focal point. I made these changes to this picture because I really like this picture but I find that the colours seem odd.

The differences in the pictures make them more vibrant or neutral. I think that making changes to photos now are so easy and can be done by anyone. I used picnik.com to manipulate these images and create another version of them.



The past and present

The main differences and similarities that I find in the art of early days and the art in portraits today are the focus of the main image. I think that a lot of the earlier portraits are of a single woman or man that is representing an image that either they are rich or poor. When I think of portrait photographs from earlier days I think of a black and white photo of a woman or man alone. Portraits now are more vibrant and lively than before. They include a happy story to them and allow for the viewer to get a different sense of what the model is feeling.

I find that a major difference in the subjects of the pictures now are that portraits taken from the past are more to give off an image of what that character was like, show them in deep thought or something that would give off a strong image. Portraits nowadays are a lot for beauty shots and to be at peace with a person. The subjects of the images now are not always famous people, but are poor people working in a village to show their hardship, or are little children playing and captured a shot of their beauty.

The photographer of the past is someone who has actually studied photography and who has devoted their life to creating images for others to view. The photographer of today is anyone with a camera that has a steady hand to capture an image that can be seen differently through different viewers.

This is a portrait of Albert Einstein and I think that it is powerful in that he looks like he is thinking and working and this image displays so many emotions in just a single shot.

Yousuf Karsh - photographer

Portrait of Albert Einstein
photographed by Yousuf Karsh in 1948

I think that it is easier now to capture a quality photo than before as well. Now I think a lot of the best photos are ones that are not planned and that capture the reality of the model who is in the picture.

Winston Churchill by Yousuf Karsh

Yousuf Karsh is a photographer that used to be a master with the lighting in the studio. He worked in Ottawa and was very close with the prime minister who took a very strong liking to him once he began to display his photographs. Karsh published 15 books with his works in them and portraits were his specialty.

I find a lot of the portraits today to be more "classy" than the portraits of the past. I think this mostly because people now are dressed up nicely, the images are less black and white to give off power, people in the portrait photos I find don't generally smile and always have just a stern face.

Technology has obviously played a huge role in the portraits of the past and today. The advancements in technology have become so much greater than before with the invention of a digital camera which allows you to distort the image before you even take the picture, or photography software that allows you to change all different aspects of the photo and then alter the image some more. There are different lightings, shadings and backgrounds now available for photos and the ideas are endless.

References

http://www.twinisles.com/greats/karsh.htm

Mark Gray Vs Me

Mark Gray is an artist that bases his photography work on landscapes and panoramic landscape photos are where he really portrays his artistic ability. I like his artwork because it is based on Australia and New Zealand mostly, where I really enjoy travelling and have lived before. I have chosen option 1 where I think that my pictures resemble something similar to his work in that they are on the same landscapes (Australia) and that they are sunsets and of historic places.

The first picture that I chose is a landscape view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. I like this picture because of the sunset and the colours that the sky changed too. I really like the work that Gray does because he enhances the images of the landscapes that he takes. I think this is similar because it can easily be pictured as a panoramic view.

Sydney, Australia

Seductive Sydney, Mark Gray

This photo shows the similarities in my version and his. You can see how he enhances the colours by making them more vibrant for a more appealing image. Mine is from a different view but also has both the bridge and opera house that his has.

Fraser Island, Australia

Like Mark, all of his pictures aren't only images of a landscape. I like this picture because I think that the water splashing up looks as if it is happening in slow motion. Once I realized that the waves hitting this old abandoned ship looked so neat, I waited for the best time to grab a cool shot of the water. I think that this picture is similar to Grays because it captures a real moment in time like his photos do.

Fiji

I think that this picture is the perfect reflection of a photo by Gray. I like how the colours contrast against the black of the hut and bridge in the foreground. I think that this gives off a peaceful feeling in the picture. I like taking pictures of the landscape and sunsets because I think that they are beautiful and the real beauty of nature cannot be altered.

East Point, Australia

Fiji

The sunsets in Fiji were the most gorgeous sunsets I have ever seen. This picture looks surreal because the sky was literally divided. To me it looks like this picture was pieced together, however it was not. This type of sunset happened a few nights while I was there, and it just seemed so unrealistic to see the sky split in two different colours. This picture resembles one of Grays because it looks as though it was manipulated in a way to make the picture more unique.

Phillip Island, Australia

Phillip Island is one of the best places that I was able to go to in Australia. Everywhere on this little island full of penguins was so picturesque. The rolling green hills to the edge of the cliffs surrounded by ocean. While I was living here, I never got tired of the sunsets along the eastern coast. This image shows the similarities that come from the inspiration from Gray. Though some of the images that Gray takes are altered to enhance colours, I don't think that pictures of nature should be changed.

I think the most important aspects of Grays work are to illustrate the natural beauty that the landscape photo he takes have. Though he does some alterations, the real beauty is there too. The reason that I took the photos the way I did at the time was because I thought I was capturing a moment that I would like to look back at and have it bring me back to the place I was at in my head. I think that when I look at these photos I have from my own gallery it allows me to revisit the place where the photo comes from. I think with Grays version of the photos he likes to add a piece of his mind to it by changing the colours to make them more extreme and vibrant but also keeping a bit of the reality of the image. This is what I appreciate most with Grays photography and I think that I can relate to.
References
http://www.markgray.com.au



Contemporary Photography - Wk 13

Alterations are not allowed in press photography, but they are one of the tools used in contemporary art photography? Why?

Alterations are not allowed in press photography because it is a very dramatic way to capture images. Press photographers or photojournalists are constantly working under pressure to capture the most "real" and best possible image to document an event (Skillset). Contemporary art has a different meaning and design to it that comes across as more "artistic". I think that contemporary art is really more a display of what the particular artist wants to portray, whereas press photography is the truth.
Press photography can come in different styles which makes it unique to itself, I find that there are a lot of images of people that are related to this type of photography because it allows the emotion to come across in the photo. The first image I chose to display press photography is of Usain Bolt when he won the Olympic Gold medal. The emotion that comes across in this image is so powerful, just from his stance and emotion in his face.

I like this second image from a little village in Turkey. It captures a rainy day and how everyone is still seems so peaceful and protecting themselves from the rain with their umbrellas. People in Toronto seem so hectic when its raining and trying to get out of it as quickly as possible, whereas in this image they seem to be enjoying the rain.

Olympus Europe Press Event

Contemporary art can involve a lot of different styles when it comes to creating it. There are different guidelines that are involved that depict which type of contemporary art it actually is. Identity is a rule of contemporary art that I really appreciate and enjoy. This photo I chose to show the difference



"(Forever Free) ‘Servin with a smile’"1994

I like this image because it shows identity as a many different things, but also it is obviously manipulated to create a strong image or feeling. Contemporary art is great in ways that it can be changed to create any feeling or emotion that the viewer would need to connect to the image.

- Compare photographs of Sommer, Adams and Klett versus  Parkeharrison, Muniz

and Crewdson. What happened to the photography? Is this its future?

Frederick Sommer, Robert Adams, Mark Klett Vs. Gregory Crewdson, Vik Muniz, Robert Parkeharrison

Sommers is very much a contemporary artist where most of his paintings come from images of land. He really wants to portray the beauty of the land to the viewers and to give them a sense of clarity and a vision to guide them (FSFA).

Hidden Treasure
Frederick Sommers



 Robert Adams is a britist painter and sculptor who's images are often black and white. I like black and white photographs because I think it adds more emotion to the image and makes it seem more epic. I chose this photo of Adams because I think it displays a lot of peace and kindness.

Summer Night - Robert Adams (2009)

 Mark Klett is an established artist who's images are often of the western landscape. He is interested in showing the diversity of the Western United States landscape through images of cactai and likes to make his images more of a documentary style of contemporary art (http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/klett_mark.php).

Desert Citizens - 1990

Mark Klett

Gregory Crewdson is an american photographer who is best known for making staged images and scenes more elaborate and unrealistic. This is a form of contemporary art that shows a different side to the art world.

Gregory Crewdson
Untitled from the series 'Twilight'
2001

Vik Muniz is a visual artist who a lot of his work is of people. He uses food to create images of other already famous pictures. He also creates images out of things like garbage.

Vik Muniz, Mother and Children (Suellen), from the series Pictures of Garbage



Robert Parkeharrison often works with his wife, Shana, and they are known as a pair of artists. They have a different style of contemporary art. The images they create are often elaborated as well like Crewdson but in a different sense where it is like an invention.

Guardian, 2004

When comparing the 6 artists to one another, I think that they are similar and different in many ways. I think that the main difference is that Sommer, Adams and Klett all photograph and paint the nature and landscape of the world. Their images are manipulated but are moreso based on the reality of the landscapes of North America. Crewdson, Muniz and Parkeharrison all create these images that are unrealistic and creative and make the viewer think about the possiblity of these coming alive.

I don't think that anything happened to photography, I think that there are just different levels and artistic ways to portray art and photography. I think that the future of art is forever changing and growing into something more drastic and elaborate. The art world is a diverse world that has a lot of characteristic and has evolved into something greater than ever.

References

http://www.skillset.org/

http://www.pbs.org/art21/series/seasonone/identity.html#

http://www.letsgodigital.org/html/review/olympus/e3/olympus-e-3-istanbul-turkey.html

Frederick Sommers Fine Art (FSFA)

http://fredericksomers.com/about

http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/klett_mark.php

http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/29134-popup.html

http://artnews.org/vikmuniz/?i=4

Press VS Art

Similarities & Differences

Press photography is aimed at capturing the best image in order to record a lifestyle, event, or news story. This type of photography is important for remembering certain times in history to look back at and to be able to see an image of what was happening. Press photography is very important in portraying images to those who were not present and to give more information on what is/was going on at the time. Art photography is based more on the eye of the beholder. However a photograph is viewed can be portrayed as art photography. There is no real definition of what the type of photography is exactly. The similarities that are shared between press photography and art photography are that there can be the same images and whether you view it for a news related document or for the artistic ability in the photo, they are similar. The differences is that the press photography is used specifically to get information across that cannot specifically be written, whereas art photography can be for a number of reasons, how one interprets the image is solely up to them.



Press 1
Matador Julio Aparicio is gored by a bull after losing footing during a bullfight in Madrid. One of the animals horns pierced his throat and punched through the bottom of his mouth, puncturing his tongue and fracturing his jaw.

http://www.worldpressphoto.org/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=view&id=2034&Itemid=292&bandwidth=high

Press 2
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti January 12 caused the collapse of 188,383 buildings, 105,000 of which were completely destroyed. The quake struck a land that depleted by decades of instability was already the poorest country in the Americas. A woman is rescued from rubble, minutes after the quake.


I don't think it is ethical or acceptable to alter press photographs because they are there to portray the truth. Press photography is where real things can be portrayed and be shown to others in their natural form. Press photography is for news information and events to show the viewer what happened and what it was like. Because these images are supposed to be showing the reality of situations, I don't think they should be altered and I think that it is unethical and unacceptable.

I do think that altering art photography is acceptable because they are general images that an artist or person has taken a photograph of. These images are not meant to give off reliable information such as press photography and therefore can be changed into something more elaborate or more modest.

This is a photo I took on my trip to Australia. This is from a shipwreck on Fraser Island. This is an art photograph because it is not portraying any information to the viewer.

http://www.photographysites.com/galleries/images-from-the-garden/p13918-mystery-and-mist.htmlhttp://www.worldpressphoto.org/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=view&id=2052&Itemid=292&bandwidth=high

Role of Portraits

Portraits of early days and portraits from today have changed with all the differences in cameras and new technology that has advanced.
Focusing on portraits and paintings from the nature and wilderness theme to look at,
I chose to compare an artist from the very beginning, Edward Steichen.
Edward was a painter/artist and had one painting that was very famous. It was called 'Moonlight' and sold for 2.9 million dollars.

The paintings in the past were much darker and more lifeless then paintings and photography found now. Throughout the years the techniques became more advanced and therefore allowed the pictures to become more full of life and eventful. Portraits were dull and still and landscapes were dark and mysterious.

Some similarities are that the artists are continually trying something new and more adventurous than other artists in their genre.

Photography used to be very limited to what the images were of, now there are all different mediums and images can be of endless themes.

A popular medium that was introduced was negative/positive photographic process. This was invented by William Henry Fox Talbot. Colours are important to bring an image to life, Talbot has done this simply by adding a tint of colour throughout the whole image.

http://www.sandrophoto.com/2008/01/10/edward-steichen/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ThePondMoonlight.jpg

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/famous-photographers.html

Introduction

I am 22 years old and started George Brown in January 2009. I am taking business - financial management and am in my final semester.
I love to travel, and my favourite trip so far has been to Australia & Fiji.

I travelled up the eastern coast of Australia backpacking in summer of 2008. I was there for a month and a half and then went to Fiji for 2 weeks.