Space Men & Space Things

 

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is rolled out by train on its way to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011. The launch of the Soyuz spacecraft with Expedition 30 Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers is scheduled for 7:16 p.m. local time on Wednesday, December 21. Photo Credit (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

Who isn’t a sucker for complimentary colors. If you are into hip “blue and orange” movies (see: eternal sunshine, darjeeling limited, any Wes Anderson movie ever, etc.) you heart complimentary colors and you might not even know it. This is a great use of complimentary colors, the perfect amount of on-location lighting (looks like just 1, maybe 2, speedlights), & quirky composition. Even though thinking about space can make my brain hurt, this photograph struck me as a compelling shot, which showed “spaceships” from an angle that I had never seen before. Bravo NASA.

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/photos/index.html

The Ninth Floor

The Ninth Floor, which can be found on mediastorm.com  (brainchild of MU grad Brian Storm) was shot and produced by Jessica Dimmock. The almost 14-minute production contains some images, which are both technically perfect and truly striking. However, in some situations, Dimmock also captured candid moments with what looks to be a much lower quality camera (on a phone or maybe just a small point/shoot with a disabled flash). While I am not 100% sure why/how she did this, I would guess that she needed to go with something more discreet in order to capture these incredibly intimate moments. She managed  to capture the fight & subsequent reconciliation between Dionn and Rachel, the plights of the various squatters and Jessie’s various low-points while battling addiction, which I found very impressive. Technically speaking, I thought that the moments when she paired images with ambient audio and/or interviews with the subject were really powerful. In these instances, the audio component served to provide the viewer with more information and added to the overall viewing experience. However, the music could have been better. Or it could have just not been there at all, that would have been better. Personally, I find it very frustrating when a producer adds music that attempts to impose an emotion onto the audience. Its not the job of the director to tell you that “now it’s time to be sad.” In my opinion, they have a moral obligation to let the images (and the subjects) speak for themselves. #petpeeve

In an apartment above Fifth Avenue, some thirty young people live in a vortex of drug addiction and despair. In The Ninth Floor, Jessica Dimmock enters this world, exploring, in human terms, what has been lost and what may be recovered. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/the-ninth-floor

hashtag2150

Visual storytelling, in all of its various forms, has been one of the few constant presences in my life. From fine art to “traditional” photojournalism to mixed multimedia, they all have their place. I really do think that a single still photo, can alter your perspective and open your eyes. Well-executed mixed multimedia is an incredibly powerful tool, which continues to create new opportunities to connect and communicate with an audience. When done properly. Which is difficult. I’ve both produced and been subjected to some truly terrible “multimedia presentations.” The learning curve can be rough (something else I learned in Adv/Tech), but it gets better and it’s one of the reasons I’ve grown to love the photoj school.

But, to be honest, I was not thrilled with the prospect of an introductory multimedia course. As a participant in the early enrollment program, I entered the photojournalism department as a freshman instead of waiting for junior year. And this semester, as the rest of my classmates moved onto the photo staff class at The Missourian, I was supposed to take a step (or two) backwards to fulfill some j-school gen-ed requirement?  However, after attending my first lab section, I got past my own ego

(there really is a reason we even stereotype ourselves like this:  shitphotojournalistslike.tumblr.com)

and realized this class would be an opportunity to return to basics and approach the areas where my skills are weakest in an environment where it is safe to experiment. More time with the software and behind the camera is never a bad thing and god knows, I’ve got some serious room to grow.

Audio Slideshow Research

The combination of a unique shooting style and intriguing subject matter make this series one of my favourites. I went to high school in the midwest, and have always had a fascination and affection for the laid back “midwestern mindset.” Danny Wilcox Frazier shot this entire project with a single camera and only one lens. While it is obvious that the video clips were not shot on state of the art equipment,  the outdated equipment ads to the coverage of a way of life, which is rapidly becoming outdated. The Country Butcher segment, which is the one I examined for this assignment (see Adv/Tech list of things I have to do) is a perfect example of this fact. The quality of the audio and still images are outstanding, and make for an emotionally compelling story. The first time watching it, I felt that some of the video portraits where he stood relatively still and stared at the camera were unnecessary, however, the second and third time around it became apparent that they added a sense of vacancy and conveyed the loneliness of the subject. I love this segment. The stark contrast of the black and white images. If it was up to me, the world would be in stark black and white images. The video clips provide context, and show parts of a butchers day to day job that most people are unaware of. The shooting of the pig, and the draining of the carcass in particular. Both were pretty rad. Also, gross. But that was the point.

 This is my favourite still from the segment. The contrast. Gorgeous.

The audio interview is pretty depressing, however it accurately and unobtrusively illustrates the way of life for small town farmers, in a world where they are rapidly becoming obsolete.

Columbia Dance Academy – Multiple Flash

For this assignment, we were to shoot an active situation and employ the multiple flash techniques we had gone over in lecture and lab. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties and a miscommunication between my partner and I, we were not able to wirelessly sync our flashes and were forced to rely on the manual sync technique. Which proved to be difficult. I only ended up with about 15 remotely useable frames – here are the “best” of them. Chalk that one up to photo/life lesson No. 86. Making the current score, Photo Gods: 812,000,000,001 – Lizz: 0.

Arlene comes to the front for her solo as the rest of the dancers move backwards to let her into the spot light. The Beginning Adult Movement class at the Columbia Dance Academy is shown practicing for their upcoming performance at the King's Daughter Fall Festival on November 11, 2011.

The dancers joke with instructor "Miss Jeanne" as she attempts to correct their can-can technique at the end of their rehearsal.

Hawgs ‘n Dawgs Poker Tournament – Color Correction Exercise

Each Wednesday, The Missouri Legends Poker League gathers at different locations around Mid-Missouri for free weekly poker games. In 2006, John Turpin, founder of the Missouri Legends Organization sought out establishments that would permit the members to gather and compete free of charge. In return, the poker players patronize the establishment, supporting the local business. Hawgs ‘n Dawgs Bar and Grill, located just south of Columbia, Mo., has been happily hosting this tournament for the past two years. For this assignment, we were to use flash indoors, and to correct the color of the flash to match the color of the lighting in the room. In the end, I used a light straw gel to match the peach-y tones of the fluorescent lighting in the bar.

Single Flash – The Tiger Barber Shop

  

Greg Elbel, longtime employee at the Tiger Barber Shop, works tirelessly through his lunch break.

For this project, I employed the use of a single, off camera flash. It was the goal of the assignment to make 1 image using a direct flash, and one using a bounce flash technique. The image of Greg above, was made using a direct flash technique. In reality, I would probably not have employed this technique if it had not been assigned, given that I am not partial to the harshness created by a direct flash. While the use of flash is definitely necessary in certain situations, I personally do not like the fact that it makes the subject acutely aware of exactly when and how often they are being photographed.

6-year-old Parker attempts to sit still through the end of his haircut. He has already waited while his brother went, and now attempts not to squirm through his turn.

This image was made using the bounce-flash technique. While shooting in the shop, I discovered it was best to bounce the flash off of the ceiling, which was relatively low, and painted white. Bouncing the flash off of the ceiling gave the image a more even tone, as the light could fall off around the subject.

Here is how I shot them

This diagram shows the position of the camera and the off camera flash. In the bounce-flash image I pointed the flash up at the ceiling from this position, and in the direct-flash image, I angled the flash towards the subject.

Being in a barber shop, I decided to play around with the reflections because their was a multitude of mirrors. The following images are outtakes from this shoot.

Damon, an employee at the Tiger Barber Shop, puts the finishing touches on this MU student's haircut. It is not uncommon for students to stop in between their classes to get a quick haircut.

Glass Studio Experimentation

First set up, bright field lighting.

The United Nations sets the official water poverty line at 50 litres of water, per person, per day. In the United States, the average person consumes over 10 times this amount. The gap between first-world countries such as the U.S. and Australia’s water use, and developing countries is staggering. In Mozambique, the average person uses only 4 litres of water for all of their cleaning, cooking, and agricultural needs each day. A study sponsored by the United Nations showed that by the year 2025, over sixty percent of people living in developing countries will be living below the water poverty line. The glasses filled with red, purple, and green fluid represent the large number of people who spend each day without access to enough water. The front glass, filled with blue liquid represents the people in countries like the United States and Australia who have plenty of water, and continue to over use.

Lit from the side with large softbox, background lit using two snoots. Various reflectors. Speedotron all the way.

For this project, titled “Metal and Glass,” the assignment was to use our knowledge of studio technique to create a meaningful image featuring either a metal or glass subject. This was my first experience with photographing glass in the studio, and it was needless to say, a learning experience. Shot in two takes, the first features an attempt at bright-side lighting from the back and bottom, while the second features a more complex set-up, using two snoots and a large softbox.

Lighting diagrams to come!

Portrait Inspiration

 

Richard Avedon

This portrait of French artist Marcel Duchamp illustrates what I love about Avedon’s photography.  With a single portrait, Avedon manages to capture the essence of the subject’s personality. The shallow depth of field gives a soft, dreamy feel to this photograph. Renowned for his subject-photographer relationship skills, Avedon’s ability to put a subject at ease was legendary, and resulted in some truly amazing photographs. (see headless portrait of Andy Warhol, group shot of the factory, and pretty much everything else he has ever shot).

For my portrait of Leah, I wanted to emphasize both her hands and face, as she spends a fair amount of time with her bejeweled fingers hovering around her mouth as she subconsciously chews her nails. I attempted to mimic the tonal contrast in this photograph, and regret not using a wider aperture as well – (this looks to be f/1.4 &  mine was shot around f/8).

Classmate Studio Project

Leah Beane, a 20-year-old art and photojournalism student at the University of Missouri is a self described “chronic nail biter and caffeine addict,” who combines her passions for art and photography in both her academic career and everyday life.