Abstract Photographs

Hi Julie!  Thank you for a great class.....I LOVED it!  I'm sad I to not be able to take your class next semester.  I am sure I will see you around though.  If there are any events that you or someone you know needs help with please don't hestiate to ask me - I would love to help and get involved!

Photographic Research

In Gregory Crewdson's Ophelia, we find a staged, high-end production photograph of a flooded house.  The flooded house is a sad scene in itself, but Crewdson pushes the sadness further by adding the corpse of a dead woman and leaves the viewer to wonder what exactly happened. There is also something intriguing about the woman's body in that it does not seem to actually be floating, but resting on something flat, which also makes us wonder what all is under that water.

Crewdson uses the light through the window and the light of lamps (which would not be working in a flooded house) to contrast with the darkness and heaviness of the water.  The focal point of the photograph is a woman's horizontal dead body in the water and our eyes are drawn to her in the lower third of the composition by the lines of the staircase.  There is also a balance between the calm stillness of the water where something tragic has happened and the busy normalcy in the top half of the photo.

Being a fan of Hamlet, I was automatically drawn to this picture because of the title.  Ophelia was Hamlet's lover who was driven mad and ended up drowning herself in a river.  After looking at this photo and the others we had to choose from, I kept going back to look at the woman to see if there was any other similarities.  I also was drawn to the balances between dark and light, and the calmness of the bottom half and busyness of the top half.   Because of the title, I was not left wondering what happened - I feel like it tells me that this woman drowned herself just like Hamlet's Ophelia.  

Humans of UTSA

Humans of UTSA

What has been you greatest achievement?

"Graduating from college in May.  I will be the first in my family to earn a degree."

What has been your greatest achievement?

Girl: "Working at Wells Fargo since I am a finance major."

Boy: "I have so many....I don't know!"

What has been the saddest moment in you life?

"Actually, it was last Thursday around six or seven in the evening.  I was walking towards the dorms and this brokenness came into my heart and I started weeping for everyone I could think of that was missing the love of Jesus in their lives.  Then came tears of joy for what could be if they invited Christ into their lives."

If you could change anything at UTSA, what would it be?

"Parking!"

Is there anything currently going on in your life that you are excited about?

"Petitioning to get more vegan options on college campuses.  I am an intern with Peta 2, 

their youth outreach."

Color Critique

I liked that Michelle's pictures were all very different.  You can tell that she took time to go out and shoot in different areas at different times of the day.

In her first image, I loved that she took the picture at an upward angle so that the flowers popped against the bright blue sky.

In her second image, I thought the brightness of the cobalt blue glass was a nice contrast to the dull brown rocks.  It is a nice contrast too in the fact that the blue glass was something man made against rocks that came from nature.

The sun illuminating off the balloons really made the colors stand out in her fourth image.  And again the sun illuminating off the orange fencing in her last photo really made the color stand out and pop.

I enjoyed looking at Michelle's photographs and hearing her take on mine and the photos of the other students in the class.  She has a great eye for detail and pointed out things I never would have seen.  Great job!!!

Assignment 2 - Color

Assignment 1 - Composition

                                     

                                                    Shutter 1/80; Aperture f/29; Shape

                                     

                                               Shutter 1/15; Aperture f/5.6; Closed Frame

                                             Shutter 1/100; Aperture f/5.0; Horizontal Lines

                                               Shutter 1/200; Aperture f/5.0; Asymmetrical

                                        Shutter 1/40; Aperture f/7.1; Alternate Point of View

                                            Shutter 1/250; Aperture f/5.6; Curvilinear Lines

                                            Shutter 1/320; Aperture f/5.6; Converging Lines

                                               Shutter 1/13; Aperture f/13; Zig Zag Lines

                                           Shutter 1/100; Aperture f/6.3; Movement

                                          Shutter 1/15; Aperture f/5.3; Frame Within a Frame

Composition Exercise

                                          Shutter 1/640 sec; Aperture f/5.6; Curvilinear