Heroes, Villains, Historical Figures

Introduction:

For the next two weeks you will have the opportunity to see how photographers create fantasy portraits, such as the Disney Dream Portraits by Annie Leibovitz. Leibovitz is considered one of the most important photographers of the last 30 years and regularly creates covers for Vogue, Rolling Stone and more. 

Essential Questions:

If you were to plan a photograph that captures and creates your favorite hero (fact or fantasy), who would it be, and how would you do it?

Monday:

Leibovitz movies and reflection. 

Please look at this website gallery that features a series of Disney Dream Portraits. 

Search youtube for that dream portrait shoot and watch a short clip available on youtube that shows a little of the shoot.  Answer the following questions in the comment area below:

1. How does Leibovitz communicate with the model? Is she controlling the shoot, or is the model/actor? 
2. What kind of set do you see in the youtube clip? What do you think has to be done to combine the background with the photo of the model/hero/actor? 
3. What must be considered to do such work in terms of location, model, costume, lighting, camera angle, background and exposure?
4. Which dream portrait is your favorite? 

Working in groups of your choice, decide on a hero from history that you would like to recreate through creative photography, costuming and background. Determine your group today. Who is the hero your group would like to recreate?

Fun with your camera's timers

Learning Goals:
Understand the self and interval timers in terms of camera technology and real world applications.

Concepts/terms:

1. Interval timer
2. Long exposure timer
3. Bulb
4. Auto Focus
5. Manual Focus
6. Shoot dial/modes: Single, continuous low, continuous high
7. Exposure Count
8. Bracketing

Tuesday: Class assignment-individual work:

1. Research what your camera can do with continuous shots. Do you have a mode for continuos,

Thursday: Burst Mode (Continuous shoot mode).

Please read:
Burst mode-what it is
Continuous Shoot Mode for Canon T3i
Burst Mode-Nikon

What is the benefit of Continuous shoot mode?
What is the difference between continuous high and continuous low?
When might you use continuous shoot mode?

Class assignment-individual work:
Research burst mode on your cameras (continuous, single, high/low)
Shoot a number of burst mode sequences in 4 different locations on campus today working in groups. Vary the burst rate in terms of frames if you can on your cameras.
Your uploaded classwork for this project will be worth 10pts.
Upload Classwork Here

Homework:

For those of you with interval timer capability: Using the interval timer, set up a time-lapse scene. This could be a shot framing your house with clouds above, a setting sun, moon coming out, starry night, flower that blooms in daylight, etc. Record at least 120 total frames. This will give you 10 seconds of video, at a frame rate of 12fps. Due to the total size, make sure you are shooting your frames at a smaller frame size, dpi. Do not shoot at the highest frame size. Please bring these photos in on a USB, or upload to google drive for use Monday. DO NOT MAKE THESE HUGE INDIVIDUAL FILES.

For those of you lacking interval timer capability: Instead of interval timer project, take a series of burst mode shot sequences, at least 3, capturing 3 different situations of interest to you.

Upload to this homework folder

Watch this link to see camera demonstration for interval timer

Time Sequence

Please download your sequences shot over the weekend. You will create a Photoshop file that combines slices of each photo into one visual design.

This will require you to:

• Create a file with a grid so that you have a format to paste your work.
• Once you establish a grid, you will then form a rectangle box that you will use to paste your photos using "Paste Into". This will restrict your paste into the define rectangle, that is aligned and sized by the grid.
• Open all of your sequence of photos.
• Cut the first photo. Then move over to the grid file you have set up, and paste your photo into this file using 'paste into' the rectangular area you define. You will determine the most interesting part of the photo to use for the paste. You will also decide whether you want to try and 'reform' a photo that makes sense, or will you randomize your pastes based on the best parts of the photos.

See Mrs. L demo.

This week: Set a timer, experiment with timed photography.

Tues/Thur-More about Orozco and Sugimoto, White Balance, Found Object

Tues Agenda:

More Orozco-understanding the artists goals 
More Sugimoto-understanding the artists goals
How each photographer might think of the relationship of photographer-subject-viewer

White Balance and our cameras

Orozco

PBS Art-Orozco 
Orozco-Guggenheim-Scale
Orozco on Photography

The essential questions regarding Orozco's work:

1. Orozco refers to a metaphor when he discusses how he uses photography and the camera. What is that metaphor?
2. What does Orozco mean when he talks about a total vision of something in all dimensions?
3. What does Orozco do with the objects he photographs for the Guggenheim exhibit that makes the work unique or innovative?
4. What do you think of the Guggenheim exhibit featured in the clip?
5. Do we as viewers or audience gain more from Orozco's work from understanding his motivations as an artist/photographer? Does that place more responsibility on the viewer to learn? 
6. Does Orozco care about the triad relationship between subject-photographer-viewer or not?

Sugimoto-Contacts
The essential questions regarding Sugimoto's work include:

1. Sugimoto says, in his work, concept and vision come first. What other photographer have we studied places equal emphasis on vision as well? Compare/contrast the two photographers? You can use time, place, nature of work as springboards for discussion.
2. Sugimoto attempts to show the Japanese Buddhist concepts of "emptiness" and "nothingness" in his theatre work. How is this accomplished? What is your interpretation of his Theatre work? Does it help to be Japanese or Buddhist to better appreciate this work as a viewer, or is it universal in appeal?
3. Describe the stunning seascapes work. How were these photographs taken? What do you think he is trying to make the viewer think or feel by these works? Does it work for you or not?
4. Why does he photograph wax people? How long of an exposure does he use? What is the relationship of the wax portraits to time? 
5. How does Sugimoto regard the relationship between subject, photographer and viewer?
6. Do we as viewers or audience gain more from Sugimoto's work from understanding his motivations as an artist/photographer? Does that place more responsibility on the viewer to learn? 
7. Does Sugimoto care about the triad relationship between subject-photographer-viewer or not? 

1. Start by reading/watching Orozco at the Tate. 
With your new information, go back and read what you wrote yesterday about this work of Orozco's. Compare/contrast today in the blogspot comment area your view about this work today, versus yesterday.

Come to the front of class around tables. 

2. Next, look at Orozco's Box. 
Discuss in small groups of 2-3 what you would do if were in a museum and found a box on the floor as the students did? Do you think this was interesting or a waste of time for both artist and viewer? What was Orozco's intention behind the art?


Thursday:
Finish Sugimoto - 20 min

Understand White Balance on your cameras.

White Balance:
Good beginner
Excellent more information
Canon DLSR demo for custom white balance
Nikon DSLR  

Homework, Due April 20, 8pm in Homework Folder with that date.
Inspired by Sugimoto's concepts of time and place, visualize a scene you would like to immerse yourself in. Set up your camera such that it can stay set up over a weekend. Take at least 12 shots without moving your camera. You can change your exposure, but the framing and composition should remain the same. Visit your set up once every few hours and see what is in your field of view. Has the sun changed position casting a different kind of shadow, exposing something you didn't see before? Has someone entered the field of view and brought new meaning? Has you dog or cat taken a place on the carpet in the middle of your framed area? What changes do you capture over a weekend? Every time you shoot, think of your white balance and lighting. Begin by doing a custom white balance using a white card or wall. Also experiment with other lighting options as the sun moves and the lighting changes. For example, in a sunny morning you can use a bright sun light option, but as the day darkens you can change to a setting more appropriate for shade or darker view. Or if you change lighting from an overhead flourescent to a lit room with candles-this will change your lighting. Upload your files to the google drive, in one of your folders. We will put these photos together next week in a photo collage inspired by another artist, David Hockney. You need at least 12 good photos for the collage.
lastname_tungston.jpg
lastname_customWB.jpg
lastname_cloudy.jpg

Week of April 14th-Found Object and White Balance

This week we will look at 2 important contemporary photographers from 2 different parts of the world. Through looking at their work we will investigate these essential photographic questions:

• What happens when a viewer sees a photograph without the necessary background to grasp what the photographer means to communicate? 
• Is it the photographer's responsibility to engage the viewer visually in such a way that the viewer is invited to learn more about the work and discover meaning? 
• How does a photographer engage a viewer visually when the photographer's work is more abstract or symbolic?
• Why is it that sometimes we look at a piece of art or photography and wonder why it is considered 'art'? 

We will also learn more about white balance and visit these menus on our cameras. Our understanding of white balance, and its relationship to understanding lighting conditions will augment our work this week.

Monday assignment for in-class:

Without looking up anything about Gabriel Orozco and Hiroshi Sugimoto, look at the two works below. In the blogspot comment below, write about each photograph you see below.  Answer these questions:

1. What do you think the photographer's goal is with each photograph in terms of the relationship between subject-photographer and audience?
2. Compare and contrast the two photos below in terms of communicating with audience, in particular you! Which one is more appealing to you? Which one would draw your attention more? Why?
3. Does it appear that these photographers are both contemporary, current photographers? Why?
4. If you were told that both of these photographers had an interest in 'found objects', what do you think that might mean? What do you think found object photography might be, in looking at the photos below (no cheating-do not look this up, let's see for fun if we can guess by looking).
5. Finally, if both of these are somewhat representative of found object work, do you think it is ok to move things you find, or do you think you have to shoot what you find as is, without modification?

When finished with your analysis we will move on to understanding what Orozco means to communicate with the photograph on the bottom, and begin a deep dive into 2 excellent conceptual photographers, one from Mexico, one from Japan.

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Gabriel Orozco : Found Object Photography