Artist Study: Joe McNally

It was interesting...
As I filtered through one of the albums on his blog,
I grew to like his work more and more.
The first three or four, I really disliked.
Then I was like "okay, that's kind've cool"
and the album searching went on.
I really love some of the images,
like the naked water polo players picture,
but i really dislike others.
The water polo players one is so natural but it has that little twist:
they're in the nude.
But some of the others like the woman on the chaise or the basketball player with angel wings seem not only very forced but somewhat unoriginal as well. My little brother has a poster of Michael Jordan spreading his arms exactly like that.

I feel the same about the "corporate" section.
Some of the advertisements really have me wanting to know what's going on in that picture or what the picture is advertising
while some are just painfully obvious and obnoxious.
*rant warning*
like the ones for the army/navy/air force... whatever.
They're all yelling the same thing at me and I hate it:
"ARMY STRONG"
"JOIN ARMY: we've got guns"
"YOU LOOK LIKE A BADASS IN CAMO"
obviously I'm a bit biased because of my distaste with the armed forces, but still...
I mean I've seen enough dudes in camouflage with semi-automatic rifles to last me a lifetime.

His style seems to vary quite a bit.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing however.
I want to say it is his evolving as a photographer,
but I doubt that he would put such early and different pictures on the web let alone in the same album as the offending juxtaposers...
Interesting, you say you know him, Mr. Slade?

[none of his images allowed themselves to be stolen and posted on my blog]

Before and Afters

These are just some images that have been toched up in lightroom
either a little or alot...
I like them but they all highlight my lack of proficciency in the camera

Before:


After:



Before:


After:



Before:


After:

Halloween Assignment

This assignment was fun, but on both occasions that I shot I was dreadfully unprepared and didn't think about The assignment beforehand.
On the first outing it didn't dawn on me that a long exposure and afternoon light do not mix.
The second time I didn't think to carry a tripod. While the grave tripod and the kneepod are pretty great they didn't quite cut it. You can see the camera shake in the first image.
Boy Scout Motto: Be Prepared.

Assignment 4- High Key/Low Key

I enjoyed this assignment very much.
I shot these images over a long period of time so i didn't feel rushed in any way.
Yay for not procrastinating.

I've also found I like shooting still life
I can fiddle around with anything and everything
and have complete control over every aspect of the image
I espectally enjoyed seeing how subtle lighting changes changed the background.

I just got a chance to look at the posted images.
They don't look so good.
The darks are much darker than they should be
And the lights seem to have blown out...
I'll figure this out.

High key/ Low Key Update

I'm really liking this assignment so far
I've done two different low key settings
I've encountered some issues getting the blacks to be true black,
but i have a great backdrop, adjustable lighting, and a tripod so i'm able to play with the shutter speeds and apperture easily.
I've bracketed them like crazy and will have some good images to work with in the computer

I think i'll run into some challenges with the high key images
i've seen my classmates run into some problems with the whites being either too white or not white enough...
i'll be on my toes

Artist study: Irving Penn

"Photographing a cake can be art"

—Irving Penn.

This man is able to conjure up something loud from something quiet,

something exiting from something drab.

Although his subject matter is quite broad,

he is able to evoke immense drama in each photograph.

The settings of his images are simple and neutral,

Yet the photographs are captivating...

I can understand why my teacher, Mr. Slade, might like his work.

It is very minimalist but it is so captivating.

He uses his tools and makes the most out of his images.

Assignment 3 - bracketing/before and after [EDITED]

I feel like i didn't do enough in editing this image.
I am told this is because I did the shooting component af the assignment correctly,
but i still don't like the image.
I suppose I will just pick a more interesting subject matter next time...



This one seems a bit flat and a tad boring




This one is a sharper image but it's still boring.





These are some more images I did a bit later, and more nudging: