Monday, January 26, 2015

Sorry I missed the last class. I am a weather wimp. Below is a photo I have been working on while afraid to venture out. It is my first attempt at focus stacking. I also experimented with some 'studio' lighting, which consisted of my improvising with some little lights I had handy and some white cardboard for background. I don't know if the end result is quite worth all the effort, but it was a learning experience in any case. I also made it a vertical per Barbara's suggestion. I experimented with covering the eye piece, but I could not really tell the difference.

I've also been reading the article "When Strangers Bring Cameras," and will share some thoughts on what I've read so far. The shooting was shocking and tragic but on reflection not surprising. It is certainly a stark reminder of the need to remain sensitive to one's subject when photographing strangers.

More generally, the article's points resonate with me greatly because I have long objected to how writers, photographers, and film makers come to certain groups or locations (such as the south or to an ethnic group or to the suburbs) with preconceived ideas and then make sure that they gather only the facts or pictures that support their ideas, which they then present as "the truth."

It also reminds me of the related issue of framing...how you frame your picture affects the message. A great example is a pair of pictures taken by Alfred Stieglitz--really the same photo cropped two different ways. One shows two women who seem to be going to church. It is sometimes titled Going to Prayers. But another version, the original uncropped version, shows that they were not really heading to the church but to their home to the left of the church. This one is titled Scurrying Home. The simple act of reframing allowed the photographer to change what the viewer would take away from the scene--a harmless artistic choice in that context but the same process can become a tool for deception and misrepresentation in other contexts.


Here are links to the two versions:
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3 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 28, 2015 at 8:42 PM

    Sherry, did you get the article "When Strangers Bring Cameras" as an e-mail attachment? If Barbara sent it I did not receive it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. SherryJanuary 29, 2015 at 6:59 AM

    Yes, she emailed it. I have forwarded it to you.

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  3. BarbaraJanuary 29, 2015 at 2:35 PM

    I can see why you continued to look out this peculiar, interesting plant part, so diminutively sculptural. Funny but I have similar suggestion with this lovely shot as with hummingbird. What if you were to crop a little more tightly from the top and perhaps the right (to create more tension)?

    I'm glad you found the article resonant, appreciate your comments. Thanks for providing Stieglitz comparison - great illustration about intent and the fundamental power of framing. The quoted titles of the image are quite reductive.

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