Andrina Belmar

2006-11-28T10:19:00.000-08:00

Annie Leibovitz: A Photographers Life, 1990-2005

"I don't have two lives. This is one life, and the personal pictures and assignment work are all part of it."
Annie Leibovitz commenting on her life as a photographer

Annie Leibovitz has the unique talent of portraying photography as an art, making life into an art and bringing life into art. This is the opinion I got of Ms. Leibovitz and her work. Born in 1949, she is one of the most celebrated portrait photographers of our time. Being a photographer from 1970, her images capture the varied spectrum of American life and popular culture with remarkable candor and vigor. Many of her works have appeared in popular magazines such as Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and Vogue, extending to prominent advertising campaigns, museums and books. In the exhibition, 197 photographs from 1990 were shown. They were a mixture of commercial work and her personal life. Some of them were photos taken of high profile people like the presidents and celebrities, and others were of everyday life, for example families having fun on the beach, and at home doing everyday things. There was a composition of black and white photos and colour. Some of the images were of posed subjects and other were of candid shots.

My interpretation of this exhibit, is that, Annie Leibovitz tried to combine and show a relationship between everyday life and her work. She integrated the two concepts I think very successfully because she brought out a contrast and similarities in the two. For example the content of the photo told the viewer what type of photo it was- whether it was commercial or personal. A Fine example of this is the portrait of her mother, where she tried to capture her mother's age. The viewer could see that the photo is not for commercial use because her mother was not posed or dressed as a professional model, and neither was her hair styled. Whereas her photo of Nicole Kidman is definitely commercial because of the subject dress, posed and location. Actually, this two bodies of work complimented each other quite a lot. And if they detracted from each other, it was in a positive way. Ms. Leitbovitz complimented her two bodies of work by bringing out the personal side to the commercial photos but detracted from them by not showing the flaws in the subjects in the commercial photos. Two photographs which support my interpretation are ' My Brother Philip and my father Silver Spring, Maryland 1988', gelatin silver print, this picture consited of Ms. Leibovitz brother and father standing next to each other facing the camera, dressed in their bathing suits, smiling at the camera with their arms folded. And 'Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, pregnant with Rumer Glenn Willis, Padudach, Kansas 1988', gelatin silver print, this photo consisted of a shot of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's mid section, both of them in the nude, with Demi's pregnant belly protruding forward and both their ams holding her belly. These two photos (both black and white), hung next to each other in the gallery and I thought they went perfectly together. In the first one of her brother and father, the two of them looked very natural and homey. They looked comfortable with each other and even though they posed for the photo, it did not look like they were posing for a commercial photo because how natural they looked withe each other, their location (at their homes and by the pool) and their outfits ( bathing suits). It looked very much like a family gathering. In the second photo with Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, the subjects looked natural familiar with each other in the way they held each other. Both being naked and Demi Moore's pregnant belly in the forefront, really emphasized the natural and comfortable look to the photo. The way they both held her belly brought out a feeling of love and comfort. The basic human emotions. Yet the viewer could have seen that it is for commercial use because of the posed effect.

My Judgement of the exhibit, is that Annie Leibovitz has a wide range of talent when it comes to photography. It was very impressive the way she can make a subject look natural in its setting no matter what it is doing. I like the way she captured the man in the dancing movement. 'Bill T. Jones, Sun Studios New York, 1993', gelatin silver print. In the photo the man is doing a dancing moving and Ms. Leibovitz caught the graceful moving in a clean focused shot. She really captured the organic shapes in the man's movements.The man is centered in the photo but she follows the rule of third on the white paper background behind him where he is off to the right of the background. A second photo that I liked was the 'Charles Austin, U.S Olympic Athletics Team, Atlanta, 1996', gelatin silver print. This was a photo of a man doing a high jump. I thought it was very impressive because she shot him in focus except for his shoes which were closer to the lens but out of focus. His upper torso was stable but further from the lens, and darker than the rest of the photo yet it was very well focused and detailed. I could have seen the veins in his arms, hands and thighs, the crease in his back and the the clean lines of the focused upper torso. Even though his shoes were out of focus, I was able to see the mud on them.

I think this exhibition could be for anyone, because Ms. Leitbovitz did not focus only on what a camera can technically do, but she also represented the emotions and softer side of photography. What impressed me most about the exhibition is her ability to mix commercial photography with personal ones, and really bringing out details in emotions in both of them. I am not sure what I would like to see more of since there were such a wide variety of different types of photos and concepts, but definitely it would be nice seeing photos of moving objects since she has a unique way of taking them. I was very impressed with the exhibition and very glad that I got to see it. I think Annie Leibovitz is a great photographer and her talent was portrayed in the exhibition.

2006-11-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

AD 530 Advanced Photography Studio Sec: 7167

FINAL PROJECT

The name of my project is Profiles. It will be about facial profiles, but during the course of taking the pictures, I may take some 'body' profiles too. I would like to take pictures of different faces of different features and races. Using different lighting on the face, I would like to bring out the contrast in people's features. The pictures will have no specific location, but anyway where I can get good lighting or control the lightening in the area. This is one idea. But I amy also use the same face under different lightings.

I would like to do profiles, because I have noticed how someone can look so different in profile rather than facing forward. Also some people's profiles are very interesting. The contours of the face, the nose protruding from the face almost from the center of it. People's noses can really make a different in how entertaining a profile can be. Some people have a harder more geometric profile with straighter lines for their noses, lips and cheek bones. Others have more of an organic profile with softer curves for their noses, lips and cheek bones. I think that will be the main theme for my topic. Looking at the geometric shapes and angles of people's profiles.

The types of shots I am considering are mainly side angles where the head bleeds off the edge of the page. That way, the profile will be the dominant part of the frame, and the viewer can concentrate on the shape of the profile. I would like to have some with the models' eyes open and some with their eyes closed. This might make a difference in the the emotion of the photograph. Some of the images will not be complete line profiles, (there definitely will be those), but showing partial of the other side of the face. These images will be done so that it will not look too intentional.

I would like to shoot those pictures at different times of the day. Some will be taken in outside in the sunlight, and some will be taken inside under fluorescent light. I would also like to try some at night but I am not sure how that would work. Therefore, my pictures will be a variety of indoors and outdoors, though I would like the background of my images to be solid. Therefore if I am shooting outdoors, I am going to select backgrounds which are plain or solid. I would like the profile to be the main focus and do not want any diversion from the background.

I would like to have back lighting in my profiles so that I can get a silhouette of a profile. Also I would like to some side lighting to too to see the difference it creates. I might use props such as hats and caps and the models hairstyle to make the profile more interesting. This is not definite yet, but as I am shooting the photos, I will see what works best.

2006-11-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

Robert Mapplethorpe

I think this photo demostrates a good use of the rule of thirds. Notice how the subjects are placed to the right of the layout, but and the flower extending from the vase reaches out to the other side. This creates balance to the photo and makes it very interesting. It causes the viewers eyes to follow from the vase to the end of the flower. Also the red colour in the two vases, at the bottom right of the picture balances with the small red flower. All of the adds to his composition and the use of the rule of thirds.

2006-10-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Koudis

I choose this image because there is a contrast in the foremost subjects (the double mint twins) and the background. I think that is why the photographer placed them together. The double mint twins look so fresh and clean and relaxed whereas the activity in the background portrays stress, heat and a lot of action. I think is a very good advertising gimic for the double mint gum, because you get the impression that chewing that gum will give the feeling of freshness. In a straight photograph, I do not think that that contrast in feeling would have been so apparent, and the scale of the subjects in size, would probably not be so well defined. Those twins all the way to the front appear larger and is the first thing the viewer sees, and the colour of their clothes also adds to that feeling(mint green). I think it is a well balance photogragh because the large images shows clam and the smaller images show acitivity.

2006-10-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

I took this picture in Manhattan. I found the composition interesting because the building leaned towared the sun and it had this cracked up look about it.

2006-10-23T08:08:00.000-07:00

I took this picture in Manhattan during the evening. At first it was difficult to get the building into view because of where I was standing and how tall it was. I think is my best picture for the week. The comosition is very interesting and, and the lights do not look like just lights but candles. I think the constrast in the yellow lights and dark building gives the photo more depth.

2006-09-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

I took and developed this picture on my own with a manual camera. The cat came out very well with the details of the shadows on the cat. But the stone I think is over exposed.

2006-09-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

Portrait of Susan Taylor. Black and white photo of the side view of a woman with braids, and smiling with her eyes closed.
In this photograph Chester Higgins uses top side lighting coming from the left side of the photo to produce this image. This can be told by the light coming from her face and dipping in the 'v' neckline of her chest. The highest instensity is on her forehead. A very clean line is made by the constrast in the black in the background and the light on her face.

2006-09-24T20:36:00.000-07:00

The two different lightings on the subject, (flourescent and sunllight) fall directly on it. It creates an eclipse like image on the subject. The darkness in the the background gives constrast to the two different lights in the front.

2006-09-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

This photograph by Bernice Abbott I think really captured the look of New York at that time. Fist of all the fact that it is in black and white brings back the feeling of the olden days. The quite streets remind me of the times before New York was as crowded as it is today and the streets being so small compared to what they are today. In the low center of the photo the horse carriage as a means of transportation is very fitting to those times and also the wooden bench or table. The Tall building in the back center looking like it is surrounded with fog gives the impression of those foggy days with smoking chimneys from factories and warehouses.