Artist's Statement - Revision 2

“Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today” is my favorite quote by James Dean. It has become a personal philosophy, guiding my life and my photography. I use my camera as a tool to live each day and document the reality of life. My job allows me the privilege to travel. While traveling for work, I began to photograph the landscapes that surrounded me.  My photographs became a way for me to share my visual experiences with those who cannot travel with me.  

Trees focuses on the natural beauty of trees. I appreciate the beauty of nature and the beautiful compositions that trees naturally make. I agree with the adage "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" because pictures can convey the beauty and reality of a place quicker than words. But because I am an avid reader, I included some poetry to enhance the romanticism of the photos. 

I love studying photography. The history, the mechanics, the methods that are employed by many different photographers are so very interesting. I learn more every day reading and trying to emulate my favorite photographers. I take pleasure in attending classes and having projects to work on. These keep my mind working and involved in learning. 

Groupon deal of the Day!

65% off Picaboo

$35 for $100 Worth of Photo Books, Cards, and Calendars at Picaboo

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Crisis of the Real - conversation series

I attended the discussion about the "Crisis of the Real" in media on Tuesday (4/19) evening. It was moderated by John Cantine, associate professor and Jess Weichler, head librarian at Pittsburgh Filmmakers.  There were 2 other Filmmaker staff members and 3 students. It was a small group, but a very interesting discussion.

The talk was about digital manipulation in photography, film and video and how they relate to reality. The discussion mainly revolved around movies, talking about Avatar, the use of CGI in scary movies, the original King Kong vs the new release... how there was manipulation in films before the new technology made is simpler to do. 

There was talk about digital manipulation in photoshop vs what Ansel Adams did in the darkroom, which was manipulation of the image. He manipulated the image he took, vs adding elements that weren't there to begin with. Not unlike using Photoshop or Lightroom to bring out the lights and darks.

There was also talk of the 'original' being different when it is celluloid vs digital 0s and 1s. And how hard it is to keep track of the original.  It was a very interesting discussion, although I am not sure that any final consensus was reached.

Several books and videos were recommended:

A Film Unfinished (2010)

A film about an unfinished film which portrays the people behind and before the camera in the Warsaw Ghetto, exposing the extent of the cinematic manipulation forever changing the way we look at historic images.

Darby O'Gill and The Little People (1959)

For its use of different angles to manipulate the image.

Books:

The Virtual Life of Film

by D.N. Rodowick 

Reality TV: Remaking TV culture

by Susan Murray and Laurie Ouellette

Crisis of the Real:

Writings on Photography since 1974

by Andy Grunberg

The Burden of Representation

by John Tagg

The Disciplinary Frame

by John Tagg

Language of the New Media

by Lev Manovich

What is Cinema?

by Andre Bazin

Big Print!

The large print of the Brooklyn Bridge hanging on the wall!

Artist Statement Draft

I am a photographer because I enjoy remembering where I've been and what I've seen. I enjoy sharing that vision with people who haven't been able to travel, with people who have traveled and want to relive it and with people who have traveled and don't remember. I agree with the adage "A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" because I believe pictures can convey the beauty and reality of a place quicker than words. I enjoy reading and believe that words do a good job, but a photo cuts to the chase.

I enjoy studying photography. The history, the mechanics, the methods that are employed by many different photographers are so very interesting. I learn more every day reading and trying to emulate my favorite photographers. I enjoy taking classes and having projects to work on. These keep my mind working and involved in learning. 

My current project focuses on trees. I enjoy the beauty of nature and the beautiful compositions and juxtapositions that trees naturally make. I find that in my past photo endeavors I tended to include shots of trees and nature, so I decided to focus on looking at trees in many different ways. I enjoy being out in nature so using that time to work on this project has been gratifying.

Beyond the Print

Original plain old Rubik's Cube

For this assignment, I took a Rubik's Cube and used pictures of my nieces and nephew on each side. I have a lot of knick-knacks and photos on shelves and a few Rubik's cubes already, so it seemed a fitting and fun new way to show photos on the shelf.
If I were to do this project again, I would like to have printed black lines on the photos where the cut marks are, so as to lose less of the photo. Also, a better selection of colors to differentiate the photos would help in solving the puzzle.

Rubik's cube with photos pre-cut

Rubik's cube with photos pre-cut

Rubik's cube with photos after cut

Rubik's cube with cubes moved
(but not too much, I may not get it back)