Student Choice 1: Jim Fiscus

Jim Fiscus has made quite the name for himself over the past several years in the commercial and conceptual photography realm of computer generated imaging and editing. He's photographed advertising for shows like the popular Dexter and Nike, Levi's, ESPN, etc. He has won many awards for his work as well. Some of the stuff I really enjoy of his is the really conceptual images, like the one with the "dolls" and the meat packing plant. 

Garry Winogrand

Garry Winogrand, born in 1928 and died in 1984, earned his name as a an American photographer depicting the streets of America in the mid-twentieth century. After studying painting and photography through the City College of New York and Columbia University, he made his debut at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1963 along with several other photographers included in the exhibition. Winogrand went on later to teach photography at two universities; The University of Texas at Austin and the Art Institute of Chicago. 

Armed with a 35mm Leica camera, he travelled the streets of New York daily, capturing what are now some of the most well-known street photographs of their time. The photos are not just snapshots on the busy streets of NY though. Winogrand managed to capture the essence of the time, the troubles of the people and the beauty of the motion throughout our famous city. When he passed away of cancer at the young age of 56, Winogrand left behind over 300,000 unedited photographs and around 2,500 rolls of undeveloped rolls of film. (of FILM, not digital!) 

The photographs do not just come off as they are titled, as street photographs, but rather as a wonderful and beautiful depiction of what exactly he was seeing, what exactly he was participating in. After looking at several pages of his work, I realized that you begin to almost fall right into place among the subjects in his pieces. One of my favorite techniques I've noticed he used several times throughout is the tilting of the camera oh so slightly or the offsetting of the subjects. There's no perfect center and in some of his images, like one above, some people's heads are not even included in the image (oh photographers, we learn the rules, just so that we can beautifully break them). The motion, the perfectly unaligned subjects and the ability to place yourself amongst his photographed crowds all create these beautiful black and white (and some color) compositions. And using that much film each day and being able to walk amongst the people without disturbing the events, I'll be the first to say the man knew exactly what he was doing. 

Ralph Eugene Meatyard

Well, if anyone knows me, they would already know that I am a rather huge fan of Meatyard for one obvious reason... He's so creepy. I LOVE IT. (now to the serious business) 

Ralph Eugene Meatyard, born in 1925, only began his career as a photographer (Meatyard was actually an Optician) when he purchased his first camera in 1950 to photograph his son and then soon after joining organizations such as the Photographic Society of America. Passing away way too early, before his 47th birthday in 1972, Meat yard had yet to actually gain his complete popularity. He had established a name for himself as a photographer but his work was so unlike the popular east and west coast styles of the decade, that his work had yet to really be appreciated until after his death.

The imagery and disturbing concepts of his work, featuring masks and abandoned scenery created some of most beautifully complex concepts of the time. I adore his work of course, having an interest in disturbing imagery myself, and I love the depth he uses in his work. His work with trying different exposures and shutter speeds to achieve blurred motion to display an almost disturbing movement in his photographs is quite fantastic to me. I love the fact that you can almost tell that he had all these beautifully amazing ideas in his head but was simply attempting to figure out the world of photography in order to get them onto film. I would say he was more than successful... 

Stephen Shore

After researching the story of Stephen Shore, I finally gained much more respect for his work even though I had already fallen in love with his vintage feel from day one. Shore's story has to be one of the most impressive I've ever heard, not gonna lie... Shore began to show a heavy interest in photography from a very young age, starting to shoot color (yes, Shore was another very influential person on the development of color photography at a time when it was very accepted) with his first 35 mm film camera at the very young age of nine. Astoundingly he began his very successful career at only the age of 14 by showing his work to the curator of the MoMA. The curator of course recognized Shore's raw photographic talent and he purchased three of Shore's prints right then. After hanging out with Andy Warhol, he later became, at the age of 24, the second living photographer to have a solo exhibition at the MoMA. When Shore decided to start traveling the country and shooting the American culture in his color 35 mm, 4x5 view camera, he began to produce some of the most popular first color photographs of the beautifully colorful America at that time. 

If it was not already obvious, Shore has been a heavy influence on work of my own (even though you may not be able to tell it the majority of the time). One of my favorite things about his work is his use of lines. The photos above, I thought represented his use of lines the best. The lines of the window and legs leading to the television set, The pool railing and edges framing the woman oh so perfectly in the water and the creating of the viewers desire to keep going down the road, past the dog, just to see what follows. 

William Eggleston

William Eggleston, another American photographer born in 1939 is also another very important detail in the development of color photography as we know it today. After attending three separate universities and still not receiving a degree, one of Eggleston's friends placed a Leica camera in his hands and set him off into the world of photography. His interest of course was increasing by the second and began shooting in black and white film. A few years later in 1965, Eggleston began to discover color photography even though at the time it wasn't truly an acceptable art form. After finally getting the hang of shooting, and finally grabbing the attention of a few people, he went on to teach at Harvard where he also discovered the art of Dye-transfer printing which produced some of his most well-known work. One pice in particular known as The Red Ceiling, Eggleston was so bold to say that he has yet to see it represented in a way that is to his satisfaction. Apparently the die-transfer print is simply too good to be reproduced again and again. 

I have always really enjoyed the vintage feel of Egglestons photos, whether its my nostalgia and love for vintage 70's colors or just the way his images look. The images I posted above are by far my favorites, mostly because of the use of color and composition. in each one, the seats or couches play so well with the individuals in them, and I have to accredit that to him, not simply the situation, I believe. Eggleston's work is simply beautiful in my book. I think he does a fantastic job of being able to show the emotion and the situation involved in the photograph through the use of color rather than simply facial expression or body language. Fantastic work in my book... 

Joel Meyerowitz

Joel Meyerowitz, born in 1938 in the Bronx of New York City, is now recognized as one of todays most recognized first users of color photography. Meyerowitz attended Ohio State University and graduated with a degree in painting and medical illustration. At some point Meyerowitz stumbled out onto the streets with his first 35 mm black and white film camera and began photographing the streets he saw and the events happening within them. Soon later, Meyerowitz began capturing his images using colored film in 1962, in a time when color photography was still very looked down upon by the majority of people as a "true" art form. In the early 1970's, Meyerowitz began teaching at Cooper Union on the subject of his renowned and newly discovered color photography. Alongside starting the trend of photographing in color, Meyerowitz, as the only photographer allowed on to ground zero directly after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center in New York, he has produced some of the most astounding and well-known photographs from that devastating event in recent American history. 

I particularly enjoyed (and, well, absolutely LOVED) his few photographs involving water. I featured two of them above and I think they are simply fantastic. All of his photographs show his innate capability and talent for composition and being able to capture the moment (especially the raw emotion captured in his 9/11 photographs). Truly a great photojournalist and artist combined, not to mention he sparked the fuse that set our photographic world spiraling into a world of color. 

John Pfahl

John Pfahl, an American photographer born in early 1939, earned his big name in the photography industry through his popular series done in 1974  known to many as the "Altered Landscapes" (featured above) After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts at Syracuse University in the school of art and then receiving his Masters degree in the school of communications at the same university, he began his journey into photography. He also taught at Rochester Institute of Technology for several years. One of his highest achievements is that his work is featured in over 45 different corporate and and public collections. 

At first, I admit, I didn't really know what to think of Pfahl's work. I really enjoyed it, and I enjoyed exploring my own interpretations of what his legendary "Altered Landscapes" series was all about, but the fact that it was almost difficult to find nearly as much about him as some of the other photographers I've researched, made me question if the man was really all he was cracked up to be. But I didn't let my questioning stop me. I looked through several archives of his work, all the way from basic floral pieces to the varied strange things that affected the many landscapes he chose to focus on, and I started to realize that I was starting to love his work more and more. Especially the Altered Landscape pieces. It was almost like a "Where's Waldo" kind of exploration. I found myself very curious to see the various things that would change the next "world" in some way. And not to mention his eye for landscape compositions struck me. I love the positions he placed the horizon lines in. I especially fell in love with the first one above. The landscape almost becomes a painting of layers rather than simply a photograph of water and sand and lace overlay across the beach. 

Muhammed Muheisen

Muhammed Muheisen, a photojournalist for Associated Press since 2001, he has travelled to places such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Israel and returned with some of the most astounding and well known photographs of our recent years and recent turmoil around the world. He photographed the war, the lives of people and individuals involved in countless situations in these desert areas we find ourselves so commonly talking about here in America. He also, when in West Bank, began a set of photographs documenting local children that were living in refugee camps.

Over the past several years, Muheisen has received a numerous variety of different international awards for his dangerous and daring works of art. In  2005 he received the Breaking News Pulitzer Prize for his images of Iraq and an image of the annual Muslim pilgrimage won him the Picture of the Year award in 2007. 

I really enjoy Muheisen's work. Having been a photojournalist myself in high school, I enjoy seeing images of what is happening around our world currently, and he manages to capture the moment that is occurring, without disrupting the event itself. One of my favorite images is the wedding photograph with the man pointing the Israeli soldier's gun away from his child in a fit of rage and protection. My thought process? Who was the gun pointing at when the man pointed it away? Muhammed Muheisen... The man is capable of producing images that we can involve ourselves in in an emotional way without disturbing what is happening or posing the individuals involved in the situation. He captures what is happening, the emotion involved, and the beauty in the turmoil that is occurring... 

Andreas Gursky

A German photographer, born in 1955, Andreas Gursky has established a name for himself as one of the "largest" photographers around, using the subjects of architecture and color landscapes in his immense photography. Gursky, the son of a commercial photographer, had not even stepped foot into the realm of digital photo editing until after around 1990. His images currently are enhanced to show the popping colors and meshing of patterns amongst chaos and order around the world. Gursky focuses his work on these large industrial spaces like the ones shown above. The repetition he uses, the popping colors and the completely orderly and beautifully aligned edges make the natural chaos in his images simple beautiful and astounding. The coolest part? These aren't exactly small pieces of art work. Some of Gursky's photographs, when printed, can reach scales as large as ten feet in length. One of Gursky's highest accomplishments was the honor as being titled as the creator of the highest paying photograph sold at an auction as of 2007. Pretty big honor if you ask me...
I really enjoy Gursky's work, and not just from a aesthetic stand point. His photographs, while I have not had the opportunity to view any of them in person, I can only imagine that the immense scale increases the beauty of the images. He manages to photograph such simply events, such simple compositions and yet perfect the chaos in them to create an image that is no longer just an apartment complex or a crowd at a dance festival, but a beautiful work of ink on a enormous piece of paper.

Critique #1: Paint Chips

   I admit that when first receiving the assignment via email from Chad because I had missed class the day we received it, I was quite nervous about what exactly to do for this first project. The concept of being given a simplistic theme that had to do not only with color but also with concept was slightly daunting but I strapped on my creative boots and headed out with my camera.
   I came up with the first idea for Bloody Mary Morning, using a bloody alarm clock with a hand pressing snooze as my subject. I poured out some fake blood, placed my hand on the button, and started clicking the shutter release on my camera as it sat perched on the tripod. It wasn't long though till I realized my darling camera was actually not working at all. But I soon found another camera to borrow for the shots and finished up all my thought out concepts rather quickly. I managed to eventually find a time when the print lab was actually open and when all was said in done, I was happy with my work but overall just excited to have the first project under my belt and over with.
   Chad typically talks a lot about being able to self-critique your own work kind of thing and it's funny because mostly everything he said about my photos on critique day was completely accurate with what I had already told myself about them as soon as they came out of the printer in Wathena.
   One thing he said was that they in general needed some perfecting, but that my concept was overall pretty awesome. (Thanks Chad!) I also agree with his idea that the bloody alarm clock photo should have been just that; a bloody alarm clock. The idea would have been a lot more literal and interesting if the alarm clock was looked at as a "bloody" alarm clock and not a crime scene photograph. I'm really glad he mentioned that and noticed it because I honestly had never even thought of it in that way.
   Another thing that he mentioned was that the girls head was slightly awkward on the Red Warning photograph. I'd once again have to agree.
   I think out of everything Chad told me I realize I have good concepts most of the time, but I feel as if I need to let things happen more naturally instead of trying to force things from a composition standpoint and such. Overall I think this first critique has already started to help me a lot. :)