Virtual essay

I have chosen a photographer who is Robert Doisneau. He was born in France. He studied lithography, but soon turned to photography. He began to work as photographing just as modernist ideas were beginning to promote photograph as the prime medium for industrial and advertising photographer. During the world war and German occupation, he worked for the resistance forging documents. After the war, he began work for French Vogue, but his heart was in photojournalism, and the streets of Paris, to which he returned. He documented the French people. From then on, he photographed a vast array of people and events, often juxtaposing conformist and maverick elements in images marked by an exquisite sense of humor, by anti-establishment values, and, above all, by his deeply felt humanism. His h sought the surreal in everyday life; the amusing juxtaposition, the fable of human nature, all captured by an artist who was charmed by his subjects. He took pictures based on his instinct at the moment they occurred. 

 This photo is called The Kiss on the Sidewalk. The photograph of a man and woman kissing on a populated street in Paris has become his most famous works.  Not only does it represent love and romance, it also defines Paris as the city of love.  The photograph along with the article has become a symbol for those around the world. 

Personally I like this photograph which is called musician in the rain. I think when I see this photo, I can imagine that this musician is really like to play cello and his cello has big meaning from him. This photograph contains a story of the cello musician. Just one picture can tell us a long story. He liked nothing better than to walk the streets never knowing what sights he was to encounter.

This photograph is called Fox terrier on the Pont des Arts. I can see beautiful scene through this photo. Also, I can feel that they have spare time and live in comport. Robert Doisneau tried to take a photograph what he always headed for people’s life at that time. I can imagine Paris’s normal scenery at that time from this photo.

And these photographs are called Sunday morning in Arcueil
and Square du Vert-Galant.
I really like to feel truth and romantic from the black and white photographs which contain people’s everyday life. Generally black and white photographs appear lonely atmospheres. But when I relish Robert Doisneau’s black and white photos, there has many photos which made me warm-hearted. When I see his photographs, I can realize that he really loved people who were taken photos by him and he saw them kindly beyond his camera. I think that camera operation skill is really important to take the photos, but photographer’s mind to see what they will go to take the picture also really important.

Robert Doisneau Said "I've never examined why I make photos. In truth it's a hopeless struggle against the idea that one will die. It's something I'm more prepared for, because one shouldn't think that every action is temporary and momentary. I try obstinately to stop this time that is passing." These photographs show us Robert’s aspects of photograph. I really like to see his photographs which are can make me feel like traveling in France.


Refrences
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/168066/Robert-Doisneau

   htp://www.staleywise.com/.../doisneau/doisneau.htm

  http://www.artrepublic.com/biographies/123-robert-doisneau.htmll



Feedback week11

Hi, Sarah and other group members
I enjoyed your presentation :D
It really helped out to compare each photogapher's photos. There are main similatrities which express in black and white color, and their photos are focused on people and landscapes. I really agree with the statement that "no matter how visible/invisible they were in the process, they captured true emotions."
Andre Kertesz and Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photos are unartificial and can making the audiences to think their own words. On the other hand, Eugene Smith and Sabasito Salgado’s photos made by them to express their some meaning from their works. So, I think I can't compare to which photographer is more better one. Because Andre Kertesz and Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photos are really natural. What u mentioned that they waited until the right moment to capture their image. They could capture a moment by feeling it instead of staging it. We can see the true moments through their photos. Also, Eugene Smith and Sabasito Salgado’s photos can tell us more easily what they want to contain the meaning on their photos. Therefore, I think they are pursuing their own characteristics.

Photo Journal #2

Press photographs

▲ Author : Bruce Adams / source : Daily Mail

▲ author : Ben Gurr / Source : The Times

Art Photographs

▲ author : Joel-peter Witkin / source : http://www.edelmangallery.com/

▲ author : Joel-peter Witkin / source : http://www.edelmangallery.com/

Generally, Press photographs have a role to explain the news and articles about the events, accidents, and happenings etc. Art photographs have similarities with press photographs to record and re-appear the specific reality. But art photographs are not put up only that meaning and creating final results from author’s subjective sense of value and esthetic subjectivities.

If so that is it ethical and acceptable to alter art photographs from press photographs? I believe that it can be change to art photographs. The first press photo is a boy who lost both arms and legs and second press photo is a guy help his mother and bring their relief goods after had earthquake at Haiti.

As I said above, you can see pains, value of life, family love and desire of survival from these press photographs except for recording and re-appear the happenings. These are enough to alter as art photographs.

Then, is it ethical and acceptable to alter press photographs from art photographs? I would say there has a limit to alter press photo from art photo. Art photographs what I attached above is Joel-peter witkin’s works. What is your first think when you see that photos? Isn’t it obscene and expressing sexually even they didn’t explain that works? Joel-peter witkin bring into relief about the body as life and death, normality and taboo, and beauty and cruelty. The body in the picture is a symbol as social and cultural text. These can be a place to experiment on expressing photo’s conventional and mental description. Also these are pursuing their true characters. Like this, these art photographs are representing about the body of cognition at that time but more over it is realizing author’s subjective sense of value and beauty. Also, it is really hard to sympathize from everyone as press photographs because some people can think these photos are too obscene to use as press photographs.

Presentation week 9 feedback

Hi, Satomi :)
Your group presentation was making me to learn about the photojournalism. Actually I saw a picture before what you posted it, I tought why that person didn't help her before taking that picture, wasn't that stuation awkward? After I read your presentation, I can understand him a little. Because he just tried to tell the story about the reality of Africa. Still, if I were a photojornalist, I couldn't taking a picture at that time same as him.

Also, I agree that taking journalistic photo is not different than writing the news story. If they had the happen about the disater, I think journalistic photo can help the reader to understand easily.

Presentation week 6 feedback

Hi, I enjoyed your team's presentation. I imagined the depression during that time when I saw last two pictures. I can feel how they had sad time from these pictures. If we weren't see those kind of pictures, we are probably hard to imagine how it was struggling to live. We can realize the depression the people back in the day from Migrant Mother photograph.

Photo Manipulation Assgnment

 Taking photo is the most essential thing in the photography, but revising the picture also brings the important part in order to make a fabulous picture. There is no problem when you think you’ve taken a photo that would bring the best picture which means you don’t have to revise it. However, in other way, you might have taken a picture that you are not fully satisfied with. The photographs at the bottom are the pictures that would satisfy you by using Photoshop. 

The first picture is an upgraded version of the simple picture that’s original. I changed the origin picture to a unique picture to use an effect which called little planet. I took this picture when I walked on my way. I just saw a dog which wears a TTC uniform. I thought it was really cute. That’s why I took a picture this dog. If people see the original picture, they might be thinking it is too monotonous and simple. But when people see the revised one, they can think that it is really unique and funny. 



The second picture is not freshness and feels nothing special. So, I changed this picture to feel warmly and sleekly to use contrast and blur. I tried to change this picture to focus on the hands. It shows kind of something meaningful. I just took this picture when I was going out with my boyfriend. I wanted to remember that time from a picture. Editing the photo is not always good way to make more nicer one. But revising the picture can help to look different point of view.  

What was the impact on technology on the portraits in the past and today?

In the past, the portraits only containd black and white due to the lack of technology. However, the portraits developed simultaneously as the technology developed. As a result, we were able to capture not only black and white colors but also able to contain variety of color in our portraits. But photography industry is getting progress, we can express every colors what we can see in our photos.