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.

Who was the photographer and who was the subject of photographs in the past and today?

In the past, there had only professional photographer to take pictures for the customers. They only know how to use camera. Also, that time people didn’t have their own personal camera to bring everywhere to take what they want. Due to pictures are really rare and expensive and people just took pictures for some important occasions. So, they usually went portrait studio or invited photographer to take pictures for family things like funeral, family pictures or wedding pictures. But nowadays, we can be a photographer whoever you are. We can take any pictures whatever we want like natures, human beings, and emotions and so on.

(http://www.facebook.com/#!/vinsong)

What are main differences and similarities between portraits in the early days of photography and portraits?

I think the main similarity between portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today is keeping the wonderful and beautiful moment forever. We use our camera to capture the most beautiful moment in our lives. Besides, with the development of techniques, photography’s cultures started to change. Some of the differences between portraits in the early days of photography and today are that in the early days portraits where more exclusive. Portraits where made for wealthy families and highly valued because of its exclusivity. These portraits where also only limited to black and white and depending on the method of development, might have slight tints of other colors. But these days, we can see the various colors, and we will have a good mood to feel those pictures.