Tonight, our last night, we sat together at a long table at SuVan's, a local restaurant just up the street from the CPC. We brought photos from our 17 Angles assignment to critique, and we talked about what we learned and how we grew as photographers during Photo 1. We also gave feedback to a board member about our experiences in Photo I. It was a great time for the class members to give their input on how the class had gone and what might make the class stronger or better.
Afterwards, a bunch of us went out together and spend the beautiful evening sipping wine and recounting our photographic adventures.
I can't believe that the class is already over. A bunch of us are thinking we'll take Photo II together...
Monday, July 23, 2007
week seven: (still more) about interaction
This week we sat in a giant circle and talked about our experience on both sides of the lens. We talked about what we thought our photographer captured, what they missed, what made the experience good, and how hard it was to see ourselves as an 8" x 10". I thought it was difficult having my picture taken. Far more difficult was looking at that picture and being objective about the photographer's work. I'm still thinking about the difference between an authentic photograph of me (something that captures the me of me), and a photograph that I like (one that captures some brief moment in which I like the way I look).
It was fascinating to hear people talk about what they saw in themselves and what the experience of being photographed catalyzed for them.
Here's one shot I took while my friend A was photographing D. It seemed impossible for him to relax and be natural.
We stayed late into the night, talking and laughing about our thoughts about being both photographer and subject.
As I looked around the circle at the class, I realized that I'm dreading the end of the class (next week!) because I really look forward to seeing these people each week.
***
In addition to thinking about our interaction with subjects (and how to defeat photo face in our portrait work!), this week we're also shooting assignment: 17 different angles. We're supposed to find an interesting object and, well, shoot it from 17 different angles, capturing various aspects of that thing.
It was fascinating to hear people talk about what they saw in themselves and what the experience of being photographed catalyzed for them.
Here's one shot I took while my friend A was photographing D. It seemed impossible for him to relax and be natural.
We stayed late into the night, talking and laughing about our thoughts about being both photographer and subject.
As I looked around the circle at the class, I realized that I'm dreading the end of the class (next week!) because I really look forward to seeing these people each week.
***
In addition to thinking about our interaction with subjects (and how to defeat photo face in our portrait work!), this week we're also shooting assignment: 17 different angles. We're supposed to find an interesting object and, well, shoot it from 17 different angles, capturing various aspects of that thing.
week six: more about interaction
So you know that moment when someone points a camera in your face and you... smile? But it isn't a real smile, right? It's wide or open mouthed or expresses something you don't really feel at the moment. At the CPC, they call this Photo Face. And we all do it.
But if you want a real photo of someone, something that gets at the reality of a person, you have to find a way to help your subject navigate away from this face and into something truer—and, many times, something more interesting.
After talking about Photo Face in class, it was pretty easy for me to see myself doing it here:
And not so much here:
But again (in a way) here:
It's hard NOT to do photo face when you know someone is photographing you.
But if you want a real photo of someone, something that gets at the reality of a person, you have to find a way to help your subject navigate away from this face and into something truer—and, many times, something more interesting.
After talking about Photo Face in class, it was pretty easy for me to see myself doing it here:
And not so much here:
But again (in a way) here:
It's hard NOT to do photo face when you know someone is photographing you.
week five: interaction assignment
I got together with A and D this week. We each had to take our turn being photographed. It was interesting to be photographed. I was pretty self-conscious, really. And lots of the things my classmates said to try to get me to relax (things I say to my subjects, too!) didn't really help me to be better in front of the lens.
I took A's photo:
I like the photo above because of her unposed expression. It seems pretty natural, though it was a bit difficult to get her to relax.
I found that one way to help her relax was to let her look away from the camera, like this:
I'm not very excited about the composition of these photos; I was admittedly distracted, trying to figure out how to help A feel comfortable.
I think that new photographers like us might be the worst subjects!
I took A's photo:
I like the photo above because of her unposed expression. It seems pretty natural, though it was a bit difficult to get her to relax.
I found that one way to help her relax was to let her look away from the camera, like this:
I'm not very excited about the composition of these photos; I was admittedly distracted, trying to figure out how to help A feel comfortable.
I think that new photographers like us might be the worst subjects!
week five: interaction
This week we're thinking about both sides of the lens. It's funny—during the past few weeks, I've taken photographs of friends, headstones, neighbors, pigeons, ornate vases, orchids, and strangers, but I haven't taken one picture of myself. I don't like many photos of myself, so this has been just fine with me.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
week four: critique!
I have to start with this: IT IS REALLY HARD TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT DURING A CRITIQUE OF YOUR WORK!
We critiqued our shutter speed (stop or show motion) photographs in class this week.
I chose one of my photos with a slower shutter speed:
During critique we talk about each photograph in front of the photographer, but the photographer isn't allowed to answer questions or defend their work as everyone talks about it. We answer these questions about each photograph:
*what do you notice first?
*what do you like about the photograph?
*what don't you like about the photograph?
*what would you do differently to improve the photograph?
I didn't agree with _everything_ that was said about my photo, but people did suggest a few ways that the photograph could've been better.
This week we also started talking about composition and the relationship between the photographer and the subject. We'll be photographing each other and being photographed ourselves in order to explore both sides of the portrait experience.
We critiqued our shutter speed (stop or show motion) photographs in class this week.
I chose one of my photos with a slower shutter speed:
During critique we talk about each photograph in front of the photographer, but the photographer isn't allowed to answer questions or defend their work as everyone talks about it. We answer these questions about each photograph:
*what do you notice first?
*what do you like about the photograph?
*what don't you like about the photograph?
*what would you do differently to improve the photograph?
I didn't agree with _everything_ that was said about my photo, but people did suggest a few ways that the photograph could've been better.
This week we also started talking about composition and the relationship between the photographer and the subject. We'll be photographing each other and being photographed ourselves in order to explore both sides of the portrait experience.
filmies: it's dark in here
Everyone talks about how great the darkroom is, so I asked a friend about what goes on down in CPC's basement.
90% of the film students, like my friend, are women. Cara said that something happens when you turn out the lights. That at first everyone's worried about getting things wrong—opening the cannister incorrectly and exposing the film, or putting too much or to little of the right chemicals in at the right time. But she said the lab instructor was funny and helpful and (after he freaked everyone out by saying that he'd put the wrong chemical in the developing cannisters) put everyone at ease.
She tried to describe being in the dark like that, with other people she hardly knew. She said and id that because you can't see, you become really attuned to other sensory input. In the darkroom they navigate around by sight and feel.
And unlike my experience with digital, where I can see what I've just shot so that I kind of know what I got in given shoot, with film, there's this hold-your-breath moment right before you look at your developed negatives where you don't know if you have anything. And there's something magical about that moment. She said there's nothing like being able to see the images you worked so hard for, there in a slender strip, ready to be enlarged.
90% of the film students, like my friend, are women. Cara said that something happens when you turn out the lights. That at first everyone's worried about getting things wrong—opening the cannister incorrectly and exposing the film, or putting too much or to little of the right chemicals in at the right time. But she said the lab instructor was funny and helpful and (after he freaked everyone out by saying that he'd put the wrong chemical in the developing cannisters) put everyone at ease.
She tried to describe being in the dark like that, with other people she hardly knew. She said and id that because you can't see, you become really attuned to other sensory input. In the darkroom they navigate around by sight and feel.
And unlike my experience with digital, where I can see what I've just shot so that I kind of know what I got in given shoot, with film, there's this hold-your-breath moment right before you look at your developed negatives where you don't know if you have anything. And there's something magical about that moment. She said there's nothing like being able to see the images you worked so hard for, there in a slender strip, ready to be enlarged.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
week three: depth of field assignment
I went to the Lincoln Park Conservatory with someone from class. We shot for about an hour and a half, trying to get good examples of different depths of field.
It's easier to take pictures of plants than people since they stay pretty still, but I struggled to take a photo that I liked. It all looked a little hallmark-ish until I started looking at the plants a bit more closely. I tried to capture the textures I saw on the bark of the different kinds of trees and vines.
A (fellow CPCer) wasn't too excited about what she shot, but I think she's just a little hard on herself. We did get some good examples of depth of field.
We think.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from our shoot:
[shallow depth of field]
[greater depth of field]
[extremely shallow depth of field]
[shallow depth of field]
It's easier to take pictures of plants than people since they stay pretty still, but I struggled to take a photo that I liked. It all looked a little hallmark-ish until I started looking at the plants a bit more closely. I tried to capture the textures I saw on the bark of the different kinds of trees and vines.
A (fellow CPCer) wasn't too excited about what she shot, but I think she's just a little hard on herself. We did get some good examples of depth of field.
We think.
Here are a few of my favorite photos from our shoot:
[shallow depth of field]
[greater depth of field]
[extremely shallow depth of field]
[shallow depth of field]
week three
Tonight we learned about making proof sheets for our photos. We went up into the lab and figured out how to use the printers and talked about Tree House (the upstairs lab at CPC) etiquette. We'll be using the lab once a week to work on and print images.
Some of the people in class aren't that comfortable with computers (and for us Mac users, the PCs required a refresher), but by the end of the lab session, we'd basically got the naming, indexing, and archiving processes down.
This week we're shooting photos that explore depth of field choices. I've never been to the Lincoln Park Conservatory, so I am thinking I'll go there to shoot.
Some of the people in class aren't that comfortable with computers (and for us Mac users, the PCs required a refresher), but by the end of the lab session, we'd basically got the naming, indexing, and archiving processes down.
This week we're shooting photos that explore depth of field choices. I've never been to the Lincoln Park Conservatory, so I am thinking I'll go there to shoot.
week two: motion assignment
I was out in Seattle this past weekend for a wedding, so I took a walk by myself around downtown and looked for motion. Birds were mentioned as being illegal subjects for this assignment (because they are small and composition tends to go out the window when you're shooting something that fast-moving), but I couldn't resist taking a few photos of a pigeon building a nest in the sign for an old ramshackle hotel.
One thing I hadn't realized was how many photos I'd have to take to get the photo I wanted. I have a whole card filled with these pigeons. And I'm still not quite sure whether the blurring I captured was due to motion, and not to the subject being out of focus.
[stopped motion]
[pigeon out of focus]
[some motion blurring]
One thing I hadn't realized was how many photos I'd have to take to get the photo I wanted. I have a whole card filled with these pigeons. And I'm still not quite sure whether the blurring I captured was due to motion, and not to the subject being out of focus.
[stopped motion]
[pigeon out of focus]
[some motion blurring]
week two
Tonight we learned about shutter speed and how to use the length of time the shutter is open to get different results. This week we'll be trying to stop motion and show motion (as a blur).
A few of the students went out after class and I joined them. When I carry my camera, everything looks like a good photo op.
Here a two shots I took while we were hanging out:
A few of the students went out after class and I joined them. When I carry my camera, everything looks like a good photo op.
Here a two shots I took while we were hanging out:
week one: 512MB assigment
I went to Forest Home Cemetary to take some photos for our first assignment. It had just rained and so I slogged through the mud and around the gravestones hoping to find interesting angles and perspectives. I felt a little uncomfortable when a funeral procession went by and I was snapping photos of old grave headstones.
Here are a few of my favorites from the trip:
Here are a few of my favorites from the trip:
Monday, May 14, 2007
week one
First class! Last night we were introduced to some of the CPC staff and I got the list of things I need for the class. The CPC recommends getting supplies online from B & H or Adorama.
***
Richard, the Photo 1 teacher, talked about proper exposure and said that there were only two rules to remember for this week's assignment:
*Rule Number One: If you’re holding the camera, your exposure must be 60 (one 60th of a second) or shorter to avoid camera shake
*The Supreme Rule: Always have the correct exposure
We talked about correct exposure and members of the CPC staff helped us play with the buttons and dials on our cameras.
Assignment: Shoot one 512MB card full of images.
[embarrassing aside: I thought maybe the people teaching would be a little, er, intimidating. Or something. But instead the environment has been pretty warm.]
***
Richard, the Photo 1 teacher, talked about proper exposure and said that there were only two rules to remember for this week's assignment:
*Rule Number One: If you’re holding the camera, your exposure must be 60 (one 60th of a second) or shorter to avoid camera shake
*The Supreme Rule: Always have the correct exposure
We talked about correct exposure and members of the CPC staff helped us play with the buttons and dials on our cameras.
Assignment: Shoot one 512MB card full of images.
[embarrassing aside: I thought maybe the people teaching would be a little, er, intimidating. Or something. But instead the environment has been pretty warm.]
the night before
Tomorrow I start Photo 1 at The Chicago Photography Center. I'm planning to post new digital work here. I’m also thinking that this blog will be a great way to remember all the things I learn each week.
I got my camera last year, but have mostly used its auto settings. I’m hoping to become more comfortable with it. I also hope to shoot better work (not just slightly awkward posed photos of friends or washed out landscapes).
Here's something I shot with my camera right after I got it. So this is my photography BEFORE Photo 1 class.
I did a quick drive-by of the CPC. The building is fantastic. I can’t wait.
[photo stolen from CPC's site]
I got my camera last year, but have mostly used its auto settings. I’m hoping to become more comfortable with it. I also hope to shoot better work (not just slightly awkward posed photos of friends or washed out landscapes).
Here's something I shot with my camera right after I got it. So this is my photography BEFORE Photo 1 class.
I did a quick drive-by of the CPC. The building is fantastic. I can’t wait.
[photo stolen from CPC's site]
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