JESSICA WOLF PHOTOGRAPHY

Sol Lewitt (Jess' Pick)

2008-10-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Sol Lewitt is an artist who is mainly linked to the conceptual and minimalist movements. His work is very simple, which is why I see a definite link between his work and Don Hertzfeld's. Hertfeld's cartoons are very simple in their graphics, but they certainly do not lack in content. Using stick figures he creates hilarious story lines which could be read into in quite a few ways.

Sol Lewitt also creates very simple looking art which is very conceptual (hence the minimalist and conceptual influences). He is the main artist I am following these days due to his studies of white spheres and cubes. It was a grid of his sphere studies that pointed me towards trying that out before working with a more complex object. He is also known for his geometric sculptures and installations which are equally simple and yet very interesting. I remember when I first learned about him in an art history class last year, it was the sort of art that I thought any old person in the world could make... because it seemed so bland. But upon further exploration, I learned that his work is far from ordinary because it does pack so much meaning if you only take the time to notice it. In this way, I think my work is drastically different from Sol Lewitt's, because I have no intention of having social meaning behind my photographs. I plan to make work that in simply about aesthetics, sensuality and formal lighting.

I really like this artist because of his brilliant use of simple geometric shapes in both his photography and sculpture. It is also very refreshing to see such formal works that still have lots of depth, and make you think.

I would have LOVED to post pictures, but for some reason I cannot figure out how to make that happen... so if you go to these links you'll see some AWESOME examples of his work! (or just GOOGLE: SOL LEWITT PHOTOGRAPHY)

http://www.susceptibletoimages.com/images/800px-Sol_LeWitt_Four_Sided_Pyramid.jpg

http://onewaystreet.typepad.com/one_way_street/images/2007/04/10/lewitt_sculpture_six.jpg

http://www.miamiartmuseum.org/images/exhibtions/LeWitt.jpg

2008-04-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Along the Seins

Paris, March 2008

"No Holding Hands?"

Paris, March 2008

2008-04-28T07:49:00.000-07:00

"La quincaillerie."

Paris, March 2008

2008-04-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

"Symmetry" (February, 2008)

Along the canal in Camden Town.

2008-04-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

Part of the Louvre as photographed from the Jardin de Tuileries

Louise Bourgeois sclupture at the Jardin de Tuileries. (Ironically, I had seen this same sculpture outside the Tate Modern about a month earlier)

(Above & Below): Unfortunately, it rained nearly everyday of my trip in Paris which prevented me from photographing as much as I would have liked. In the case of these two pictures, however, I think the rain worked in my favor as I love what the puddles add to the photos of a pathway at the Jardin de Tuileries.

"Corner Hotel", Paris

Paris in Black & White

2008-04-24T10:24:00.000-07:00

These are from one roll of film which I shot with my Minolta in Paris (March 15-18, 2008):

My travel partner Sasha

Sasha overlooking the Seine River

I spent most of my time abroad searching for the perfect moment to photograph one of these cars.. and I think this picture captured them just as I wanted to.

"Looking up the Eiffel Tower"

Graffitti & Such

2008-04-23T11:41:00.000-07:00

Brick Lane, London
April 13, 2008

Bath, April 6 2008

2008-04-23T09:20:00.001-07:00

Near the Royal Crescent

"The Circus"

"Bicycle Built for Two"

Part of the Royal Crecent

Video prejection on the wall of the Roman Baths

(Above & Below): Roman Baths

"Abex"
I photographed this mineral build-up at the Roman Baths because it reminded me of an abstract expressionist painting.

(Above & Below): This moss was the very first thing I photographed at the Roman Baths.. for some reason I find it utterly adorable.

(Above & Below): I always thought people looked so silly at tourist attractions listening to he audio information devices.. and these two women epitimized this as they seemed completely unable to understand how they work.

2008-04-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

Street perfromer with puppets along Thames, April 5 2008

Greenich April 5, 2008

2008-04-15T08:28:00.001-07:00

I'm sure this sounds completely insane, but I'm having a lot of trouble finding new artists to draw inspiration from. I'm sitting here at the gallery alone, with my notebook full of at least 10 names of photographers I have written down throughout my time in London, and each name I google is feeling less and less inspirational. Perhaps I'm just in a sour mood... and honestly I wish I were back at clark where Frank or Stephen could name off 30 artists (each) who's work would give me hundreds of fresh ideas. It is so hard to keep moving forward and pushing myself without any one to guide me or give advice, but I suppose that is one of the main lessons I have learned here. I have learned to photograph for myself, rather than for a weekly critique; and I have developed a sense of motivation which in the past was completely based on weekly deadlines. I want my photographs to be great (and I want them to improve) not for a grade or to attempt to prove to myself that my work is at least not the worst hanging on the wall. I want my photographs to be great for me, so I can be proud of my work despite the fact that no one may ever critique it or talk about it. I think that's an important lesson that I've learned while I've been away, because I think it will help me feel more comfortable shooting whatever makes me happy... and not just what will impress my professors and fellow students.
Being here has given me a sense of what life will be like after college, when my photographic endeavors will be completely in my hands. It's a terrifying thought that once I graduate from Clark I may never 'make ART' again, and without this experience I hate to admit that it quite possibly could have happened. Not now though, now I know that my cameras (all 6 of 'em) are permanent fixtures in my life. Even if I don't pursue a career in the field and I do become a high school math teacher... I know that when I go traveling I will still feel compelled to have both a film AND digital camera (and maybe my Polaroid as well.. just in case) in tow, just so I'm prepared for whatever may come up. I know now that photography is not just a phase.. its a part of my life and no matter what I will keep taking pictures and they WILL keep getting better.

2008-04-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today I learned a valuable lesson in photography:

If you think your camera might have a light leak... do not assume it will just go away and shoot two rolls of film with it anyway.

Yes, I was dumb enough to do just that. And yes, almost all of my pictures are ruined. To be honest, I'm not sure any of them were very good to begin with (My "Tree Portraits" idea fell a bit short of expectations). Well anyway, now that my film camera is basically out of commission for the rest of trip I dont so much know what to photograph...as all of my planned projects were going to be in film. Not exactly the inspiration I was hoping for to push me forward in my photographic adventures here in London. Suppose I should just take it as a lessoned learned and stick to digital (for the time being).

2008-04-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago, I deemed it necessary to take poloriods of all the major London attractions... I figure it will make a nice little side (night) project, as almost all of them look better in the evening. (Plus it's an almost legitimate reason to take breaks from photoshop). Anyway I finally got off my bum to take a poloroid of Picadilly Circus tonight. Not the most exciting news ever, but I just wanted to share another of my London photographic endeavors. I'm hoping that I can scan them all once I get to Clark.

March 24, 2008: Prague

March 25, 2008: Prague

Just plain pretty

2008-04-12T01:09:00.001-07:00

March 24, 2008: Prague Vltava River on a cloudy day

March 25, 2008: Prague Vltava River near sunset

2008-04-10T14:52:00.001-07:00

When I first got to London I felt completely lost about what to photograph.. some days I would go out with my camera for hours and barely take a single photograph. I honestly did not enjoy a minute of walking around alone. Today, however, as I walked along the Thames on my way to St. James park (yes it was another day of photographing a London park), I realized how at ease and even HAPPY I felt to be out on my own photographing. Actually, I shot almost a whole roll of film on my way there (I was attempting to follow Warhol's lead and just photograph ppl and signs that I found amusing without thinking too much about each shot). I feel really proud that I've been able to become so much more comfortable and confident on my own.. and I really think it will carry over and help me in lots of ways at home. Maybe I will even feel more confident next semester at school to scout out more interesting models. Without rambling on too much, I guess it just feels good to be able to enjoy photographing again because for a while photographing had become a chore. Days like today make me remember why I love photo so much...

On that note... heres some more pictures from Prague, ENJOY!

All three photographs were taken in Prague on March 24, 2008

(see the color scheme?)

2008-04-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

All four photos were taken in Prague on March 24, 2008

2008-04-07T15:27:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe, but in just over two weeks from this moment I will be back in my house in L.I.. Being so close to the end of this "journey" is making me realize all the things I wish I had done, especially with my photography. I feel like it took me so long to settle in that I sorda forgot to set any real goals for myself in terms of specific projects and places and things that I want to photograph. In light of that, I have set for myself a couple of specific projects I wish to complete before I leave.
1) Photograph Portobello road at least a little each day (I realized how much of a jerk I am for NOT doing this all along, as I do work there 3 days a week).. I want to shoot at LEAST one roll of film and 100 digital photos. Actually I came up with a really cool idea of photographing every store front (in order) and then printing them out individually and hanging them as a border around my room next year.
2) Tree portraits.. let me explain: As some of you know, I sorda have a thing for trees. And since I've been here my love has extended WAY beyond old oak trees because the trees in the UK are ridiculously cool. On my free days I go to different parks (Hyde is by far my fav), tripod and all and scope out cool trees. Probably sounds kind of lame in this explanation but hopefully the pics will prove otherwise (I've been doing this in film so I dont have the pics quite yet)

2008-04-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

"Viagra?" March 23, 2008 - Prague

"Never too old to look Fabulous" March 23,2008 - Prague

March 23, 2008 - Prague

Not too sure about the cropping this last one

2008-04-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

All of these were shot in Prague on March 23rd, 2008

2008-04-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

Well I was hoping to do a bunch of photoshopping tonight ( I really want to start tackling my Prague pics before I get my 3 rolls of film back), but for some reason my Adobe bridge wont open.. so I'm going to do a bit of writing instead. I was lucky enough today to meet with the editor of a photo magazine which is completely for/about freelance photographers. To be honest I was very nervous about the situaion because it was really the first time showing my portfolio to anyone who would give me any real feedback. Also, I know I'm not usually very good about talking about my own work and was very worried about having to explain it to someone who knew nothing about me or what I've been doing. In the end I think I did a rather good job (or at least they seemed to at least not be disgusted by my work or what I said), and I really learned a lot. We actually had a very relevent conversation about doing what you WANT and not just whats convenient. This is an issue I've been thinking about quite a bit lately as college is quickly coming to an end. Unfortunately at some point I'm going to have to decide whether I am actually going to try and pursue some sort of career in the arts rather than simply following my original career path of highschool math teacher. This decision is something that I think about on a daily basis, and quite frankly it scares me to death. I've always sorda thought that attempting to pursue a career in photography would be as pointless as trying to become a supermodel, because it would never happen. However, I was given a thread of hope today with a bit of interesting advice that if you have an ounce of talent (which apparently I do?) and work as hard as you possibly can (day and night, NO excuses), then you make it.. because theres no other option. I dont know if thats true or not, but I sorda like it so I'm going to believe it.
Not sure where I'm going with this exactly, and I dont want to ramble too much...
All in all I think today was a really good experience in contact making, talking about my work, and taking critisism on it.. and yea, I still have NO idea what I'm going to do when I get out of college but I DO know that I have to do whats going to make me happy. Hopefully I can figure out what that is.

2008-04-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally went to the Vanity Fair exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, which showed photos featued in the magazine dating from 1913 to the present. It was really interesting to see how photography has advanced and how the quality of the photos has changed so much. I was mainly excited for the show because I knew it would contain a couple of my favorite artists: annie Leibovitz, Irving Penn. Annie Leibovitz's work was absolutely incredible, as always. I love how she can capture A star's personality in just one photo, and the incredible statements she makes with single shots (i.e. the iconic nude, pregnant photo of Demi Moore).. she never ceases to amaze me.
What I'm most excited about though is the new artists which I had never heard of prior to the exhibit. One photographer in particular Herb Ritts, really caught my eye at the show, and when I looked him up after I was even more pleased. You can see a bunch of his photos HERE. What I really like about him is his use of male nudes, which can be surprisingly hard to come by. I love how he intertwines two people (or more) together to create a beautiful sort of statue that simply becomes about the beauty of skin and bodies, and the lighting in all of his shots is phenomenal. There is also one photo in particular that has made it onto my list of favorite images, Neith with Tumbleweed, Paradise Cove, 1986 (it can be seen on the link I posted above). I haven't had time to do nearly as much research on him as I would like.. but I definitely look forward to finding more of his images.

2008-03-31T15:56:00.000-07:00

Blue Window

March 18, 2008: Paris

2008-03-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

Currently at the Tate Modern there is a wonderful exhibit on Duchamp, Picabia and Man Ray (I HIGHLY recommend it). I was lucky enough to get to go with my Modern art in London class, which meant we had our professor there to give some extra information. I was SO excited to see all the Duchamp work that I had learned about last semester (Nude Descending a Staircase No.2, Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors Even, The Fountain.. etc.), but when I got there it wasn't Duchamp's work that blew me away. More so, I was very intrigued by Man Ray's work, his nudes in particular (surpise, surprise). At first I really couldn't understand how I could've missed studying his work the past few semesters as they do EXACTLY what I've sorda been trying to do with some of mine in terms of playing with light and how it looks on skin (Google Image: "Man Ray nudes" and check out the one of the woman looking to the right with her hand on her head and the incredible little spots of light on her breasts). More specifically I've become really interested in his use of solarization in combination with his nudes. I've always sorda thought solarization was a bit too cliche, and to be honest I had basically written it off as ever being an option of something to try (especially with the nude work I've been doing). Man Ray's work, however, has totally changed my mind on that. What I learned is what the process of solarization can do to nude skin is absolutely beautiful.. I still can't really get over it. Everytime I google his work (which is pretty often these days), I'm just blown away by the beauty if his nude shots, especially the ones of Lee Miller. I definately want to give solarizing a chance next semester and try to imitate some of Man's work.
All in all, I think I learned a couple really important things by way of going to that show.
1) Try not to only look at the work of artists I already know about, because it's usually the ones I've never heard of that really inspire me.
2) Never stop researching new inspiration because there are so many artists out there.. and I've barely cracked the surface of them (and inspiration can be found in all sorts of places).
3) Don't make any conclusions about an artistic process until I know the entire extent of what it can do.

2008-03-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know, a couple weekends ago I spent three nights in Paris. Unfortunately, it rained pretty much the whole time, but I still managed to shoot 3 rolls of film and a bunch of digitals ( yes, I carried both cameras around the whole time, it was not fun). To be honest I think that the film work is probably much better, but I'm currently getting it developed and have to wait another week until they're ready. So, in the meantime I'm sorting through the digitals and finding ones I think work.

Here's two I chose mostly because I like the colors and the simplicity...

Green Doors and Wet Cobblestone

March 17, 2008: Paris

Graffiti

March 18, 2008: Paris

2008-03-28T14:22:00.001-07:00

For the past 3 months of my life I've been living in London, working in an art gallery and seeing lot's of museums/galleries, and yet I barely wrote a word about it. To be honest, I usually dont like to write/talk about how I feel about art, mostly because I'm a bit embarassed. That is now going to change.

To be completely honest, being so submerged into the 'real' world of art has made me a bit cynical about it all. Whenever I go to show and see work hanging on the wall I have to question whether it's up there because the artist is really talented, because they have the "right personality" and talked their way in, or simply because they're popular and someone wanted to make some money off of it. Sometimes I just get plain annoyed that some else's work is hanging on the wall while mine is stuck (probably forever) in my portfolio in my closet. This brings me to one thing I truly enjoy about the gallery I work at (East West Gallery). David and Jill, the owners, pick artists to represent simply based on talent and how much they believe in the artists work. They don't care if the artist is popular at the time or if they're going to make them super-rich; they just want to show work which they believe in. I didn't really know it was possible to encounter people in the art world who functioned on such a completely unselfish manner, because so many other people I've met just seem to only think about themselves.

On a sorda different/ sorda similar note: What I find most confusing about art is that it's supposed to be about creating something beautiful and expressing oneself (cheesy, I know). But then all this business comes into it, and suddenly your art is being judged and criticized in a million different ways. And then you have to figure out how to make living off of it?!? It all seems so confusing to me. To say what I'm thinking rather bluntly, sometimes I (and I'm sure you all do to) just want to say "screw the art world, I just want to take pictures", and I don't want them judged and I don't want to explain why they're good or why they're not.. "I just want to take pictures". Why does it have to be so damn complicated?

Anyway, I have TONS of pictures from Paris and Prague to touch up / even more to still take in London. I am determined to come out of this trip with something that I actually like... I must show myself that I am capable of more than just take pictures of naked people and oak trees. So please stay tuned...

2008-03-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

More film work, this time shot in Camden Town

2008-02-28T08:45:00.000-08:00

Outside Borough Market, 26th January 2008

Hyde Park

2008-02-26T15:15:00.000-08:00

I shot these with my 35mm minolta camera using xp2 black and white film...
I then had it developed and put onto cds.
Not quite the same as developing and scanning myself, but at least I get to see what I shot.
I must say that shooting film still fills much more fitting for me then digital.
I took these four photos at Hyde Park a couple of weeks ago.

2008-02-20T14:57:00.000-08:00

Day trip to Kew Gardens, February 10 2008

2008-02-17T01:01:00.000-08:00

I feel like I haven't really been up to speed with posting this week besides those 3 pictures from the Thames. It's because my dad is here in London visiting and It's a bit harder to find time to photograph. What I need to do is go get some rolls of film that I shot developed and put onto a CD so that I can post them up here (I bought black and white film that can be color processed and is supposed to be quite good). I'm going to TRY and get those up within the week. I just thought that I should address the purpose of why I haven't done as much as I would like to this week so I don't look like a total slacker.

2008-02-16T08:36:00.001-08:00

A couple more pictures from the Thames

February 13, 2008

2008-02-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

I'm dedicating this to the expired poloroid film.... I put in lots of yellow so it would look like an expired poloroid. I kinda like it, even if its not that "kosher" to mess with a pic like that

2008-02-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

(above) On portobello Rd. in Notting Hill

(above) Outside the gate at Kew Gardens Sunday Feb 10, 2008

even more Oxford

2008-02-09T03:28:00.000-08:00

2008-02-04T06:01:00.000-08:00

I went to a photography gallery today which was having a show of Andy Warhol's portraits and landscapes. To be completely honest if I had not known that the photos were created by Warhol I would've assumed them crap that any intro to photography student could have made. So I'm not sure if that makes me some sort of art snob who accepts that the work is worthwhile simply because of who it was created by. But then I thought more about it .. because I couldnt completely write myself off as being that much of a snob. I started thinking about everything I know about Andy Warhol (thank god for prof. Burn's art history class).. and I remembered how he was so into pop culture and the idea of people as machines. Soon I was able to look past poorly burned corners of pictures and see what they were actually about. There were mulptiple photos of stacks of produce taken at any random supermarket.. but they weren't like the photos of produce that I (and probably every photo student ever) had taken . They actually had meaning. They were about repetition within our world and all of the good and bad things that go along with it (poorly stated, I know, but bare with me). Then there were tons of photos of commercial signs from throughout new york, and so I thought about his obsession with celebrities and pop culture. According to an article that the gallery had on display Warhol was a genius who successfully predicted our current obsession with temporary fame due to reality tv and all the other horrible ways that anonymous people become celebrities overnight (basically he not only understood the popculture of his time, but he understand the pop culture of our time before it even happened). All of his photos ended up making me question WHAT IS ART?!? and I really think that what seperates a poorly printed photo of apples created by Warhol and one that I made.. is that there is so much meaning and thought and prediction behind it, whereas I have to admit that most of the time I just photograph what looks "cool". I also must admit that it felt pretty good to finally understand some meaning behind a piece of art and why it was created, because I rarely ever understand those sorts of things. Don't know if all this rambling has a point.. just wanted to share my thoughts as I was thinking them.

...more Oxford

2008-02-03T14:51:00.001-08:00

Not sure if this ones better in color or blck and white

I've recently been learning about Impressionism in my Modern art class (Monet, Dega, Pissaro...). I didn't realize at the time of shooting these but now that I see them all together I can see myself being influenced by all the paintings that I've been studying. I specifically see a connection between the photos which have relections in the water and Monet's paintings.

OXFORD!

2008-01-29T10:59:00.000-08:00

Here's my first batch of pictures that I took in Oxford on sunday.

Which, by the way may be my new favorite place on earth.

Friday's shoot

2008-01-28T01:54:00.000-08:00

So the shoot on Friday was really interesting. It wasn't the exciting sort of photoshoot that I'm sure you're thinking of. Michael Woods was just photographing Gyles Brandreth for his new books as well as for some publicity shots. There was no crew.. no fancy lighting.. and no big fancy digital camera. Michael just brought his old twin lens Mamia, his little SLR digital and two sheets of gold poster board to create a mirror effect (Michael also does a lot of photo collaging and was going to use the area with the gold to weave in photos of Paris). Gyles was meeting us in Barnes at 2:30 so we arrived at around 12 to scope out a good location. Michael seemed to basically know what he wanted... a bench with good lighting and some sort of trees in the background. Well, he decided on a location and a later in the day when Gyles met us Michael got straight to work. He knew the Mamia camera very well and of course didn't have to fidget with it very much to get what he wanted. Made me think about how Stephen and Frank say how important it is to know how your camera works so when a photo is there you can take it quickly without too much effort. I held the gold poster board as Michael made his shots. It's so inspiring that some people actually still use black and white film for commissioned commercial shoots. In all it was a really inspiring day because I got to watch and hear all of Michael's thought process about how and why he decided on location and ideas for the shoot.

2008-01-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

Last pic from Cambridge... thought it was better without color and with a little warmtone tint

I'm really excited because I get to go to a photoshoot this coming Friday. Theres a photographer Michael Wood who comes by the gallery I intern at really often and knows my supervisor pretty well. He's really wonderful to talk to about photography ( we both love fashion photographers like Irving Penn and Jean Loup Sieff) and also good to ask for advice about where in the city to go shoot. Anyway this Friday he's doing a shoot for a TV personality, Gyles Brandreth. I'm pretty sure it's just a standard publicity shoot, but still it will be a good experience(plus it gets me out of work for the day).

2008-01-17T15:35:00.000-08:00

These are pictures I took in Cambridge (a small-ish college town about 1.5 hours outside of London) I was stuck with a pretty big group and didn't have a tri-pod (Not that I ever really have one) but I definitely like these pics more than the previous ones. I actually find it pretty easy to take the pictures I want and still keep up with people, although it days take a lot of effort to not get completely lost from the group. I was really trying to capture the "quaint-ness" of the town.. hopefully I succeeded. I've also been trying to look for shops and situations with color schemes that I like so that I won't be tempted to put everything into black and white. ( On a seperate note I just wanted to mention how much I love my new battery pack that I got for my camera. It really makes the camera much easier to hold and taking vertical pics is way easier.) Anyway about these pictures, I think that they are in the direction that I wanted to head in my project so feedback on whether they're any good would be really great (I'm starting to really miss having weekly critiques where I have a bunch of ppl to tell me whether my pics are crap... although it will probably be good for me to have to make those sorts of decisions on my own) I still have some more to post from this same day.. but I wanted to get these up. I'll write a bit more about what I've been up to when I post the last couple of pics... in the meantime, ENJOY!

The Eye

2008-01-14T03:14:00.000-08:00

All of these pictures were taken either from on the London Eye or from around it.

Riding the Eye was an incredible experience and a great way to be able to see the whole city... unfortunately the pics taken from the eye have some glare from the glass, but I just rob my fans (joking) of viewing London from that angle. I feel like I'm already falling behind in terms of posting pictures because for every 5 that I post, I have about 100 more to sort through. I'm also trying to fix the pictures up best I can... but I am working on a non callibrated laptop and I dont have a mouse so I'm using the mousepad on my keyboard. Not to make excuses or anything.. I suppose I'm just worried that my pictures arent quite up to par.

2008-01-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

A few more pics from my walk along the Thames...

I know they're a bit touristy but it really is hard to avoid.

I feel like the first pic of Big Ben could be a postcard.. but whatevs

LONDON!

2008-01-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

I've officially been in London for FIVE whole days so I thought it was time to post a little something. I took some pictures yesterday but to be honest I'm not thrilled with any of them. I was with a bunch of people and unable to bring a tri-pod so they're also not too sharp. Honestly I'm pretty lost in general about what I want to photograph... as much as I love love love the architecture in this city, I just dont feel like I'll make really good photos of it. I think I'm worried about too commercial. The only real idea I've had so far is to concentrate on colorful store fronts.. and maybe the parts of London / Europe that people sorda forget to photograph. The only examples I have so far are the two pictures of the little food stands. They were both along the Thames right near Big Ben and the Eye. I find something intersting in the little parts of big cities that are overlooked just because they're overshadowed by the bigger tourist attractions. These pics arent the best examples but they might give some idea about what I'm talking about.
I have a few more to sort through from yesterday but here's the first few that I fixed up....
ENJOY!!!!

Final Cut

2007-12-14T07:15:00.000-08:00

I know that I've already posted most of these pics throughout the semester.. but I did re-edit most of them using my way improved photoshop skillls so I decided to show them off. These are SOME of the wonderful photos that made the final cut into my digital photography final this past Monday
Enjoy:

(Okay, so these family dinner pics weren't actually in the final.. But I re-edited them and wanted to share)

Thanksgiving with the Wolfs

2007-12-02T07:32:00.001-08:00

I was attempting to somehow capture the insanity that is my family.

The photo my dad is holding (in the first dinner pic) is of my older sister.. she didnt want to be in the actual photo, so my dad grabbed her Batmitzva photo so she could be there in spirit.

Oy Veh

2007-11-18T18:47:00.000-08:00

As Promised I went back to shoot another still life.. this time WITH a tri-pod. These are all of the same pomegranate that I sorda tore apart throughout the shoot. I like these images, but I dont love them. So I can't say that I've succeeded in my still-life quest for greatness, but its definately a start. I think that they would work better for me with an all white background (sorda Avedon-esque) but I may be alone in that thought.

2007-11-11T17:20:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to take pictures of fruits/vegetables like this for quite some time... thinking that it would be just another way of working with light and form. I think this picture is a good start, but its not quite as sharp as I would like so I'm going to re-shoot with a tri-pod. My goal is to make the viewer forget that they're looking at such ordinary produce by bringing forward a more intense beauty by way of lighting.

Granby Oak

2007-10-30T11:48:00.000-07:00

This Sunday I went with Adam to this Oak tree in his town,

it's actually the oldest oak tree in Connecticut

I've photographed it almost every time I've gone there over the past

1.5 years,and they are some of my favorites pictures I've taken.

This was my first time shooting it with digital,and I must say

that I reallyliked the control I had editing it in photoshop.

His mom also made us lasagna and cookies.

Best Day Ever

Something new

2007-10-25T06:26:00.001-07:00

"Oyster Ho"

Playing with perspective

This past weekend I went to Boston with my family.
I got to sleep in a nice hotel, order room service and drink a lot of October fest.
I also took my first architectural pictures ever.. and I actually like them (weird)
All in all.. it was a good weekend

Grandma Shirley

2007-10-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

So I took these at my Grandma's house last weekened while I was home. I actually came up with the idea while not paying attention in math class.... I was trying to think of something that interests me in color, and for some reason my grandmas house popped into my head. My initial plan was to take pictures of all her "chachkas"? (I have no idea how to even begin to spell that)... but I quickly realized that she was way more interesting. Whats really crazy is that I actually drew up the picture of her sitting on her bed leaning back on her arm that same day in math class... so I knew that I had to make that picture. I can't wait to go home for thanksgiving so I can take some more of her... maybe do some closer portraits. I really think shes a great model.

2007-10-13T08:07:00.000-07:00

On my drive home last weekend I realized that I've been a fool for having not taken any nature picks during this wonderful time of year. Unfortunately, the leaves hadn't begun to change in NY as they have up here but oh well. I shoulda used a tri-pod for this one (sorry Frank), but I had just done like a 3-hour shoot at my grandma's house and was pretty fed-up. Plus it was pretty bright and the exposure was short.

This is a lake right near my grandma's house that I used to go to much more as a kid (Yes, we DO have nature in Long Island.. shocking, I know). As I said I took these pretty quick, but I may go back there next time I'm home (even though all the leaves will likely be gone by then). I think I took this with my mom's paintings in mind. She paints watercolors, mostly lanscapes and flowers and whatnot. I wanted to take pictures that looked like something she would possibly paint.

Anyways, its been really nice to spend some time not in a studio and just taking pictures of things as they are.

2007-10-07T21:30:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I NEED to get out of the studio for this class (at least for now) and try to shoot some things that I'm not quite so comfortable shooting. I took these the other night inside and outside of Moynihans bar over on Main and I think one is from later in the night. My friend's band was playing and they no longer let anyone in who is not 21, so I got myself in by having them tell the bartender that I was just coming to take pictures of them. I have to admit it felt pretty funny to have them( the bartenders) refer to me as "the photographer". Unfortunately I have to admit that I really should have had a tri-pod with me... and as I didn't these aren't quite the sharpest pictures ever. But hey, they're not of a nude model and I don't hate them.. so I think thats a good thing. I've been shooting in a studio for two semesters now so it was quite a change to not have total control over the lighting, although it did make for more of a challenge to just make the lighting work as is. These are also my first attempts at night shots ever, and I really like how the lights are glowing. All in all I wish I had had a tri-pod so that these could be sharper and so my pictures from inside the bar weren't so awful

2007-09-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

This is much more like what I've been doing with film...I've been trying to create fairly abstract pictures using dramatic lighting with human form. I even made it grainier so that it looks like I also shot it with the 3200 film that i've been working with.

I don't know... its just not the same.

2007-09-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

I went back and forth for quite some time about whether or not this picture "needs" color. I just feel that the picture is about shadows and form. Color takes away from these aspects of the picture. Maybe i'm wrong?

ps. this is from the same shoot as the pic below.

2007-09-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

So I did another shoot with the same model, but this time I got out of the studio to try out a new location. Not sure if this background works better than the plain one. I also decided to keep this one in color (though I did de-saturate it a bit). I really dont know what direction I want to go in... so I guess I'll just have to try a bunch out and see where I end up.

After the session I showed my model (Melissa) a Jeanloup Sieff book I have and remebered how inspired I am by his work. Maybe he will provide inspiration for my next shoot.

2007-09-22T17:30:00.001-07:00

I'm used to shooting nudes with film and so I thought I'd give it a shot with the digital. I converted it to black and white because thats just how I'm used to looking at my nude portraits. It's definately not the same as with film, but it's certainly much easier.

2007-09-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Posting my first pick from a lovely day of apple picking!