Jeff Whetstone

It was very interesting to listen to Jeff Whetstone talk about his work. Not being familiar with what he does made me learn a lot more about him. His work shows his work with zoology, which is a large influence on his photographs.   Whetstone talks about how the landscape is ecological and how humans are animals. The way he takes his photographs seems incredibly different than the way others do. While taking landscape photographs, Whetstone wanted to create a different type of wilderness, one that involved humans. He also stated that landscapes have character. So when he was photographing in eastern Kentucky he wanted to show that the geology was indeed very rich but the people were very poor.

I really enjoyed Whetstone’s portraits of people in the South. They were in some ways comical because the lives lived there are so different from the ones in the city. Camouflage, which was a big trend a few seasons ago, really is a way of life in the South due to hunting.

These two photographs from the New Wilderness series depict a different way of life. These two photos are kind of eery. Especially the second one when you can barely see the mans face. I find them really captivating because even though they are posed they are not staged. This is something that goes on every day, or at least every day during hunting season.  Whetstone stated that he wanted to focus on gender and sexuality. In the South there does seem to be traces of hyper-masculinity. Whetstone also stated that he was around a lot of masculine women growing up. He stated that when taking photographs of these men they knew how they were being depicted so it was an interesting experience. 

Whetstone tends to focus a lot on hunting. We were able to see a clip from a movie he had made. It showed hunters making female duck mating calls. There was a humor aspect to it because the mating calls would be translated into what someone may actually be saying to attract someone else. It is funny to see men dressed in full camo whispering things to get ducks attention. I wonder why Whetstone was so interested in duck hunting culture. Is it because of where he is from? Does he have some sort of personal attachment to it?

Whetstone created false horizons for the photographs shown above. He stated that these were contemporary landscapes and played with space and perspective. I remember him saying something about living in a collage in relation to these photographs. I like how Whetstone was able to manipulate reality with creating these photographs. Not only are they visually stunning but you have to look closely to see how Whetstone creates the horizon. It is interesting because the pieces used look like they were already in the picture. For example, the broken wood in the second photograph looks like mountains for a quick second because you realize what the object actually is. The colors used are also important, specifically in the first photograph. The green/blueish metal or paper matches very well with the mountains in the background. It almost blends into the photograph. 

week 11/ Barthes Reading

I found this text very difficult to read and saw that I was re-reading the same paragraphs and sentences over and over again. While reading this text I kept trying to relate it to photography. One of the quotes I found, “As soon as a fact is narrated no longer with a view to acting directly on reality but intransitively, that is to say, finally outside of any function other than that of the very practice of the symbol itself, this disconnection occurs, the voice loses its origin, the author enters into his own death, writing begins.” I feel like can be directed towards photography.

            Photographs always have a narrative and once the narrative is no longer seen through the photo it is no longer there. This is a long shot but in essence the photo is dead such as the author is dead. I remember spending a lot of time in photo 1 learning how to explain the photos we were taking. Yes, you could take a pretty photograph but without a basis or explanation all the photograph really is, is pretty.

            While explaining work Barthes states, “The explanation of a work is always sought in the man or woman who produced it, as if it were always in the end, through the more or less transparent allegory of the fiction, the voice of a single person, the author “confiding” in us”. Once again I feel that this is true for both authors and photographers. The explanation, while sometimes not given, is crucial to the work shown. If an explanation is given it should add more to the work and not take away.

            The author, much like the photographer, is trying to convey an image to an audience. This is why it is incredibly important for the author or photographer to have a message that they want to display. It is interesting to think about the similarities between authors and photographers because there are a lot more then I had thought of.

            Thinking about this text not in relation to photography I this quote, “Thus is revealed the total existence of writing: a text is made of multiple writings, drawn from many cultures and entering into mutual relations of dialogue, parody, contestation, but there is one place where this multiplicity is focused and that place is the reader, not, as was hitherto said, the author.” was interesting. This quote displaces the author. It is only focused on the text, which can stand on its own without an author. The text is still readable and viewers can still draw emotions from piece. If this statement were made about a photograph and how it could stand alone without a photographer, I would disagree.  Yes, there are photos, which we do not know who has taken them but there still is a specific aesthetic shown in the photograph. A photo taken without a photographer would be so incredibly boring to look at. I feel like photos taken with recording devices set on self timer are not interesting at all.

Week 10

I am really interested in Marilyn Minter’s work. There is a ton of glitter involved and the photos are so closely cropped that the photos seem slightly grotesque.  Minter focuses on photographing women who are all dolled up. Minter also seems to be attracted to different textures. All though all the photographs from the series are in color I think that photographing images in black in white will still create weird photographs. 

Since I want to focus on creating interesting still lives I think it would be great to look back on Minter's work. She is able to create very uneasy close up photographs. I would like to be able to use my props and create unsettling photos also. Since these photographs use similar props to the ones I have it would be very simple for me to be able to recreate photos. Additionally, after looking at these photographs I think I would like to also invest in photographing ridiculous jewelry too. 

Helmut Newton is another photographer I would like to use for inspiration. His photographs take a different direction than Marilyn Minter. Newton's work is a lot more commercial and the majority of photos I found were from vogue.

Helmut's work reminds me of older glamour which also could be a direction I would want to take in taking more photographers. All though this expands my direction and inspiration for photography, I think it would be an interesting route to take. The last photograph is my favorite because of the fake nails and large amount of money. 

The last photographer I find inspirational is Keizo Kitajima.

Although I know I can never fully recreate these photographs or create something with the same vibe because of the time period I still want to use them for inspiration. I plan on going to the Easter parade on Sunday because I know I can photograph people in ridiculous outfits. Photographing strangers is out of my comfort zone and I want to still create photos that are unsettling and weird. I also think that it is a perfect opportunity to take some beautiful photos and not having to recreate sets in my dorm room. I am hoping that the photos come out really theatrical and pretty. It looks as though Kitajima pushes film because the photos seem really gritty and contrasty. That is not a look I am going for. If anything I would like to pull my film so my photographs come out finer and clearer. 

Lastly, I think that my direction for my project keeps broadening. I am inspired by a lot of different photographers and I feel like they all have different vibes. I definitely want to create theatrical, interesting, and weird photographs. I just do not want to get derailed from my project. I want all of my photos to look related in some way and I still need to focus on how they can all be related. 

Week 9: Project

My focus on my work for the rest of the semester is making more theatrical photographs. This includes using interesting props and focusing on the setting and backgrounds I use. I want the photos to look complete and interesting so I really need to focus on the details in order for my photos to be successful.

I did a photo-shoot last week and continued this week. I was able to use a large range of people because I made a Facebook post and got a lot of responses from people. Everything I used in the photos were from 99ct stores in White Plains. I was able to set up backdrops using wrapping paper from the store. I wanted my photos to be ridiculous and not taken too seriously. I was able to borrow a lighting kit from CTS but after taking my photographs I found the focus was slightly off and that next time I should use a tripod.

These two photographs of Amankae and Maddy show some of the direction I want to take during the rest of the semester. There is a heavy emphasis on enhanced beauty (fake lashes, fake nails) and fake wealth. The money is actually tissues that have fake money on the plastic cover. The props I use are slightly confusing and I want to make my photographs even more confusing as I continue working.

Here is a close up of the fake nails and tissues. The focus is slightly off and I know it is because of the aperture. I should have used a tripod and more lighting next time. I want to also focus on making my photos as sharp as they can be. I have found that while pulling my film I get much better results. I still am very found of this photograph I just wish that you could be able to see the designs in the nails. I do want to use more jewelry in my future pieces. I usually photograph portraits so I want to focus on trying to take more still life photographs that still translate enough emotion or feeling a portrait does.

This last photo is really strange and that is why I included it. I used my friend Julia and put this odd ski mask I had and pulled her hair through it. It is really off-putting but that is why I think it works as a photograph. I like the direction the photo-shoot went because I did not put too much planning into it. I bought all the props and had them laid out on my table so I could easily access them and would randomly pick and chose as the shoot went on. By the end of the days of the photo-shoot the photos would get really odd. I think that was the best way to plan the photo-shoot since so many people were involved I as able to do whatever I wanted and use the props in odd ways.  I want to continue doing photo-shoots for the rest of the semester. I am much happier with my photos when I plan something out.