Web Assignment #5 November 1st, 2012

*Answer this question with the assumption we are talking about photography specifically.

How would you define beauty in photography?  What are the characteristics of beauty?  How can something ugly be photographed and be considered beautiful? Or can it?  Examples?

       I would define beauty in photography to be the pureness and rawness in whatever you might be photographing. With people it would be the emotion on their face or the look in their eyes. In nature it could be the stillness of the trees and mountains with a sunset behind them. Everything can be beautiful when photographed. I think the characteristics of beauty are being real,pure, and not closed off. I think that everyone is beautiful if you really get to know them, but it's so hard to see everyones beauty because many people are shy,quiet,or different. I think that something ugly can be photographed to be beautiful by just capturing the essence of the object or person. I think that if you photograph someone crying it would be beautiful because of the pure emotions, but the person themselves might have an unattractive face while crying. Another example could be if you photograph a homeless person. They probably are scruffy and not well maintained but when you capture that emotion on their face the picture becomes beautiful. I think everything can be photographed to be beautiful; you just have to try. 

Crying can be beautiful too

He may be homeless, but he is still beautiful.

Pumpkin

Pin-Hole Images

Photogram

Web Assignment #4- Oct. 15th, 2012

1. Who was Alfred Stieglitz and why is he noteworthy in the history of photography?
Alfred Stieglitz was a photographer and an art promoter. He spent his career making photography into an accepted form of art. He also ran art galleries in New York in the beginning of the 1900's.
2. Choose a photograph he made, upload it to your blog, and explain why you chose it as your favorite by him.

This photograph was taken during winter 1893.

This is one of my favorite photographs by Alfred because you can see all the snow particles flying around in the air and it's very beautiful. I like how this picture can be beautiful, but still have a cold/depressing feeling from it. 

3. With what famous painter was he in a relationship? Who was she?  Upload a painting by her that you like.
The famous painter he was in a relationship with was Georgia O'Keeffe. She was a painter in the early 1900's and they were commonly close up paintings.

This is an oil painting of a pineapple bud, done in 1939

Extra: How did they influence each other in their art making?

Georgia was Alfred's muse and was a model for many of his photographs. Their relationship worked because they made agreements to be alone while working on their art/photography. 

Tilt Shift Images

Macro Photographs

Web Assignment #3 October 7th, 2012

1. What is a brownie camera?
A brownie camera was the first camera to introduce the snap-shot. It was a popular kind of camera that was inexpensive made by Eastman Kodak. The camera itself looked like a box and had a meniscus lens that took 2 1/4 inch square pictures on 117 rollfilm. The purpose of this camera was to make it affordable and usable for anyone. Their slogan was, "You push the button, we do the rest."

A brownie camera

2. Who invented it?
The brownie camera was invented by Eastman Kodak, which was the company Kodak founded by George Eastman. The name Kodak might be familiar to you today because of how successful the company was with photographs.

George Eastman
(founder of Eastman Kodak Company)

3. How did it change society,and of course, the photography world?
This camera changed society because it allowed people to take pictures inexpensively and easily. Before this was invented it was much more expensive to take or develop photographs. On top of that it was much more difficult than just pressing a button. With the Kodak company and the creation of this brownie camera recording memories as photographs became that much easier.

The Kodak factory and main office in Rochester, 1910

This is an example of an add for the Kodak Camera, aka the brownie camera

Web Assignment #2 -Sept. 25th

Photo by Alexander Gardner

Photo  by Mathew Brady

1. The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process that creates a very detailed image on a sheet of copper that is covered with a thin layer of silver without using a negative. The surface resembles the photo paper we use in class or the film for a film camera. These types of photographs were popular in the 1840's, and died down when ambrotype photographic process became possible in the 1850's. The daguerreotype replaced pin-hole photography.
2. An albumen print was the first commercial method of creating a photographic print on a paper base from a negative. The main ingredient in albumen prints was the albumen found in egg whites, which bound the photographic chemicals to the paper. This process didn't die out until around the 1920's.
3. The stereograph was designed to give an image a three dimensional effect. The stereograph was invented in the 1840's and the last type of stereographs died out around the 1940's
4. The carte de visite was a type of small photograph that was usually an albumen print; the prints were around the size of a postcard/visiting card. These photographs were used for trading among friends,etc. They became very popular because of their size being so small.
5. Alexander Gardner was a photographer for wars/battle scenes. He supplied Mathew Brady(also a photographer) with negatives. Mathew Brady had an organization that would reproduce and sell these images. They were notable for war photos; most of the pictures were scenes of carnage from the battles themselves. The pictures are also referred to as photoessay; this means that the photos tell a story without the need of captions or words. The men were active around the 1860's. 

Web Assignment #1- Sept. 17th

Nicephore Niepce

 A. Nicephore Niepce is most known for producing the worlds first photograph in 1825. Niepce was born in Chalon-sur-Saone, Saonie-et-Loire. His father was a lawyer, which caused the family to flee the country during the French Revolution. He also had two brothers (one older, one younger) and a sister. A side fact about Niepce is that he served as a staff officer in the French army under the command of Napoleon.

B. Niepce was known for the first successful permanent photograph in 1826 at Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. The photography captures the view from the window at Le Gras, which shows the roof and surrounding countryside of his estate from the upstairs window.

C. The important thing about this photograph in my opinion is that it was legitimately the first permanent photo ever captured in history. Also I find it interesting that the photo was on a pewter plate that was coated with bitumen of Judea, a mixture that is like asphalt, that then hardened in the sunlight and the unexposed parts washed away with water.

D. The photo was taken from the view outside the upstairs window at his estate at Le Gras.

E. The exposure lasted 8 hours.

F. The photo was taken in 1825.

Extra Credit: The plate(photograph) is housed today on permanent display in the main lobby of the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center.

This is the photograph taken by Nicephore Niepce in 1825, known as the first successful photograph.