WASTE LAND Official Trailer from Emily Rothschild on Vimeo.

One of the most interesting international artists exhibiting today is Vik Muniz, who lives in New York City.

“Since the mid-1990s, this Brazilian-born artist  has established a reputation not only for his critically acclaimed appropriations of iconic figures like Jackson Pollack in chocolate syrup or the Mona Lisa in peanut butter and jelly but for his early work, a subtly deceptive series of portraits featuring smiling children made from sugar. The “Sugar Children” are child laborers whom the artist befriended in the Caribbean, and in this work, he contemplates their future as workers in the cane fields. The portraits launched his career and were shown as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s esteemed New Photography series.”

“This kind of social consciousness is also the subject of Muniz’s most recent work, which is chronicled in the Oscar-nominated film Waste Land by director Lucy Walker.” Read more: http://lightbox.time.com/2011/03/22/portraits-with-purpose-vik-muniz-in-waste-land/#ixzz1Hp5KjlkH

Vik Muniz was born into a working-class family in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1961. As a young man he was shot in the leg whilst trying to break up a fight. He received compensation for his injuries and used this money to fund a trip to New York City, where he has lived and worked since the late 1980s. He began his career as a sculptor but gradually became more interested in photographic reproductions of his work, eventually turning his attention exclusively to photography. He incorporates a multiplicity of unlikely materials into this photographic process. Often working in series, Vik has used dirt, diamonds, sugar, string, chocolate syrup and garbage to create bold, witty and often deceiving images drawn from the pages of photojournalism and art history. His work has been met with both commercial success and critical acclaim, and has been exhibited worldwide. His solo show at MAM in Rio de Janeiro was second only to Picasso in attendance records; it was here that Vik first exhibited his “Pictures of Garbage Series” in Brazil.

ART1015 Students:

Congratulations to all of you on a GREAT SHOW! It was a raging success – the attendance was high, the food and drinks were most excellent, and you guys ROCKED IT.

Back to business:
There will be a final critique on Wednesday, May 23 at 3pm. You’ll need to have at least three NEW mounted pieces – so keep working!

COS Students Gear Up for Their Annual Photography Show

Weed / COS – Each year College of the Siskiyous Photography instructor James Gilmore and his intermediate photography students transition into the world of professional artists through co-curating and showing work in a collaborative student show.  Each year the class goes beyond the creation of art and asks students to think about the organization that goes into creating a successful photographic art exhibition.

This years’ show, Visual Alternatives, draws its title from seeing with the mind’s eye rather than relying on the impassive eye of the camera, and using both contemporary and traditional methods of making images. The student collaborative hopes the title will reflect their “think outside of the box” mentality that shaped much of the art in the upcoming show.

Students will be showcasing work ranging from digital photography to film photography to processes as old and simple as a pinhole camera.  Each student is pushed to not only create their best work, but to analyze and create a cohesive vision for their pieces and how they fit within the show.

The exhibit will feature artwork from COS photography students Kimberlee Oliver, Tiffany Kramer, Kelly Samuelson, Sarah Foster, Sharon Clavell Szczybor,  Julia Fryling, Samantha Higgins, Issac Inselman, Elsie McDonald, Madison Moser, Jeremy Walker, Annemarie Rutherford, Chehalis Schumacher, Joshua Thom, Jaclyn Templin, and Krisy Virgona.

The students will be hosting an opening public reception on Wednesday, May 2nd from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Art Gallery of the Learning Resource Center at the College of the Siskiyous Weed Campus.  The show will run until Friday, May 18th.

Garry Winogrand Contact Sheet, 1961 © The Estate of Garry WInogrand

The Unfortunate Traveler

Because I was off to France, I packed
my camera along with my shaving kit,
some colorful boxer shorts, and a sweater with a zipper,

but every time I tried to take a picture
of a bridge, a famous plaza,
or the bronze equestrian statue of a general,

there was a a woman standing in front of me
taking a picture of the very same thing,
or the odd pedestrian blocked my view,

someone or something always getting between me
and the flying buttress, the river boat,
a bright cafe awning, and unexpected pillar.

So into the little door of the lens
came not the kiosk or the altarpiece.
No fresco or baptistry slipped by the quick shutter.

Instead, my memories of that glorious summer
of my youth are awakened now,
like an ember fanned into brightness,

by a shoulder, or the back of a raincoat,
A wide hat or towering hairdo-
lost time miraculously recovered

by the buttons on a gendarme’s coat
and my favorite,
the palm of that vigilante guard at the Louvre.

Billy Collins

SILVER & LIGHT from Ian Ruhter on Vimeo.

Northbound train at crossing to Mt. Shasta City park. Photo by NorthBankFred

Well, we’re still on for our field trip to Mt. Shasta City Park! The light is quite nice on rainy days, perfect for close-ups and portraits… plus, Anne-Marie mentioned that if it’s really raining, we can get into some of the cool old buildings on site.

What to bring:

• Camera and plenty of film
• Tripod
• Raincoat
• Imagination

Let’s meet in the second parking lot – that’s the next one after the parking lot at the Senior Center in the park.

View Larger Map

Heres the original story from ABC WLS-Chicago

From Mitch’s website:
“Landscapes are living eco systems and environments. They have existed well before, and will hopefully be here way beyond, the time we are here. When taking photographs, time and space seem hard for me to measure. Whenever I shoot a ‘quality’ image, I know it. At those moments things are quiet, seem simple again – and I obtain a respect and reverence for the world that is hard to communicate through words. For me these moments happen when the exterior environment and my interior world combine. Hopefully the images presented help communicate how I feel and what I see during those times.”

“All photographs presented (with the exception of the White Sands image) were shot between March 2005 and today (2011).”

“My work today is produced using a digital workflow. All the images presented are captured as latent images. Prints are produced using pigment inks on archival cotton rag paper.”

"Behind the Saint-Lazare station, Paris" by Henri Cartier-Bresson

There seems to be a general perception in our culture that “critique” means “to find fault with. It doesn’t mean that at all. It means to critically analyze and respond to something, either positively or negatively, or both. Even when someone holds a camera in their hands for the first time, they have a lifetime of experience processing visual imagery.

The success of an image is dependent upon us as viewers, and our commitment to developing an ability to speak or write about what we see and feel. This is one of the tenets of what is called Visual Literacy.

Visual literacy is the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading.

Many people may not know where to begin when critiquing a photograph. Many beginners may even feel that they are not “worthy” to critique a professional’s work.

The fact is, it doesn’t matter whether you are just starting out or are a seasoned professional – there are many different aspects of a photo that you can comment on. If you don’t feel that you have a handle on the technical aspects of photography, then just comment on the composition, the story, or the emotional feeling behind the photo.

Remember, giving good critiques is beneficial not only for the photographer whose work you are critiquing, but it is tremendously helpful to you, the critiquer. By thinking about all the different aspects of what makes a photo “good” or “poor”, you are adding to your own knowledge base to be used when you are pursuing your own vision.

The purpose of this basic guide is to point you in the general direction of how to state or write a critique, and give you some things that you can look for when making your critiques. It is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of every aspect of photography. You don’t have to touch on all of these categories. Even speaking or writing just a sentence or two, covering just one of these categories can be tremendously helpful to both you and the photographer seeking feedback.

1. Critique the technicals.

• Exposure. Is any area overexposed or underexposed? If so, can you say why you think that happened? How could the photographer prevent this problem in the future?
• Focus. Is the main subject in focus? Is it sharp focus, or a “soft” focus? Is the focus appropriate for the situation?
• Depth of Field (DOF). Is the DOF shallow or deep? Does the DOF work in this shot, or should more (or less) of the photo be in focus?
• Lighting / White balance. Is the light soft or harsh? Does the type of lighting enhance or detract from the things in the photo? Is the white balance set correctly? Is there a yellowish, orangish, or greenish cast to the photo?

2. Critique the composition.

• Centered vs. “Rule of Thirds”. Is the main subject in the center of the frame? Is it on a third? Somewhere else? Does the chosen composition work, or would you have done something differently?
• Fore, Middle, and Backgrounds.
• (Most applicable to landscape photos) Does the photo contain all three? If not, do you think it would be better if it did?
• Cropping/Framing. Is there wasted empty space is the photo? Should the crop have been tighter? Is it cropped so tightly that important parts of the photo have been cutoff?
• Color / Tonal Range. What type of colors do you see? Did the photographer use a lot of primary colors? Secondary? Complementary? Are the colors too vivid? Not vivid enough? If you are looking at a B&W photo, is there a true black, true white, with a large tonal range in between, or is the photo too “gray”?
• Diagonals, S-Curves, etc. Did the photographer make use of any visually-interesting elements, such as diagonal lines or S-curves?
• Leading lines. Do the lines and overall composition make you want to look deeper into the photo? Is your eye drawn into the photo, or out of it?
• Areas of contrast. Are there too many bright areas? Too many dark areas?
• Balance. Is the photo symmetrical or asymmetrical? Would it be better if there were other objects or other light/dark areas in the frame to improve the balance? If the photo is off balance, is there a reason for it?

3. How does it make you feel? Even if you are a beginner, you are certainly qualified to critique based on these questions:

• What mood do you see in the photo?
• Do you think this mood is what the photographer intended?
• Does it make you happy? Sad? Angry? Which emotions, if any, did the photograph trigger?
• Did the photographer succeed in telling his/her story with the photograph? Why or why not?
• Do you like the photo? And, more importantly, say WHY you like the photo, or why you don’t.

Contributed by Zal at the PhotoSIG forum

Solarization is a phenomenon in photography in which the image recorded on a negative or on a photographic print is wholly or partially reversed in tone. Dark areas appear light or light areas appear dark. The term is synonymous with the Sabattier effect when referring to negatives, but is technically incorrect when used to refer to prints.

In short, the mechanism is due to halogen ions released within the halide grain by exposure diffusing to the grain surface in amounts sufficient to destroy the latent image.

Initially, the term solarization was used to describe the effect observed in cases of extreme overexposure of the negative in the camera. Most likely, the effect was first observed in scenery photographs including the sun (e.q. sol, sun). The sun, instead of being the whitest spot in the image, turned black or grey.

Careful choice of the amount of light used and the precise moment in development to provide the additional exposure gives rise to different outcomes. However, solarisation is very difficult to manage to yield consistent results.

As a guide, an exposure of 1 second to a 15-watt bulb, 3 feet distant, at around the end of the first minute of a 2 minute development can produce acceptable results. If the exposure is made with the developing print still in the tray of developer, it is important to stop agitation at least 10 seconds prior to exposure to allow any bubbles on the surface to disperse and to ensure that the print is lying flat.

So, to recap, solarization is the process of re-exposing photographic paper during the development process. The result is an eerie silver image which contains light lines between the shadows and the highlighted areas.

Areas that have been exposed the least are affected the most during the re-exposure of the print. The darker areas or shadows on the prints show little change during the solarization process.

The Sabattier effect is a fairly easy process to achieve and can be done in a few easy steps.