May 11 Journal

I do not feel the same about how I felt on October 28th. The photographer I chose took a lot of picture of people and I have learned that I don't really enjoy photographing people, at least not when they're posed. I'm more for candid shots or pictures of objects. His pictures are also pretty bright and I've learned that I like more dark things or black and white. I would opt for an artist who does more work similar to my own and has more pieces that are part of my comfort zone of dark, contrasted images of things other than people.

April 27th Journal.

If I was in Delano's position, I think I would do the same thing as him. I would want to know the source of the pictures and know why the person lost track of them and didn't care to get them back if photography was such a big part of their life. I know if I lost any of my work that I worked hard on for a long period of time, I would want it back. It's strange that the other people didn't seem to care about the pictures nearly as much as Delano did. Most people would think that they'd be happy to have their pictures back or see things that their family took. I know I would be.

Freeee topic.

I took your advice about being able to go to a concert on a weekday and I am going to see The Maine on Thursday, May 17th! I am so excited. I think I'm only going to bring my old point and shoot camera though instead of my newer, bigger one that I brought for the last one. I feel like I paid TOO much attention to taking pictures and videos and not enough to the actual concert, so this time I plan to pay more attention to the music, and take photos when I feel it is right. I am so excited!

March 23 Journal.

I think my photography would be different if I had never learned film because it made me learn methods used to make things look different manually. It's kind of hard to explain but I think I appreciate how cameras work more now because I had to learn to do things manually instead of automatically. I think it make my photography different in the way that I have to work a bit harder to get a good image. I feel like I would think that photography is more simple than it actually is if I never learned to use an analog camera. This makes a difference in the amount of work I put into capturing an image.

The Alphabet Project.

So far the alphabet project has been going well. I found around 8 letters fairly easily. I actually enjoy this. I like having to look at things in a different way in order to find the letters. I've been noticing detail in things around my house and other places that I never would have paid attention to if it wasn't for this project.

Free topic yaaaay

If you haven't noticed, I really like the band "The Maine" and they are on tour again in the US and are coming to NY for 4 shows in May. I really wanted to go to one, but they're all on weekdays except one, which is on a Friday. I got SO excited when I found this out because I really want to see them again. I asked my mom and everything was cool; I only had to get tickets. Before I did that I looked at where the concert is. It's in Clifton Park, NY. So, I went on Google maps and learned that it's three hours away :(  My mom said we might be able to go but we would need to get a hotel and I don't know any friends that would be able to come because we would have to miss the school day. So now I might not be able to see them until the next time they are on tour in NY or NJ. I also missed a show for another favorite band of mine, "Mayday Parade". They were in NJ and NY at the end of last month and the beginning of this month. By the time I found out about the show, the tickets were all sold out and I wasn't able to go which is also a downer:

March 2 Journal.

Reading and learning about Ron Galella as a paparazzo and the death of Princess Diana due to paparazzi really surprised me. It's crazy that someone can die because of people trying to get pictures of them. I would not want to be a paparazzo. It seems that they all get bad reps, and they might get a lot of money, but I would rather have my dignity and photograph other things to make money rather than stalk celebrities to get a picture of them that most people wont really care about.

Feb 24th journal

If I was a paparazzo I would follow around John O'Callaghan from The Maine. First of all because he's one of my favorite celebrities and because I think he would be easier to shoot than others. I don't think he is the kind of person to really run or hide away from the paparazzi. I would shoot him in less typical situations than most paparazzo. I wouldn't just shoot him at concerts or with his band, I would shoot him in other places where maybe people don't always see him .

Feb 10th journal

If there was an assignment from this year that I could re-do it would be my self portraits. I think they could've been a lot better than they were. I'm not sure I completely got my point across from the way I shot and manipulated them. I think if I took more time on them and thought it out a bit more they would've been better.

Rant.

I'm torn between what I want to do this summer. The past two years I went to a camp that I really like. I went for a week each year and I really love it there. It's my happy place. I went with the same group of people both years so I made really great friends with them and the staff and all the other campers. Me and a few of the people still keep in touch and whatnot. Both years were really great experiences. This year though, we feel a bit too old to be campers being 17 and all by then. Some workers there are even 16, but they have to do kitchen staff and most of the councilors are 18 or 19, so it would be weird for us to be under the watch of people that are pretty much our age. I really want to work there, but I would have to be a lifeguard  and that comes with a lot of training and I feel it might be a hassle. Also, I don't know if I really liked camp because of the people I was there with the whole week, and they all wont be working there. Actually, there's a good chance none of them will work there and I'm afraid it wont be the same because I don't know all the other staff THAT well. Also, the concept of being away from home for a majority of the summer comes into play and I really don't know what I want to do. GAH.

Where I would go back to photograph..

I would go back to ancient times when the pyramids were being built and I would photograph them in progress. It would be so cool to see how things were done and capture them on camera. It would certainly solve many questions people have about how the pyramids were built and everything everyone has to ask.

The Maine. Live at the Gramercy Theater In NYC on December 16, 2011.

January 6th Journal

I'm not really sure of all the names of all of the museums in the world, but I would want to go to a museum that's full of photography of nature. I really am into dead trees lately and forests with fog and stuff. I would love to go to a museum that had a bunch of stuff like that in it.

December 22nd Journal

I would pick the topic of something along the lines of how social media affects body and self image. I would include pictures of what models are made up to look like in magazines and whatnot and what they really look like and pictures portraying what people do to themselves to try and reach the "perfection" they see in adds.

The Maine

I don't really know what to write about because this is a free topic, so I guess I'll write about something I'm excited about. In exactly a week I'm going to see a band that I really really really really really really like. I've been a fan for years and I'm finally going to see them in a headlining concert. I first saw them when I was in either 6th or 7th grade. They opened for a Fall Out Boy concert that I went to and I've loved them ever since. They still aren't that popular among society, but the sure have a bigger fan base than they did when I first saw them. When I mention their band name, almost no one knows who I'm talking about, and those who do usually only know the more popular songs the band has. Along with just going to the concert, there is a meet and greet and I'm a HUGE fan of the lead singer, total fan-girl for him. I can't wait. AHHHH!

December 2, 2011

If making art or art classes were banned from when I was born, I don't think "art-banned-amanda" would know that she was a different person than "art-exposed-amanda" is today. But I know now that if I was never able to make art or take art classes or be exposed to any type of art I would be so much less creative than I am today, and I wouldn't appreciate or see the beauty in things.

If making art and taking art classes was banned right now at this moment I would be very upset. Making art is a great way to express feelings and it's something I enjoy to do. It'd be like taking a piece of me away from myself. Things would definitely be different in my life and I think I wouldn't be as happy as a person that I am now, taking photography and doing other artistic things in my life.

21 November 2011

I think that art should teach people lessons in life, but only to a certain extent. Art is good for portraying ideas in an abstract way. People look at pieces of art differently so they might get a different message than someone else. Regardless, art can teach lessons, though the lessons might vary from person to person. It is not always important for art to portray a meaningful lesson because sometimes art isn't made for any particular reason, it just happens. If the artist wants to portray a lesson, they will find a way to put it in their piece, and if not they will just create art because they enjoy doing so, for themselves and not for the benefit of others.

I disagree completely. Digital photography is great because it's easy to just upload and edit things on the computer, but analog photography takes more time. Analog is more unique in the way that pictures can be edited by hand by using chemicals and different methods in the darkroom. Sure, all the effects can be done on photoshop, but I think manually editing a piece is better because the person had to use their own creativity and not a template offered by photoshop. Though it may not be as popular, analog photography should still be taught because different people have different preferences and might like analog better than digital photography. If they are not taught analog, they will not know the difference and learn to prefer digital, hence making analog dead.

I wish I had the ability to create Solve Sundsbo's work The images are abstract and even his beauty/catalog shots look less cliche than most. He uses different or simple things to make beautiful images.
 
This image is so beautiful and it is made this way by the piece of cloth. Something so simple like sheer fabric and motion of the fabric make the picture unique and beautiful.
http://www.artandcommerce.com/AAC/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=AAC_A_Solve_Sundsbo_VForm&FRM=Frame:AAC_R_SolveSundsbo&XXAPXX=#/CMS3&VF=AAC_A_Solve_Sundsbo_VForm&FRM=Frame:AAC_FramePortfolio&ARID=2U1XC5IPMW3O
The use of shadows in these images make a pattern on the woman's face and body creating an interesting effect on a picture that looks unedited.

Most of his pictures are "catalog beautiful" but I feel they are more planned and thought out than other "catalog" shoots, making them special.

Journal #6

Photography can be truth, and then it can not. It can honestly tell the emotions of the people in the pictures, or it can be staged to make the people look like things they're not. If a photograph is a candid or unedited, I think it is more truthful then one that is not because it shows raw emotions expressed by people when the photo was taken.
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/jack-delanos-american-sonata/
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/the-sweet-science-of-body-and-soul/

The men both shoot great pictures that have some similarities and differences. The first link bring you to pictures of a bunch of different things. There doesn't seem to be a common theme there like the second link's pictures have. The second link has a theme of black and white and things related to boxing while the first is a mix of color and black and white and there's not one main focus.