UT Football by Lauren Greenfield

As a fan of college football, I decided to look into Lauren Greenfield’s series “UT Football.” It is a series of images from the 2010 BCS Championship game between the University of Texas Longhorns, and the University of Alabama Crimson Tide, particularly during tailgating prior to the game. Ms. Greenfield shows a variety of ways people prep up for a game.

            This series of photographic images were taken prior to the 2010 BCS National Championship game, being held at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It has a variety of people engaging in tailgating activities. There are UT students using a “beer bong.” There are pictures of families hanging out at their campers, wearing bright orange and white clothing, and faces painted. There are also several images featuring the “Texas Exes,” a group of alumni from the University of Texas.

            In each of the images, the aperture was likely very small, because the there is a very deep depth of field, with even the backgrounds being very sharp. The shutter speed was also a very fast one, as the image where the cheerleaders are doing their routine at the Texas Exes tailgate party, you can see their hair in motion.

            It seems that the purpose of this work is to show how different people engage in a common custom. At the Texas Exes tailgating, which Ms. Greenfield mentions is a private party, you see both men and women smoking cigars, as well as having the UT Marching Band perform. This party also featured a private concert by Lyle Lovett. This is contrasted by an image of other Longhorns fans at the Rose Bowl, but watching it on a TV since they were unable to get tickets. She even shows how limo drivers were watching the game on TV’s outside of the stadium. Other images show a family who had driven to Pasadena from Phoenix, with both father and son dressed in orange and white, with faces painted to match. To me the most memorable pictures were the ones of college students, using a beer bong and “shotgunning” cans of beer. There’s also an image where the students seem to be almost mocking the alumni by also puffing on cigars. There is one memorable image of an Alabama fan’s bus being toilet-papered by some Texas fans.

            I was able to find one additional interpretation of the work. The reviewer (who is not named) mentions the various ways people arrived at the game, from rented RV’s to million-dollar tour buses. From Ms. Greenfield’s website, it appears she was trying to capture the essence of what tailgating at a University of Texas game looks like. There are wealthy people there, with their extravagant jewelry and limousines. There are blue-collar guys, crushing beer cans on their foreheads. There are students making the most of their college experience.

            I believe this series did an excellent job of artistically expressing what tailgating at a college football game is. It is people getting together, who enjoy being around other likeminded people. Though they may express their support for their team in different ways, they are all there wanting to cheer on their favorite team.

UT Football 

Institute 

Final Project

Tessa B, Wooster

Emma B, Galion

Nathan B, Galion

Tory B, Wooster

Damien B, Galion

Traci F, Shelby

Michelle C, Galion

Brian B, Galion

Brad W, Shelby

Jill N, Mansfield

“People and Their Collections” is an attempt to show how a person’s personality can be expressed through the items they collect. I’ve attempted to show this through photographic images.

I’ve chosen to use a variety of subjects, from Shelby, Galion, Mansfield, and Wooster. The ages of the subjects range from age 5 up through age 51.

Another variable is seeing how collections change with age. From balls, to collectibles, the collections themselves varied as the people did.

Final Project Progress

Traci F., Shelby

Nathan B., Galion

Michelle C., Galion

This project involves portraits of people I know with the things they collect. At this point, the images have all been taken.
From here, I am considering printing out the images in black and white, and just pinning them to the gallery wall. I am still thinking color shots would be cool, but I am also very open to doing them in black and white.
I was originally going to print them out on a very large scale, but I am further considering printing them out in either 8x10 or 11x14.

People and their collections

I had spent some considerable time pondering what to have as an overreaching subject for this final project. As I was thinking, my son's Star Wars collection came to mind.It made me think how even our most seemingly insignificant possessions can tell us a lot about a person. It especially says something when the possessions serve no utilitarian purpose. The person has these specific item for the simple fact that it gives them a sense of pleasure.
After this series of thoughts, I came to the conclusion of doing a series of portraits of people I know, and the collection that best describes them. Each image will feature the person, along with the collection that best expresses who they are.

Ghostly Fiction

For this project, I decided to do the fiction aspect in camera, and avoid using Photoshop. I also wanted to do at least one assignment that featured my kids. The result was this collection of ghostly images of my 3 kids.

This project could also be utilized in a shutter speed assignment. By using a shutter speed range 2.5 seconds, up to 10 seconds, and by giving instructions to my kids, I was able to give the impression of an apparition-like appearance to my kids. These were taken in my new apartment, as we were unpacking and putting things away.

This was probably one of the more difficult assignments, because it involved a lot of trial and error. Some turned out great, while others showed either nothing, or solid people.

Plato's Cave

2) Susan Sontag makes the claim that while photography is "a way of certifying experience, taking photographs is also a way of refusing it- by limiting experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting experience into an image, a souvenir" (p. 9). She uses the example of travel to demonstrate this, people go on vacation, to "get away from it all," yet they feel they should be doing something. since they are not at their vocation, they take photographic images.
This definitely resonated with me. When go someplace, it seems I am using my camera, or at the very least, my cell phone, to capture images of the place or event. Whether visiting a location of natural beauty, a place of historical significance, or just being with friends and family, there is always someone using a camera to capture the memory of that moment in time. Even for this class, my camera has been with me at get-togethers with friends, as well as places where hardly a soul was around. But am I taking pictures to fulfill an assignment, capture a memory, or to fulfill the need to "do something."

3) Susan Sontag makes the statement "All photographs are memnto mori" (p. 15). When a photographic image is taken, we do so to freeze time. One reason for this is because we know our time is finite. We all have certain amount of time on earth. That is why we take photographs of our children during trick or treat, our families during holiday get-togethers, and those we vacation with. We know these people will not always be  with us, whether by death, or due to life circumstances. Photographs allow us to remember times together.
Additionally, moments are finite. Actually, finite is not a strong enough word. Moments are like a vapor, here, and then gone. Photographs have the ability to capture those ephemeral moments. There are two photographs in my personal life that remind me of this, and both very similar, taken about 18 months apart.  In both images I am actually wearing the same maroon shirt, In the first shot, I am holding my son, Nathan, when he was a few days old, and both father and son are fast asleep. In the second shot, wearing the same shirt, I am holding my days old daughter, Emma, and am in almost the same postition.
Photographs are a captured moment, which reminds us that our time is finite, and photographs help us freeze time.

Family Portraits?

     For this project, I wanted to show a slightly different take on the traditional family portrait. The images I have presented are those of an old friend and his family. I do want to give a bit of background on this family. Dan Weaver and I met at band camp our freshman year in the summer of 1989. I remember when he started talking about this girl he met during our senior year in 1993. that girl is his lovely wife, Barb, who he married in 1996. They're 5 boys are Joseph, Benjamin, Samuel, Lucas, and Nathan.

     I wanted to show that family portraits don't have to show a studio setting with properly coiffed and dressed children wearing smiles that are, more than likely, forced. I wanted to show a family that enjoyed being themselves. I wanted to demonstrate portraiture that gave better idea of who the Weavers are. Even though I took photographs that showed a more "traditional" family portrait, the ones I have posted are a better representation of this amazing family.

     This type of portraiture does have limitations. I think the biggest limitation would be that I'm not sure i could take these kind of photographs of someone I was not well-acquainted with. Conversely, being the subject of this type of portraiture would probably not work as well with someone the subject was not acquainted with. Something that this series does do is opens the door to a lot of improvisation. The picture of Barb jumping on Dan's back and of Dan and Joseph holding Lucas by his legs just happened on spur of the moment.

Assignment 3

For this assignment, I decided to focus on one of my favorite places to go in the area, Mohican State Forest, and the Clear Fork Gorge Overlook in particular. I had visited this place many times, but this time I had noticed, possibly for the first time, how this is a place that showcases the beauty of nature, as well as a demonstration of how nature can be corrupted.
This first and third photographs are examples of how the Clear Fork Gorge looks on a typical early autumn day, with the leaves starting to turn brilliant shades of orange, yellow, and red. The second photograph, also shows how a place of beauty can have its ugly side, namely the defacing of the overlook platforms.
The fourth and fifth photographs are also a strange contrast. In the fourth image, it seems those who planned the walkway took extra care in not taking down this tree, by constructing the walkway around it. This is in stark contrast to the trees being felled around the parking area. There was no evidence of rot on the remaining stumps, so why take down the trees?

Old News

The exhibit of Jeff Sprang's Old News took what could be considered mundane and showed the artistic value of what could be considered common. The body of his work spanned several decades. The difficult part was to decide which photograph to disseminate. The one photograph that struck me was one from when I was a small boy.
The piece dated January 31, 178, titled "James Truly, Buried Alive" is comprised of two images, one of a man in a hospital bed positioned above the image of a a large tractor trailer rig buried in snow. Mr. Truly waited in this semi for fiver days awaiting rescue during this cataclysmic event.
For me, this piece demonstrates the human side of disasters. This put a human face on an event that I grew up hearing about. This piece demonstrated how the Blizzard of '78 didn't just snarl traffic, but impacted people
 I would like to know how, from all the photographs he took over the course of his time at The News Journal, how did he decide on these 34 pieces?  During the blizzards of '77 and '78, how were you able to access the locations to take the photographs? For the Ohio 96 photograph, it almost appears that you may have been driving around, and just came upon the upside-down sign. Was this the case?

Assignment 2

The reason I chose this particular image for The Thing Itself is that it appears that this particular image appears to have been taken late morning or early afternoon, when it was taken after sundown.

The Thing Itself

Flash

Depth Of Field, F3.4, 3.2"

Depth Of Field, F8.0, 3.2"

Night Photography+ Tripod

Hand Held Night Photography

Slow Shutter Speed + Tripod

Fast Shutter Speed

Detail

Vantage Point

Frame

The Photographer's Eye

In the introduction to The Photographer's Eye, John Szarkowski delves into how a photographic image can be more than a documentation of a moment in time. He begins with a short biographical sketch of the early days of the use of the daguerrotype by a large amount of people.
He then goes on to explain the various aspects of a photographic image. he starts by explaining that the object being photographed may be very different than the final exposed image. As Szarkowsi puts it, "the subject and the picture were not the same thing" (p. 3). Szarkowsi also explained that photographs simply reveal what is there. It cannot explain why a scenario is. It can only show that is is. With regards to war photography, Szarkowsi states that the purpose of war photography "was not to make the story clear. it was to make it real" (p.4). Regarding the concept that a photograph is "not conceived, but selected" (p.4), Szarkowski reminds the reader that a photographic image is one of subjectivity, as a photographer with select a subject that he feels is important. Exposure  time is also an important aspect of any photograph. From images of mutant dogs, to the successful photographic image of a galloping horse,  exposure time can affect perception. Vantage point can also affect the perception in a photographic image. A very low or very high vantage point can affect how an image is perceived.
All these aspects of a photographic image are new things to me. I had always viewed a photograph as a captured moment. It had never occurred to me to be able to put a subjective slant on a previously objective medium.

Assignment 1 photograph

This photo was taken in the woods behind Ovalwood. I like this photo because even though the white balance was "wrong," the result was a very interesting photograph.

Materializing New Space

As I reflect on the Materializing New Space exhibit, I find myself thinking back to how Jamie Kennedy & Kelly Urquhart so seamlessly combined the elements of Jamie's Photography with Kelly's drawings and paintings. The series of the nests were especially good examples of this, it was very difficult to distinguish between the photographic elements of the nests and the non-photographic elements of the grasses and flowers.
Of all the series that were shown, the series of bricks, representing traditional investing, had the biggest impact for me. So often we hear on the news how a given stock made money or lost money on a given day. This particular series was an excellent representation of how stock prices can change over the course of a day. I think I appreciated this particular series because stock charts, though are an accurate, visual representation of a stock's price, can grow tedious, and this series gave the same information, but in a way that sticks in your mind.
I also found it interesting how some of the bricks in the series on "Wall Street" investing, the non-photographic elements were more obvious, especially when compared to the series on more "lowbrow investing" by selling parts for Vespas, in which it was difficult to differentiate between jamie's photgraphic elements, and Kelly's drawings.

Interpretation of Martin Parr's photgraph

This photograph of Martin Parr, taken in 1999, shows a Caucasian individual wearing red lipstick smiling broadly. Upon careful observation, you can see traces of lipstick on the otherwise gleaming white teeth. It also appears that there may be some plaque along the gumline.
What I also noticed is that it is not apparent whether this grin is a genuine smile, or a forced one, as the eyes are not seen. This person may have been caught in a laugh, or this photograph may have been taken after some yelled "Smile!"  Since the eyes are not in this picture, it is not readily apparent of the circumstances under which the photograph was taken.
This photograph also shows some contrasts as to what is meant by a perfect smile. The teeth appear gleaming white. The lipstick seems to be perfect. But the traces of lipstick on one tooth suggests that even what seems to be perfect may have some flaws. The slight appearance of plaque along the gumline may suggest that though we think our flaws are covered, some may still be seen.

V-J Day in Times Square

V-J Day in Times Square


     I remember seeing this photo when I was younger. It was taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt on August 14, 1945, after it was announced that Japan had surrendered, and the war was over. It was published in the August 27, 1945, issue of LIFE magazine. Even though I was born almost thirty years after World War II ended, there was something about a nation being so jubilant that a sailor would kiss the first girl he came across. If the pair featured in this photograph knew anything, it was that the war was over, and that the men who had been fighting would be coming home.