Nicole Mazewski

Monday, October 3, 2011

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Ansel Adams

Yellowstone Falls

Nevada Fall, Rainbow

Unicorn Peak, Thunderclouds

Winter Sunrise, from Lone Pine

Cathedral Spires and Rocks

Dogwood, Blossoms

Grand Teton

Evening, McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park

Leaf, Glacier Bay National Monument


Mountain Pine, Mono Creek

Ansel Adams not only a great photographer by also a strong environmentalist. Adams had a severely broken nose from an earthquake in his childhood that caused him to be shy and not have many friends. Most of his time was spent hiking along Lobos Creek, down to Baker Beach near his home or meandering anywhere in nature. He found companionship in nature that he never received from his peers. His first photography success was from the Sierra Club. According to a biography of Adams, “His black-and-white images were not "realistic" documents of nature. Instead, they sought an intensification and purification of the psychological experience of natural beauty. He created a sense of the sublime magnificence of nature that infused the viewer with the emotional equivalent of wilderness, often more powerful than the actual thing.” This is the perfect summary of his work. He chose to amplify the wonder of these national nature preserves in order to emphasize their conservation.

I really like the way Adams photographed the majestic landscape. Personally, I don’t even think that these images are all that unrealistic portrayals of the actual scenery. My family took a cross-country road trip when I was about ten years old and we got to experience some of America’s beauty firsthand. We saw Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon during that trip. Adams photographed both parks during his career and looking at those photos brought me back to that time when I saw them for the first time. “Yellowstone Falls” really had an impact on me because my family took a picture in that exact spot.

The photographs’ compositions are great as well. The angle that some of them were taken makes them that much more interesting. The aerial views of the landscape allow the viewer to see more the landscape. The framing of the photos complement his style. I particularly like the way he captured the clouds in a number of his photographs, including, “Unicorn Peak, Thunderclouds,” “Grand Teton,” and “Evening, McDonald Lake, Glacier National Park.” His depth of field varies in his pictures, making them more interesting than typical landscape photography.

The black and white aspect of these pictures also makes them look more powerful. The coloring of these parks in real-life is phenomenal. The way Adams eliminated this element makes viewers focus on the subject in the photos and not on the different shades of nature. With all of these characteristics in mind, it’s no wonder Ansel Adams is one of the most applauded landscape photographers of all time.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Scavenger Hunt Exposure Adjustments

Adjusted Diagonal Lines

Adjusted Depth of Field

Adjusted Close Up

Adjusted Unnatural Light

Adjusted Text

Adjusted Something Homemade

Adjusted Still Life

Adjusted Picture of a Picture

Adjusted Candid

Adjusted Architecture

Adjusted Documentary

Adjusted Emotion

Adjusted Extreme Close Up

Adjusted Frame

Adjusted Pattern

Adjusted Landscape

Adjusted Liquid

Adjusted Long Shot

Adjusted Medium Shot

Adjusted Memento

Adjusted Motion

Adjusted Natural Light

Adjusted Portrait

Adjusted Article of Clothing

Adjusted Animal

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Response to Weston's "Seeing Photographically"

The very first line of Weston’s “Photography- Not Pictorial” holds so much meaning. Goethe was correct in his belief that art portrays that which is inexpressible and should never be explained in words. The explanation will never come close to the inspiration that the artist used. Photography is a relatively new form of art, and it is constantly evolving with technology advancements. This makes the art ever changing and more interesting than some other art forms. Photography can capture almost any physical object with an exact and precise detail. The transitory light effects can change one picture to be completely different than another. It is also a very honest medium because it captures exactly what it sees, representation and objectivity.

Seeing photographically is so unlike anything else. You see and think differently than anyone else. Even photographers see and think differently than each other. Photography is one of the hardest forms of art because it requires the greatest accuracy and surest judgment. Photography has as many possibilities, as it has limitations; technology, settings and subject variety all contribute to this.

Photography’s origins come from painting. Early photographers based their work off of paintings and wished to simply replicate them, into pseudo-paintings. This hindered the creativity aspect of the art for many years. Early photographers saw the camera as just a machine and not an art form on its own and wanted to do everything they could to bring out personal handiwork into their images. This is when the rules of composition first sprung from. Some photographers, mostly amateurs, stick to these rules like glue, and this lessens the creativity in their camera shots. With practice, these photographers will loosen up a bit and embrace the spontaneity of the shots while simply keeping the valuable skill set in the background.

Photography’s infinite possibilities are sometimes a cause of trouble. Its instantaneous recording process allows for no mistakes. Photographers have no chance to change their plans mid-process, like other artists. The tiny particles that make up the image can contain texture, detail, lucidity, and tones. The finished product must be finished before the film is exposed, which cause even the artist to put even more consideration into the very short creation process. Altering these images destroys the perfection of a natural photograph.

I certainly agree with the writer when he says, “It is learning to see photographically- that, learning to his subject matter in terms of the capacities of his tools and processes, so that he can instantaneously translate the elements and values in a scene before him into the photograph he wants to make.” I think this one sentence sums up the entire essay very well. Seeing photographically includes using all of the skills artists learn during their training. I am learning these skills in this class, as well as my photojournalism class, in which we carefully take pictures by varying exposure and focus by manipulating aperture and shutter speed. These invaluable tools will help me in my photographic future. Photography is truly about “revealing the nature of the world we live in.”