In-Class Critique

Critique

1.  (Couldn't load first photo.)
2.  Photograph No. 2 consists of a river/stream during fall with the yellow covering the forest floor. The exposure was a few seconds long to get the movement of the stream along the right side of the photo. The photo is fairly well balanced between the movement of the stream and the stillness of the surrounding forest. However, the lighting of the photo is overly bright making the leaves appear washed out and too bright. Making it difficult to focus on the leaves themselves.
3.  Photo No. 3 is title Blacksands and was shot in Iceland. With the exposure was several seconds long to get the retreating waves movements. The diagonal cut of the black stones and black sand help give more movement to the piece. Also, the really dark tones on the left compliment the extremely bright whites on the left giving rise to movement and a sense of balance that draws in viewers.
4.  No. 4 appears to be a still shot of mountain peaks taken at night. Though the photo could be Photoshopped for the mountains themselves well lit up with the night sky behind being a darkish blue sky. The piece itself is balanced with the two peaks on either side of the photo and differentiation heights. Though the unrealistic lighting takes away from the piece.
5.  The colors pop in No. 5, catching the amazing colors of the thermal pools excellently. The photo also appears to follow the Rule of Thirds with the bright blue sky in the top that lead into the mountain ranges and finally into the thermal fields. All of which are at opposing angles which add extra dimension to the piece.
6.  No. 6 consists of a a brightly yellow bird perched on thin branches of a tree or bush. The shot was taken more than likely with a zoom. The colors of the bird pop and stand out against the out of focus background, the bird is also "framed" with the branches and the blurred branch to the left. With the birds head facing tot he left viewers are pulled in by the lower left corner where the focused branches come in from to the bird then to the left again.
7.  Not a fan of No. 7 the photo appears to be a point and shoot but the main problem is the lighting. The fish the bear caught gets lost with the overly whiteness of the river, the bear also looses some of its' features.
8.  The piece is well balanced with a pama-o-rama shot that takes in the field of red flowers that compliment the setting sun but also helps to make the moose stand out. Composition of the piece is excellent with the setting sun on the left drawing peoples eyes which then leads to the mountains/tree line, which then brings viewers to the moose.
9.  Impact is an eye catching piece with viewers immediately drawn into the setern expression of the osprey that just caught a fish. The movement of the wings and the residual water droplets from the catch frames the osprey excellently.
10.  The lighting of No. 10 is well balanced so the surrounding ice and polar bears are not lost. Though the piece does look awkward with the background polar nearly taking away from the polar bear centered in the middle of the piece. Definitely, feel like the piece would be better without the background bear.

WITNESS photography

       James Nachtwey is a self taught photographer that originally started as a newspaper photographer/photo journalist. After an assignment to Northern Ireland for the 1987 IRA hunger strike became a war photographer and photo journalist as he continued to document "war, conflicts, critical social issues" and has covered disputes from Bosnia to the United States documenting rebels, soldiers, war victims, AIDs, and starvation.

       With some further investigation I discovered he prefers to use the Canon EOS-1Ds and EOS-1V SLR. Nachtwey mainly centers on black and white photos which work to greatly enhance the stories he tells through his lens.

Nicaragua, 1984-Contra mortally
wounded in jungle warfare

Romania, 1990- An orphanage for "incurables"

Bosnia, 1993- wounded soldier

New York, 2001- Searching for survivors

     "I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony.
The events I have recorded should not be forgotten
and must not be repeated."

- James Nachtwey

~Jazz
(photos courtesy of http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/)

Hello Mother Nature, thank you for knocking.

        Last Saturday my roommates and I were able to safely and dryly experience the large storm that had rolled through town. After our dorms were assaulted by torrential rain, harsh winds, and life time's worth of hail we decided to document the hail build up outside our door.

Played around with camera settings to get a
semi-clear photo
 of the flooded drainage in the courtyard.

Hail build up outside of our door.

Got up close and personal with the hail and tried different settings
with the flash on and off to get experiment with the different light.

~Jazz

(photos courtesy of myself)

Resident Bunny

      Being lucky enough to have gained a dorm room that faced the football field instead of the cramped courtyard allows us to enjoy our little furried friends. And with having these rooms for the last two years we have become quite well acquainted with the local warren of rabbits.

Last years mates

          This year we have a new arrival that immediately took our attention by his rather cute markings of domestic and wild coloring.

Why hello there.

        After much debate this handsome fellow is diversely named Snuffles and Peanut. Peanut by his rather cute like qualities and Snuffles by the bone structure of his face (I much prefer Snuffles).

Notice the squarish nose and elongated snout?

        For the last few days I have been quite taken with this rabbit and have been on a constant watch for his daily feedings. As he is mostly by himself I have been able to get a few good pictures of his bone structure for further research, for I have yet to decide if he would be making a debut as an obscure creature or if he shall remain as simply Snuffles.

~Jazz
(photos courtesy of myself)

Nice little profile.

JR "Showing life surviving through conflict"

 About two years ago I literally stumbled upon (stumbleupon.com) a video from TED talks. The video was center on the French photographer JR and his One Wish, which was simply "Use art to turn the world inside out".

 

TED talks: JR

    His beginnings grabbed my attention but his mission completely captured it. I wasn't much into photography or photographers until I watched his videos, seen his work, and read his story. JR was the single person that drew my attention to the photography world. Showing me that photography wasn't just simple pictures of beauty but an art form that can and does speak volumes.

 

"Women are Heroes", Rio de Janiero, Brasil

    What strikes me the most is not only the portraits/photos themselves but of the nearly forced interaction between unsuspecting audiences and the subjects. In his early pieces took photos of "street thugs" after a series of riots and pasted the photos illegally through the richer streets of Paris. A few years later JR started project called "Face 2 Face" which united Israelis and Palestinians, then yet again JR started a project titled "Women are Heroes", to pay homage to women and their suffering from conflicts.

"Face 2 Face", Separation Wall Security Fence Israeli Side, Abu Dis, Jerusalem

   JR used his photos to connect the media with people, to show the world that what we see in the media is only a small part of the whole. That people can continue to live through violent conflicts that not only effect themselves but others.
   JR's shows that life still continues during any hardship.

~Jazz

(photos courtesy of JR on http://www.jr-art.net/)