Week 4.

George Tice. 
Water Tower, Rahway, New Jersey, 1994.
Photo source
As soon as I saw this picture I was immediately attracted to the  contents. The first thing I noticed was the perspective and the composition. The composition is absolutely brilliant, and I love the way the tree mimics the shape and flow of the water tower. I also love how they are both alone, but in that loneliness both of these things come together in the way that they are placed. The water tower and the tree are also brought together because water is one of the elements that helps a tree grow and remain alive, and the fact that they are photographed together in this way is amazing and sheds an entirely new light on the picture, even if the photo may seem simplistic; in it's simplicity, it is beautiful.

Karl Blossfeldt
Urformen der Kunst.
Photo source
This is one of my favorite photogravures that Blossfeldt produced. The symmetry of this is absolutely wonderful, and the shapes that the flowers make on the background that the plant is placed. The way the flowers curve lead your eye around the picture, and I love the abstract quality about this as well. The design aspect of this is incredible also. The way the light reflects on the stem and leads your eye up the plant and around it's curves is a wonderful way to lead the viewer into the picture.

Catherine Opie. 
Icehouses.
Photo source.
I came across Catherine Opie's work at the library, and I loved the simplicity but emotion that came across in her landscape photography. This series of icehouses intrigued me the most. There is so much empty space from the sky and the land, but the empty space matches perfectly and meets as one in the middle where the icehouses are located. The spacing and composition of this photograph are incredible, and I love the simple colors that contrast against the white that takes up the majority of the photo.

Week 3.

Alec Soth - Photo
I have absolutely fallen in love with Alec Soth's work. I love surreal photography, and I think that the mixture of that element and the emotion in his work makes for incredible work and the balance is perfect. My eyes were instantly drawn to this photograph. I know that this photo is probably viewed differently from many others but I feel seclusion in this piece and emptiness. There is a real strong sense of loneliness, almost like the figure is being barricaded from the rest of the world in the trees. I have always been attracted to symmetry in art work, and in this photograph the fact that the figure is standing directly in the middle of the photo intrigues me the most.

Alex Stoddard - Photo
Alex Stoddard is my absolute favorite amateur photographer. His work is incredibly surreal but evokes many emotions from viewers and displays what the artist feels. This photograph is called The Forgotten Housewife. With that title, the photograph becomes clearer. The figure is almost being levitated into mid-air which leaves me with a sense of being left behind and becoming a monster within yourself. To be forgotten is such an awful thing to even imagine, and this photograph displays that horrible instance that can occur in anyones life perfectly. The surroundings of this figure are falling to pieces like her life would if she were to be forgotten, which in this instance, she has been. The surrounding structure that is falling to pieces can symbolize her life and her emotions.

Cindy Sherman - Photo
I first heard of Cindy Sherman in High School, and she actually got me into taking self portraits. I believe her self portraits are her most powerful pictures, but of course that is just my opinion. I have always believed that self portraits can display more of what you feel inside of yourself. I was always intrigued by the point of view she had in her photographs and the expressions she had on her  face, like in this photograph. I love how she almost blends into the tile floor with her same colored outfit.

Week 2.

Arnold Newman - Grandma Moses

Click here for photograph

I was instantly drawn to this photograph, and I believe that is because of the emotion that is tied along with this, even if the photograph is simple, but then again, becomes complicated in its own way. The contrast is absolutely beautiful in this, and adds to the drama of the photo. The figure in this photograph remains emotionless, but because of that, I believe her emotionless expression adds more emotion to the picture itself. The composition and the fact that she is sitting directly in-between all of the windows and looking out of one gives me chills. The symmetry in this photograph adds to the mood as well, and works very well to send out great emotion. 

E.J. Bellocq - Untitled

Click here for photograph

I am not particularly into studio portraits like this one, but this photograph really caught my eye, and I think that's because it's a old-time photograph, instead of one from this decade, or the previous few decades. I love her positioning, and it makes for a more interesting photograph instead of her facing and looking directly at the camera. The composition also adds to this photograph because there is space remaining above her head in the photograph, which leads your eyes down to the subject. The fact that she is wearing all white adds to the drama of this as well because the background is dark. 

Eugene Atget

Click here for photograph

My favorite genre of photography is landscape/nature, so I was instantly drawn to this photograph as soon as I came across it. The reflection in the water reminds me of an ink painting, and it's absolutely incredible. I love the way the trees in the reflection and trees on the bank of the river lead off of the page, as if leaving a mystery. I also enjoy how the picture shifts from from light to dark in contrast because it makes the photograph more interesting and helps your eyes to be lead around the photo.

Week 1

Sally Mann, Family portraits, 1985-1991

http://sallymann.com/selected-works/family-pictures

This picture caught my eye initially because of the symmetry of the towel dividing the picture into two separate photographs. I absolutely love the grain, it adds to the emotion set behind this picture and what the photograph displays. I also really enjoy how the background is the part of the picture that holds the people being photographed, and the foreground hangs a towel that becomes very important to this picture as well. The tones in this photograph also add to the feeling that is being carried through the elements of this photograph. 

Bruce Davidson

Freedom March 1961

Found the picture here

I cannot get over the emotion that is being emitted from this photograph. I feel so much while I look at this, and it is almost like I am witnessing this event happen right before my eyes, I can almost feel myself want to reach into the picture to help in any way I can. The moment this picture was captured was absolutely perfect to give a strong impact to the viewer and to show two different sides of a story, especially one like this. The use of decisive moment is absolutely brilliant in this piece, and I wouldn't want to see it done any other way. 

Lewis Hine

Child Labor in the American South

http://contentdm.ad.umbc.edu/site/Flash/images/HINE/Edits/1754.jpg

I was first drawn to the emotion that lingers in the girls face. As a viewer you get to see this situation from a different perspective and point of view. The way the camera is positioned and the fact that the lens is positioned perfectly so that it is at eye level with the small girl makes her that much more relatable. This photograph was controversial at this point in time, and that's also what makes it extremely powerful. I can almost feel what the small girl feels while this photograph was being taken, it's almost as if the girl is silently pleading with her eyes, and that sends chills down my spine. It's an absolutely wonderful photograph, and carries a very raw feelings, which is perfect for what the photographer, Lewis Hine, was trying to convey.