[.Final:Series:Example:Version:ii-Lifestyle.]

 Taken by Ian B.

 Taken by Ian B.

Taken by Ian B.

These photos were selected by my professor to aid me in finding a better direction to take with the series.  Now it is a "life style" theme.  It is personal and raw, yet entirely through my eyes.  I honestly do not wish to talk more about it... I want to take more photos with the intent behind it and see where this goes. I am excited to put this into action and will be taking photos every day until I can no longer and it is time to edit.  I will try to not omit color as I usually do, but use it as a tool for manipulating mood.  Now... to come up with 20...

[.Final:Series:Example.]

a

b

c

d

e

e




All the photos do carry a similar undertone, but the actual images themselves do not flow as well as I would like.  I feel that I am teetering from obvious messages and death, to just an image that inspires feelings of mystery and a darker, yet is peaceful and alluring.

I would like to figure out my main focus- the style I wish to stick with the most and feel is the most convincing, and follow through with it.  I will take photos in various places throughout the week and contact those who I feel would be of value.  For example, I have a friend who is very interested in special-effect make-up with a taste for the macabre.  I should also be wary of focus, and not be afraid to take the same photo in a multitude of ways and settings.  MY perfect shot should always be my main objective.

I should try to get the moment before impact, the moment before death, using light and reflections to pull the viewer even further away and leave the images with a far more mysterious and commanding presence.

I need to take a TON more photos, however, of these I feel that "c" and "e" are the most of what I like, but only "c" do I truly feel pleased with.  For photos "a," "b," and "d," I merely feel very satisfied with them but I do not truly feel that they belong.  During the next week I must push myself to pull it all neatly together in a way that leaves me most satisfied.

.[Self-Critique: Final.process].

a

 b

 c

 d

e

I like the motion blur and the light trails from the long exposure.  It gives a sense of mystery that I like, and the editing of "e" really brings that out due to the darker values.  I feel that the brighter images are not as effective because they do not establish the right mood.  Darkness is innately ominous.

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 a

 b

 c

 d

e

This shot is appealing to me because of the use of the car to allow the viewer to feel an impact through the lights and motion.  In this shot, my boyfriend was actually on the hood of the car.  I feel that more creative uses for light during the shoot would have greatly aided the shot.  I prefer edits "b" and "d" because the darker contrast feels more ominous, while allowing texture in "b" with the smoke, and black negative space in "d."  I do not think that color has much of a place in this series, as it allows too much to be familiar to the viewer.

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 a

 b

 c

 d

e

I love that she appears to be pulling on a mask, with the body strewn over what can vaguely be identified as the back of a car.  I really enjoy the energy it gives, but wish it were sharper.  "C" or "e" are my favorite edits because I feel that they are a more harmonious concentration of value and detail.  They obstruct enough to keep identities unknown and the image more detached. 

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What I have planned to do in the future is to contact my friend who is interested in special effects make-up and see if he can contribute, as well as scavenge around for more light sources to toy around with and find creative ways to make them work.  I wish to continue working during the night, but may think to include dusk and dawn.  I want to keep faces to a minimum, and try to keep the theme of detachment/mystery/horror in the series.  I will push myself further in being creative with the shots and aim to make them as variant in scene as they are harmonious in theme.

[.Second Print.]

self-photography

Street: South Beach, Miami

Place: Times Square, New York

.[Final Portfolio: Self-Directed Portfolio].

Proposal:

I aim to utilize my love for light, abstraction, and illusion to better convey the dream-like, somewhat eerie mood my work possesses.  By using people in my personal life as models and an abandoned house (or houses) as a setting, I am to take a mixture of abstractions, staged and spontaneous portraiture, and environmental portraits and shots in order to express an easily perceived story in the series as a whole.  I aim to simulate scenarios of fear, chaos and mold them to be as aesthetically pleasing as they are chilling.  I also plan on mainly, if not entirely, printing in black and white.  This is because I feel that black and white photography, devoid of distraction of color, allows for dramatic and emotional undertones to gain dominance in an image.  My goal is to be able to manipulate what is before me with the camera itself and only turning to Photoshop for minor contrast, exposure, and saturation tweaks, as well as adding vignettes.

Examples:
(nearly all photos below are unrelated and merely portray the kind of photography I shall be using)

.[Ten:Made:to:Print].

.vii [.Place:Miami.]

[more to come]