Martin Parr

Biography:Born May 23rd , 1952 ,England. He studied at Manchester Metropolitan University's School of Art. His use of high contrast and vibrant colors makes his work unique. Giving a surreal feel to real life scenes is his strongest point. His photos are all well-balanced but put great emphasis on the subject being photographed. High contrast along with bright sun light also places the subject in a specific dimension. He frames each photo so that each slight detail tells the reader something about the subject(s). Photos such as the ones he shot at a highly crowded beach puts the reader in a certain mindset and place. I believe he wants to make you feel as if your are looking at a fictional place when in all actuality the subjects are real in a real environment. I love his work. I love vibrant photos and he utilizes this technique very well. It seems to be that he pays great attention to placing and framing which makes for a very successful shot.

Place: Final Prints

Lee Miller

Born April 23rd 1907 (Poughkeepsie,New York), Paris , France, Elizabeth "lee" Miller
started as a well known fashion model and then began amateur photography before moving to Paris in 1929.The fact that she gained her knowledge of photography , not from being formally educated on the matter makes her work even more intriguing. Her use surrealism and framing are also what make her work unique.
While leaving little detailing around the subject she focuses more on the subject itsself and their mood. All of her work is well balanced and shows a great deal of natural lighting. When taking her photos I believe she wanted to create a story based off of props. Her use of random objects lead the reader to assume various ideas about the subject that may or may not be accurate. I personally love her work and her story. Her framing is amazing but I do think that if she used more dramatic lighting her photos would've been more appealing.

Lets Play!! My boyfriend and I play cards almost every night. I decided to pick up my camera and capture this game in particular because he was losing (which he hates) and causing a lot of visual tension without knowing. The use of a smaller aperture allowed me to seize the moment in which he was at his "best." The dark shadows and high contrast really catches the dramatics of the game. Placing emphasis on the cards builds a story upon a story. I chose to take the pictures from overhead because it creates a scene in which the reader can not tell exactly whats happened. By eliminating surrounding areas in the photo the reader can start to imagine what role the cards play. The main subject is the guy playing cards as most would think the cards are the main focus. Again I placed emphasis on the cards being played. The Landscape layout gives a full view of the game being played without losing the storyline. Other photographers always pay a great amount of attention to framing as I did. Remember nothing is by accident in photography.

prompt #18

“I think photographs should be provocative and not tell you what you already know. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce somebody's face in a photograph. The magic is in seeing people in new ways.” Duane Michals

While I am a firm believer in photography of whats there. I think this quote is very true when it comes to being a successful photographer. You can take a photo of someones face, but what makes it standout are those freckles that were brought out by over exposing the picture. Or maybe when you sharpened the image to convey the feelings of the subject. These small changes make a world of difference when successfully capturing a subject.

prompt #17

“Photography, as we all know, is not real at all. It is an illusion of reality with which we create our own private world.” Arnold Newman

???? I disagree. In some aspects things may seem to be make-believe and/or of fictional nature, but most photographs are of whats actually present. Realism is a concept that many photographers today have embraced. Capturing whats really there is far more exciting then shooting a made up scene.

prompt #16

“I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see.” Duane Michals

Anyone can embrace "the real", but what really matters is what everybody cant see. One's imagination is a very important and delicate thing. Imagination is what makes photography an art. Imagination is what takes a simple textile and makes it apparel. Without mental agility, the creative world would not exist making our lives useless.