Recreation 3

I used to have a dream when I was younger of getting chased and I would be running down stairs. I would always wake up at the point when I was about to reach the bottom, but I never seemed to actually reach it. I personally think it was because I would always watch horror films with my older sisters, so I was always scared someone was going to come after me. Regardless, it's a dream I used to have a lot and the only reoccurring dream I've ever had that I remember.

Composition:  I didn't want to show a lot of space around the stairs, but concentrate on only the stairs themselves. I wanted to have some light but I also wanted it to be dark in some areas. I wanted it to look like they could have gone on forever, so you don't really know where they start and end. 
Concept/Aboutness/Idea: By showing multiple levels of stairs, I feel like there is a movement through the levels. The light also creates a movement. The concrete and steel rails give it a cold, eerie feeling.

Recreation 2

Original:
Victor Hugo on His Death Bed by Nadar Felix

Biography: Nadar was born in April of 1820 in Paris, France, where he stayed most of his life. He had no formal education in photography, but worked as a characturist in Paris. He took this photo of Victor Hugo in 1885.
Significance: Nadar was the first person to take aerial photographs and also made many advancements in lighting with photography.
Composition: Because of the dark background and the placing of light, you really focus on the subject. It also is framed very well because it's enough of the subject to understand him, but not too much.
Concept/Aboutness/Idea: This image is to document Victor Hugo before he passed. He doesn't look as if he is in pain, but rather is very peaceful.
Method: The lighting is the most important thing here. It makes you focus on him as a whole, not just looking at his face. It also helps to understand the significance of this piece and give it a serious feel.
Motivations: The intention was again, to capture this great man. He was very important, especially in the French culture, and this photo shows that he was strong until the end.
Your Opinion: I think this image is very interesting. It is respectful and intimate. I think it is a good way to represent him and show him at the end of his life.


Recreation:

Composition:I wanted to keep the same contrast between the light and the dark. I also wanted to have similar framing as the original.
Concept/Aboutness/Idea: My recreation is the next frame. It is the bed after Victor Hugo is gone. It is empty, showing how we lost such an important figure, but the light signifies that it is still very peaceful.

Blog Prompt #19-20

#19: People that are not aware and that are in a compromising position should not be photographed. For example, if they are changing, they should not be photographed. Candid pictures can sometimes be the best, but if it a situation someone would be uncomfortable having their photograph taken in, they should not be taken advantage of. It wouldn't be fair to the subject and could potentially be damaging. Ideas, thoughts, feelings, and emotions are all things that can't technically be photographed. You can, however, photograph things that represent these. For example, you can't photograph love, but if you photograph two people in love, in a way that is obvious, it is like you are photographing love. Personally, I would not want to photograph anything medical, like surgery, because it isn't something I'm interested in and I would be very uncomfortable doing so.

#20

• synthetic "place": For a synthetic place, I could take a photograph of a page in a Dr. Suess book. He creates magical worlds that do not exist, but have been created in movie sets.
• fantasy/fictitious envirnonment: For this, I would take a photograph of the area between the dirt and the top of plants, as if it was a world for things much smaller than us.
• placeless space - internet: For a placeless space, I would take a picture of multiple people engaged in their computers on the internet. While they could be physically in a cafe, they would mentally be so involved in the internet that it is like they were in a whole other world.
• public space: For a public space, I would take a picture in a public garden or park because that is a public space I personally enjoy, and there is no doubt it is public.
• private space: For a private space, I would take a picture of someone's workspace, that isn't typically shown off. An artist's workspace, for example. The art may be eventually shown, but the space they create it in is usually more private.
• in-between space - movement: For this idea, I think you could take a photograph of a moving train. The train itself is not only moving, but it is also moving people. People's destination isn't usually a train, but rather a train is getting them somewhere, hence it being an in-between space.

Blog Prompt #16-18

Historical Photographer: Wilson Bentley

Blog Prompts #11-15

Contempory Portrait Photographer

Alec Soth

Biography: Born in 1969, Alec Soth is an American photographer, who resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. In 2007, Soth created the book Paris/Minnesota.

Significance: Soth is known for creating "large scale American projects," which usually turn into books. He likes to show the space in between the subject and the photographer, not just the image he takes. He truly can tell a story with his photography. He is known for creating a bond with subjects, even if they are strangers and photographing people that might not be expected.

Composition: All of his photos in this piece of work are unique. He used both indoor and outdoor lighting. In some photos it is known that he is there, while in other it is more candid, like he is being ignored.


Concept/Aboutness/Idea: In this work, Soth shows the distant between the two places: Paris and Minnesota. He does it in a way where he is not passing judgment. He is simply trying to represent the places as they are. He is not showing the literal distant, but the differences that separate them so greatly.


Method: I think it is really important that he did candid shots of people doing what they would normally do. He didn't set things up to try to represent the places; he just chose different things that went on the city to try to describe it best.

Motivations: Soth was trying to represent each city to show how different they were from one another. Like I said previously, he tries to capture the space in between the subject and himself; he is trying to show the space that is in between Paris and Minnesota. He is not saying that one place is better, just different.


Opinion: All of Soth's work is good, but it's not the type of photography that appeals to me most. This piece, however, I greatly related to. I'm from the Midwest, but don't have any intention to stay here. I love Paris and what it represents. I can definitely understand the distance between these places. While I do have a preference and think that Paris is a better city, I like that he doesn't try to represent it that way. I don't think it would work if he did because to some people, Minnesota is a more preferable place to live than Paris. This piece is so easy for me to relate to, and that's why I think I really like it so much.