#jasminewu

[punching-pandas]

Hoomans should check out art show by talented hooman @jasminewu_tw at #bopiliao historic block in Taipei. Panda wanted to stay later but panda had to catch flight because panda slept in again. #PunchingPandas #🥊🐼 #TaiwanPandas #taiwan #jasminewu (at 剝皮寮歷史街區 Bopiliao Historic Block) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsiMsVuBzqe/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=lymvoqde34b6

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #14

The way that the two pieces are similar yet different was really interesting to me. From the beginning of both pieces, I was immediately struck by the difference how they talk about the color. Jarmon (On Seeing Red) uses shorter, more dramatic sentences, drawing attention to the word red, often starting sentence with it. Solnit (The Blue of Distance) weaves the word and its qualities into the sentences, so that you almost don't notice when she mentions it. In a pretty direct way, they speak of the color the way we perceive the color - red is bold; it grabs your attention, and it is difficult to ignore. On other hand, you can see blue everywhere without really stopping to recognize the color.

I also wanted to note that the ideas in the Blue of Distance where fascinating to me, and I especially loved this quote:

"If you can look across the distance without wanting to close it up, if you can own your longing in the same way that you own the beauty of that blue that can never be possessed?"

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #13

I honestly didn't fully understand the poem - I found the writing a little confusing. Eliot speaks in a lot of allusions and metaphors, and I wasn't quite able to keep up.

However, I still was able to get the mood and feeling that Eliot was trying to evoke, and felt like I was somewhat able to put together collages that reflected how the poem made me feel. I thought it was cool that even though I wasn't confident on my interpretation, I could still find a way to convey what I was able to understand and feel.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #11

I had never thought about the characteristics and traditions associated with a "poor image" before, and it was interesting to actually hear it analyzed and discussed. On one hand, it seemed to be somewhat synonymous with accessibility - "poor images" are often the duplicated, compressed, easily transferable version of higher quality files. This idea of accessibility also exists in situations where there is no "higher quality" version - in situations where there isn't an organized distribution of a piece of media, or if it is not allowed, all we have are these "poor images".

With accessibility and the internet, these poor images also become a connector between many people, something that many people have seen and can bond over. In this sense, it not only has implications on an individual, but a society as well.

There was one section that was interesting to me - there was a situation where there wasn't a projector good enough to show certain clips, so the speaker wouldn't show them. If you had been the creator of a piece of work, would you want it to be distributed as widely as possible, or only distributed at the original quality?

What are your reactions to this quote, and what it says about culture and society?

"On the one hand, [the poor image] operates against the fetish value of high resolution. On the other hand, this is precisely why it also ends up being perfectly integrated into an information capitalism thriving on compressed attention spans, on impression rather than immersion, on intensity rather than contemplation, on previews rather than screenings."

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #10

I really enjoyed the essay and how Baldwin discussed so many parts of his life, from his father, to his experiences with race, to his childhood. It all seemed to be from a distant, reflective lens, and he seems to look back on situations with objectivity while acknowledging that he may not have been objective in the moment.

I thought it was interesting that he seemed to provide an explanation for his father's bitterness with explicitly saying so (I think). He spends a long time discussing how his father seemed to be angry as a result of his disconnect from the world and from people around him. He then goes on to discuss his own "first times" being the victim of racism, where people refused to serve him, called him names, made him feel unsafe, etc. I had thought that he was going to state that this was his own theory on why his father had become so bitter, but I don't think he ever did.

Question 1: Do people feel the same way about the theory on how Baldwin's dad become the way he did or have other theories they picked up on throughout the essay?

Question 2: What do you think Baldwin hoped for us to take away from this essay, and why?

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #9

Magnum was a co-op founded after the second world war, in an age where (paraphrasing from the Magnum history section) cameras were becoming smaller but people's minds were becoming bigger, yearning to see, share, and express more of the world. I found the history and ideology really intriguing - they aimed to give talented photographers a space and opportunity to have more direction and influence over their projects and images, rather than the traditional roles where they were just handed assignments.

In the history section, they featured a couple photographs by Eve Arnold. On Magnum's site, many of her "featured"/for sale photographs are portraits of very famous people - Marilyn Monroe, Malcolm X, Andy Warhol, the Queen, etc. However, she became well known through a collection of images she took in China, a few of which are still among her most famous images.

Below are my favorites among her more well known images.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #8

I really loved looking at the experiences that Sebastiao Salgado had, and looking at the pictures he took. I thought it was a perfect example of the discussion we had in class about how photography can democratize the world, by showing the public these cultures and societies that we never would have experienced otherwise, whether it was those that were searching for gold or the natives in South America. These images not only serve to show us things we don't know, but also show us how much of the world we don't know about.

I really enjoyed the later part of the documentary as well, which shows Salgado's traveling the world to capture the beauty of nature and our planet. It feels especially relevant during this era where we've recognized the danger our planet is in.

Wim Wenders is the director of this film, and is a well known filmmaker. He is also a photographer himself, having produced a collection titled Pictures from the Surface of the Earth.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #7

Robert Frank was a Swiss photographer and filmmaker. He lived mostly in the 1900s, and was most famous for a book titled The Americans (The Rotch Library had this book, but I couldn't find it in the shelves). He used 35mm b&w photography to capture images seemed to represent the world in a raw, unedited way.

Many felt like he was a pioneer in documentary photography, as Frank captured the world in a more personal way that other documentarians had before, who had often been trying to use photos as a vehicle to make a political statement.

This book, titled Hold Still, Keep Going is a printed version of a exhibit he had which explored the relationship between still photography and film. There are many mini collections of images, anywhere between 2-15 photos that are all clearly taken seconds apart, whether they were reframed or stills chosen off a filmstrip. Some of them have words in/written over them or have captions around them.

Each of these images appealed to me for different reasons. I felt that some of them conveyed a feeling very effectively, while others I just thought were very pleasing to the eye (proper contrast, framing, etc). The second to last has a story that goes along side it which has impact on the perception oof the images, and the very last one I didn't quite understand so I thought I'd include it to share with others.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #4

I really enjoyed this piece, which to me really was represented by the title- a short history of photography. Not only does he go through the different technologies over time, he also talks about the implications of the level of photography with the kind of photos that were produced and the way it interacted with the culture and society at the time.

An specific example of this that was particularly interesting to me was their discussion of early photography - when you had to pose for hours for a photograph. They talked about how this theme was evident on the photos themselves - "even the folds assumed by a garment in these pictures last longer". Contrasting this with a photo of a "sportsman" (as Benjamin calls them), which snap a quick moment in time, it is very evident that the way we interact with photography and think about it have changed drastically.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #6

I really enjoyed the interview with Bruce Davidson- I especially liked hearing how he talked about photography and his subjects. To him, they are not just subjects, but human beings, and he wants to not only understand their story, but convey it through the camera lense. I would argue that this same idea is what leads him to have such interest in his subjects, so much so that he will go back and revisit them over time.

Question: Is it possible to have type of relationship with photography and your subjects at an amateur level?

Eugene Smith’s discussion of photography definitely changed the way I think about taking photos- I’ve often thought that a good photograph involves a lot of luck- if you’re at the right place at the right moment and you also happen to have your camera, you can get the shot. However, in his discussion of light he has shown that the things that initially stopped you from taking the photo can become tools in helping you get the shot. If you observe the light well, you can imagine different angles or times of day where the light adds to the image instead of stopping it. His emphasis on observation to an almost scientific degree is really inspiring and something I’ll think about in taking photos.

Question: What are strategies we can use, in addition to lighting, that help us capture in image more accurately?

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #5

This photo is from Martha Cooper. The first thing that struck me about this photo was how well it was framed- you have the graffiti painted train across the entire image, with two people perfectly balancing it out. The next thing I noticed was how there is somewhat of a color scheme- the colors that pop out at you are all warm toned (the roof of the station, the paint on the train). However, both people are wearing cool toned pants, which makes them pop out even more. 

The next photo is also from Martha Cooper, and I specifically went to go find it after seeing it in the film we watched. On one hand, I love this photo because of the backstory she told in the film: how these shots didn’t happen accidentally -she would stand and wait for hours to get the perfect one. Beyond that, I love how much colors on the train pop against the industrial and neutral backdrop. 

I might not stand for hours waiting for a specific shot, but that idea will definitely inspire me to carefully frame a photo and have the patience to wait for the perfect thing to happen in frame. 

This photo is from Joey Meyerowitz. I like that it even though it is a store that has cars parked in front, you don’t see a single person in the image. I also like this image combines a few elements that often stand alone- the retro cars, the lit up sign, and the sunset. Together, it all makes the image very interesting and aesthetic. I’m definitely going to keep this idea in mind when taking photos- I usually will notice one of these elements (like a sunset) and focus my entire photo around it, but I want to try to take more complex images in the future. 

I found this image in Jill Freedman’s Street Cops collection, which she briefly discussed in the film. Alone, this one is humorous in its portrayal of the way young people rebel against and make fun of rule enforcers. However, when you put this into context, it does feel a little sad to see the cop have to deal with this after dealing with so many other horrors shown in the rest of the album. I like how this photo has a different feel in different contexts, which is something I’d also like to explore.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #3

When asked for an iconic image, I thought of this one that I saw accompanying a NY times article from a couple months ago. This photo was taken some time during the trial of Larry Nassar, the doctor that abused many members of the US Gymnastics team. To me, this image was iconic in the way that it showed how during the worst times of your life (having to confront testify against your abuser in front of an audience), you’ll find support not just from friends and family but from those who shared that experience with you. The people in this image also happen to be famous women who appear to be invincible and strong, yet even they go through hard times where they need support.

Knowing the results of this trial (the gymnasts were awarded a huge settlement), I believe this image also shows that justice will come to those that are patient and speak up, although no amount of money could make up for the harm that the doctor inflicted on these women.

[photographyatmit]

Blogpost #2

I thought the reading did a really good job of raising questions about photography that I’ve never considered, and seemed to offer a very cynical view about the topic. 

One idea it seemed to emphasize was the inauthenticity surrounding a topic that so many view as very real and honest. She notes that even though people think of photography as transparent, the photographer actually has unlimited control over what they choose to capture, how they frame the image, and which of the captured images they actually choose to show the world- in other words, they have a huge influence on what is depicted.

In addition, she notes that although photographs can be impactful and inform people of atrocities they didn’t know about, this isn’t a sustainable way of conveying information- the emotions felt by photographs diminishes over time, as each horror makes less and less of an impact on you. 

Moreover, with photographs, you lose the element of time. Without time, how can you really understand what is going on? Yet, you have the perception that you do, because you think you’ve been exposed to a specific topic or idea through a photo you see.

I enjoyed the silent film a lot, and was immediately struck by how easily Vertov was able to tell us things like time of day and the city environment with no words at all. I also appreciated the different shots- the ones depicting the scenery, the ones showing the filmmaker, and the shots that appeared to be captured by the filmmaker.

I’m not sure I fully understood the film, but to me I felt like each “chapter” was romanticized a little- people seemed to be peaceful, taking their time, and enjoying their daily tasks. There seemed to be a moment of anxiety and rush at the end of each chapter, as we flashed through many clips and the music sped up. 

If each chapter was mostly peaceful and romanticized, the ending felt like the opposite- Vertov seemed to focus on the repetition of daily life as he depicted the endless nature of it. Additionally, it felt like he wanted to emphasize that our individual experiences are somewhat meaningless as he zoomed out from individual faces and expressions to large, directionless crowds. 

Questions:

In the reading, Sontag talks about how she can frame her life as time before and after she saw an extremely horrible, impactful series of photographs. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Since that experience, have you been impacted by photographs in the same magnitude or has it always felt less impactful?

Personally I can’t remember any other silent films I’ve seen, but for those that have, I’m wondering what similarities/differences they found between this and others?