The End is Here

I can't believe how fast this semester went by. I can't believe I'm already graduating on the 17th!  It's an amazing feeling but at the same time kind of depressing. Time flies by so fast in college. Instead of rushing to get out, sometimes I wish I would have taken things a little slower. 

I guess I'm starting a new chapter of my life! I'm getting closer and closer to my dream job: being a teacher. I had an amazing experience at Cal State San Marcos and the memories will definitely be cherished. 

Museum of Photographic Arts

On may 3^rd, 2008 I went to the Museum of Photographic Arts right after I visited the Ordover Gallery. I went to both in the same day because they are both located in Balboa Park. I really enjoyed MOPA. I liked how there were so many different photos. It was really hard to pick out a favorite piece!

One picture that stood out to me was Fredric Robert’s “Dark Eyes.” It is of a mysterious Indian lady. I really liked this particular photo because I feel like it tells a story. This photo is of the Humanitas exhibition. It is basically images of India by Fredric Roberts. Many of his photos are portraits. “Dark Eyes” is a really pretty photo because of the composition and colors that are in it. This is definitely a favorite of mine!

Another photo that stood out to me was Edward Weston’s “Nude.” This particular picture was taken in 1934. The medium is gelatin silver print. It is of a nude lady sitting down. It’s black and white and I believe it is done in a very tasteful manner. I think it is a gorgeous picture.

After seeing many photos, I would really like to take more portraits. I think they are simple and at the same time mysterious.

The Ordover Gallery

On Saturday May 3^rd, 2008 I went to the Ordover Gallery in Balboa Park. There was an exhibition called "Photography at the Poles" and it was really intriguing. I have never seen such interesting pictures in my life! There were pictures of the Artic, Antarctic, beautiful landscapes, and wildlife as well. Every single picture in that gallery was visually pleasing. I thought it was really cool to see the artworks of photographers of the National Geographic. One of my favorite photos was by Ralph Lee Hopkins. Ralph Lee Hopkins takes many photos of the artic. This particular photo was of a polar bear. It was of a little cub jumping. I thought it was so neat how he caught that moment on film.

Another artist that really got my attention was Bill Atkinson. His pictures were absolutely beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. One picture in particular is “Blue Wall.” It is a picture of ice and how it naturally turns into the most beautiful sculptures.

My favorite photo in the whole gallery was by Frans Lanting. It was of penguins marching up an iceberg. It is titled “Chinstrap penguins on iceberg.” This has to be the coolest picture I have ever seen in my life. It’s utterly enchanting. It is so beautiful and the blue is so soothing. The iceberg is enormous! It looks like an ice cathedral. It think it is so neat how eroding waves create art. I also love it because it reminds me of one of my favorite movies, “Happy Feet.”

My photos

The picture above is of lovely Mammoth Mountain. I like to enjoy most of my winters in Mammoth. I don't really like to manipulate my photos too much so I usually play with the hue saturations.

















This picture is of a beach in La Jolla! La Jolla rocks!

VSAR 302

I found that I really enjoy photography. Its a whole new medium of artwork for me. When it comes to my taste in art, I wasn't much of a fan of contemporary art. I usually enjoy ancient and classical art. Painting with oil and acrylics on canvas used to be the only art I loved to produce. Ever since this class, I have learned that I really do enjoy contemporary art! I love installations, corky paintings, manipulated photos, and ect. I realized that I have grown as an artist after taking this class. Although I am not Photoshop inclined, I have learned a lot. Everything that I have learned in this class is going to be useful in the future.
Thanks Professor Small!

Panoramas

I have learned many things in VSAR 302. I've learned to manipulate photos, how to take photos, how to use brushes, masks, and ect. Out of everything I've learned, panoramas are my favorite things to create. The panorama below is a picture of La Jolla. It consists of five pictures. I absolutely love it!

Diane Willow

Today a very intriguing artist named Diane Willow presented to our class today. She talked about her inspirations and the concepts she uses to make her artwork. She then showed us pictures and videos of her amazing installations. She says that she works upon concepts rather than just a medium. She basically allows each concept to chose the medium for her. I loved how she integrates concepts, biology, and human emotions in her artwork. One of my favorite installations of hers was the Plankton one! I can't believe she gathered and farmed real plankton from the sea and put them in one of her installations! It ended up looking amazing. I definitely have never seen bioluminescence in any piece of art before! They were so radiant and I loved how the viewers can manipulate them as well. Thats definitely one of the many reasons I enjoy her artwork. Not only is it visually pleasing, it is kinesthetically and aesthetically pleasing as well! 

Jim Brandenburg

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie tonight. Jim Brandenburg is an amazing photographer. He started off taking pictures of prairies then soon was scouted by National Geographic. Since then he's been taking pictures for them. He soon started taking pictures of a broader array of landscapes. This includes beaches, rain-forests, snowy forests, and animals. One of his first experiences taking a picture of a wild animal was a fox. He said he didn't know who was more startled, him or the fox! It was a beautiful picture. I really like how his photography is so versatile. 

Jim Brandenburg is a very driven individual. It seems as if he is too hard on himself. He's a perfectionist. Instead of just wanting to take pictures of certain subjects, he wants to take pictures of what inspires and intrigues him. This drive led him to take pictures of animals and the woods. He started to live and adopt to the life of the wild animals to capture intimate pictures. His pictures of the woods are my absolute favorite. They are so breathtaking. He said that the woods are so humbling. He said that they are taller, older, and have seen things we have never seen before. He catches this essence in all his photographs. 

I'm very happy I had the privilege to follow his 90 journal of photos! Jim Brandenburg is amazing! 

Robert Misrach

Robert Misrach is a critically acclaimed photographer. He spends most of his career as a photographer taking photos of desert landscapes. His photography is absolutely beautiful. I personally admire them because I was born and raised in Arizona. I think that the desert is such a beautiful and mysterious place. Robert Misrach also takes photos at night time. This gives his photos uniqueness and mysticism. I enjoyed all his photos. This inspired me to try to take some photos at night. I also enjoyed his photos of the beach and sky. I noticed that our choice in photography is very similar. We both enjoy taking pictures of landscapes and nature. I also don't like to manipulate  my pictures too much as well. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Mr. Misrach! 

Sally Mann

Sally Mann is a very eclectic photographer. She lives in the south and uses the landscapes in most of her pictures. She's known for taking nude pictures of her children. Many critics condemned her for that reason. When i saw the actual photos of her children, i thought they were absolutely beautiful. She captured a sense of childhood innocence. She also captured the innocence of the settings that surround her. Although I think Sally Mann could be slightly crazy, I really enjoyed her artwork. It's nice, simple and absolutely beautiful. 

Collier Schorr

Tonight we watched a documentary of photographer Collier Schorr.  She enjoys playing with gender roles and comfort zones in her photography.  Her pictures consist of wrestling photos and soldiers and landscapes in Germany. Although her ideas were pretty interesting, her artwork was not amusing to me. The only pictures I liked of hers were the wrestling ones. I loved how she captured every moment of the sport. She captured defeat, triumph, exhaustion, and ego. I liked when she said that her favorite shot is a wrestler giving their last ounce of energy. I thought those photos were really neat.

Other than that, Collier Schorr's photography wasn't amazing. I didn't even really like watching the documentary of her. I love the whole bending of gender roles but, I didn't like how she did it. Instead of using posing models, she should capture real people that have gender issues. 

Roni Horn

Roni Horn is an artist that is fixated on water and how the human relates to it. Roni is a photographer and spends most of her time in Iceland. One of my favorite pieces was the campus hall that had pictures of water on every side and corner. Roni said that the pictures did not invade the space but definitely set a tone. I love how her artwork is not only visually stimulating but is aesthetically pleasing as well. 

Stefan Sagmeister

Stefan Sagmeister is another talented typographer. Instead of doing magazine articles like David Carson, he does CD covers as well. He said that if a cover of something is dull and bland, that most likely the contents will be. In other words...Stefan judges a book by its cover!

David Carson

 

Today we watched a video on David Carson. He is an artist that specializes in typography. I enjoyed his video because his message was very clear. He said that there's two different kinds of simple: simple and creative and the simple and boring. He takes advertisements, pictures,  and  words and manipulates them so that they turn into a work of art. I also liked how he said that he can use his mistakes and turn them into artwork. David Carson seems like a very unique person. I loved how the scrutiny and the harsh criticizing of his artwork didn't let him down. He kept on doing what he enjoyed and it turned out to be a hit!  

Accordian

Tonight I was having some troubles with my pictures because their resolution was horrible! I decided to wait and take better pictures tomorrow for my accordian card. I think this project is so neat! I feel like I'm  learning very useful things. Everything that i'm learning are things that I can use in my future. Professor Small just taught me how to make an ugly picture beautiful and useful. As of now, here are some possible pictures for my accordian. Who knows...maybe i'll change my theme with my next set of pictures o take tomorrow!!!!

Camera Raw

          

Today is the first day that I have ever used camera raw. It's a lot of fun to play with the interesting features! I can totally manipulate my pictures however I want to. I can turn a useless picture into a work of art! The picture above is of my best friend Lauren and myself. I used the brightness feature, the saturation, and the red and blue coloring features. I love how I can improve the quality of my photographs. Yay for camera raw!!!!!!

Edward Burtynsky

 

After watching Edward Burtynsky's presentation of his artwork, it really made me realize how our world is changing so rapidly. I love how he realized that he could capture nature being transformed by man kind. He took us to China to show us how industrialized the country is. They are really transforming the continent and are so organized. It made me realize how significant globalization and capitalism really are to the earth. They both dramatically change the world in massive ways. It makes me scared for the future. This is what I like about Edward's work because it really makes one think and has a truth to it. I really enjoyed this video and Edward' artwork as well. It was very moving and inspires me to take my photography to another level. 

James Nachtwey

After watching the video clip of James Nachtwey, it inspired me to start taking compelling photographs that have meaning. James Nachtwey is a war photographer that documents the reality of such unfortunate times. The video showed him discussing his photographs and his thoughts about the settings of each one. He said that even though the photographs are in different places and of different people, they all have the same meaning. This meaning is the hardships of warfare and the hope that comes with it as well. He's traveled all around the world to catch the emotions and the truth behind every story. He's been to Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Central America, Iraq, and the U.S.  to capture moments in time. Although some of his photos are repulsive, they are truthful. Some of his photography has inspired people to donate and help out internationally. James Nachtwey uses photography as a medium to inspire people and deal with the pain that is happening around the world. I have learned that a picture is worth a 1000 words and that it is a wonderful primary source when it comes to journalism.