CHAPTER 1 READING RESPONSE

Chapter 1, “Thinking about Photography” starts out with a quote from Steve Edwards asking us “to imagine a world without photography”(Wells, 11).  Looking at photography both as an art form as well as a tool, and how it has developed over time with the different technological advances, Edwards’s statement is hard to ponder.  I believe the photography in this day in age is often taken for granted.  Keeping Edwards statement in mind and by looking at the history behind the camera and the photograph, starting with the daguerreotype (Wells, 50), a larger sense of appreciation may be re assigned to the field.  Photography has played such a huge role in documenting and capturing historical moments, as well as moving threw periods in art like modernism (Wells, 19-22).  This chapter has lead me to pose this question: How do you look at/ view photography, both in this present day of age and in the past? 

FEEDLY READER RESPONSE #2

While browsing the blog fototazo, I read a specific post title "The Image: Stephen Connell, from the series 'Wasted light' " which grabbed my attention.  Stephen Connell is a photographer who made a blog post on 1/23/14 about a series of photographs he had taken called "Wasted light".  In the post he explains why he is drawn to the scenes in his images and why he decided to make them into a series.  "Wasted light" is a series of images derived from child hood memories and is made up of images of night time landscapes illuminated by lights.  Connell explains that as a child growing up in the rural country side of England he was fascinated with "seeing the orange glow illuminating the sky from the direction of the nearest neighboring town nine miles away" he explains.  During his last year studying art he decided to create a series of images which captured something that had fascinated him for many years.   This is how he came up with the idea to create the series "Wasted light".

I do not only enjoy the images but I also an really intrigued by the story behind why he created the series and titled it "Wasted light".  Personally I enjoy taking photos at night of lights, which often create an abstract image, but also with images with bold colors. Presently there is a lot of discussion and art centered around the topic of wasting energy and electricity.  At first when I looked at the title of the series and the photo I thought that wasting electricity was the topic or reason behind creating the body of images. But after reading the blog post I was presently surprised to find out that it was created because of a life long fascination. I too have always had a fascination with specific images but have not necessarily tied it all together into specific theme. I want to do several follow up readings and research on Stephen Connell and his work because I enjoy it and believe it could help me with my photography. 

Here is a link to the blog post Here is a link to the series "Wasted light" on Stephen Connell's website

ARTIST SELECTIONS (assigned 1/15 due 1/)

Top Ten Artists For Project 

1. JAMES CASEBERE

2. ABELARDO MORRELL

3. FLORIAN MAIER-AICHEN

4. SALLY MANN

5. WOLFGANG TILLMANS

6. HIROSHI SUGIMOTO

7. RICHARD MISRACH

8. SUSAN DERGES

9. WILLIAM EGGLESTON

10. THOMAS DEMAND

CHAPTER SELECTIONS (assigned 1/15 due 1/22)

Chapter 5 discusses how photography can be used as an art form as well as a tool in many fields such as advertising.  This chapter really interests me because I have created many series solely as art but intend to pursue a carrier on the artistic side of marketing or advertising, specifically relating to photography.  I believe that photographs intended to be used as an advertising tool or as an expressive medium are both very different yet equally extraordinary types of art.  I feel that this chapter really touches on issues within photography, which I am passionate about.

Chapter 7 is about how photography has evolved over the ages due to technological developments.  I have very mixed feelings about the technological advances within photography, especially regarding digital.  I love my digital cameras and believe that the technological advances have lead to the capturing of outstanding photographs but I don’t want the past art forms to be lost.

Chapter 2 focuses on how photography is used for documentary purposes and its relation to capturing every day moments.  This section intrigues me because I believe that photojournalism and journalism work hand in hand in order to truly document all aspects of an event or time period.  I believe that words help explain events but nothing is able to truly convey and capture peoples responses, emotions, and reactions to specific periods and events in time the way a photograph can.