My Mentor

                                                                Ansel Adams

            “A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed” – Ansel Adams

Photography: the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. Imagine being one of the best photographers of your time. Not only would you be famous for your pictures, you’re famous for doing something you love and do every day. Ansel Adams is one of many to be inspired by what he does best. Ansels photos are inspiring by the creativity, simplicity, and the feeling of the photo itself.

Ansel Easton Adams was born on February.20, 1902. He was an American photographer and environmentalist (conservationist). Ansel was best known for his black and white photography of the American west. When Ansel was little he taught himself how to play the piano, playing music was what he wanted to do as his profession. As the time went on, Ansels family took him to a park called Yosemite National Park (1916). When they visited Ansel always wrote about his view of the valley. “The splendor of the Yosemite burst upon us and it was glorious… One wonder after another descended upon us… There was light everywhere… A new era began for me”. After his first visit at the park his father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie box camera. Through the years Ansel went back to Yosemite. He came with tripods and new and better cameras each time. In 1928, Ansel married Virginia Best. Virginia inherited her father’s studio, Best Studios. Ansel published his first photo in 1921 with Best Studios. His early photos showed composition and tonal balance. In 1926, Ansel experimented with soft-focus, etching, Bromeil Process and many more. Ansel became very popular with these photos later. He decided to buy different types of lenses to get different effects. In 1971, they changed the studios name to Ansel Adams Gallery. Ansel still continued to play the piano and decided to teach little kids how to play as a side job.

Ansel Adams was known as the photographer who took "pure" photographs. Ansels pictures are crisp, rich, and stunning pictures that are still being seen and bought today. Ansel mostly takes landscapes that are original and brilliant. Part of the reason why Ansel is so famous is because he created the  Zone System. The Zone System is a method for exposing and developing black and white negatives to insure total tone detail from lightest to darkest shadows. Ansel also inspires others because of his three famous books he wrote. The Camera, The negative and The Print. Ansel was also one of the founding members of the f/64 club. The group had contemporary photographers who shared similar goals and the same interests. Many of the photographs taken by this group are now in the Museum of Modern Arts department of Photography. http://www.moma.org/ Many people who valued Ansel as their idol or role model, try to make groups and create photos just like his. 

Some of Ansels greatest photos are characterized by this kind of "near-to-far wire sharpness. Ansel is my mentor because his photos are complex but makes his pictures so beautiful and breathless. When he takes his photos he makes it look like its easy as pie and any one could take them. I think the black and white gives the pictures emphasis and contrast. I also like his photos because to me the outdoors, and landscapes are peaceful and it feels like home looking at such beautiful things. I think trees and mountains are beautiful and many of Ansels photos are like this. The first photo below is called Mount Williamson- Clearing Storm (1944). I like this picture because the center rock would be the main focus, but he focused the entire picture which is very challenging. I also like this picture because it is crisp, clean and simple. The second picture is called Oak Tree, Sunrise. I like this picture because of the shadows on the ground and I LOVE how you can see the sun shining through the branches. I also like how you can see every outline of every single tree branch and almost every leaf. This is my favorite picture by Ansel Adams. Some of the other pictures below are also amazing.

“Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: "Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print - my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey - from the subject before me? –Ansel Adams 

In conclusion, Ansel Adams is an amazing photographer. His pictures are crisp, clean simple, and inspiring. He takes his photos in a way that once you look at them you will instantly fall in love with them.  He makes his pictures with feeling, contrast and emphasis which is why he is famous.  He is my mentor.  MY PICTURE IS AT THE BOTTOM!

Mine Before 

Ansel Adams
Leaves in Glacier National Park 

Black and White version



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansel_Adams
http://www.anseladams.com/ansel-adams-information/ansel-adams-biography/
http://www.anseladams.com/
http://www.moma.org/

Photogram

For my final alternative process, i decided to do a photogram!

A photogram is when you take objects into the dark room and place them on your paper so it captures the shape of the images. For my photogram i decided to do a play on "little house on the prairie". In my picture i used grass for grass, used weeds for trees, cotton for the clouds, a rock for a house, small rocks-beads for my sun and tissue paper for my chimney smoke. I chose this process because i like he idea of creating a picture using objects that shouldn't go on a picture or even in a dark room. My first picture is the normal one and the second picture is with everything moving, as if it was blowing in the wind. My process took me 15 seconds with 55 magenta and the light at the second highest light that the machine could do! 

MY LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE!

Gel medium

For my third project I decided to do a gel medium. For my pictures I decided to do them outside just in time for the summer weather. My first picture is of a flower from my garden and my second picture is of buds from my oak tree in my backyard. With my project I found it very time consuming because in order to do another layer of glue you had to wait for the glue to dry and I did 25 layers which took very long. Overall I liked the gel medium because it was something different that I wouldn't usually do.

Cyanatype

For my cyanatype I decided to do a picture of my doggy, Dante. In order for a cyanatype to work you need to you need to mix 1mm and another 1mm of 2 different chemicals together and spread it onto water colour paper. When the paper is dry you place your acetate onto the paper in a metal container and leave it the sun for around 20 minutes. When your paper turns a deep blue you wash it with water and another chemical until the whole picture is blue. The reason I chose a cyanatype for my first project is because I love the look of it. I like how it makes the picture old looking and I also like how it's blue and there are no other colours in it.

Breaking the rules

Through my journey of breaking the rules i found it more challenging than i thought i was going to be. After going through the school many times thinking of ideas of what to do i came across my first picture with oliva and jenn as my models. In this picture olivia is the main focus but jenns legs make it unclear of what the focus is supposed to be and the picture is also to light. (shot with canon rebel. 5.5 and 60)

My second picture (center picture) is with michelle and vanessa and many other people in the background. this picture breaks the rules because there is too much stuff going on and the picture is too crowded. ( shot with canon rebel. 6.5 and 60)

My third picture (top right) broke the rules because it is not balanced and it breaks the rule of thirds!
(shot with canon rebel. 5.5 and 60)

Through this process of breaking the rules i found that i had to use more of the creative side of me, although    it was challenging and time consuming, i thought it was fun.

Renaissance Mish Mash

The above picture was taken with a canon rebel 18-22 lens, aperture of f1/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1/70.


Savoldo:


           Girolamo Savoldo (1480-1548) was born in Brescia. He was also known as Girolamo da Brescia. Savoldo was an Italian painter from the high renaissance. Very little is known about Savoldo, and very few knew about his paintings. He did most of his paintings in Venice, Parma and Milan. He was also part of the Brescia School of painting. When Savoldo lived in Venice he joined the Painters Guild of Florence in 1508. 


           Savoldo was influenced by Venetian style at the time and he was also influenced by Titan and Lorenzo Lotto. In this time he was drawn to bright colours, and expensive textures. Many of Savoldo paintings were night scenes when studying light in school, and religious paintings. One of his most famous pieces of art is his Saint Mary Magdalen, which shows his use of lighting. After many years of painting, no one seemed to pay attention to him, so he moved on and he and his paintings were soon forgotten.


The Renaissance: 


          The Renaissance was (from rinascere "to be reborn") was a cultural movement that spanned the period roughly from the 14th to 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late middle ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe.   Although the Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval, it is perhaps best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of such polymaths as Leonardo da Vinci and Michel Angelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance Man".   Early Renaissance, mostly in Italy, the art period during the fifteenth century, between the Middle Ages and the High Renaissance in Italy. Early Renaissance matured in Northern Europe later, in 16th century. After, painters also developed other techniques, studying light, shadow, and, famously in the case of Leonardo da Vinci, human anatomy. Many artists have learned many things from the renaissance, there is more than just painting a picture you're looking at. There is shadowing, lines (horizon), shape, colour and many more. 

Studio Lighting

For this assignment i had to use studio lighting. 

For the first picture i used Michelle as my model against the blue wall. For this picture i used my canon rebel with a shutter speed of 1/30 and aperture of 6.0. in this picture i only used one light to show in the eyes that you could tell where the light was coming from. In this picture i caught Michelle laughing which makes the picture more exciting and fun! For my second photo my model is Jenn. In this picture i used a shutter speed of 1/50 and aperture of 5.6. for the lighting in this photo i used a light on the left and the right of Jenn. I made Jenn look straight into the camera because it shows that the light is coming from both sides of her. this shows with the lighting on the side of her face. for my third and final picture i have two model, Danielle and Michelle. For this photo i used a shutter speed of 1/60 and an aperture of 5.6. I like this photo because it shows them laughing and having fun. For the lighting in this picture i 2 lights one beside Michelle closer to her face and the other on the side with Danielle but this light is giving more light so it doesn't stand out as much. Through this project i found it very hard to get the right picture. I took many and could never find the right one with just the right amount of lighting in it. But i am pretty pleased with the pictures i have selected.

:)