Youtube response

Photographs can be interpreted an infinite amount of ways; however, there is one over ruling factor which sways this initial interpretation greatly, that being the photographs context. Photographs are used everywhere to tell stories or show something. Professional photographers work is most often found in either galleries, newspapers, and eventually text books. These contexts all have distinct thoughts that will come into the head of the viewer even before seeing the photograph.

Jeff Wall is a photographer who's photos often portray scenes with backstory's, which seem to be relatively unclear and questions raising. Wall's photos are primarily shot for

galleries, which only provide a title. "An Eviction" by Jeff Wall created in 1988 appeared in a gallery. It is shot in such a way that would make us, expect to see it in a gallery. The subject is this fighting group of people, which do not seem to be the emphasis of the photo. This de-emphisis in a gallery most likely would seem like a stylistic choice made by Wall. This same photo appearing in a newspaper would give different conceptual meaning to this backstory. The story this photo accompanies would probably be about the endangering of this neighborhood rather then the brutality against the police itself.

This photo by Anne Leibovitz was featured in Vogue magazine in a fashion article. "Wendy" or Keira Knightly in this photo is clearly emphasized by her white dress in contrast the the dark storm clouds. In this context her dress is emphasized to advertise. If this photo was to appear in a textbook it would be seen as a well done artistic recreation of "The Wizard of Oz." In this context, Wendy's white dress is seen to emphasize her importance in the movie.

The context of a photograph is a key part to understanding what the photographer was trying to show or tell. Open interpretation and understanding everything else that the photographer did not mean, however, is an important part of photography because a photographer has no to little control of his photos after they are produced, this context is often lost to or transformed into the internet, which in itself gives off it's own feeling.

Montage finals

The photo-book I am critiquing was created by Dylan Davis. His book is titled "A Mere Obsessions" and depicts the scene of a girls hockey game. The shell of the book feels fragile because of its string seeming and worn and dirtied cover. This reminds me of hockey itself and its dirty and weathering ways.

Dylan chose to shoot his photos in black and white. This is most likely done to affect the mood of the book and game, making them seem to be more serious. There is not any recognizable style throughout the series, but each photo emphasizes the subject which are all key parts to the scene of a hockey game. From these photos, I also get the feeling of coldness, like a hockey arena, from the gray and blueish tones.

The book follows the events of the game chronologically, which causes a build up of excitement the further you get into the book, like any sporting event. Dylan's book is successful in what I believe it is trying to do, which is to pull you into the game and feel the same action a player or fan would feel.

Photo Montage (proposal)

For my photo montage, I hope to follow the same chaotic and disordered style of this photo. In other examples of photo montages, the photographer keeps some kind of order, to create a somewhat clear picture. This example has the photos spaced out, creating confusion for the viewer which they can choose to piece together in their mind. With this style of montage, I think it would be most successful to photograph a human being. For my montage, I most likely will not be photographing a person, but when photoshopping I will still keep the style of this example in mind.

Dave Hill

Dave Hill

I specifically like this photo of David Hill's. I admire how his style is used to portray a whimsical scene, but exaggerate unnatural qualities of light and color. This technique is very successful in When I see Hill's photographs, I can't help but think they are shots taken from movies. Hill's signature technique is commonly used in similar ways in movies to intensify the mood. Also this technique further distances the connection between the universe we the audience lives in and the universe we are observing in these works. In this photo specifically, the blown out lighting of the windows allows for the immense amount of contrast of the shadows rest of the inside.