- • In class discussion of Class Blog topic
- • In class developing of negatives - 4x5
- • If time allows, In class printing contact sheets from 4x5 negatives
- • If time allows, enlarging 4x5 negatives in the darkroom.
- • Shooting Assignment #1 given (8 negatives using natural light)
For next week:
- • SHOOT: Assignment #1
- • DEVELOP: Assignment #1, have negatives ready to view during class
- • CRITIQUE: Of negatives from Assignment #1 on the light table during the next class
- • READ/ANSWER QUESTIONS: Class Blog discussion topic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shooting Assignment #1
Shoot at least 8 B&W negatives that use natural light as their lighting source.
The subject matter will be open – you can shoot portraits or architecture – whatever works for you and gets you excited.
You can shoot 8 images of the same scene but in different ways – work with angles, close ups, long shots, shoot from above, etc….get to know the camera.
You can also shoot 8 different scenes.
Have your film developed and ready to print by next week - OCT 1st.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| 3 | DISCUSSION TOPIC |
-due Oct. 1st before class-
Read over this short article and take a look at the images from Danny Lyon's project "The Destruction of Lower Manhattan"
More pictures from the series can be found here.
1) Why do you think Lyon's used a large format camera for this project?
2) How does the use of natural light effect quality of the images?
3) Pick an image that stands out to you and tell us what qualities you like about it.|\
1. Since Lyon’s was mainly photographing architecture and specific sections of the city for this project, I think he used a large format camera because of the amount of detail of a scene that you’re able to capture with it. We can see the complexities of the structures and how time and neglect has worn them down, with all their cracks and fault lines made visible. There’s a real poignancy to the images this way.
ReplyDelete2. The use of natural light I think allows what’s in the frame to be all the more present in the photograph, in conjunction with the amount of depth and clarity from the large format. I especially think the natural light is the most effective in the interior shots. Lines and shapes are formed from shadows in addition to those that already exist, enriching the spaces within the photographs; transforming the ordinary and mundane into something more interesting and dynamic as a result. Also the use of black and white film helps to neutralize what we’re looking at. Form takes on more precedence with the absence of color. It allows you to consider everything.
3. It’s hard to pick one specific photograph. On the whole, even though these images were taken during the 1960s, what we’re looking at is fairly relatable. In our city environment there is always constant change and evolution, as well as the contrast of the old and the new. I think each generation, each neighborhood, experiences their own sense of heart break when it comes to living in this city. In the essence of being relatable, I think this particular photograph stands out: http://mediastore2.magnumphotos.com/CoreXDoc/MAG/Media/TR2/c/c/3/7/NYC103511.jpg This kind of image is one I see repeated almost every day. There’s always some kind of demolition or construction going on, or an empty lot that sits there for a long time while the outline of what stood there before remains. In terms of qualities, I love how the main focus is on the buildings and the empty lot in the foreground, but you can still see the details in the background with great clarity. The textures of the bricks on the buildings in the far back still stand out and are just as tactile as those in the foreground. I also really like the use of natural light. There’s a subtle but present shadow on the face of the building in the foreground and it’s a reminder that there’s more beyond the frame.
1) I think Lyons used a large format camera for this project because he wanted to show as much detail in his photographs as possible, since the buildings that he made into his subjects were soon going to be demolished and gone forever, only to ever be seen again in his work.
ReplyDelete2) The use of natural light helps to show the buildings exactly as they are, without flash or artificial light, and this is especially useful for the shots Lyons took indoors, of rooms in abandoned buildings. The only way you can see what's inside is with the help of natural light streaming in through the windows, which also gives the photos a sense of eeriness and mystery.
3) I really enjoyed all of Danny Lyons' work in this series, and seeing the pictures of the buildings that used to be in Lower Manhattan was really interesting, like looking into a time capsule. A photo that stood out to me was the one titled "Abandoned artist's loft. 48 Ferry Street." The natural light that is coming through the windows is really nice, but what strikes me most are the sketches drawn on one of the white walls. The room feels like it's in limbo, as though the artist who used to live there will come back at any moment and begin working again. Even though there are no people in the photograph, the presence of a person is there, merely by showcasing what they left behind.
1) Lyon's use of a large format camera allowed him to really represent scale without losing detail in every shot. The information afforded the viewer isn't constricted by a smaller negative and the solemnity of these massive, doomed structures is effectively conveyed. In the portraits the large format allows for extremely detailed shots that lend a hightened sense of reality to the subject matter.
ReplyDelete2) Natural light simply allows for higher variance in photographs. More diffuse light means lower contrast and more shadow detail and more specular light means higher contrast and less shadow detail. I suppose specifially in this case it allowed for a heightened sense of realism, which was appropriate for the subject matter.
3) My favorite shot is of 80 and 82 Beekman st. The single man walking next to a behemoth of a building conveys a sense of scale that borders on the ridiculous, further heightened by the shadow cast on the building directly across the street. Immediately bordering this is a pile of rubble and debris illustrating the inexorable tide of destruction that awaits the building looming (for the moment) over the man. Its an arresting and stark image.
(1) the photographer used a large format medium to capture every single detail of this time and space in Lower Manhattan during the late 1960s. he probably sensed that this part of Lower Manhattan will be altered forever in a very short time and that sense of urgency was probably his motivation to do this documentary project.
ReplyDelete(2) the use of natural lighting helped everything in focus which made every single detail visible in the photographs.
(3) the image titled "Wall of the St. George building" was very interesting because of its thoughtful composition. there is a certain play of symmetry that is going on with the doors or square holes on the wall, the horizontal lines or stacks, and the diagonal staircases of the building.
1) I believed Lyon used a large format camera because one of the best practices of large format photography are landscape photography and for documentary purposes.
ReplyDelete2) The natural light effect gives his images more of a contrast and allows the subject matter to pop and due to the large format camera allowing more details to emerge. Also with a higher appearance of shadows it gives the images a sense of an vacant feeling and the natural lighting causes all this.
3) The image that stands out to me is Lyon’s “dropping a wall” and “View of Lower Manhattan”. I couldn’t choose just one, but the reason why these two stand out to me is because I enjoy viewing street photography and especially images of New York City’s architecture and landscape. More specifically what I enjoyed about his images were the contrast in the greys in each image and the constant overall theme of the city rebuilding.
1. Large Format made it possible to keep as much detail as possible. It also maintains the scale.
ReplyDelete2. The natural light mainly controls the how exposed it looks and the contrast.
3. The photograph that stands out to me is the one title "Washington Street." The natural vanishing point leaves an impression, I also like the asymmetrical feel to it.
1) Why do you think Lyon's used a large format camera for this project?
ReplyDelete- In his project The Destruction of Lower Manhattan, Danny Lyon has photographed the exteriors and interiors of old and decrepit buildings close to or in the process of being demolished. Though mostly uninhabited, the photographs sometimes have site workers or other people in them. The use of large format photo is fitting because it shows the details of different structures in a long shot but also the textural details in a close up of natural decay or demolition.
2) How does the use of natural light effect quality of the images?
-- The choice of natural light is appropriate as it maintains the shadows, hence a sense of the time of day, and natural weight of a subject without alterations or glamorization by artificial lighting. The natural light with black and white film gives the photographs a tone of clarity and melancholy, fitting the mood of death and destruction.
3) Pick an image that stands out to you and tell us what qualities you like about it.
-- The photo that stood out to me was Housewreckers at Lunch on the West Side. The man on the right is in sharp focus creating a stark and engaging contrast with his friend on the left who is out of focus and washed out. The two man behind him are also washed out seemingly by the sun bursting onto them. The in-focus man seems of a serious or stern disposition while his friend seems jovial and lighthearted. The photograph captures the change of light and personalities perfectly, and is emotive while being technically dynamic.
1) Lyon used a large format camera in order to capture the essence and details of buildings that were meeting their end as well as the hard working men that were tasked with their demolition.
ReplyDelete2) Photographing in natural light helps keep the subjects looking real and tactful.
3) Washington Street. View North from Chambers Street - The depth of field on this empty street evoke a sense of sadness (I love old building). This once bustling street then a ghost town, now just gone.