October 2013 | From the Physical to the Digital

Kyle J. Thompson

Surrealist Photographer Takes Out of This World Self-Portraits

Photography by Kyle Thompson – Talent in the suburbs of Chicago

Inspiration

Brassai

Brassai was a Hungarian-born French photographer, poet, draughtsman, and sculptor, known primarily for his dramatic photographs of Paris at night.

-From E

Stieglitz

Equivalents is a series of photographs of clouds taken by Alfred Stieglitz from 1925 to 1934. They are generally recognized as the first photographs intended to free the subject matter from literal interpretation, and, as such, are some of the first completely abstract photographic works of art.
^{-from Wikipedia}

^{Project #4 took a total shift in direction for me when I found that my indoor pictures were not turning out as nicely as I wanted them to. I just couldn't nail the lighting for it! Knowing that I wanted try out night photography as well, I decided to take my camera out this past weekend to take some long exposures. I had recently checked out a book of works by Stieglitz, a personal favorite of mine, so I drew from him and Brassai as well for inspiration for my diptychs. I played around with the scenes of the sky and buildings, blurring the border in some places while clearly separating the two in others.}

Project 4

Jaycee

Chapter Summary

Chapters 2 &3 introduced two different kinds of photography: storytelling photography and deadpan photography. Chapter 2, titled "Once Upon a Time," discussed the use of narrative in contemporary photography to create a powerful image. Cotton discussed how a single, well constructed image can communicate a story that may otherwise be told with multiple images. She used numerous examples to discuss storytelling in photography such as Wall's "Insomnia" - an image which depicts a man laying on his kitchen floor, under the table.

In chapter 3, titled "Deadpan," Cotton describes the genre of photography that presents an image without drama, but is rather detached. The artist's emotions are absent from this kind of photography and instead the image relies on clarity and pure aesthetic. Landscape & architectural photography can fall under this category. Wrapping up the chapter is photographer Thomas Ruff who was very influential in this genre. He is particularly well known for his series of deadpan portraits that depict expressionless individuals from the shoulders up similar to a passport photo.

Strange Tides

Project 4 Proposal

For my 4th digital imaging project, I would like to do a seamless composite image. For this image I am very interested in trying out new effects in Photoshop such as adding textures, drawing in elements and adding in "special effects." I would like to recreate a domestic scene but have something be a little off about the image - fog rolling through the kitchen, the children watching television but nothing is on the tv but static, etc. I think I could create some very interesting lighting situations as well to make an interesting image.