3800 MEETING CANCELLED

I am sorry to inform you that the weather has impeded on our meeting today - the guys were up there earlier, but are not staying today. I asked for a more organized meeting next Friday. I will keep you posted - in the meantime, please let me know if you decide on a block. Thank you.

Photos from 3800 Caroline

3800 Caroline St.

I went over to Caroline Street again today to check out what was happening. When I arrived at the 3800 block, the door to that abandoned brick building was open! I marched right up the stairs and found 2 men sitting across from one another with a blueprint of the building between them on a folding metal table. I briefly explained my interest in the space and also the collaboration that we will be working on. Apparently, they are going to be moving the Buffalo Soldier museum from its current location to this location. I asked if it would be okay for me to look around,and to my surprise they said sure. I spent some time in there and have a couple of images from my iPhone that I took. ALSO! Friday, they agreed that we could come by and photograph there! So if you are interested in checking the space out and legally getting inside the building, let me know! Enjoy...

Tomorrow! Caroline Street. I will park at the museum at 11 am and be walking the streets to study it and meet with those of you available. Please let me know, via the blog, if you will be there!

CRITIQUE #3 + Lighting - EXTENDED UNTIL 11/2

Subverting the Canon and Lighting will both be due Monday, November 2nd. I hope you enjoy this extension. I was forgetting how much of a delay the projectors not working created for us, and I really want these assignments to be strong. I want more than anything for you to enjoy these assignments and grow as an artist! Please take advantage of this extension, as I will be expecting high quality work, both conceptually and technically. See you tomorrow for a demo on interpositives!

I am also attaching the new schedule. Please notice that this pushes our 4th critique back to just before Thanksgiving, then we have only a week left of school. What that means is that you have Monday class and Tuesday to finish up your Final Portfolio and Technical Folder. At this point you have plenty of time to get it all done, but you MUST plan ahead.

This has been a very fun semester thus far - you are all doing some great work and I cannot wait to see how we finish up!

Reminder:
Final Portfolio will contain your 15-20 strongest prints from the semester
Technical Folder will contain Filters Assignment, Night Photography, Lighting, Interpositive, Cyanotype

Give yourself time to plan out the completion of all assignments.

Views of Caroline Street

I plan to be at Caroline Street Friday. If you are interested in meeting/shooting, let me know via the blog.

HCP! Read below for address.

So, let's meet at HCP at 230 - if you need a ride, I will be in the lab from 2-2:10 to collect you. I only have 3 spaces in my car, but if others can offer a ride, please meet in the lab at 2.

See you MONDAY!

HCP on Monday instead of Wednesday

Hi everyone I talked to Houston Center for Photography and they will let us use their library and critique room on Monday, so we don't have to wait until Wednesday!

The address is 1441 West Alabama, Houston, TX 77006

It's located about a block away from the Menil, next to the Menil parking lot.


See you Monday!
--Leah

From what I’ve come to understand about myself as well as the world around me with the very limited and confined amount of time I’ve been given is that life is what you make it out to be, and how you make it out to be directly depends on your attitude and the way you react to different situations. If you’re pessimistic and anxious, your life becomes hectic and “out of control”, but on the other hand, if you’re laid back and easy going, your life becomes comfortable and stable. Being content with your current situation is critical, learning how to accept the negative as an experience and not just a disaster is recommended, bask in the positive, finding inner peace heavily relies on how well you’re able to let go of worrisome thoughts and emotions. The customs and norms of society will change; so if you can, don’t allow them to control you, rather use them as tools to weave through society. Getting stuck in a loop of routine is highly aggravating…if you find yourself discontent with the repetitiveness, try to explore…open up…see things as objective as possible. Being extremely self-conscious is unhealthy and it would behoove you to avoid it at all costs. Self-hatred extends, bleeds, transforms into a hatred for other people, so love yourself and love others. Expect nothing from anyone or anything, you will find life gives us a consistent and overwhelming amount of surprise. If a situation isn’t going the way you want it to and you find yourself constantly bent out of shape over the entire issue, sit back, breathe, and let it be. Time is the most heavily abused substance this day in age; use it wisely by enjoying every second.

Follow meeeeee

1) Copy this url, not the video.
2) Paste it into your web browser
3) Hit enter (or return, semantics)
4) Learn something
5) Smile
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http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000399007547&ref=profile#/profile.php?id=100000399007547&v=info&ref=profile

Miranda July

This is an interesting performance artist, writer, and cinematographer - she is the one who directed Me and You and Everyone We Know. She also had a series called Learning to Love You More in which she gave assignments, and allowed submissions. For example, assignment 1 was to create a child's outfit in an adult size. The second was to go door to door in your neighborhood and create recordings of ppl singing or playing an instrument then submit it. Anyway, just interesting and thought I would share:

http://learningtoloveyoumore.com/

And the artist, Miranda July has a website as well that you could check out - oh, and you have to enter a secret password:

http://mirandajuly.com/

Portland Grid Project

http://www.iinet.com/~portlandgridproject/

This is an interesting project, much like the one that our class will do on Caroline Street. Please check it out!

Friday school day

Hi all,
I will be up at school tomorrow throughout the day. If you would like to meet up about anything, I should be around. :)

Assignment #3 - please excuse the formatting.

This assignment will require you to choose the work of a well-known photographer whose work you are particularly drawn to. Sounds familiar to some of you? Hold up. You will pick from a generous list of photographers I will provide for you. Or, you can find one yourself and propose him or her to me as an alternative. Either way, after you have decided on a particular photographer, create a group of images which parody or subvert that photographer's work.

You will be obligated to learn something about the philosophical/ideological positions of your photographer, both as they pertain to photography (technical approaches and formal aspects) and as they pertain to personal, political and cultural issues.

You may find yourself focusing more on the ideological issues associated with the photographer and his or her work, but don't lose sight of those characteristics which are photographic. The resulting body of work should amount to more than merely a parody of formal characteristics, and I would like for your final results to have more substance than mere mockery for mockery's sake. In simple terms – have a good reason for doing what you’re doing.

Please shoot a minimum of 4 rolls of 35 mm film, so you will give yourself enough choices to have 8-10 solid prints. Take advantage of the relative ease with which you can make exposures with the 35mm camera. Move, bracket and most of all – improvise. If you are interested in another format, speak with me.

As intermediate photographers your print quality should be nearly perfect. You should at least be aware of when it is and when it isn’t. If this is not the case, please ask for more of my help. In addition to the images, I would like you to write a maximum one-page typed statement, explaining why you chose your photographer, what about this person's agenda motivated you to subvert/parody it, and discuss the meaning of your results. Be detailed in your observations.

Hand in all contacts (at least 4) with your final prints (8 -10)

parody : 1. a literary or artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. 2. Something so bad as to be equivalent to intentional mockery.

subvert : 1. to destroy; to completely ruin. 2. To undermine the character, morals, or allegiances of; to corrupt. 3. to overthrow something established.

DO NOT IMITATE THE PHOTOGRAPHER! LEARN THE PHOTOGRAPHER’S PROCESS!


List of Photographers

Robert Adams Nan Goldin Arnold Newman
Eugene Atget Emmet Gowin Nicholas Nixon
Diane Arbus Jan Groover Bill Owens
John Baldessari Sid Grossman Robert ParkHarrison
Lewis Baltz Ernst Haas Gordon Parks
Tina Barney Robert Heinecken Irving Penn
Ruth Bernhard Eikoh Hosoe John Phahl
Edouard Boubat Graciella Iturbide Chris Ranier
Bill Brandt Andre Kertesz Eugene Richards
Manual Alvarez-Bravo William Klein Jacob Riis
Henri Cartier-Bresson Mark Klett Herb Ritts
Wynn Bullock Joseph Koudelka Alexander Rodchenko
Harry Callahan George Krause Sebastao Salgado
Julia Margaret Cameron Les Krims August Sander
John Coplans Barbara Kruger John Sexton
William Christenberry Dorthea Lange Cindy Sherman
Larry Clark Clarence John Laughlin Laurie Simmons
Linda Conner David Levinthal Lorna Simpson
Barbara Crane Sherrie Levine Neal Slavin
Imogene Cunningham Helen Levitt Frederick Sommer
Judy Dater Lisa Lewenz Mike and Doug Starn
Bruce Davidson Annie Leibovitz Ralph Steiner
Roy DeCarava Danny Lyon Paul Strand
Robert Doiseneau Nathan Lyons Edward Steichen
Elliot Erwitt Sally Mann Josef Sudek
Walker Evans Robert Mapplethorpe Arthur Tress
Wendy Ewald Mary Ellen Mark Bruce Weber
Larry Fink Ralph Eugene Meatyard Weegee
Robert Frank Susan Meiselas Eudora Welty
Lee Friedlander Ray Metzker Henry Wessel
Lewis Hine Pedro Meyer Edward Weston
Flor Garduno Joel Meyerowitz Garry Winogrand
Laura Gilpin Duane Michals Joel Peter Witkin
Frank Gohlke Richard Misrach Andreas Serrano
Lauren Greenfield Tina Modotti

Alternative Processing

So...I just ordered materials so that we can make cyanotypes as well as photo litho prints. It will be in the next couple of weeks. I'm excited!