Eve Arnold

Eve Arnold is an American photojournalist, born in Philadelphia. Her interest in photography began in 1946 while working in a New York City photo-finishing plant. Over six weeks in 1948, she learned photographic skills from Harper's Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch at the New School for Social Research in Manhattan. Arnold has photographed iconic figures, but was equally has comfortable capturing the lives of the poor and dispossessed.
(Bio information from Wikipedia)
“I don't see anybody as either ordinary or extraordinary," Arnold said in a 1990 BBC interview, "I see them simply as people in front of my lens.”

She captured her subjects in such a simple manner and it made the photos so extraordinary.

 

Manual Cheat Sheet

I know we went over this at the beginning of the semester, but I found this great manual settings "Cheat Sheet" on Pinterest. It is a great reminder and the way the graphic is laid out is visually helpful.

A Little Inspiration and Motivation

 

A view quotes to get your mind thinking, and maybe some inspiration and motivation.  

Richard Avedon

Avedon was an American photographer who lived from 1923-2004. He was best known for his work in the fashion industry. Avedon wanted his models to convey emotion and movement, which was a departure from the norms of motionless fashion photography. Avedon is well known for his high fashion photography, including photos for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and  his large-scale character-revealing portraits.
(Bio info from biography.com)

Here are a couple pictures that I liked and I thought these few show what Avedon was so well known for...
 



 This is a portrait of singer Marian Anderson. I love the way he captured the look of her singing and the movement of her hair. This photo is a beautiful step up from a ordinary portrait.

 

 The way Avedon added motion and expression to fashion photography made it much more interesting than the normal motionless, still fashion photos.

 

 I really like this photo. The contrast of explosiveness and effortlessness is beautiful. Her facial expression is very soft and effortless which is a nice contrast to the explosion of hair behind her.

 

 Avedon did such a great job of capturing motion when photographing fashion.

 
 
 

A little something to put a smile on your face

Although I came across this set of photos a while back (and many people have seen them), I thought another mention wouldn't hurt. The photographer is Seth Casteel. He is an award-winning photographer. He is a lifestyle pet photographer. Casteel has published books and collaborated with many other artists and publishers. His main focus seems to be dogs, but he has photographs of everything from dogs and cats to wild animals.
His website: Seth Casteel's Little Friends Photo, URL: littlefriendsphoto.com

In his underwater dog pictures he really managed to capture the "exclamation point" of the dogs' entry into the water.

 

 

 

My Personal Definition of Photography

What is my personal definition of photography?

Well, according to Wikipedia it is the art or practice of taking and processing photographs. To me that definition says nothing about photography, it is much more than taking a picture and processing it. I am sure my definition of photography well change over time, especially during the course of this class. Right now though, to me photography is capturing a moment in time, from your own perspective, and using it convey a message, whether it be a simple message or a complex one. 

A Short Bio

Lauren Harper

I am sophomore at SCC. I plan to graduate in December and then transfer to a four-year school where I can major in marine biology. 
I currently work at preschool in the infant room. I work with babies from 6 weeks up to a year.
I love just about anything that has to do with the ocean. I am a certified scuba diver. 
Although I have spent my life living in a neighborhood, I consider myself a country girl at heart. I like to hunt, fish and shoot. I'd choose being in the middle of woods over the middle of the city any day.
I am very close with my family, I tend to photograph them often. 
I have a wide variety of interest; be prepared to see an assortment of posts.