Charles Cramer - Ordover Gallery

Charles Cramer was probably the most interesting photographer I came across at Balboa Park. In the Ordover Gallery at the San Diego Natural History Museum, his work is featured and is for purchase, too rich for my budget but none the less he has amazing photos. He has this unique style of photographing water. He must leave the shutter open for a longer period of time because a flowing river ends up looking like it was painted with brushstrokes. He knows how to capture motion with everything else remaining still. To do this must be difficult because he simply using the natural elements around him in nature. Water becomes almost glass-like and I found this to be the most important aspect for me to stay interested in his work. I couldn’t help but to keep looking around at the entire photo, there was this unnatural smoothness to his photography that you obviously don’t see in nature. However, water was featured in almost every photograph in the gallery done by him. There was one particular photo of a small waterfall where the shutter was left open and the water ended up looking like snow rather than running water. The rocks were smooth and attractive, the color tones were fairly neutral in the blues and grays, but it made for a very interesting photo. I do enjoy the landscape photos the most, that’s why I believe that this artist became my favorite of the day.

Todd Hido - Museum of Photographic Arts

When I went to Balboa Park I went into the Museum of Photographic Arts and browsed the gallery. I came across a few interesting artists, some disturbing and some intriguing. I found the pictures of the beauty pageant children really disturbing and it actually made me mad to see really young girls done up to be showed off, it serves no purpose. I did come across a series of interesting photographs by Todd Hido. They were taken from within the inside of his car through a rainy window with gave it this smudged look and refracted the light in interesting ways. All three pictures gave the sense of gloom and put the viewer into a depression state if you will. I enjoy these types of photos and I like how photographs can evoke emotional responses. Generally, as humans we don’t like cloudy rainy days and it does put some of us into a depressed mood and I believe he achieved this effect in picture form. The landscape features a rainy muddy road with a single headlight in the distance which captures the attention of the eye, centering it in the frame. The series of photos complement each other and it gave me a creative insight of what this artist might have been thinking when taking these photos. It also told me that even when conditions are typically bad for taking pictures you can still capture a really good photo.

Vincent Laforet

So far, he is the most interesting photography I have seen on the Internet. While interesting he is also very entertaining, taking away from our perception of normal things we see everyday in a unique perspective. The trick he plays with the field of depth makes his images almost doll-like. It actually gives me the sensation of looking at little models on a tabletop. The colors pop so vividly and the contrast is perfect. I enjoy night photography that’s why I found the image of the two people in front of the cityscape very good.  He takes people and objects that are typically large and gives them another meaning. When I view his work, I think in terms of how small we really our on this earth, maybe he had the same idea in mind. One thing about his photography that I really noticed is that the greens and blues pop out almost overwhelmingly. However, this doesn’t take away form the images, to me, they enhance them giving even more visual interest to the viewer. Obviously Canon is known for their sporting event photography so of course this gallery features many pictures of exactly that. Running, biking, tennis, and even ordinary life going on in the streets are made out to be nothing more than a bunch of still-life models. Very compelling, visually pleasing, and most importantly extremely interesting photos that stuck out beyond the rest.

Chris Orwig

Chris Orwig came to mind only because we have had so much instruction from him through the Lynda.com tutorial series. The more I watch his tutorials and hear his take on photography the more I enjoy and understand his work. He obviously loves the beach and him being so close to us, location wise, really helps me get more into his work. When he speaks in the beginning of a new chapter he brings so much emotional value to his work and by listening to him explain his take on things it rubs off on you too. He is a very inspirational artist and it seems like he is a great person on top of it all. He has photographed a lot of influential people in the music and sports industry. He does more than just recite instructions to you, he dynamically and systematically provides the information in a way that is easily remembered and recalled later for use. One thing I really enjoy about his style of photography is that he does a large amount of portraits. The series of photographs of professional surfers from past and present have this grainy weathered look to their faces. Almost like they have been through a lot of harsh stuff. It gives this interesting feeling and texture that keeps you focused on their faces. I might have a biased opinion though, because I feel like I can connect better to his photography based on the fact that I am receiving Photoshop tutoring through Lynda.com by him.

Ansel Adams

I chose to look up Ansel Adams for a couple of reasons. Not only is he a paramount figure in photography, he might be the most commercially over-used and hated photographer of them all. Actually I should use the word “disliked” instead of hate in more of a love/hate relationship among artists. It was for this reason that Ansel Adams was the very first photographer that popped in my head. First off, I am no photography expert and I am no way learned in the history of photography, but we have all seen Ansel Adams work being sold in Target, Wal-Mart, etc. My friend’s house has at least four Ansel Adams photographs framed in his house. While some photographers stray away from the Adams style, I enjoy them. Ansel Adams, in my opinion, has a very unique eye for interesting landscape images. He was able to turn an ordinary tree, lake, or rocks into a very compelling image. I believe the key to this was that he shot most of these images in black and white. Sometimes color can take away meaning or be distracting to the viewer while black and white can create playful contrasts between figures and foreground intensifying the viewers experience. While in some aspects I do believe he is over commercialized within the photo market, he still offers a large amount of artistic inspiration for many people. That is the beauty about the electronic age of media. Art was once looked at by those considered worthy enough to view it, now anyone can take part in the art viewing experience and this opens more minds to the creative process, this is why I cannot sympathize with the unhappy artists that stray away from the Ansel Adams fan club. The more art seen, the better.

BookSmart Update

As of now I am still taking pictures to gather the bulk of my content. I made a trip to Old Town San Diego and L.A., specifically Hollywood Blvd. I have not started putting my BookSmart project together yet but plan to very soon as time is running out. My subject is more difficult than I realized, the trip to LA and Old Town only produced a few good shots but it still added to my pool of images. Im going to need to dedicate a large amount of time within the next week to get to a comfortable spot in the project. I am not too worried though, I am sure that I can finish this project without sacrificing quality.