Michelle's Blog posts

                                                                                     Born in 1952, Herb Ritts began his love of photography in the late 1970's, where he then gained a reputation as a master of art and his commercial photography. Ritts had many opportunities headed his way, He created many advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein, Chanel, Donna Karan, Gap, Gianni Versace, Polo Ralph Lauren and many other big brands. Along with these campaigns, he had directed award winning music videos and commercials since 1988.      When it comes to photography, Ritts was attracted to clean and sharp lines, striking shadows along with strong forms. this kind of simplicity allows his images to be analyzed in an instant. Thin...

                                                                             Born in Los Angeles, California on January 16, 1939 Ralph Gibson happens to be a contemporary American photographer who surrounds his work around black/white photography and formal abstraction. This meaning that his work is very much precise, impersonal, hard edged, and non figurative. Gibson studied photography while being a participant of the US Navy. Gibson had then attended the San Francisco Art institute and worked as an assistant for Dorothea Lange and Robert Frank, which gave him much experience early in his career. Since these opportunities came about, the more he learned, the more he became successful. He has completed over 40 books, some self published, under his company call...

    Black and white photography is mysterious and leaves everyone with a question. With black and white photography, everything is viewed differently. Color no longer distracts the eye, light would be seen in different ways, and it helps the view focus more on the composition. Shapes, forms and patterns are highlighted when it comes to black and white photography. Emotion is emphasized and most importantly, black and white photography is timeless.           For example, Michael Kenna, an English photographer, is mostly know for his monochromatic landscapes. This meaning that his images are produced in shades of gray, which brings out a certain beauty rather than the artists who would rather have color in their work. Michael Kenna's artwork is subjective and revolves around what's in front of him. He reflects what he sees from dusk to dawn within his art. Unlike other photographers, Kenna doesn't have a planned schedule. He...

    Born in Philadelphia, Man Ray happened to be an American artist during the Dada and Surrealist movements. He is known for his photography, his paintings, collages, and his black and white photographs, a multimedia artist some would say. Ray uses the human body to create surreal and abstract artwork. Ray was influenced by the 1913 Armory Show and galleries of European contemporary works, as well as the work of Duchamp and the Cubists. Because of this, Ray became interested in showing movement in his static paintings and his photograms. At some point in his life, Man Ray explored the technique of solarization, which is a photographic process that records images on the negative. with this special technique in mind, he then created his big artwork and it was known as "Rayographs."                                          ...

    Lee Friedlander is a American photographer who is known for innovative images of city streets. His street photography tends to capture different forms and ways light is used or perceived in urban areas. Most of his artwork included portraits of people, signs, and reflections of himself on storefronts; social landscaping some would say.     "Mannequin," by Friedlander, makes me wonder how he was able to do this. The amount of detailing in this photo shows how much dedication he put into this work.  The apartment building that is being reflected in the window looks a little rundown and seems to be next to a factory. While having a first look of this photo, I did not notice the other mannequin that is hidden in the back until I started to analyze the photo little by little. Its as if the mannequin and the building are staring back at one another which is strange because those are nonliving objects. The mannequin and the building crossing eac...

      In Marvin Heiferman's "Photography Changes Everything," he goes into detail about how when it comes to photography, there is not just one understanding or viewpoint. When asked this question, "What is Photography?" people tend to state and stand on what they believe photography is. They agree and disagree, give examples, and some may even change their viewpoint on what photography means to them because they found someone else's viewpoint to be quite interesting. There is no real implicit answer to what photography should and/or can be. As said in the reading, the more people try to figure out photography and whatnot, the more complex and difficult it becomes because there is no right or wrong answer. Different people see photos in ways that work for them, like a person that has an interest of nature would have an admiration for nature photography and see all of its beauty while someone could be less interested in nature would see it just as pretty or i...