In Motion: Dynamic of the Blur

When I see a photograph that uses the technique of blurring an object or the background, it really gets me thinking about the meaning behind it.  Using the blurring technique really allows the photographer to focus in detail, on the person or thing, and really bring out a certain emotion.  Then again, blurring the background gives off its own emotion in and of itself.  When I look at a blurred image, it makes me think of the words confusion, or chaotic.

Especially seeing what Missy is doing with her photographs, she focuses on the person and blurs the background.  it brings the emotion that they are trying to make sense of the crazy and hectic things that might happen in their everyday life.  And like we saw when we viewed her first project, the emotions changes as the main focal point changes direction or view.  When looking at the focal point that was head on, it seemed more in control; even with the blurriness of the background.  But when the focal point looks away or down, it seems to capture the emotion that they are trapped in their thoughts and can't find a way to escape them.

In my personal opinion, this technique creates an image that describes my life perfectly sometimes.  everything around me seems to be spinning and there isn't a way out of it.  I really like being able to look at a photograph, or any art piece for that matter, and see relate to it; even though the piece has no text or explanation to it.  I am really looking forward to see what else Missy can bring into the theme of In Motion: the Dynamic of the Blur.

Abandonment: Potential in the Ruins

What do you normally think of when you think of the word “abandonment”?  Suffering? Tragedy? Lost hope?  Not many people would look at an abandoned building and think, “that building could have so much potential.”  Thinking of abandonment in such a positive way just shows how we can make such a thing as abandonment come back to life.  Take the city of Detroit, for example.  It is such a city that has been through so much, yet still has so much spirit.  Artist’s like Tyree Guyton, who created the Heidelberg Project, created this spark in parts of the city that have seen the worst tragedies.  He took Heidelberg Street and made it look nothing like a street of abandonment and turmoil.

The fact that we live less than 45 minutes away from a city that has been hit hard with the effects of the economy.  Detroit is full of abandon buildings, yet has an amazing amount of potential.  It’s the perfect place to work on the topic of potential in the ruins and I am very excited to see what Kim does with it.  She had a very clever idea to choose a theme that affects a city so close to us. 

I really like that she is going to concentrate on the close up portions within the buildings. Her photographs should portray a more personal element to her project that way.  It will be interesting to see how she brings in potential into her ideas.

Personal Style & Personal Traits: the Reality of Identity.

I think that Allie’s idea is very inspiring and I am really looking forward to how she is going to address one’s identity for her projects.  There are many different ways she can look into this topic, so it will be interesting to see which way she takes with it.  

I believe that there is sometimes a major difference between a person’s personal style and personal traits.  There are many things that can affect someone to perceive themselves as something that doesn’t really reflect their personality.  Obstacles can get in the way from showing who you really are when it comes to a first impression.  For example, if a person of a certain religion has to dress a certain way, the person inside the clothing might not necessarily think it reflects their personality.  If someone doesn’t have the money to buy the clothes and things they want, they have to settle with what they can afford; and sometimes it doesn’t give off the impression of who they are.  In a world where people judge others on first impressions by what they look like, this can change the reality of one’s identity.

Personally for me, the clothing I choose to wear isn’t always what I would like people to see me as.  Being an athlete, I often come from practice and wear my workout clothes from lack of time to change.  I don’t mind being perceived as an athlete, but there is a lot more to my personality and identity than just that. 

Semester Theme and Proposal #1

Trying to think of a theme that I could work off of for the whole semester was kind of difficult for me.  I have never really done work that could be included into a series before, so I wanted to choose something that I am interested in enough that I don’t get bored with it half way through the semester.  The theme I chose was traveling the world.  Even though I am still in college and don't have the funds yet to travel to the places I want to, I always find myself looking up places to go online and the different interests that appeal to me.

With traveling the world being such a broad topic, I wanted to narrow it down a bit to challenge myself more.  I began thinking what it was that I liked about traveling, even though I haven’t really experienced it too much yet.  And I realized that aside from the adventure and new experiences I yearn for, I loved the visual aspect of different places, and how they change from place to place.

For my first project, I wanted to deal with the colors of the world.  I just have a couple rough ideas as of right now.  The first idea is I would like to create an image using Photoshop and make a color spectrum using images of the world and connect them in some way.  I’m not yet sure which way I want to organize the photos.  My second idea is similar to the first, but instead of an image, I would create the images into a video.