Lens Based Photo Project
Title: Warmth
Size: 60 cm by 91 cm
Medium: Digital photography on a Nikon D3400 camera
Completion: 2020, September
Exhibition Text:
Humans dream and wish for a world which they cannot reach. This photo represents a dream-like environment in which the viewer can interpret the meaning as they wish. This photo is a self-portrait in a community garden as I imagine myself if I where in a dream. My piece "Warmth" is inspired by William Eggleston's photograph "Untitled" in his 35mm collection.
Size: 60 cm by 91 cm
Medium: Digital photography on a Nikon D3400 camera
Completion: 2020, September
Exhibition Text:
Humans dream and wish for a world which they cannot reach. This photo represents a dream-like environment in which the viewer can interpret the meaning as they wish. This photo is a self-portrait in a community garden as I imagine myself if I where in a dream. My piece "Warmth" is inspired by William Eggleston's photograph "Untitled" in his 35mm collection.
Inspiration:
Beginning the photography project my inspiration changed a couple of times. I was having trouble finding an artist that fit with the style of photography I loved most. I have always been inspired by finding beauty if everyday life. Eventually I came across William Eggleston. He is an American photographer and he is widely credited with increasing recognition for color photography as a legitimate artistic medium. Williams work centered almost entirely on the way of looking at the world in a singularly pictorial style. This style reverberates across contemporary visual culture as well. Williams cultural inspiration also came from straightforward depictions of everyday objects and scenes, many of them in the southern United States, that were noted for their vivid colors, precise composition, and evocative allure. His work was credited with helping establish color photography in the late 20th century as a legitimate artistic medium. Continuing, using William's work as inspiration for my own I want to include his use of everyday objects to tell a story through the photos. In my photography I also used the same concepts that William used in his work, such as; claiming an interest in his subjects chiefly for their physical and formal qualities rather than for any broader significance. In Williams earlier work it was also thought that he used intensely saturated hues and striking perspectives imbued an ominous or dreamlike quality to their seemingly mundane subjects. I took Williams work and used his composition and warm color theory to directly help me take pictures that were similar in those ways. Lastly, I also used day light as my main source of lighting, similarly to most of William's work. Comparatively, I also choose to use my own technique and ideas to make the photography work completely original to me. The two images shown to the right display two prime examples of William's work. The artwork is dream like and soft, giving the viewer a feeling of calm and happiness. In my photography I choose to use the dream feeling, but also include objects that are originally ugly, and deleted out of photographs (such as trash and construction). The soft warm hues also help convey a safe and comforting mood which I choose to include, but did not limit myself entirely to warm hues. Finally, Williams use of space allows the viewers eyes to be guided around a small subject area so that it is simple and thus more dream like. My final photo used both the dream like mood while also having a more complicated subject matter. Thus pulling the viewer in for a more immersive experience. |
William Eggleston, Untitled, c. 1977
William Eggleston, Untitled, c. 1983
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William Eggleston, Untitled, c. 1983
Planning:
As I focused on creating my final photo, I kept in my mind the theme of my photos. The theme I choose to use was a warm dreamlike mood. As stated in my planning sketches a dreamlike mood includes; old/run down, water reflections, animals, elegant clothing and posing, flowing clothing, empty rooms, monochromatic clothing, flower, soft edges, lower levels of focus and hard edges. Incorporating these things into my photo means that I focused on creating an outfit that would be seemingly out of the ordinary. My two final ideas for photos came down to a self portrait of me in a full jean outfit in front of brush (similar to a photo William did of a man in front of brush) and a picture of a run down brick building. These two ideas directly included the dreamlike aesthetic as well as a component that was specific to me. Using the dream like theme for my inspiration I will be able to connect warm hues, monochromatic outfits, and a lower level of focus so that I can have less hard edges. Shown in my drawing on Sketch 3, it shows an example of flowers in the background of me in my chosen outfit. The steps to create this artwork include going to the lake at six in the morning so that I can find the warm lighting I need for the picture I want to take. I also need to borrow a tripod stand so that I can take a self portrait of myself (adding to the originality of the piece). I planned to have no zoom beginning used on the picture so that I can capture as much background as possible directly the viewer directly to me standing in the center of the photo. I will keep a blank expression on my face and use blank space as to force the viewer to question both their emotions as well as the intention of the piece. The hope for the final product is to create a piece that reminds the viewer of a dream they would have, while having a warm and comforting mood. |
William Eggleston, Untitled, c. 1982
This piece above showcases the photo I was looking to recreate so that I could include an element of self portrait into the shot. I also was choosing to wear an outfit that I had made (monochromatic jean). I planned to copy the pose of the man in the photo in order to directly show my inspiration from William Eggleston's pieces. |
Process/Techniques/Inspiration:
I began my process by biking around Milwaukee to find a background for my photography. I knew I was looking for a spot that had a lot of natural growth as well as dead brush so that the two life vs death could contradict themselves. As I explored the city and researched online the Urban Ecology center became a prime contender. The Urban Ecology center has always been a spot in Milwaukee that is known for plants and wildlife, thus I biked over and began hiking. At first, I choose a background the consisted of a hill that used to have an old broken down building in the far background. I realized quickly that I had not put enough thought into my surroundings and realized I needed to look for fore ground and background that I could use in my final photo. Finally, once I found a background I could work with, I set up my camera on a mono-pod so that I could see the lighting and figure out what time of day would work best for the shot. I decided that mid afternoon would be the best, thus so I could have more control over the lighting in the editing process. I decided to come back the next day and take my photos. I had the camera positioned parallel with my face. This allowed me so that I could get the same type of shot that William took in his piece. Continuing, I also made sure to use completely natural lighting so that my face would not become over exposed. This would allow me more control over having a warm hue to my pictures. |
The four photos shown above showcase my planning process as I set up my ISO, aperture, and shutter speed for my final photo. I used a 35mm lens as well. I knew that my camera should be taking warmer photos and so as shown between the first and second photo you can see a difference between the warmth of the two photos. The photos below also demonstrate how I used different techniques to get the right focus, position, and lighting. Lastly, I took stock photos of the nature around me so that I could come back and see which type of surrounding l liked best to create the dream-like feel. This helped me prepare for the final shot I wanted to take.
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Experimentation
Before I officially began taking the pictures of the shot I wanted, I made sure to experiment with what lighting looked best on the clothes I was wearing. I had always had the vision of creating a photo that makes the viewer feel as if they could be in a dream. I knew that a major part of this would be style and composition. My original plan was to wear an all monochrome jean outfit. Although I soon realized it did not represent me as a person. I finalized on blue ripped jeans and a brown vest. My clothes were cool and warm colors and so I knew I needed to have warm lighting to balance out the cool hues. I also experimented with the types of clothing I would wear and how I wanted my hair to looks so that I could really incorporate the "dream feel" into the photo. I also looked into Williams other photos to find the type of clothing style he usually took pictures of. Shown in the photos below, I complied an outfit that I felt both represented me as a person, as well as the style of photo I was looking for. (First four photos are cited below, the last photo was taken by Isabelle Kiekhofer) |
Experimentation Part Two
To finalize, I needed to find a background that had warm color flowers or brush. I went around the Urban Ecology center and I took pictures of different locations that interested me. My first photo came out looking too gloomy for the aesthetic I was hoping for. My second location was beautiful, but it had too much "life" that it drew away from the self portrait. My third location was almost perfect, but I felt as though there was not enough space being used effectively to truly get a "magical shot". Lastly, I choose my forth location which balanced the foreground and background and had enough life to keep the viewer entertained. I focused on guiding the viewers eyes from my face, to my outfit, to the background, and eventually back to the foreground. This led me to choose my final location (forth photo in the slide show), there was enough balance of life and death to create a dream like atmosphere for my photo. (All photos were taken by Isabelle Kiekhofer) |
Critique
Photography in itself is a very complicated form of art, as I laid out my process I made sure to be careful in each shot that I took. My final shot was very similar to the original shot I planned on taking in my process. Another similarity that I had with my inspiration was medium. I choose to use a Nikon D3600 camera for my photography. My inspiration also used a classical camera to acquire his pieces. Lastly, both my final piece and my inspiration had a warm, almost dream-like feeling. The warm yellow and red hues in both shots allowed the viewer to feel calm and safe. This helped create the dream-like feeling of the photograph.
Contrastingly, my shot did not have the same outfit I had planned on wearing. As I was preparing for the photo shot I realized that an all jean outfit did not fit me as a person. I truly wanted this photograph to be both personal and respective of me and have inspiration from William. Another difference that the two pieces had was subject matter. For my piece I choose to do a self portrait so that I could truly include my own creative ability. In William's piece he had a photo of a black man standing still facing the camera (William Eggleston, Untitled, c. 1982). Having two different subject matters really made the pieces stand apart even though they still had multiple similarities. Lastly, in Williams piece he did not include a lot of foreground into his piece. I choose to not only include foreground but to also include a blurred leaf into the very front of the camera. Although usually seen as an imperfection, in this photo graph it adds to the viewers own interpretation. The leaf represents going past the normality and seeing yourself just as you want, it shows that perfection is not a trait that humans need to strive for in order to be happy.
Photography in itself is a very complicated form of art, as I laid out my process I made sure to be careful in each shot that I took. My final shot was very similar to the original shot I planned on taking in my process. Another similarity that I had with my inspiration was medium. I choose to use a Nikon D3600 camera for my photography. My inspiration also used a classical camera to acquire his pieces. Lastly, both my final piece and my inspiration had a warm, almost dream-like feeling. The warm yellow and red hues in both shots allowed the viewer to feel calm and safe. This helped create the dream-like feeling of the photograph.
Contrastingly, my shot did not have the same outfit I had planned on wearing. As I was preparing for the photo shot I realized that an all jean outfit did not fit me as a person. I truly wanted this photograph to be both personal and respective of me and have inspiration from William. Another difference that the two pieces had was subject matter. For my piece I choose to do a self portrait so that I could truly include my own creative ability. In William's piece he had a photo of a black man standing still facing the camera (William Eggleston, Untitled, c. 1982). Having two different subject matters really made the pieces stand apart even though they still had multiple similarities. Lastly, in Williams piece he did not include a lot of foreground into his piece. I choose to not only include foreground but to also include a blurred leaf into the very front of the camera. Although usually seen as an imperfection, in this photo graph it adds to the viewers own interpretation. The leaf represents going past the normality and seeing yourself just as you want, it shows that perfection is not a trait that humans need to strive for in order to be happy.
Reflection
As the project comes to a conclusion I am very happy with the product that I created. I was able to incorporate the inspiration from William Eggleston that helped create a dream-like feel, as well as include originality into the piece. As a creative person in the twenty first century, I feel self conscious when a camera is pointed directly at my face. As I experimented with over 160 different shots over the course of a day I had to improvise what pose I was going to hold for the camera. My hand covering the bottom of my face truly brings a point of originality into the piece. It shows the raw emotion I was having as the picture was being taken as well as the insecurities I have once the picture was shot. I believe the photo solely represents me and the raw emotion I feel as I take photos.
Another aspect of the photography that was especially important to the final overall mood was the background. Originally I struggled finding a background that truly fit the aesthetic I was going for. As shown in my experiment I finally found an open field on a hill side with brown and yellow plants growing behind me. This especially tied in the dream-scape look which was a key component of the picture from the beginning and I took it as a huge success. Another success that I was very proud of was the thrifted Winnie the Pooh vest. This piece of clothing really brought in the 1980's "vibe" I was trying to include in my photo. Lastly, another success that I had was the placement of where I was standing. A challenge that I came across while taking pictures was using a self timer but this proved successful. I was able to stand askew to the left and not dead center.
Continuing, people have challenges when working through the creative process as well. To begin, my resources to take a photo at eye level when using a self timer photograph was limited. I only had a mono-pod, so I had to work to balance the camera against my skateboard. If I were to take a self portrait photograph again I would definitely plan ahead and borrow a tripod from a friend so that it could be easier to get the final shot I was looking for. Lastly, another challenge that I came across was getting a photograph without a person walking in front of the camera. With a pandemic going on in the world I wore a mask to get to my location as well as when I waited on location. As I tried to take multiple shots some people would walk by on their hikes and so I would have to pause my shot to put my mask back on. This made it difficult to balance my shot as well as be able to have my face showing in the picture without being exposed to people hiking the trail.
As the project comes to a conclusion I am very happy with the product that I created. I was able to incorporate the inspiration from William Eggleston that helped create a dream-like feel, as well as include originality into the piece. As a creative person in the twenty first century, I feel self conscious when a camera is pointed directly at my face. As I experimented with over 160 different shots over the course of a day I had to improvise what pose I was going to hold for the camera. My hand covering the bottom of my face truly brings a point of originality into the piece. It shows the raw emotion I was having as the picture was being taken as well as the insecurities I have once the picture was shot. I believe the photo solely represents me and the raw emotion I feel as I take photos.
Another aspect of the photography that was especially important to the final overall mood was the background. Originally I struggled finding a background that truly fit the aesthetic I was going for. As shown in my experiment I finally found an open field on a hill side with brown and yellow plants growing behind me. This especially tied in the dream-scape look which was a key component of the picture from the beginning and I took it as a huge success. Another success that I was very proud of was the thrifted Winnie the Pooh vest. This piece of clothing really brought in the 1980's "vibe" I was trying to include in my photo. Lastly, another success that I had was the placement of where I was standing. A challenge that I came across while taking pictures was using a self timer but this proved successful. I was able to stand askew to the left and not dead center.
Continuing, people have challenges when working through the creative process as well. To begin, my resources to take a photo at eye level when using a self timer photograph was limited. I only had a mono-pod, so I had to work to balance the camera against my skateboard. If I were to take a self portrait photograph again I would definitely plan ahead and borrow a tripod from a friend so that it could be easier to get the final shot I was looking for. Lastly, another challenge that I came across was getting a photograph without a person walking in front of the camera. With a pandemic going on in the world I wore a mask to get to my location as well as when I waited on location. As I tried to take multiple shots some people would walk by on their hikes and so I would have to pause my shot to put my mask back on. This made it difficult to balance my shot as well as be able to have my face showing in the picture without being exposed to people hiking the trail.
ACT Questions
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
-I am able to identify the cause and effect relationship between my inspiration and its effect on my artwork through the use of warm tones and dreamlike mood as well as Looking over Williams work he caused me to be more interested in using an everyday surrounding and classical photography which effected the background of my piece and the subject matter in the piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- William Eggleston has established a singular pictorial style that deftly combines vernacular subject matter with an innate and sophisticated understanding of color, form, and composition. He used everyday objects (my inspiration) to incorporate his own idea into his photos. His photographs transform the ordinary into distinctive, poetic images that eschew fixed meaning.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- While researching I came to the conclusion that people have a very strict idea of color and how it affects mood. A light and soft mood automatically relates to a dream and calm light experience. Although hard and warm mood could also signify danger. Either-way, color theory plays a huge role into how people view their lives and surroundings.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- The central theme of my inspirational research was Identity. I choose to have a picture of a self portrait so that I could express myself in a dream world using an ordinary surrounding in my life.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- While reading my research I made inferences about the intentionality of the pieces that William created. He described his work as "simple and ordinary with an impact the viewer creates", and so I also made inferences about how I can create a photo that would both include inspiration from William Eggleston as well as include my own inspiration. Lastly, while reading my research about classical photography I made an inference that William was included in the criteria needed to be a classical photographer. William is known for using simple color photography and a digital camera (very little editing was used) in order to create his pieces, thus furthering the idea that William is a classical photographer.
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
-I am able to identify the cause and effect relationship between my inspiration and its effect on my artwork through the use of warm tones and dreamlike mood as well as Looking over Williams work he caused me to be more interested in using an everyday surrounding and classical photography which effected the background of my piece and the subject matter in the piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
- William Eggleston has established a singular pictorial style that deftly combines vernacular subject matter with an innate and sophisticated understanding of color, form, and composition. He used everyday objects (my inspiration) to incorporate his own idea into his photos. His photographs transform the ordinary into distinctive, poetic images that eschew fixed meaning.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
- While researching I came to the conclusion that people have a very strict idea of color and how it affects mood. A light and soft mood automatically relates to a dream and calm light experience. Although hard and warm mood could also signify danger. Either-way, color theory plays a huge role into how people view their lives and surroundings.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?.
- The central theme of my inspirational research was Identity. I choose to have a picture of a self portrait so that I could express myself in a dream world using an ordinary surrounding in my life.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
- While reading my research I made inferences about the intentionality of the pieces that William created. He described his work as "simple and ordinary with an impact the viewer creates", and so I also made inferences about how I can create a photo that would both include inspiration from William Eggleston as well as include my own inspiration. Lastly, while reading my research about classical photography I made an inference that William was included in the criteria needed to be a classical photographer. William is known for using simple color photography and a digital camera (very little editing was used) in order to create his pieces, thus furthering the idea that William is a classical photographer.
Bibliography
Allen, R. (2018). Explore Themes in Art. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://americanexperience.si.edu/themes/
American, B. (2017). William Eggleston. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.artsy.net/artist/william-eggleston
Cherry, K. (2018). 5 Characteristics That All Dreams Have in Common. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from
https://www.verywellmind.com/characteristics-of-dreams-2795936
Eggleston, W. (2019). Eggleston Art Foundation. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from http://egglestonartfoundation.org/
Photo Citations
American, B. (2017). William Eggleston. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.artsy.net/artist/william-eggleston
Burroughs, A. (2016, October 17). William Eggleston, the Pioneer of Color Photography. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/t-magazine/william-eggleston-photographer-interview-augusten-burroughs.html
Dafoe, T. (2019, November 25). Turning 80, Photographer William Eggleston Is Launching a Foundation to Preserve His Work and
Promote Scholarship. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://news.artnet.com/art-world/william-eggleston-launches-
foundation-1712784
Allen, R. (2018). Explore Themes in Art. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://americanexperience.si.edu/themes/
American, B. (2017). William Eggleston. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.artsy.net/artist/william-eggleston
Cherry, K. (2018). 5 Characteristics That All Dreams Have in Common. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from
https://www.verywellmind.com/characteristics-of-dreams-2795936
Eggleston, W. (2019). Eggleston Art Foundation. Retrieved September 20, 2020, from http://egglestonartfoundation.org/
Photo Citations
American, B. (2017). William Eggleston. Retrieved September 21, 2020, from https://www.artsy.net/artist/william-eggleston
Burroughs, A. (2016, October 17). William Eggleston, the Pioneer of Color Photography. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/17/t-magazine/william-eggleston-photographer-interview-augusten-burroughs.html
Dafoe, T. (2019, November 25). Turning 80, Photographer William Eggleston Is Launching a Foundation to Preserve His Work and
Promote Scholarship. Retrieved September 25, 2020, from https://news.artnet.com/art-world/william-eggleston-launches-
foundation-1712784