Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Maps
So I might have the map problem under control. If you go to usps.gov, get to their store, and scroll down to Map Locator (middle of screen) you can pretty much download a map of what ever you want. The problem is they are sectioned off so to get the coverage area I'm going to need I'm looking at like 30+ zip files to download, print, and puzzle back together. I still might mash up different maps but will be keeping with 'offical'/governmental kinds (usgs, AAA, state, civic, whatever). Right now the method is either going to be disorder on an ordered map or order on a disordered map.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Stupid Scale Shifts
Maps I have are not really lining up, deciding if this will be a problem or just roll with it
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Proposal
Name
Neighborhood Watch (tentative title)
Description
To create a book on my hometown of Lakewood, taking a look not only at the city itself but where it is in the Los Angeles/Orange County region.
Concerns
This book will not be some sort of chronological history, personal history, or even a history at all. Ideally I hope that through content, juxtaposition, and sequencing the book will be productively open-ended and ambiguous, leaving ample room for interpretation on the part of the reader/viewer. ‘Open text’ is going to be my big issue here.
Technical
The use of Photoshop to process/edit/color correct/whatever. In creating this book and compiling different images, I’m interested in different syntaxes and what they can add to the meaning of an image or sequence. The book will comprise of straight digital images (no composites), and scans of negatives both color and B&W. Along with this I plan on the use of actual scans; that is scans of found objects (flyers, mailers, civic swag, things found in the street,…) and images in magazines, newspapers, books, or even scans of photographic prints. A scan allows for a high quality rendering of low relief detail and relates back to the physical object that it was taken from. I’m also going to need to (re)learn InDesign for layout purposes.
Formal
Well, book form for sure but that’s a little too general. Right now I’m not sure what ‘larger form’ the book will be (art book, strange surrealist found object, corporate document,…). This project will be broken up into two different parts. By the midterm I will have the (calling it) satellites done, and by the final a finished book. The satellite side of this will be a smaller ‘report’ type of document describing Lakewood’s position in the LA/OC region. By choosing three specific points within the city I will move out in concentric circles, and on each, taking twelve photos at even measurements (think numbers on a clock) pointed back in the direction of the center point chosen. I’m giving myself free range within the boundaries of the city, but outside I wanted to set up a system that would lead to as little personal interpretation on the surrounding area as possible.
Artist
Walter Benjamin (specifically The Arcades Project), Tom Anderson (specifically Los Angeles Plays Itself), Jonathan Mann, Paul Graham, The Adventures of Pete and Pete
Readings
Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscape, Looking At Los Angeles, Holy Land- D.J. Waldie, various readings on Ideology and Soviet montage, Andre Bazin
Grade
Grade determined by the quality of the final product.
Goals
-To find a balance between shooting/gathering visual information and time to make a meaningful sequence out of it.
-To start the satellite project this week and come to some conclusion on how to present it.
-Learn InDesign
-Learn what goes into creation a book
Neighborhood Watch (tentative title)
Description
To create a book on my hometown of Lakewood, taking a look not only at the city itself but where it is in the Los Angeles/Orange County region.
Concerns
This book will not be some sort of chronological history, personal history, or even a history at all. Ideally I hope that through content, juxtaposition, and sequencing the book will be productively open-ended and ambiguous, leaving ample room for interpretation on the part of the reader/viewer. ‘Open text’ is going to be my big issue here.
Technical
The use of Photoshop to process/edit/color correct/whatever. In creating this book and compiling different images, I’m interested in different syntaxes and what they can add to the meaning of an image or sequence. The book will comprise of straight digital images (no composites), and scans of negatives both color and B&W. Along with this I plan on the use of actual scans; that is scans of found objects (flyers, mailers, civic swag, things found in the street,…) and images in magazines, newspapers, books, or even scans of photographic prints. A scan allows for a high quality rendering of low relief detail and relates back to the physical object that it was taken from. I’m also going to need to (re)learn InDesign for layout purposes.
Formal
Well, book form for sure but that’s a little too general. Right now I’m not sure what ‘larger form’ the book will be (art book, strange surrealist found object, corporate document,…). This project will be broken up into two different parts. By the midterm I will have the (calling it) satellites done, and by the final a finished book. The satellite side of this will be a smaller ‘report’ type of document describing Lakewood’s position in the LA/OC region. By choosing three specific points within the city I will move out in concentric circles, and on each, taking twelve photos at even measurements (think numbers on a clock) pointed back in the direction of the center point chosen. I’m giving myself free range within the boundaries of the city, but outside I wanted to set up a system that would lead to as little personal interpretation on the surrounding area as possible.
Artist
Walter Benjamin (specifically The Arcades Project), Tom Anderson (specifically Los Angeles Plays Itself), Jonathan Mann, Paul Graham, The Adventures of Pete and Pete
Readings
Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscape, Looking At Los Angeles, Holy Land- D.J. Waldie, various readings on Ideology and Soviet montage, Andre Bazin
Grade
Grade determined by the quality of the final product.
Goals
-To find a balance between shooting/gathering visual information and time to make a meaningful sequence out of it.
-To start the satellite project this week and come to some conclusion on how to present it.
-Learn InDesign
-Learn what goes into creation a book
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
yale kids are cooler than you
George Awde
Colin Smith 
Ka-Man Tse; I would recommend her website (although it's a little under construction)
Caitlin SmithStylistically similar, kind of, but they admit as much (just look at the show title), and NO they are not just dicorcia clones because he is a clone himself they are just part of a specific school of thought on photography, NO you couldn't mimic him (trust me) you don't have the resources or chops, and YES i think some of these photos are pretty much perfection
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Photography is Easy, Photography is Hard
(The text was written for the Yale MFA photography graduation book – Yale MFA Photography 2009: We Belong Together)
It’s so easy it’s ridiculous. It’s so easy that I can’t even begin – I just don’t know where to start. After all, it’s just looking at things. We all do that. It’s simply a way of recording what you see – point the camera at it, and press a button. How hard is that? And what’s more, in this digital age, its free – doesn’t even cost you the price of film. It’s so simple and basic, it’s ridiculous.
It’s so difficult because it’s everywhere, every place, all the time, even right now. It’s the view of this pen in my hand as I write this, it’s an image of your hands holding this book, Drift your consciousness up and out of this text and see: it’s right there, across the room – there… and there. Then it’s gone. You didn’t photograph it, because you didn’t think it was worth it. And now it’s too late, that moment has evaporated. But another one has arrived, instantly. Now. Because life is flowing through and around us, rushing onwards and onwards, in every direction.
But if it’s everywhere and all the time, and so easy to make, then what’s of value? which pictures matter? Is it the hard won photograph, knowing, controlled, previsualised? Yes. Or are those contrived, dry and belabored? Sometimes. Is it the offhand snapshot made on a whim. For sure. Or is that just a lucky observation, some random moment caught by chance? Maybe. Is it an intuitive expression of liquid intelligence? Exactly. Or the distillation of years of looking seeing thinking photography. Definitely.
“life’s single lesson: that there is more accident to it than a man can admit to in a lifetime, and stay sane”
- Thomas Pynchon, V
Ok, so how do I make sense of that never ending flow, the fog that covers life here and now. How do I see through that, how do I cross that boundary? Do I walk down the street and make pictures of strangers, do I make a drama-tableaux with my friends, do I only photograph my beloved, my family, myself? Or maybe I should just photograph the land, the rocks and trees – they don’t move or complain or push back. The old houses? The new houses? Do I go to a war zone on the other side of the world, or just to the corner store, or not leave my room at all?
Yes and yes and yes. That’s the choice you are spoiled for, but just don’t let it stop you. Be aware of it, but don’t get stuck – relax, it’s everything and everywhere. You will find it, and it will find you, just start, somehow, anyhow, but: start.
Yes, but shouldn’t I have a clear coherent theme, surely I have to know what I’m doing first? That would be nice, but I doubt Robert Frank knew what it all meant when he started, or for that matter Cindy Sherman or Robert Mapplethorpe or Atget or… so you shouldn’t expect it. The more preplanned it is the less room for surprise, for the world to talk back, for the idea to find itself, allowing ambivalence and ambiguity to seep in, and sometimes those are more important than certainty and clarity. The work often says more than the artist knows.
Ok, but my photography doesn’t always fit into neat, coherent projects, so maybe I need to roll freeform around this world, unfettered, able to photograph whatever and whenever: the sky, my feet, the coffee in my cup, the flowers I just noticed, my friends and lovers, and, because it’s all my life, surely it will make sense? Perhaps. Sometimes that works, sometimes it’s indulgent, but really it’s your choice, because you are also free to not make ’sense’.
“so finally even this story is absurd, which is an important part of the point, if any, since that it should have none whatsoever seems part of the point too”
- Malcolm Lowry, Ghostkeeper.
Ok, so I do need time to think about this. To allow myself that freedom for a short time. A couple of years. Maybe I won’t find my answer, but I will be around others who understand this question, who have reached a similar point. Maybe I’ll start on the wrong road, or for the wrong reasons – because I liked cameras, because I thought photography was an easy option, but if I’m forced to try, then perhaps I’ll stumble on some little thing, that makes a piece of sense to me, or simply just feels right. If I concentrate on that, then maybe it grows, and in its modest, ineffable way, begins to matter. Like photographing Arab-Americans in the USA as human beings with lives and hopes and families and feelings, straight, gay, young, old, with all the humanity that Hollywood never grants them. Or the black community of New Haven, doing inexplicable joyous, ridiculous theatrical-charades that explode my preconceptions into a thousand pieces. Or funny-disturbing-sad echoes of a snapshot of my old boyfriend. Or the anonymous suburban landscape of upstate in a way that defies the spectacular images we’re addicted to. Or… how women use our bodies to display who we believe we should be, Or…
“A Novel? No, I don’t have the endurance any more. To write a novel, you have to be like Atlas, holding up the whole world on your shoulders, and supporting it there for months and years, while its affairs work themselves out…”
- J. M. Coetzee, Diary of a Bad Year.
And hopefully I will carry on, and develop it, because it is worthwhile. carry on because it matters when other things don’t seem to matter so much: the money job, the editorial assignment, the fashion shoot. Then one day it will be complete enough to believe it is finished. Made. Existing. Done. And in its own way: a contribution, and all that effort and frustration and time and money will fall away. It was worth it, because it is something real, that didn’t exist before you made it exist: a sentient work of art and power and sensitivity, that speaks of this world and your fellow human beings place within it. Isn’t that beautiful?
By Paul Graham
It’s so easy it’s ridiculous. It’s so easy that I can’t even begin – I just don’t know where to start. After all, it’s just looking at things. We all do that. It’s simply a way of recording what you see – point the camera at it, and press a button. How hard is that? And what’s more, in this digital age, its free – doesn’t even cost you the price of film. It’s so simple and basic, it’s ridiculous.
It’s so difficult because it’s everywhere, every place, all the time, even right now. It’s the view of this pen in my hand as I write this, it’s an image of your hands holding this book, Drift your consciousness up and out of this text and see: it’s right there, across the room – there… and there. Then it’s gone. You didn’t photograph it, because you didn’t think it was worth it. And now it’s too late, that moment has evaporated. But another one has arrived, instantly. Now. Because life is flowing through and around us, rushing onwards and onwards, in every direction.
But if it’s everywhere and all the time, and so easy to make, then what’s of value? which pictures matter? Is it the hard won photograph, knowing, controlled, previsualised? Yes. Or are those contrived, dry and belabored? Sometimes. Is it the offhand snapshot made on a whim. For sure. Or is that just a lucky observation, some random moment caught by chance? Maybe. Is it an intuitive expression of liquid intelligence? Exactly. Or the distillation of years of looking seeing thinking photography. Definitely.
“life’s single lesson: that there is more accident to it than a man can admit to in a lifetime, and stay sane”
- Thomas Pynchon, V
Ok, so how do I make sense of that never ending flow, the fog that covers life here and now. How do I see through that, how do I cross that boundary? Do I walk down the street and make pictures of strangers, do I make a drama-tableaux with my friends, do I only photograph my beloved, my family, myself? Or maybe I should just photograph the land, the rocks and trees – they don’t move or complain or push back. The old houses? The new houses? Do I go to a war zone on the other side of the world, or just to the corner store, or not leave my room at all?
Yes and yes and yes. That’s the choice you are spoiled for, but just don’t let it stop you. Be aware of it, but don’t get stuck – relax, it’s everything and everywhere. You will find it, and it will find you, just start, somehow, anyhow, but: start.
Yes, but shouldn’t I have a clear coherent theme, surely I have to know what I’m doing first? That would be nice, but I doubt Robert Frank knew what it all meant when he started, or for that matter Cindy Sherman or Robert Mapplethorpe or Atget or… so you shouldn’t expect it. The more preplanned it is the less room for surprise, for the world to talk back, for the idea to find itself, allowing ambivalence and ambiguity to seep in, and sometimes those are more important than certainty and clarity. The work often says more than the artist knows.
Ok, but my photography doesn’t always fit into neat, coherent projects, so maybe I need to roll freeform around this world, unfettered, able to photograph whatever and whenever: the sky, my feet, the coffee in my cup, the flowers I just noticed, my friends and lovers, and, because it’s all my life, surely it will make sense? Perhaps. Sometimes that works, sometimes it’s indulgent, but really it’s your choice, because you are also free to not make ’sense’.
“so finally even this story is absurd, which is an important part of the point, if any, since that it should have none whatsoever seems part of the point too”
- Malcolm Lowry, Ghostkeeper.
Ok, so I do need time to think about this. To allow myself that freedom for a short time. A couple of years. Maybe I won’t find my answer, but I will be around others who understand this question, who have reached a similar point. Maybe I’ll start on the wrong road, or for the wrong reasons – because I liked cameras, because I thought photography was an easy option, but if I’m forced to try, then perhaps I’ll stumble on some little thing, that makes a piece of sense to me, or simply just feels right. If I concentrate on that, then maybe it grows, and in its modest, ineffable way, begins to matter. Like photographing Arab-Americans in the USA as human beings with lives and hopes and families and feelings, straight, gay, young, old, with all the humanity that Hollywood never grants them. Or the black community of New Haven, doing inexplicable joyous, ridiculous theatrical-charades that explode my preconceptions into a thousand pieces. Or funny-disturbing-sad echoes of a snapshot of my old boyfriend. Or the anonymous suburban landscape of upstate in a way that defies the spectacular images we’re addicted to. Or… how women use our bodies to display who we believe we should be, Or…
“A Novel? No, I don’t have the endurance any more. To write a novel, you have to be like Atlas, holding up the whole world on your shoulders, and supporting it there for months and years, while its affairs work themselves out…”
- J. M. Coetzee, Diary of a Bad Year.
And hopefully I will carry on, and develop it, because it is worthwhile. carry on because it matters when other things don’t seem to matter so much: the money job, the editorial assignment, the fashion shoot. Then one day it will be complete enough to believe it is finished. Made. Existing. Done. And in its own way: a contribution, and all that effort and frustration and time and money will fall away. It was worth it, because it is something real, that didn’t exist before you made it exist: a sentient work of art and power and sensitivity, that speaks of this world and your fellow human beings place within it. Isn’t that beautiful?
By Paul Graham
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
color color
Images taken off my tvCity of Ember (Gil Kenan, 2008)
____________________________
City of Ember takes place in an underground city, a fact spelled out to us but one the characters are not aware of. So, a point so obvious it must be said out loud, none of the film is shot with natural light. The two main color schemes of the film are the warm tungsten based earth tones of the city (all deep reds, oranges, and browns), and the sickly florescent glow of places like pipeworks (all greens and blues). Out from these backdrops other colors like light blue, green, and bright red just pop off the screen. With the setting being a city surrounded by darkness the film uses black as punctuations. All of Embers streets and alleys become not necessary dead ends but black holes leading into the nothingness. The city experiences ever increasing blackouts and on three separate occasions the screen goes completely dark. Flashlights and flares are often used through out the film, craving out environment detail in otherwise black areas.
Whats nice is that Ember is in the framework of a kids film so it’s always moving forward, concentrating on how scenes play for emotional impact rather than being entranced by how it looks. The city is definitely run down but rather than revel in it the film is content to just show you the city in passing glances. The film is gorgeous and those moments pass so fast if you’re not paying attention you’ll miss it. The politics of the film are perfect too, with children not only being the ones who care enough to save the city but picking up on the past activism that their parents gave up on, both through death and defeat. Oh, and it 95 min. which is pretty much my favorite action movie runtime.
Whats nice is that Ember is in the framework of a kids film so it’s always moving forward, concentrating on how scenes play for emotional impact rather than being entranced by how it looks. The city is definitely run down but rather than revel in it the film is content to just show you the city in passing glances. The film is gorgeous and those moments pass so fast if you’re not paying attention you’ll miss it. The politics of the film are perfect too, with children not only being the ones who care enough to save the city but picking up on the past activism that their parents gave up on, both through death and defeat. Oh, and it 95 min. which is pretty much my favorite action movie runtime.
____________________________
I really don't print digitally, come to think of it I don't even have any personal digital prints. So here is an image I took awhile ago and never did anything with.
Before
After
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Films Seen, September 2009
I’m going to be adding to this post as I see ‘em, so check back if you’re interested
first viewing unless otherwise stated, - seen on video, / internet or computer viewing, + projected DVD or VHS, v video piece, s short, m medium
+Alone. Life Waste Andy Hardy (Martin Arnold, 1998) vs
/Wound Footage (Thorsten Fleisch) vs
Ponyo the Cliffs by the Sea (Hayao Miyazaki): 62
-The African Queen (John Huston, 1951): 37
-The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008): 58, second viewing first since release, down from 67
9 (Shane Acker): 64
Extract (Mike Judge): 48
+Father of the Bride (Vincente Minnelli, 1950): 48
+Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 1936): 60, second viewing first in 7+ years
-Blood Simple (Coen Bros., 1984): 53, second viewing
/Window (Ken Jacobs, 1964) vs
The Informant! (Steven Soderbergh): 59
+The Crowd (King Vidor, 1928): 55
-The Power of the Image: Leni Riefenstahl, part 1 (Ray Muller, 1993): 35
-Yeah Right! (Ty Evans and Spike Jones)
-All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950): 56
first viewing unless otherwise stated, - seen on video, / internet or computer viewing, + projected DVD or VHS, v video piece, s short, m medium
+Alone. Life Waste Andy Hardy (Martin Arnold, 1998) vs
/Wound Footage (Thorsten Fleisch) vs
Ponyo the Cliffs by the Sea (Hayao Miyazaki): 62
-The African Queen (John Huston, 1951): 37
-The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008): 58, second viewing first since release, down from 67
9 (Shane Acker): 64
Extract (Mike Judge): 48
+Father of the Bride (Vincente Minnelli, 1950): 48
+Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 1936): 60, second viewing first in 7+ years
-Blood Simple (Coen Bros., 1984): 53, second viewing
/Window (Ken Jacobs, 1964) vs
The Informant! (Steven Soderbergh): 59
+The Crowd (King Vidor, 1928): 55
-The Power of the Image: Leni Riefenstahl, part 1 (Ray Muller, 1993): 35
-Yeah Right! (Ty Evans and Spike Jones)
-All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950): 56
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