Post XIV

I am done making prints for my project. The prints still came out blue-ish no matter what I did to them, but they still look great and I am very excited to display them. I am not going to post all of my photos on here because I believe I have 44 total and that is a lot to post. I will however post a picture of the installation when it is installed.

I also figured out a name for my project; Desolation. This word embodies everything my project is about and I couldn't be happier about figuring out the name.
The definition of Desolation is as follows:
des·o·la·tion

ˌdesəˈlāSH(ə)n/

noun

noun: desolation

1. a state of complete emptiness or destruction.

   "the stony desolation of the desert"

   synonyms:

   bleakness, starkness, barrenness, sterility; wildness;  isolation, loneliness, remoteness

   • 
     
   • 
     
   • anguished misery or loneliness.

     "in choked desolation, she watched him leave"

     synonyms:

     misery, sadness, unhappiness, despondency, sorrow, depression, grief,woe;  broken-heartedness, wretchedness, dejection, devastation,despair, anguish, distress

     

     
     

     

     
     

     

     
     

     

     
     

     

     
     

     

     Here are some more of the final images from Desolation. I am so excited to install this.
   • Oh, I also had to get different pins, so they are't going to be as obvious, which I am a bit bummed out about, however, I think they will still work nicely.

Post XIII

Some final selectiions:

I am starting to contemplate a project name. I will have to think up something to perfectly explain what I want to, summed up into one word... maybe two. =)

Post XII

I am in the mode of selecting which images will make the final cut and which ones will not. I may even shoot one last image. I am toying with the idea of putting a picture that represent me and who I am in it and that will be the image that is not in with the other images. It will be separate in more than one way. I was thinking I would try to make the image of me slightly blurred and out of focus with a very soft lighting. I am going to experiment with a tip I found on Pinterest that gives you a soft romantic lighting to it. Or in my way of using it, an intimate lighting.

Again, I am just toying with the idea, I think I will shoot tomorrow. I will bring it to the final critique hopefully to get everyones opinion on it.

It may only be a more intimate item of mine that represents me. But I want it to be set apart in way that it is actually set apart, but also set apart because of what the content of the picture is. I may take a picture of my bedroom window or my favorite necklace or a collection of personal belongings. I haven't quite figured that out yet. I am going to run with it though!

Post XI

Here are some of the images I shot awhile ago:

Post X

I have been editing and I have some really good shots I think. Tomorrow I am going to mess with the temperature of some of the shots to see if it helps get my message across more. I'm feeling more confident about my project tonight. 

I am going to shoot again this Friday and hopefully I'll have enough great shots that I can start printing ASAP. 

The other day I was talking with Taylor and she gave me the idea to possible use cork board to pin my pictures to so that I wouldn't have to reassemble it all the time. It could be set up one way and it can stay that way. It'll be a moveable installation or whatever. I am going to have to plan this accordingly with how many images I end up using. 

I think this is starting to come together. I need to buy the pins I am going to use for this project too. I need to figure out which ones work best. 

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. 

Post IX

Once I finish editing this last batch of photos I took, I'm going to print them all out in square format and play around on my blank bedroom wall as to how I'd like them to be displayed. I will probably bring photos of my display to class with me to get others opinions on it! I'm actually really stoked about this idea, I think it'll help my project seem more complete to me and relieve some of the stress I've been feeling about this project, which is a lot. 

I am trying to keep optimistic that this project will be just as strong, if not stronger (I really hope stronger; especially since I'm putting so much of myself out there) than my last quarter long project. I just wish I had more time. I am having the hardest time finding the time and energy to work on this along with all my other class projects. As well as deal with my own personal issues. 

I know I'll pull everything together in the end though. 

(A pretty random picture of leaves!)

Post VIII

So I'm really struggling with how to make my photos express the emotions I am feeling. I want this project to go well and represent the impossible project to my best ability. But I feel like I am failing to do that. I don't know what to do differently or if I'm still headed in the right direction and it just won't come together until almost the very end. 

In my mind, my photos represent how I have been feeling, but maybe if I made some of them darker or with the same hint of cool or warm colors to tie them together more... I'm not sure. I feel even more lost than I've been feeling lately! 

I am in the struggle phase when I should be in my cracking down on the little things and fixing them phase. 

I think that once I finished editing my photos from Friday (and hopefully I'll get some more on Tuesday, too) then I will feel a lot better about my project and the choices I've made. 

Post VII

I went out and shot some great pictures on Friday! Taylor and I went together to Cle Elm and we found this amazing junk yard or rather this older gentlemen's back yard, we asked if we could take pictures of his stuff and I think I got a lot lf amazing shots. I even got a decrepite old and lonely swing!

I will post some photos later, here is a sneak peak:

Post VI

I am going on a photo excursion this weekend and I think I'll get some great gloomy shots. I am going to shoot around downtown Ellensburg and possibly in the death forest. I might be able to find some cool shots there. I will also be sure to start cropping my photos in squares to give a better example of the impossible format. 

Post V

So, I just wrote up my project proposal and I already think I've changed my idea of how I will be printing and how I will be displaying my photos. I mentioned the way I was thinking of displaying them in my proposal and I really like the idea. 

Here is my idea:

I would like to shoot all of my images and pick around 25-40 images for my final portfolio and display them with the pins like a bug collector would. To make a commentary on how these emotions consume my life the way that a collector is consumed by their hobbies. That is my thought process right now. I may even add images of myself in with all of the random broken things as a way to make it more personal. 

I am still figuring out details that will only be figured out from actually shooting and testing out my ideas. 

More pictures and ideas to come soon!

Post IV

I have thought more about it and I really want to take pictures of things to express how I have been feeling lately. Dark, broken, alone, deserted. I want my pictures to express my emotions and what I've been going through lately. I don't want to spell out exactly how I feel in words though, I want people to be able to interpret the photos how they wish to. However, I also want the photos to give off the right feeling. 

I am going to go shoot some more pictures tomorrow if the weather permits. I really enjoyed the window picture that I posted on the last entry (and at the bottom of this one) and I think I am going try to shoot more like it. 

Post III

After class today I was inspired and really wanted to go shoot some photos that I may or may not use. I can't stray too far from Ellensburg, so I went to some of my usual haunts; but tried to shoot them in new ways. I had a lot of fun with this adventure and I think it helped me get more amped for this project. A lot of the images have lovely textures that I tried to focus on a bit too. Lately, I haven't been too inspired, I am dealing with a lot of personal things right now and I kind of want those to be shown in my work. We talked about how our life is shown in our work, but I want mine to be more obvious. I don't want you to be able to tell exactly what it is I am dealing with, but just enough to almost feel the same way when you look at the images. I feel like I am not making sense...

I want the viewer to feel what I feel and see what I see when they experience this body of work. I don't like to open up about the issues I am dealing with, but I think I can portray it without fully cutting myself open for all of the world to see. Again, I don't know if I am making sense... I am still trying to figure everything out as of right now, but you will be happy to know that I am one step closer to figuring that out.

Oh, when I shot my images today, I had my ISO up really high and so my images are very grainy. I don't mind the grain, but I may go shoot them again with a lower ISO for less noise.

Post II

For my project, I have decided that I would like to take pictures of things that I find interesting. Usually it is stuff that is broken, decaying or falling apart. I know I did something similar every quarter, but it's something I really enjoy taking pictures of. However, I do not want to limit myself to just death and decay. I am going to be focusing mainly on making something from nothing like chapter 4 in the Cotton book. I always love taking pictures like that anyway and I'd love to do an entire project in that style. I think that overall my images will be tied together because of the polaroid format I chose. I also have a feeling my images will tie together nicely because I am always intrigued by things that are broken or ugly in some way or another. 

I am really inspired by artists like Wim Wenders, William Eggleston, and Uta Barth. 

Uta Barth

William Eggleston

Wim Wenders

Their work is all very beautiful and vibrant and all have elements of rot and decay in them. Not all their work, but they are there in the work that I am focusing on.

 

New Quarter, New project

For Fall 2014 I am inspired by the workshop I did involving the Impossible Project over the summer. I knew as soon as I started to play with the instant lab that this is what I wanted to experiment with throughout the quarter. I knew since the workshop that I wanted to use polaroids for my printing process, but I was inspired to make each polaroid a fraction of a scene by seeing this image by Thomas Kellner:

I really like the idea of breaking a scene up in fragments for for the most part fit together to make an overall image. As of right now, I am thinking of taking pictures of things that are already broken or in some form of decay so as to show their true nature. I am still trying to figure out the minor details of the overall idea, but I feel like I've got a pretty strong start. 

I will be faced with many challenges with this project, such as the complexity and planning I will have to take in order to figure out how to shoot the scenes, how to edit the scenes and the biggest challenge I keep falling upon, the challenge of how to display the polaroids after I've pieced them together. I actually found a few ideas on pinterest, but I am also going to look into how artists would display work similar to this, such as the Starn Brothers (who were also a big part of my inspiration for this project as well).

                 Example:

               

                Possible Display Example:

I still have a lot to think about and figure out, but I think I've got a good start. I will post more about where I am thinking of shooting, what type of shots they will be, and all that other good stuff in my next blog.

Post 17

Alright folks, here is the project I have been putting my blood, sweat and tears into for the last quarter! I present to you:

DUALITY