Skarbakka and Major

The two photographers I chose to emulate were Kerry Skarbakka and Keith Major. Skarbakka is known for his "death defying" images of people falling in the air. Major is a renowned fashion and model photographer whose style consists of crisp images with strong lighting, mainly all portraits of people.










Keith Major:




One of my Keith Major photos reflects the black and white photo I posted here. I used similar lighting by having the light come from the side/background corner of the photo. This photo was pretty simple compared to other pictures of mine because it required little editing. All I did was reduce the saturation and fix the contrast, highlights, shadows, etc. Keith Major's photos are far from any major photoshop processes, so I think I succeeded in conveying his simplistic style, with the image focusing more on the person rather than the techniques/editing used. My other photo deviates more from Keith Major's style than the other image. I tried his technique of splattering powder/paint-like substances on my face. I think that he had done this to add a pop of color/interest to the photo, and to also show that the model's beauty shines through even though she has "blemishes" on her face. I experimented with lighting techniques by adding in Christmas lights into the whole picture. I think that these splotchy lights unify the picture because they coincide with the splotchy powder on my face, giving the whole picture a pattern of small circles. I also like the monochromatic blue color scheme of the photo, because it gives the image a cool and inquisitive mood.








Kerry Skarbakka:

The two pictures that I took that incorporated Skarbakka's style consist of me falling or flying in the air, which I think is exactly what Skarbakka's photos were like. I then added my own style into each photo, which I think makes each image more personable to me. Skarbakka's pictures often convey the mood of a loss of personal control. I used this mood as an inspiration for my photo "Alice Falling Down the Rabbit Hole". I used the concept of Alice in Wonderland and created an image of myself (as Alice) falling down the hole into the unknown. I distorted the wall behind me to give the picture a more surreal-life feeling (I can tell I'm becoming more and more influenced by Rosie Hardy haha) and added fading clocks to show the idea of a loss of control over time. I think that this photo does a good job in conveying Skarbakka's "loss of control" by showing how I feel that time has escaped me and no matter how hard I try, I cannot get it back. I think that this photo is especially important to me right now because I actually feel this way in real life. I already graduate high school in a few days, and it's really started to hit me at how fast "time flies" when you're young, and I feel a sense of loss because I feel like I'm starting to lose my youth and can't get it back. My other photo reflects Skarbakka's style because it shows me falling, and I can't seem to control my actions. I wanted this picture to convey the idea that sometimes people just hate themselves and want to be somebody else. The picture depicts me literally pushing myself away in the hopes of losing my old self and gaining a new, perhaps more successful, self. To make this picture, I cloned myself a few times and also added in a new sky, because the original sky was washed out and boring. Unfortunately, I had originally covered the parking lot and houses with trees and grass because I thought this distracted from the main point of the picture, but I think I didn't save these changes correctly because when I opened the photo the next day the houses and parking lot were still there. I was going to finish editing the picture at my house over the weekend, but then netstorage wouldn't open, so at least for now, I have to leave the photo the way it is, parking lot and all.

Rosie Hardy

The photographs that I took reflect Rosie Hardy's style of slight surrealism in combination with feminine beauty. The first picture of mine that depicts me holding a flower was inspired by the photo next to it, which shows Rosie holding a yellow flower. I laid out the composition of the image similar to Rosie's, with a portrait of myself holding the flower and beneath me a macro image of the same flower. I gave the photograph my own twist my making the colors more saturated and by adding small translucent flowers in the left side of the picture.

My other photograph was inspired by Rosie's series of photos that depicted her in a white dress, posing by an elaborate sky. The exact photo that inspired this image wasn't able to download to blogger, but I imitated Rosie Hardy by wearing a white dress, posing the same way, sitting on hill, and planting flowers that continue into the distance. I used Rosie's technique of layering and changing colors to change the mood of the photo. I like how the extra layer on top adds texture, thus adding interest to the photo. I also like how using the burn tool can create areas to focus attention on and can help enhance depth in the horizon. I think that overall, I did a fairly good job at emulating Rosie Hardy because I employed many of her techniques in my photos (which actually taught me new ideas of how to position and edit a photograph). I think that this assignment was very enjoyable because I now consider myself a true fan of Rosie Hardy. Her style of photography is very fun and I think has now influenced my style. I have gone outside many times since receiving this assignment and have practiced taking more pictures like Rosie's. I really think that my view of photography has changed for the better because of her!

Rosie Hardy is a very talented 18 year old photographer who is still an amateur. Her photoshop skills are self taught, which is a very admirable trait because her photographs are very advanced and beautiful. The majority of her pictures are self portraits, and she likes to depict herself in fantasy-like settings that are too perfect and beautiful to occur in real life. Rosie Hardy often incorporates many layers of photographs of varying opacities into her images and often likes to add a smoky haze to every photo, enhancing its dreamlike state. While she has built an impressive portfolio consisting of these types of photographs, her talent proves to be versatile. Rosie also takes photographs at weddings and of bands, and she earns some money from this part time job. However, she is still a student and is not yet a professional photographer. I saw on her blog that she had been accepted to the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland, which apparently is one of the most prestigious art schools in the world. I think that she is still undecided about what she wants to do in the future, however, and is still wondering if she should get a degree in photography or not receive education in this field and continue taking photographs in her own style.

Color Psychology

YELLOW= Happy

I wanted to take a photo that focused on the color yellow because it is a color that always puts someone in a good mood. When I think of yellow, I automatically relate this color to ideas of summer, joy, and brightness. For this picture I had taken a series of photos of my sister smiling at the camera, but when I looked at my collection of photos, I thought this one was the most interesting. The fact that she isn't looking at the camera makes the picture more intimate, like the viewer happened to stumble upon Molly basking in the sun, smiling to herself while perhaps thinking about a happy memory. I think that this photo is interesting to look at because it has dominant principles of pattern and repetition of the dandelions in the background. I also like how Molly's blond hair even fits in with the theme of yellow because it has yellow tints in it. Although I am proud of how this photo turned out, I think that it is still far from perfect. Originally, this photo had far less dandelions in the background. Having a sparse amount of yellow dandelions in the frame might have caused the viewer to wonder whether the dominant color should be yellow or green, because a lot of grass was showing. I decided to copy and paste several clumps of dandelions into the green areas. When looking at this picture from far away, I don't think it's obvious that I did this. However, when you enlarge the photo it is very obvious that I did a slightly sloppy job of pasting dandelions because you can still see the edges of the new layers. Even though the photo has this flaw, I still think that it conveys the color yellow very well because it gives the viewer a pleasant mood and is interesting to look at.

BLUE= Calm

I think that this photo conveys the idea that the color blue symbolizes a calming atmosphere. I think that Molly looks very peaceful and content in the picture as she looks up into the sky. I really like how this photo turned out because the colors turned out to match almost perfectly. By doing this assignment, I have found out that some of the best pictures taken were ones that were taken accidentally or had elements in the photo that were not planned. I had always wanted my sister to wear blue and white clothing, but I did not realize that these would match so well with the umbrella and the sky. I think that the umbrella that Molly is holding is one of my favorite parts of the picture. Before taking the photo, I had been looking for an umbrella of any shade of blue and happened to find this one in our car. Little did I know that it would coordinate so well with my sister's outfit, the sky, and the clouds! In order to make sure that blue was the dominant color in this photo, I had to tone down the grass a lot and give it a more blue-ish tint. I also think that the cement pipe that Molly is standing on adds a new sense of movement to the picture because of its curved edges. I think that this photo has a great feeling of unity, also. The matching shades of blue and white and the soft edges created in the circular shapes of the clouds, pipe, and umbrella unify the photo as a whole. Movement is also directed to the upper left corner because the wind moves Molly's hair in that direction, the clouds are traveling that way, and the umbrella is also angled in the upper left direction.

WHITE= Innocence

I think that the color white in this photo conveys the feeling of innocence. I like the way that Molly is looking off into the distance and seems to be contemplating something. I also like how her posture, position of her hand, and soft lighting on her face gives the photo an aura of purity. I think that the color white is also often associated with beauty. White swans, for example, are white and are often thought of as beautiful. The color white also reminds me of ballerinas because they often wear light colors in order to accentuate their beautiful and graceful movements. This photo also incorporates the idea of innocence is beautiful because it is untainted and clean looking. I think that both Molly and the budding apple tree in the background look beautiful and pure. The bright lighting also helps create an even deeper contrast between the highlights and shadows found throughout the photo. The principle of pattern is used in this photo because of the repetitive pattern of flowers in the background. This busy background also helps create emphasis upon Molly because she is wearing a plain white shirt and doesn't have too much detail on her. In order to make white the dominant color in this photo, I had to tone down the green leaves a lot. I think that the subtle shade of green makes the white pop out even more. The overall softness of this photo is very beautiful.

GREEN= Earthy

I think that out of all of my color psychology photos, this picture has the most obvious dominant color. I like the monochromatic approach because it helps define the numerous shades of green within the photo. I also like the composition of this picture because it follow the rule of thirds pretty well. I think that this photo helps convey the idea that green represents an earthy, natural mood. The fact that Molly's dress blends so well into her surroundings helps demonstrate that her personality is in tune with nature. Her body language and expression also shows how she is interested in her surroundings and is naturally beautiful. I had to do the least editing with this photo because it already had many vibrant tones of green. I think that I just enhanced the shadows and highlights in order to make the hundreds of leaves or things like the contour in Molly's cheekbone stand out. This photo shows the element of value because it has numerous shades of green that help create the shapes of the leaves. The element of shape (dominantly in the shapes of the leaves) thus helps emphasize the principle of pattern, because the leaves repeat throughout the entire composition.

The Yellow Wallpaper
"Succumbing to Insanity"

One of the basic themes in the short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" is how oppression can lead to insanity. I think that one of the reasons why the protagonist fell to insanity was because she had no sense of control over her life because her husband decided what treatment she should receive without consulting her opinion. The photo that I took basically shows the woman's descent into insanity. The image of me in the white shirt represents the woman with her mind still intact, but she is being haunted and pulled towards her own "insane self", represented by the other faded images of me in the black shirt. I hoped that the expression that I have while wearing the white shirt is one of fear. When I am wearing the black shirt I have expressions of confusion, despair, and am attempting to push away the feeling of insanity that is descending upon me. The three faded images remind me somewhat of "A Christmas Carol". For some reason they remind me of the different ghosts that visited Scrooge on Christmas night. I like to think that in this photo, the three faded images could be subconscious forms of the woman who is trying to repress feelings of insanity but is falling deeper into its black hopeless depths. I think that one of the problems that could arise from this photo would be the fact that I failed to include any hint of a yellow wallpaper within the image. I had several reasons for not doing this. First, I figured that most people would automatically assume that they must take a picture of someone literally in front of a yellow wall because they thought that the yellow wallpaper was the main point of this story. Although I agree that the yellow wallpaper is a prominent feature in the story, I don't think that it is the main point. The woman is the main focus of the story, so I decided to take a photo depicting her. The yellow wallpaper is a symbol for her descent into insanity. The wallpaper is old, decrepit, and is peeling away from the wall. This is a parallel to the woman's "sheild of sanity." While the wallpaper begins to peel more away from the wall as the story progresses, the woman's sanity begins to peel away from her mind as the story continues. I think that the four images of me in my picture also help show a timeline of the story because as the image travels on and as the story progressed, I start to fade away, as did the woman's mind in "The Yellow Wallpaper." I edited this photo by putting most of the light on the image of me on the left side of the photo. I also used the burn tool to emphasize the blackness in the right side of the photo.