Diana Macaraeg - Weekly Post

Rhodri Brooks 

Rhodri Brooks is a photographer who is socially based. With no official website besides his Flickr account, Rhodri focuses on a younger demographic for his subjects. He currently lives in England is a musician along with being a photographer.

His choice of environment for his subjects, mainly school, helped elaborate on his theme. The teenagers are posed with objects piled on their represent the transition into adulthood, with objects like a toy plane, white gloves, a cigarette and adult attire (belt, sunglasses, scarf, etc.)

What drew me into Rhodri's work was his decisions in contrasting colors. He provides evidence to an audience that just quickly glances at photography as something candid, but he evidently chose to pose these subjects with these specific colors.

Brandon Mabrouk- Artist Post 4/4/2016

Wynn Bullock

Wynn Bullock's work reverts back to Chip Forelli's water series, with minimal elements but great lighting. He expresses his fascination for light and how important it is to be able to have good timing when making a photograph. The lighting that hits the water is what makes these photos great in my opinion, without the water I do not believe it would be as interesting. Even though this series is pertaining to light, the water is what makes the lighting a lot more intriguing. It makes a difference if you have water flowing from a structure in between sunset. That sounds like a beautiful picture but it has to be captured right.

I can appreciate the work of Bullock and Forelli because they have experience in capturing these long exposures that are made into beautiful photographs. Bullock began to have a fascination for color light, he would element any feature of the product and just focus on the light. I can appreciate that because only the artist knows what they want to capture. There are certain elements that the artist may see and certain ones that the viewer may see. We all look at the elements in the photograph in our own unique way. this is what makes his works so interesting.  

Catherine Meadows Weekly Post 11

Ray Collins

Ray Collins started out as a photographer when he bought a camera to photograph his friends surfing back in 2007. Now, he has his work displayed by dozens of huge companies such as Apple, National Geographic and Red Bull. He has won numerous awards and has had his work displayed in the US, Europe, the UK, and Australia.

He discovered his love for photography after suffering from a severe knee injury while working in the mines. While recovering from the injury, his doctor suggested some light swimming. He decided to bring a camera out to the water to get some shots of surfers and that's how it all began.

Ray Collins focuses on capturing the motion of water as well as the motion of people when interacting with the water. His love for the water clearly shows in his work. The way he captures the waves at the perfect moment, right at their peak, are remarkable in my opinion. The shapes and forms that they create are beautiful. I also noticed that in a lot of his shots, the sun is positioned in a place that highlights the lines and shows the varying colors of the waves.

Rachel Trautmann's Weekly Blog Post 04/04/16

Bill Owens

Bill Owens is born in 1938 and is originally from San Jose, California. He graduated from high school in Industrial Arts and spent the following two years in India and Jamaica. This is when he began to establish his social photography background. In 1967, he began to work with a variety of newspapers in his local area. After finishing up his first photography project that was dedicated to the culture of California in 1968, he started his most popular series ever. Bill Owens is best known for his series Suburbia. All of the images in this blog post are from that series. The Suburbia book was originally published in 1973 and has had multiple reprints since that time with more than 50,000 copies sold. He has lived as a professional photography since the 70's and is currently working on a photography journey called 115 Days Across America.

Bill's work surrounds social and culturally interests. He was raised in California and dedicated his most popular series on people of the suburbs of California. Most of his images are portraits but it does also capture shots that relate to his overall work. His subjects are staged but in their own environments. He uses his subjects to help tell his story and wants that story to be genuine. Although he has since moved into digital and color, this work is mostly in black and white and was all done with film. He is actually keen of selfies these days.

I've known about Bill's work for years. When I think of social and cultural photography, he is the first that comes to mind. I found his Suburbia series when I first started to explore photography so it holds an important place in my heart. I'm drawn into how he displays his subjects to tell their story. He isn't afraid to show to show discomfort and stereotypes. I actually think he prefers it that way; it makes for a better photo overall. I'm also drawn into how he frames his subjects. In many of his images, his subjects have been framed without in the shot and it immediately draws you into the subject matter.

Carra Roots - Weekly Blog Post

Robert Mapplethrope

Robert Mapplethrope has given me so much life lol. But no seriously, I can see why he was one of the most important artist of the 20th century. He pushed boundaries and made art. He started off by doing collages and that only lead to high heights for him. Working in mainly black and white, his contrast is found past the that and truly makes the photo. From things as delicate as flowers to his pornographic side of work, to me they all add this tension and anticipation when being viewed.

Some things I can name that Mapplethrope are shape, color, line, balance, light, and form. Each photograph has so much thought put into. Also when putting together many of his series. How his flower photos mimic the human body ones but yet still can stand strong and alone.

By only looking at only a few pictures of Robert Mapplethrope, I was inspired. I’ve come to realization that when it comes to my work that I don’t make as many photographs that have been in my head because I feel as though they are just repeats of others that I have seen. But I remember Shane saying that we need to get those pictures out. I need to start thinking about my ideas and my project as something that no one has ever seen before and not an idea I’ve heard of. I plan to open my mind and push my mind. Even if I say I favor portrait photography more, I will make the most of that create the best picture that I can.

Hailey Porth Weekly Post

"I’m interested in people who haven’t had all the lucky breaks in life – people who are handicapped emotionally, physically or financially. Much of life is luck. No one can choose whether he’s born into a wealthy, privileged home or born into extreme poverty. I guess I’m interested in people who haven’t had as much of a chance because they reach out more, they need more. They touch me. I do a lot of other work to support myself, but those kinds of projects are the reasons I became a photographer."

Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark would never know that she would change the game of documentary photography after she turned in her paint brush for a camera. Her photos are raw and honesty and are capable of bringing out a light in neighborhoods that seem too dark. She is able to single out the subject and tell their story by their body language she captures. 

In her work her passion for people is able to shine. You can tell that she isn't in it for the glamour but she wants these people to be known. In another project that she has done on prostitutes is heart bracingly beautiful. She is able to capture the reality of the horrors of prostitution but she is also able to capture the brilliant colors within the scene representing the masked actions of the customers. Almost like the gilded age. It looks beautiful on the outside and on the inside its absolutely horrifying. 

Here's a quote that I think sums up many great pieces of work that has to deal with social issues. 

“Most magazines seem to want simple solutions – pictures that are easy to look at and don’t pose any questions.”

My hope is that I would be able to have the guts to take the pictures that Mary Ellen is able to capture. My hope is to be able to look for the places that need to be seen. I want to be able to capture people in the vulnerable state that she able to capture them in but also the candid look to her work. 

http://www.americansuburbx.com/2010/05/interview-street-shooter-interview-with.html

Christian Moll Weekly Artist Post

 

Miquel Llonch

Miquel Llonch was born in 1963 and is from Terrassa, Spain, which is an outside suburb of Barcelona. This is where Llonch has made most of his photographs, especially his In the Fields of Gold series. He started this series in 2005, photographing the surrounding areas of his hometown. Llonch has had a special fondness for the fragile spaces that live threatened by construction and urban growth. They mark the frontiers between city and nature, light and darkness, noise and silence.

I really admire his photos and the passion behind them. For me, I can directly relate to where Llonch is coming from. We take to many things for granted these days. Sooner or later the things and places that create a sense of serenity will be gone. We need to take the stand and conserve these natural wonders such as our beaches. At night when i'm doing my long exposure photography and im outside under the natrual light of the moon my feelings become more important me.Its gives way to a world of imagination, that can be expressed through my photography. Turning the obvious into mysterious and the real into unreal for the viewers interpretation while having a concrete base for the meaning is what i'm trying to portray through my photos.