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Running low

Running low on inspiration and running low on emotion. Running low on faith and running low on heart.

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First photos of my college career!!

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When this is the only moment when you have actually done something with a camera since your graduation.

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Photography as Art: The Discounting of a Passion

What is considered art today was not always so, before art was art it was a way to communicate and to record history. Drawings were the first way of leaving a “written” history for people to see and understand. This gave art a purpose. The purpose was to document and relay information to the next set of people to come along. What is the definition of art? This can vary between people, “it’s a subjectively biased interpretation of something – whether that something is an event, a place, a person, or a thing, is irrelevant” (Thein 2013).  Fine arts have always been painting or drawing, as they were the first ones to be regularly practiced. Later followed theater and dance, along with music. A painting was a way of documenting historic moments or people before becoming an art, as documenting later became photography’s department. As art evolved so did photography. Photography became not only a medium for documenting and recording visual history but for expression and creativity as well. Photography is an art as it affects culture and challenges the artist to evoke an emotion through their works. Photography grew not only with art but with the social changes that washed over the public.

Expressive and Explorative

Artists often shoot to make a change and be heard. Their voice is what gives the piece the ability to evoke emotions. Artist work in its infancy is thought of as wrong or worthless but later found to be “brilliant,” a true piece of art work. Masters of today’s classic art were seen in much the same light as photographers when they first started. Both the old masters who practiced and the new artist who practices, explore an idea they try to extract the complexities from and break them down with in their art. This is practiced with series that are otherwise known as concentration. A concentration is a series of works where the artist is looking into a specific topic. A series of photos often has a deep meaning to it. A photographer has a style that can either take away or give to their series. This is where you can see the artist come out in their work.

Exploration and expression, this only challenges the artist to grow to produce emotion and though evoking images. New artists strive to change the landscape of art. They want to change it down to its core. They use the newest tools they can to do this, such as social media and the artists around them (Wall). The artists involved in movements push the world forward, change art and the emotions it brings out in the public. Movements such as this lead to the development of art as it is known today. Today’s art photographs are the emotional and thought evoking works. Art touches the emotion by giving the public something to connect to, it is about being realistic and raw. An image can often tell a story that words cannot grasp.  Art is about change and making a statement, that feeling developed in the image and the way people relate to the image is what makes it art.

Not only have the ideas and the mediums changed, but the technique in art has changed over time. They can be seen in the classics, there is realism and there is pointillism. There are artists like Picasso, he was not held in high esteem when he first started. Today’s art is not always held in high esteem in its infancy, but the changes that the arts have had on society are inspiring. Today’s contemporary art photography has transformed much since the last century in not only the techniques and challenges but in how it is described. “The old opposition, between, “artists who use photography” and “photographers who aspire to art,” which characterized some of the later twentieth-century debates about art and photography, has more or less vanished” (Bate). Photography has many aspects as other art forms do. It takes focus to achieve a well done and organized piece, the effort and the purpose makes the piece, “The artist pays careful attention to composition, the focus, the quality of the lighting, the poses of figures in the photograph and even during the editing process where the artist has hundreds of photos and only a few which they choose to promote as "art." The artist is looking for those perfect photos where everything came together to create something unique” (Moffat). Art is not made for any other use, it is simply made for the sake of being art. It is used to deliver a message. Art is made to express that message in an appealing way that opens a conversation between the viewer, the artist, and the issue.  

The Ease of Photography

The argument that is made that photography is too easy to make is closed minded and restrictive, exactly what this medium is about disavowing. Conventional thought would lead one to believe that photography takes nothing to create. But when you look at some of the images captured of the people in other countries, the work that it took to capture their essence in a single image and the impact that those images have on the public and culture is astounding, that cannot be discounted.  “It is good because it allows anyone with a creative mind to express her or his ideas without being bogged down with technique, like learning how to paint. This will present a great opportunity to those creative individuals. On the other hand, everyone snapping another picture, to clutter the closet, or more recently, the computer storage takes a little wind out of the photographic sail. This apparent ease of making pictures erroneously creates the impression that photographic art is easy” (Ekin). Not every picture taken is a work of art, those ones posted all over the internet of girls dolled up are not art, the girl’s make-up work is art but the photograph is not. There is a difference between selfies and photographic art, in that is one is documentary and the other is a creative thought. Both are photography but the first is a way of documenting rather than art. This is the flexible part of photography as it is not bound to any one use. It can open the world for a creative mind and show what has come before. Photography can connect the viewer with the artist and with their creative message, photography can connect a viewer with the past, a memory, current events or even the future. When you tell a story more often than not you are trying to create an image in your listener’s mind, photography can make an even stronger connection, by having something that looks familiar that can spark a memory in the photographer’s audience.

Creative Thought

A photographer presents the real world with a biased eye or interpretation. Photography has more to it than just point and click it has an artist eye directing the focus. “The artist pays careful attention to composition, the focus, the quality of the lighting, the poses of figures in the photograph and even during the editing process where the artist has hundreds of photos and only a few which they choose to promote as "art". The artist is looking for those perfect photos where everything came together to create something unique” (Moffat). Art is not made for any other use, it is simply made for the use of being art. It is used to share a concept, it is made to express that concept in an appealing way that opens a conversation between the viewer the artist and the issue. Much like a writer writes to express an idea, an artist creates to express an idea. A photographer is often an artist that uses a camera as the medium. Much as a musician would use an instrument.

An artist must have an idea and focus otherwise the unique image will never come around. A photograph can be taken by anyone but if they are not taken to be art then they are not art, they are a tool to capture that subject. No professional artist gets it just right on the first try each time, there are hundreds of scrapped pieces or unused drafts. The discussions have long been going on whether photography is a fine art. “A photograph captures a moment in time in its actuality, whereas something like a painting or drawing, however accurate is essentially a rendering of whatever the artist chooses to see” (plumridge). Photography is better at depicting the real world as opposed to painting and drawing. Painting and drawing are both an expressive and biased view of the artist where photography is expressive and biased as well but realistic and more relatable to the viewer. The weakness to this is that photography is not as open to artist expression as painting or drawing, as photography should work within the constraints of the real world.

Art has a long and illustrious history of being a controversial practice. Art in the 21st century has come to be a hotchpotch of subgenres, where there is a way to express creativity in many forms. Some things in the modern culture that are called art are making it even more of a challenge for photography to be considered art. These images such as selfies, snapshots, and phone filtered Instagram images are clouding what art photography is and lowering the art as a whole. Today’s generation of youth have a hard time making their own mark in the art world. As the line between art and snapshots is getting brushed over, thus photographs of artistic value get lumped in with the selfies and snapshots. But in truth “Photography as an actual art form, to do more than merely preserve visual memories, therefore needs to be well defined” (Moffat). Photographic art pieces can be the passion of an otherwise unimpressive student and thus they are an artist that works with a camera rather than with a paintbrush or an instrument.

The Focus

Art is not just the product it is the process. There are artists that go in to their own world while working on the piece. Art can be a meditation, a way to relieve the stress of the other parts of life. As a student works on a piece in class, it often does more than just gain them a grade. Their art work can open them up and let them shine as a person. They may lack math or English skills but have a creative mind. Photographic art is an art to those students that walk around in school and take images of life that capture something in that moment. A wedding photographer strives to capture those single moments, a smile, a look, and all those secret little moments (Craft). Moreover, candid and street photography image are a strong genre as they show the world as the photographer sees it. Street photography is not just the people but the streets themselves. Abbott, a photographer in the 30’s, took images studying the architecture from a worm’s eye view this means looking up at something, its counter point of view is a bird’s-eye view or looking down on something. These two views can add interest in to the image by how they distort the subject as this is not a normal angle that a person looks at the subject from. All be it Abbott did not see herself as a street photographer, she did take candid images of the public streets (Blumberg). Others brought photography in to its own by the use of color. Today, though, photography has moved slowly back to black and white as some of the most powerful images taken are without color. Color can be a strength to an image or a weakness to it. Color is often used as a symbol of life, joy, youth, and other more “colorful” parts of life. Thus the taking out of color can often emphasize the emotion of the image as you no longer are blinded by the pretty colors but truly see the beauty in someone’s face or the depth of an old colonial building’s story. Candid images are personal they tell the story of someone or something. In just a couple seconds a relationship can be captured, the relationship between the subject and their environment or with someone else (Craft).

The Changes Made

Social changes follow media. In today’s world trends come and go as fast as a 100th of a second. It only takes one image to start a trend or fashion, where rends used to last decades, and images taken by photography often led the change as paintings and sketches did before them. Artists are forward thinkers that push social change by the images they present, they are met with defiance at times. The open thinking of photographers often led to a change in thinking of the artists of that era and this then became the pop-culture, leading people in to the ideas of a new era.  “Photographers have often used their cameras as an instrument of reform, to show the world a problem and convince people to work toward a solution” (American Photography A Century of Images). Images of abused and abandoned animals pull at the heart strings and pictures of African children, with no fat, just skin and bones, pull at the heart strings, they tug on them and ask for help from the public. These images ask the viewer to come together with others and change society and the way things are. Do these images alone fix the world’s problems? No, but they call for action, this starts the road to change. The visual world is so important to the human mind, being blind would lose the mind the chance to learn and change with different mediums. Blindness is not only a physical blindness but a mental one if someone refuses to see the meaning in a piece then the piece will have no effect on them. Music and dance and painting also have the ability to change the world bring light to a problem or start a new way of thinking about the everyday stuff. Not all changes made by photography are long term, some are just to get you to feel something and this effects how you act for that next day or so. There are thoughts and images that are meant to last a life time, to push for a serious and needed change. The photographic method chosen for the image can have an impact on how the image is perceived.

The Over Branching Genres

All these genres fall within photography but under that are two large kinds of photography, Realistic and Conceptual. Now conceptual is a more studio based work where the image is not there to be captured and used but the image itself is set up. This kind of image takes many of the same thought techniques as Realistic, such that both have to have a well thought out angle, back drop, lighting, and mode. Photography has to have thought and instinct, especially when one is considering the realistic or candid images that are taken. An image taken candidly is a moment, it requires precise timing and a technical know how to make the image come together as a whole. The realistic images of today are often to point out today’s problems.  As conceptual images tend to work to make you want to think of an idea rather than a real issue. Photography may take less time but that is because today’s world moves at a fast pace and that the images that are earth shattering or emotionally evoking.

There are many sub genres to photography, along with many different process that have different effects on the image and how it affects its viewers. These affects work differently between film and digital. In digital the use of a double exposure can be done in a few seconds with the use of photoshop. A double exposure is when more than one image is laid over another to create a single finished product. As this affect can be achieved with in film as well but takes longer and requires more skill. This gives yet another point to discuss about photography as an art. If film photography takes time and skill then is it not an art, it takes less time than a painter but it still takes technique and work to achieve. Knowing the different techniques take skill and practice to know. Just as learning the composition and the shapes in a painting takes time to learn. Many painters became photographers as it was a faster process but they were already considered artists, thus the work they produced became known as art. Art, giving reason to the idea that if the creator is an artist then no matter the medium the piece is art. Thus, they are artists who use a camera. Much of today’s work can be seen as just that, work done by an artist with the use of a camera and its many pieces.

The concept of photography was thought of by innovative people and it will be furthered by the same kind of people. Photography leads the charge in today’s technology world. It is a tool as well as something to play around with. In many digital media, photographic images are used to make advertisements, or they may be used just as a base, but photography on its own is meant as a tool for a photographer to use to create. An artist can use any medium to create and true art photography needs an artist behind it.

Finally, this brings it to focus photography is simply the medium for artist to work. They can be referred to as photographers but they truly are just artists that express creativity with a camera. Photography itself requires skills and technique that painting does and does not and vice versa. Painting and drawing are nothing short of hard to perfect whereas photography is less so that way. In their own rights each medium is an art form and it is just a tool to be used by those who wish to express an idea. The artist must be able to make mistakes and grow, art was meant to document. A personal sketchbook documents that life. A piece of art now documents a thought and a feeling thought and expressed by the artist behind the camera. The photography is just a medium, the art is when an artist take up the use of a camera.

  Works Cited

"American Photography A Century of Images." n.d. PBS. 24 April 2017. <http://www.pbs.org/ktca/americanphotography/features/social_essay.html>.

Bate, David. "Photography and Art." Bate, David. The Key Consepts Photogaphy . New York City: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016. 279. E-Book.

Blumberg, Naomi. "Street Photography." 20 May 2016. Britannica Online Encyclopedia. 27 Feb 2017.

"Conceptual Photography." n.d. Wikipidia. 25 April 2017. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_photography>.

Craft, Christian. "Candid Photography 101." 5 June 2013. New York Institution of Photography. <https://www.nyip.edu/photo-articles/archive/candid-photography-101>.

Deschin, Jacob. "Photography as Art." 1960. Taylor and Francis Online. 3 March 2017. <https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=photography+as+art&as_sdt=1%2C45&as_sdtp=&oq=Photography>.

Ekin, Cemal. "Fine Art Photography." 29 Mar 2007. Kept Light Photography. 06 Apr 2017.

"Is Photography a Form of Lens-Based Art?" n.d. Is Photography Art? 4 April 2017.

Meyer, Jeff. "Night Photography Tips." 17 Feb 2012. TechRadar. http://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/night-photography-tips-9-essential-steps-for-beginners-1320947. 17 Feb 2017.

Moffat, Charles. "The history of photograph." Sep 2011. The Art History Archive. Apr 2017.

Plumridge, Jo. "Is Photography an Art Form?" 24 Feb 2014. Contrasly. 4 April 2017.

Preble, Duane and Sarah. "Camera Arts and Computer Images." Preble, Duane and Sarah. ARTFORMS. New York City: HarperCollins College Publishers , 1994. 171-183. Book.

Prodger, Michael. "Photography: is it art?" 19 Oct 2012. the Gardian . 4 April 2017.

Thein, Ming. "The line between art and photography ." 19 September 2013. Ming Thein. <https://blog.mingthein.com/2013/09/19/the-line-between-art-and-photography/>.

Wall, Jeff. ""Marks of Indifference": Aspects of Photography in, or as, Conceptual Art." Reconsidering the Object of Art (1995): 32-44. Online.

Wilks, Stuart. "Is Photography Art? Nope." 2015. Photography. <https://www.tremr.com/stuart-wilks/is-photography-really-art-nope>.

Wilson, Keith and Debra N. Mancoff. "Art and Art Exhibitions: Year In Review 2016." 6 January 2017. Britannica Onlin Encyclopedia . <https://www.britannica.com/art/visual-arts-Year-In-Review-2016#ref1239867>. Febuary 2017.

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Draft

What is the definition of art, this can vary from person to person as the definition of art to a sports fan will not be the same as a photography fan but a general definition is, “it’s a subjectively biased interpretation of something – whether that something is an event, a place, a person, or a thing, is irrelevant.” (Thein 2013) As the definition of art is contemplated, that is where a true argument for photography can be made. If all that is taken under consideration is Thein’s definition then photography is very much so an art, as conceptual photography is just that, an interpretation of something/someone. Others still say that photography is not an art, as painting or drawing is, because the artist does not need to see the end before they create the image, ask any photographer they will say that they very much so see where their image is headed. They simply must take the base photo and then change and edit the image until it becomes something more. Painters and drawers are both artist but they must find their inspiration somewhere often from a base image that they consider a reference, this connects with the idea that photographers base image is the real world they see something in the world and they build off it, this can be anything from another artists work or from the environment they live in. There are challenges that every medium poses; painting is creating depth with the paint and drawing is the proportions and shading, “photographers face a very different set of challenges to other artists: the main artistic one is dealing with the physical constraints of the real world, and the commercial challenge lies in demonstrating value” (Thein 2013). All mediums do face one challenge together that is composing a meaningful and eye capturing piece. As all art has challenges, there are genres within the mediums that prove harder than others, painting with oil based paints is harder than with other kinds but water color has its own faults. With drawing, charcoal is hard because of its smearing ability but this is also a reason to use it in some cases. With photography, getting the mood you want in a candid photograph or in a studio piece is the challenge but there also lies a challenge in using film vs. digital. There are reasons why a film image is more an art than that of a digital image to some photographers; it is that it takes more skill to create a film image. But this is nothing new to photography, it has been looked down on and dismissed as an art form. As is also pointed to in the article/blog written by Thein. Digital cameras are also a problem as they make it way too easy to take and remake the same image, “repeatability and access”, it is all about the ability to get and remake the exact same images. It takes away from the value to have multiples of something out there for purchase. A photographer needs the same skill in being able to see the end result and being able to translate the idea from within their mind to their chosen media. Much of this paper is done in a logic based method, it is fact or opinion but there is not much morality or emotion in this argument. All be it the topic is one that has much do with the emotion of the artist, the artist shows emotion in the image thus they have a connection with the piece. The author is a photographer by trade making what is said as unbiased as it can get. At the end of the article, the author leaves the reader with some food for thought. drawing the reader in to the discussion and asking them to think on it and what it means to them and to photography. After the image has been captured, sketched, blocked in or choreography has been thought out, comes the detail work. This is where the artist starts to mix their paint to the correct shade of grey, changes the exposure, moves a dancer, changes the depth of a shadow, or changes the color scheme. The work done on a piece is what makes it art, the coming together of an artist’s vision is what an art pieces. The more passion put in to a work the more creative and reaction evoking the final piece will be.

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Connection

A concentration, is a series of works where the artist is looking in to a specific topic. A series of photos often has a deep meaning to it. A photographer has a style that can either take away or give to their series. “Unlike any other visual image, a photograph is not a rendering, an imitation or an interpretation of its subject, but actually a trace of trace of it. No painting or drawing, however naturalist, belongs to its subject in the way that a photography does.” (Plumridge) A photographer honestly presents the real world with a biased eye. The job of an artist is to give a message and express feelings to connect with the public. The public and the other artist’s art influences their work. That’s what makes art a community. Art is a community in that art is competitive but that more than not another artist wants you to do well and wants to push you to do your best. As a photographer, I have truly found a family in the art hall. Truly it is important that people understand all art is connected and that it brings people together. “If you take a close look at landscapes and portrait images, you’ll often see the influence of painting.” (Plumridge)

It is amazing to watch the growth of art, how the greats have been interpreted. Today’s art is different, it is less of a realistic take but more of an expressive art. Expressive art is todays way of showing feelings and of connecting with others around the world and at home. Photography is exceedingly well adapted for this, people can connect with the images deeper as they are images from the real world, they have happened and the things with in them exist. Other art forms are not as connected with the real world as a photograph. The connection to the public that photography has is what gives it its charm. The technique needed to produce an artistic photography is prominent in the finished image. As many have said the work you put in to something is what makes it have value, as an artist this is truer than ever, the work that is put in and the thought that it takes means something to the artist and this is felt by the public.

Art work should have a statement with it, about how technology is taking away out ability to connect with each other and the physical world around us. As technology makes it easier to stay in contact the meaning behind the contact fades and this is a powerful statement. A piece of art should have the power to express the statement the statement has to be a thought out idea by the artist a great image can not develop a half thought out idea. And a half thought out image can not fully express a well thought out idea. This is where the connection to the public can be lost, this is what the artist strives for the reaction of the viewer. The connection between artist also stems from their work, the community that artist build with one another is how many ideas thrive and become bigger more powerful in its statement. A series of pieces can really emphasize the statement, a concentration really makes an artist focus in on the point and thus draw the public viewers in to it. As the work can be inspirational to others in the art community, it can create a movement to focus on an issue that can truly make a difference. This is what makes a series so interesting is the effect it has on the real world,  there are those fluff series that do not deal with real world issues but are still interesting and thought evoking ideas. Photography has a place in the art world. “So yes, I do believe that in the right circumstance photography is an art form. And it is an art from that takes skill, artistic ability and an understanding of technology. It deserves its place on the artistic forum.” (Plumridge) If the piece requires thought and technique then it is an art form and should have its place in the art community. Colleges put it in the art community it should be thought of as art in all areas.

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Essay Work

The discussions have long been going on whether photography is a fine art. “A photograph captures a moment in time in its actuality, whereas something like a painting or drawing, however accurate is essentially a rendering of whatever the artist chooses to see.” (Plumridge) Photography is better at depicting the real world as opposed to painting and drawing. Painting and drawing are both expressive and biased view of the artist whereas photography is expressive and biased as well but realistic and more relatable to the viewer. This gives photography both an upper hand and weakness when questioned. The weakness is that photography is not as open to artistic expression as painting or drawing in that they do not rely on the real world.

Science helped get photography where it is and gave it its basis in the real world. An argument against photography being art is that it is too science based. Its created by a mechanical process rather than by creative ideas. A person with no knowledge of the process can create an appealing image with the machine. Whereas a novice to other art forms would have a rougher time creating an appealing piece of art in that form. Thus making photography a less creative process and of lesser worth in the creative area. (Is Photography a Form of Lens-Based Art?)This argument that photography is a scientific method rather than a creative one has grounds in that photography was made through science. The process as a whole takes a large amount of creative thought and effort on the photographer’s side to put a complete image together. Where photography may have a start in science it is truly an art, yes novices can create valid images but they do not create the works that the professionals create. A novice painter can create an acceptable panting in a high school art class, thus discarding the idea that photography is the only thing that a beginner can achieve quality quickly.

Many have seen photography as a scientific or mechanical process rather than art even in societies of photographers. In the beginning of photography, it was an abstract process with flaws and challenges. A member of a photographic society in London argued that photography was becoming too realistic to be compared to art. The argument for this never fully left the conversation but was brought up less and less as time progressed and as modern photography grew and the market for it grew the argument that is was not art died. (Prodger) Photography has grown in popularity because it can be used for expression and documentation, one does not over power the other, photography is both an art and a tool. As an art, photography can be used to be expressive and tell a story from the artist’s view. As a tool, photography can be used to document things, places, events, and trends. A combination of the two could be advertising as it both expresses the feelings of the people and is used as a tool to persuade people. Art is something that evokes thought and interest photography does both in different ways.

Photography has more to it than just point and click it has an artist eye directing the focus. “The artist pays careful attention to composition, the focus, the quality of the lighting, the poses of figures in the photograph and even during the editing process where the artist has hundreds of photos and only a few which they choose to promote as "art". The artist is looking for those perfect photos where everything came together to create something unique.” (Moffat) Art is not made for any other use, it is simply made for the sake of being art. It is used to deliver a message, it is made to express that message in an appealing way that opens a conversation between the viewer, the artist and the issue. Much like a writer writes to express an idea, an artist creates to express an idea. A photographer is often an artist that uses a camera as the medium, much as a musician uses an instrument. An artist has to have an idea and focus otherwise the unique image will never come around. A photograph can be taken by anyone, but if they are not taken to be art, than they are not art, they are a tool to capture that subject. No professional artist just gets it right, there are hundreds of scrapped pieces and unused drafts.

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3-D and Focus

3-D, the feeling of a hologram. That connects with the science fiction dork in artists. This effect in photoshop uses some similar tools as other effects but does implement new tools to create a very realistic effect. Not only does the author of the video show the tools but shows the improvements that each edit does. He wants to show the importance of the details that improve the image. The effect starts like many other with more than one image to layer together. Each layer had a purpose also the layering of the layers allows for the undoing of mistakes. All be it most of my best work has had it fair share of happy mistakes it is always a safer bet to make copies of the layer while editing. The actual effect was created with an image of an iPhone and of a sheep and a sheep dog. The image is interesting but the two images could have been paired with more fitting images. The video also showed the idea of a 3-D city coming out of a phone. The way the shadows in the image were created was very interesting and that a light source was added giving it an even better feeling. The shadows were made by selecting the shape and then painting it black and flipping it. They were also done with use of the layers. This effect could allow the artist to capture people’s attention and make some powerful pieces. This simple tutorial is really explanatory about telling the viewer what to do to get the piece to really come together, as I said earlier the details that the author shows in the video really make an impact on the piece.Other videos about 3-D images also so creative ways to get similar effect, another tutorial shows a man on a bridge walking in to the phone. While this image was not done in the detail the first one was it brought up a lot of thought as to why the image may have been created. The effect of this image was very similar to another photography (art) term called leading lines. The lines of the bridge bring the viewer in to the image to the focal point of the image. These brings up the thought that the focal point in an image is the most important thing. If the image does not have an obvious focal point the image is ill put together and will lack the presentation to get the point across. Getting people to look and see the images message depends greatly on the work the artist puts in to the piece. The planning of the base image(s) and then the editing of the image to create a cohesive photograph that has meaning. The could be an argument that editing and image in photoshop makes the piece less of an authentic piece of art as the artists are using technology to create the photograph. One of the counters could be that a painter uses brighter colors, a singer uses technology, a dancer uses tools to train their body to bend farther, and a drawer uses ink and tools to texture their pieces, and all of these are considered art and tools to create that art.The use of photoshop is not to create the photograph but to help emphasize the qualities of the base images. A well done job in photoshop can leave viewers guessing as to how that image could have been captured. A 3-D image creates interest especially if there are details like shadows, reflections, and light sources. The interest could be that a phone can transport people to other places and connect people to others around the world or that a phone will suck someone in and take away who they are. A piece of art work can make many statements and the effects that photoshop allows the artist to use can strengthen the piece. The strength of a piece is in how well it connects people. The argument that photography is not an art form because of the technology used doing all the work is incorrect as the technology can do nothing with out an operator to see what the image looks like to the human eye and to make the changes needed to make the piece cohesive and connectable for other people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V8BhXU0bow 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8Z4cBkiPb8

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Effects Continue

I think about those images they make where something is inside something else that it would not ordinarily be in. Like a fish in a light bulb, I watched a tutorial on how to do this. The video starts with showing you what photographs you will need to create this image. The video took four photographs, but many more layers and layer masks will be added to them. The beginning of the video is with the base image a light bulb, to create this one must first remove the inner pieces of the bulb. The video uses a selection tool to help with this process. By using the lasso tool and content fill the inner part of the bulb is covered with the background of the image, then comes the tiding up of the cover up. Using the clone stamp tool, this allows you to take a small area of the image and copy it over to another area within the same image. Often a clone stamp is a good way to take out unwanted content in an image. After this an over lay of water was put in a layer mask was used to remove the unwanted sections of the over lay. After this there were some adjustments made to the layer. This adjustment was clipped to the layer, there is a small button that you push with in the adjustment window that clips it to the layer. If the adjustment is clipped to the layer it will only affect what is in that layer. After the adjustments, the next image is over laid, this is the fish layer. The video show to angle two fish within the bulb and then to remove the other fish. They remove the fish by selecting them with the lasso tool and right click and choose the wire layer tool. This action will move the selected area on to another layer. After this process the editor can then remove the layer with the other fish on them. After this the last image is over laid this is another water layer, on this layer the water mask is also applied and then the is shaped to fit the bulb like the other layers. At the very end of the video a vibrancy adjustment is added to make the colors brighten. These images can have some powerful messages or simply be very interesting to look at. That is an aspect of art if it has a message but is not pleasing to the eye than no one is going to want to look at the image. Creative images are in general better received by the public as they make people curious about the concept and how the artist created that image. These kinds of images can show the imprisonment or just an odd concept like fish in a bulb. Photography is best done with passion. Other effects can be useful in creating passionate works. But often it is best to stay with the minimum on a photograph. A photograph is something that should be truly be honest and raw in some way, war images are truly a test to that, they get adjustments made to them but you don’t truly photoshop them unless you are changing the image for a specific image. Effects can be powerful, but raw images where you truly capture a powerful moment are as eye capturing as something done in photoshop. Photographs are not just a way to capture a moment but to express a feeling or thought and to bring up thoughts or feeling in others. Photographs connect people, by creating edited images you are bringing people in to another world of though showing them a new way to look at something. This is impacting today’s generation, images are used as ammunition as well as a way to come together. Photography is used to document and express. These two things are key to the millennium generation. As they document everything from morning to night, and that someone’s social media presence is a characteristic of them. Photography is a tool that can be used to create selfies or art, not every photography that is taken is a piece of art but many art. Selfies are a way of documenting the feelings of todays generation. They also bust the idea of vanity, photography can be used for this to show the pros and cons to many of today’s trends and views that is the amazing thing about them is they can be applied in so many ways to so many ideas and things.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnzGFtUevts

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Effects

I watched a YouTube video on how the create a specific effect. This person transformed a in others boring image in to an eye capturing image in twelve minutes with some fast forwarding to save the viewer time. The effects that can be achieved with photoshop are truly amazing where some would argue it take the value out of the image I truly think it adds to it. This artist had to think and work and use techniques just as a painter would but the canvas is a digital canvas rather than a normal board or stretch canvas. The effect that I watched was disintegration, the video showed how to make it look as though a person was disintegrating and blowing away. This imagery can be used to express ideas, such as though the beauty of this girl will only last so long. Or that the model is losing themselves in the world. Or it could be applied to inanimate objects to show that with time they will disappear and become unneeded. Disintegration can represent decay or transformation, the artist is the one in charge of how the viewer is shown this idea, as it is applied to a digital image.

Decay, is often viewed as ugly or sad, but an artist can create a image where the decay is beautiful, for example in the video. The model in the video is beautiful to start but by the end she has a totally different look about her one of mystery and angelic light. This image does not evoke a sense of sadness or ugliness it brings wonder and interest to the viewer. This is art this is what art is about bring out specific feelings in the viewer.  Photographers need to be able to create a great photograph with out photoshop and be able to accentuate their image with the tools provided in photoshop. With out a well taken image photoshop can only do so much. Photographers need to have an idea in their head and the ability to portray that in their media. Mixing mediums can improve the over all value of the piece as well as decease it depending on how well the work is done.

As well as mixing effect, some effects go very well with one another and others are two different or to similar to paired of together. There are other effect like the disintegration effect, such as the smoke effect these two have similar effect on the image and except in a few situations should not be used on the same image. I watched a video in how to create a smoke effect on a portrait. Both effect have very similar sets to create them in both you separate the subject from the background of the image in the first effect the artist also added a image with a texture in at the end. They both required multiple layers and copies of the subject to get to the end result. In both you erased parts of the subject as well as parts of the back drop. The two different artist used different ways of making their back drops to the image but their techniques both served their images and the effect being applied differently. Both used specific brush tools to create the effect along with using layer masks. A layer mask is a tool in photoshop which allows the photographer to remove a piece of the image and reveille the photograph below it.

The smoke effect can be used for similar as well as different purposes than the disintegration effect. One use for the smoke effect is smoking adds or anti smoking adds. Or a more expressive way such as for a piece like the one shown in the video where he applied the effect to transform the plan image of the women in to a more interesting and thought evoking image.  The effect that I learned about from the videos both required thought planning and a creative eye to make them come together. Yes anyone an mess around in photoshop and even produce something of interest but the true meaning of the image is what makes it art. What message is the piece giving? What emotions or thoughts does it bring out in the viewer? These image made in the videos both were eye catching and make you look and think about the meaning and the idea behind the image thus making them are.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnpDy8zlmv8 (Disintegration effect)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnpDy8zlmv8 (Smoke effect)

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Color and Infrared

Color Film was not an easy feat. It took many fails and much discouragement to the point of almost quitting to develop the process. As most inventions, the newest version stole a little from all its predecessors. The first man to play with the idea of color images was Levi Hill, a Baptist preacher from New York; he was not an artist to start with but produced some results in 1851. He was followed by Gabriel Lippmann. “Lippmann tapped into a phenomenon known as interference, which has to do with the propagation of waves” (Archambault). His method also required the use of a toxic chemical—mercury. The idea that this was the end of color photographs climb is one with not grounds. The path for color photography did not come to a close until the 1980’s. “Maxwell proposed the idea of taking photographs of a scene through red, green, and blue filters” (Archambault). This lead to the idea to put all their color emulsions in one but it took a longer time to get to produce it. Maxwell’s process required each different emulsion to be developed separately and then be projected together to create a single multicolor image. “Blue was placed on top of the three emulsion ‘sandwich’ with a blue blocking filter behind it because blue light affects all silver halide emulsions. Behind the blue filter blocker sat the green and red sensitive layers.” (Archambault) When Maxwell had his process, he went to present it but was pushed to the back while other lesser processes were followed. It was not till much later that emulsions were sensitive enough to be used by the public. But for some processes photographs had to be take multiple times with different filters which did present a problem as the scene and or the photographers position could move. This lead to the creation of multiple cameras to solve this problem. Some took the image separately with easily change able filters and emulsions other took all three in one go but still required separate development. “The process was still not easy, but by the 1910s photographers were able to be out in the field capturing color.” (Archambault) But even than there was a draw back the light would lighten as it went through the three emulsions. Color film rolls were sold but the photographs were not sharp due to the lightening of the light as it was captured. Kodak came in to the picture 1935 with a tri-pack that was sold to the mass. “Oddly enough, the development was thanks to two musicians, Leopold Mannes and Leopold Godowsky, Jr., who began experimenting with the color process.” Many of the developments made in the photographic world were made by not dedicated photographs. Later a company Agfa improved upon the Kodak companies process and made it faster. After the development of color photography, films began to be colored. This development opened the door for photography to explore even further in to subject matter because the color could be studied along with the shape the angle and the emotion of a subject. Photography has come a long way in what it can now capture. There is infrared photography, along with new process that can be completed with both digital and film images. Infrared photos are interesting because they show the viewer a whole new world as the human eye can not see the infrared light. Infrared was one of the thing to develop after color came to be. IR (infrared) photography was used by the military as it had a hard contrast between plants and buildings as well as between water and its surrounding area. Infrared photography was used by bands in the 60’s to produce a “trippy” album covers. “Since the DSLR has been modified for IR only purposes, you can use it just as you did when photographing images within the visible light spectrum. ISO, shutter speed, and aperture combinations will work in conjunction with one another just as they do with any non-IR DSLR.” (Vishneski) This improvement in technology allows those who are truly dedicated to taking infrared photographs as convenient as if they were taking a normal image on an SLR camera.

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Photography as an Art

Classic fine arts have always been painting or drawing. Later followed theater and dance, along with music. A painting was a way of documenting historic moments or people before becoming an art, as documenting later become photography’s department. As art evolved so did photography, later becoming the documenting and recording medium of visual history. Photography grew not only with art but with the social changes that washed over the public. Photography is an art as it affects culture and challenges the artist to evoke an emotion through their works.

Photography needs an artist to see and create the emotion in a scene. Art, “subjectively biased interpretation of something – whether that something is an event, a place, a person, or a thing.” (Thein). To have an interpretation there has to be a human element to the image, the bias is what draws interest, what creates the art. “Although ads for some cameras would have us believe a particular brand will almost automatically produce “great picture,” it is the photographer, not the equipment, that make the difference between an ordinary snapshot and a work of art.” (Preble) The human creativity and skill put in to an image is truly the value, as can be quoted by Ansel Adams and Edwin Land. The two authors agree that art has to have human interaction to make it a true work of art rather than an emotionless work. “So much of photography is brought to it by the subject, the camera, and simply blind luck” (Wilks) Another author disagrees that a photography needs a photographers eye. The two views disagree on whether or not photography is art, as art needs human interaction and the author attributes the photography to blind luck, equipment, and what is in the scene; whereas the two prior authors attributed it to the photographer or artist.

           Money, everything needs a value.  In the art world the piece that are worth millions are insured and displayed in high end museums. Bate argues that as photography has moved to the center of art it has become a default for museums, “art photography is now a default discourse and medium of art for many museums and galleries.” he points to the fact that photographs can be read by the public. Whereas  there  are those that say  “Yet you don’t have photographs insured for hundreds  of  millions of dollar,” (Thein) These two author  disagree on this subject completely. As Thein states that photography is not insured or displayed as other true pieces of art but Bate believes that photographs are widely displayed in both museums and galleries. Art is centered on what speaks to the public, as photography can be easily understood by the public it does not make sense to say that photography is not valued or displayed.

Exploration and expression, only challenge the artist to grow to produce emotionally and though evoking images. “The younger artists wanted to disturb that, to uproot and radicalize the medium, and they did so with the most sophisticated means they had in hand at the time, the auto-critique of art identified with tradition of the avant-garde.” (Wall)  The artist involved in this movement wanted to push the world forward, change art and its uses. Movements such as this lead to the development of art as it is known today. “At its best, photography can become an extra sense,” (Preble) The camera is to simply capture the artist’s biases. Both articles have strong points of agreeance on that photography changed the way people thought and about the skills developed for completing a well done image. “While these classic lighting techniques are a great starting point, it’s best to experiment, so if you’re working own home photo studio don’t be afraid to tweak these studio lighting setups.” (Meyer) The lighting in an image has changed with the interest and focus of the art, as the artist strived to create change in the world around them. This article show you classic ways of lighting but asks you to experiment and change the light to your image. All these article agree that the artist must push art and grow with it.

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Development details

The Development of Photography. Photography was a slow-moving process, the basics developed long before the actual art form came along. Renaissance artists desire to create realistic depictions of the world started the move toward photography. The beginnings of the art form were primitive. The beginnings of photography came from a camera obscura. A camera obscura was a darkened room with a small ray of light coming through that projects an inverted image on the opposite wall. This then progressed from a dark room to a dark box. These steps were the first in the directions of photography. “It was not until about 1826 that the first vague photographic image was made by Joseph N. Niepce.” His process was built on by artists who followed. A man named Daguerre, made a photography process called daguerreotypes. These kinds of photographs were better than the images captured with the camera obscura but the exposure time limited the subjected matter. Moving objects were not capturable at the beginning of photography, images that were in public did not capture the figures as they did not say long enough to leave an impression. Photography brought a time where art was more accessible to more people than ever. Prior to this only the wealthy could afford portraits but soon many of lower statuses would sit for minutes at a time for portraits. These images were often modeled after painting. As photography grew so did painting both in opposing directions. Photography became documenting and painting became a more expressive art. After the development of the photographic process, artists started to create interesting images. An artiste by the name of Julia Margaret Cameron, she made some of the most expressive portraits made in her time.

As sophisticated as the technology of today is the basics still exist within the camera. A light proof box with an opening to let light in, a lenses to focus the image, and a way to control the time the light is allowed in. The creation of the aperture allows photographers to not only control the amount of light but to also control the depth of field in the image. The depth of field is what is in focus in the image. A way to understand this is to hold ones thumb out in front of them and focus on it then to make a tube with one hand and focus again on the thumb.

The developments in the technology of photography has allowed the photographer to capture motion. Eadweard Muybridge was one of the first to study motion in a series and laid the ground work for motion pictures. It has become common for cameras to have shutter speeds of over 1/1000 of a second. The shutter speed as well as the developments in other parts of photographic technology have enhanced the creative capabilities of the photographer.

Film photography being at the beginning of photography is one of the biggest mediums. Film is a plastic sheet that is covered in a light sensitive emulsion. After the film is shot and developed it is called a negative because the lights and darks are reversed. The is such thing as positive film such as color positive film; this film can be projected and or printed. A down to film is some of the changes that are made can degrade the image. A digital image is easily changed and is not degrade (or is less degraded) by changes. A digital camera can hold many times the number of images as the largest roll of film. A digital image can be printed on a photograph grade printer. A film image has to have the negative placed in an enlarge and projected on to light sensitive paper to create the image. This is done in a darkroom where the only light is the enlargers light. The process is not finished once the image is projected the paper must be put through a series of chemicals to achieve a finished image.

Color film or colored images were not created right away for many decades’ photographs were limited to black and white, with the ability to change the images over all hue but could not change the actual image in to having reds and blues and other color in the same image.  On top of its expense, many believed it to take away from the overall composition of the image. Most serious photographers used black and white long after the color film and process was available. The development of the process only grew the photographic art form as did all the individual developments in other areas of photography.

This was taken from the book ARTFORMS by Duane and Sarah Preble pages 171-183

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Photographic Art

Photography and art, today many think of them as two very different things. It can be said that much of what a photographer does is added by their equipment but is not what makes a photograph. Two questions are asked, first “What is art?” (Bate), now that is a hard question to answer. Second is “what contribution does photography make to art?” (Bate), this is important it truly does center on what photography means in the art industry. The first question what is art, art is simply creation to some. Dance is an art, singing is an art, drawing is an art, and photography is an art; these all have more in common than just creation they are all about expression. The artist makes the photograph, an artist who has a creative eye and the skill to capture emotion, beauty, and spontaneity all in one image. Photography was not always an art form but often a way of documenting an event or just everyday life. David Bate says in chapter 7 in the section called Art that art came to be not about who took the picture but about what the picture was about and what it said. Art is about impacting culture, what better way than to present real life images that can raise feelings and can bring about action. Advertisements for example the images depicted there are there to get you to do or by something they are by no means classical fine art but they are photographs or videos that are used to change the actions of a culture one way or another.

Photography and some types of painting strive to achieve likeness, but photography has followed this direction while painting has followed a more imaginative and abstract direction. Often you can hear realist ask what is so special about a paint splatter, but paint splatters is an expressionism style. Realism and expressionism do not see eye to eye on much of art. The art impact everyone differently, photography holds to realism thus connecting people to reality. The mediums development changed visual culture, not only because of the technology but because of industrial changes that changed how people looked at art and culture. (Bate) Photography came to be what painting was a way to capture the real world, painting challenges realism after the invention of photography. As photography captured reality, painting became a way of expression. This changed the art world. Autonomy changed the art industry as well, the freedom that artists exhibit gives them free range but also means that it is short lived and brief. Artists appear and flourish and then diminish, as their art becomes popular and then loses value as it becomes common.

These changes lead to shifts in paradigms, these were not one following the other but over lapping and building on one another. These paradigms in photography were areas that could be distinguished but you could find traces of older paradigms in the new ones. As all these changes came about conceptual art photography came to be, this is a kind of art that seeks to embrace and depict the ideas of an artist. Conceptual art and fine art, conceptual art is about the subject and fine art is about the artisan hand produced photographs. “Conceptual art, in particular, offered a new area—one which encouraged artists to ask fundamental questions about both art and the art world, about the politics and sociology of art. Moreover, conceptual work was relatively cheap to produce, portable and lacking in the self-conscious heroism of previous modernist movements. Women quickly became prominent in the world of conceptual art.” (Bate) The two disciplines are truly central to the genre. “The “pictorial” paradigm established a relation of resemblance between the picture of things, and as they are in the world. Modernist painting had long rejected this ideology of “transparency” for one of flat and surface. So it is perhaps surprising to see it return to dominance in art photography, even though photography obviously had a disposition towards it.” (Bate) This is yet again another genre, it is closer to fine art but is in the photojournalism and documentary direction as well.

Art today has come a long way, photographic art has shaped its direction in many ways. Photography has brought out new fields in other art forms that may have not come about as soon or not at all without the changes photographic art has brought. This does not only bring photography in to the art industry but makes it a corner stone to modern art, meaning today’s art, that is shaping movements and giving support to people and causes. This changes today’s culture, this is the purpose of art.

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Sources

Annotated Bibliography: Is Photography Art?

 Blumberg, Naomi. "Street Photography ." 20 May 2015. Britannica Online Encyclopedia . 27 Feb 2017.

This article speaks about the changes and the influences of street photography. It gives a description of the genera. It explains its beginnings, as well as going on to explaining the techniques and equipment that was used for the genera. The article also speaks of the prominent figures of the time that were involved in the development of the genera. The genera was used to document the daily lives of people, in America. It shows the progression that the genera went through coming in to the 21st century.

This article offer detailed information about street photography. It is mostly about the people who lead the genera but does offer the tools and techniques used in the genera as well. It is a well put together piece with a clear purpose and thought process. The article includes many figures who used or influenced the genera thus giving the reader the ability to go and look for works by those people and or articles about them and their work.

This article fits in to the discussiom in that is gives me not only the background information and a description but those who used the genera and how they developed it. The article also gives me a strong reference for people seeing photography as an art. The article supports my main claim in that is shows the skill and work it took photographers to get image worth while. The genera itself is a key point in that many of modern photography is to show the issues in todays world and what societies culture is in the 21st century. All this helps strengthen my argument that photography is an art form that requires skill and thought as other forms of art do.

 Craft, Christian. "Candid Photography 101." 5 June 2013. New York Institution of Photography. <https://www.nyip.edu/photo-articles/archive/candid-photography-101>.

Crafts article about candid images tells you about candid images. The article also includes what impact a candid image has or can have. Then goes on to tell you how to take candid images.

The tips are detailed and easily understood, as this article was clearly written for beginning photographers. The tips are not only about hoe to operate and set a phot but hoe the photographer should be. The article states that candid images tell a personal story that is capture in that one moment. It speaks to how a candid image can capture the real personality of the subject.

This article builds the idea that photography can capture the beauty in the world. How photography can tell a story that people can connect with, this supports the claim that photography is art and not just a documentary tool, it is a way of expressing the emotions of the subject and the thoughts of the photographer. It yet again build that photography needs skill and creativity as other  art forms do.

 Thein, Ming. "The line between art and photography ." 19 September 2013. Ming Thein. <https://blog.mingthein.com/2013/09/19/the-line-between-art-and-photography/>.

The article: The Line Between Art and Photography is a part of the discussion of weather photography is truly an art or not. Thein writes about how photographs do not fetch as much money as a painting and other art forms. The article also talks to the ability of a photograph to be reproduced and how this affects the worth of the images. Thein also speaks about how digital photography has made the form less of an art as anyone can do it like the professionals. The advertisement of photography equipment also affect the worth and perspective on photographs. The photography equipment industry is all about selling people the idea that their camera/accessory will make their photographs look just like the professional’s photographs do. The article also includes the idea that camera phones are affecting how photography seen by society. The article also mentions a definition of what art is. Thein speaks of the challenges that photographers face  such as the physical constraints of the real world. Along with that it is said that photography can be done well like Warhol or badly like those who edit their images on apps similar to hipstagram this can affect if it is art or not. The article goes on to talk about how the photographer has more control over some aspects of the final product and less in others than other artists.

This article is well written and shows the both sides well. Thein is a photographer by trade but unless you know the name before reading the post you would think this was someone writing on the issue from the outside of it. This article covers lost of information about what photography is and what affect the perspective on it. The issue is presented and the author addresses the main claim along with a counter to this claim in the article. Thein writes in to the discussion with strong points, that make you stop and think.

This article is a important source as it is already part of the discussion on the issue that the discussion is addressing. It gives both pros and cons within the issue. The piece covers a large amount of information that supports and discount my claim that photography is an art. This piece also gives a foundation to look in to specific genera’s of photography and apply them to this article to build my argument.

Wilks, Stuart. "Is Photography Art? Nope." 2015. Photography. <https://www.tremr.com/stuart-wilks/is-photography-really-art-nope>.

Wilks article speaks of what makes photography not an art. Bringing the point that all the photographer has to do is push the shutter button.  Or that the image is created by the camera and the subject not the photographers. Wilks compares photographs to football player or a bricklayer, saying that theses are not art and require skill to do. The article states a counter claim at the end of the reading. Also stating as others have that the amount of prints made of each image lowers the value.

This article is much more opinion than fact. The author makes I statements. Other then the counter claim it is all mostly about the idea that photography just does not have the same quality as other art forms.

This fits in to the discussion of is photography an art or not because of its claim that photography is not art. That it is a technology rather than an art, as it requires little to nothing from the person holding the camera. As the discussion continues this piece is a very controversial article, thus it is important to the discussion.  

 Hildebrandt, Darlene. "Better Landscape Photography Tips and Video Tutorials (Video #1)." n.d. Digital Photography School. Feb 2017.

The video was a few minutes long with visual adds to the 10 landscapes photograph tip. The tips had slight description and explanations with them. The tips were focal point, use a tripod, seasonal subjects, time of day, avoid distractions, rule of thirds, look for the right place to capture the image, focal length, avoid shooting on gloomy days, and take your time.  It talks about the equipment used, and how it is not the most important thing.

The video was straight forward and understandable with clear points and what these tips would do for a photograph. The videos visual adds helped show the meaning and make the tips more understandable.

This fits in to the discussion for it information. It shows the importance of the thought process of a photographer. This defends the argument that photography is an art form.

 Meyer, Jeff. "Studio lighting: 4 seriously simple lighting techniques to try at home." 29 Aug 2012. Jeff Meyer <http://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/studio-lighting-4-seriously-simple-lighting-techniques-to-try-at-home-1320828. Feb 2017.>

Meyer’s article talks about how to set up a studio and what one will need for that process. The article has four lighting set up techniques: rembrandt, clamshell, backlight, and rim light. The article then goes to explain how to do each technique. The beginning of the article is about the tools and equipment used in many studios.

The article is helpful if a student/person was trying to accomplish a specific affect for an image.

The article shows that photography needs equipment as well as know how.  

Meyer, Jeff. "Night Photography Tips." 17 Febuary 2012. TechRadar. <http://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/night-photography-tips-9-essential-steps-for-beginners-1320947. 17 Feb 2017.>

The article is made of tips. The first tip is about getting high quality night shows, suggesting RAW images. The next step is about the use of a tripod to get sharp images. The third tip is about picking the spot to take the image before it becomes night. Four is about the camera itself, finding what the author is calling the ‘Sweet spot’, the author also provides f-stops that are the usual sweet spots. The fifth tip is also about the camera, it is about the mode that the camera is set in, the tip suggests that one should have their camera on manual mode. The sixth step is not as important as the others it is about creating an effect on lights. Seven is a tip on composition of the photograph, and how the one should approach. The second to last tip is about a camera setting that is not commonly used and is not needed with the use of proper settings and a tripod and the final tip…Do Not Touch The Camera.

This article has good points but a couple of the tips are not useful for some. The articles descriptions of the tips do help clarify some of the tip titles.

This article shows the specific needs of a night photograph. Night photographs are unique to other arts because of the cameras ability to capture the motion of the light. Drawing and painting is but an imitation of what is being seen, photography s the art of capturing the world. This adding to the discussion that photography has something to offer that other fine arts can not capture.  

Wilson, Keith and Debra N. Mancoff. "Art and Art Exhibitions: Year In Review 2016." 6 January 2017. Britannica Onlin Encyclopedia . <https://www.britannica.com/art/visual-arts-Year-In-Review-2016#ref1239867>. Febuary 2017.

 Keith talks about development and changes in photography. There are bits about wild life images and about refugees. The article also talks about things that happened concerning photography but not about photography. There are points about big names in fields along with things about their images. Talks about the shows that the artists have and what they were of and called.

This article was informative but not very clear or easily worked in to the topic of discussion.

Bate, David. "Photography and Art." Bate, David. The Key Consepts Photogaphy . New York City: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016. 279. E-Book.

This chapter in a David Bates book is about photography and art. The chapter starts out with talking about the two questions asked during the discussion about photography as an art. In the opening paragraphs the author states that photography is an art. Then falls in to talking about autonomy, medium, as well as painting and photography and the connections drawn between them. Afew paradigms of photography as a whole, later the pictorial paradigm is talked about after pictorial and modernism is explained and discussed. After the paradigm comes conceptual art and street photography. Theses are only a few things discussed by Bate in his book.

The chapter was a useful source in getting to know the connections between painting and photography. It also provided useful info about things within photography.

This article talks about the connection between photography and other fine arts. Also a expert in the field has a definable stance on weather photography is art and gives support for it thus helping the discussion along and supporting the idea that photography is art.

Wall, Jeff. ""Marks of Indifference": Aspects of Photography in, or as, Conceptual Art." Reconsidering the Object of Art (1995): 32-44. Online.

Wall was very detailed and technical with the how he talks about the two directions that photography went in. The article is several pages long with the first half covering “Form Reportage to Photodocumentation” and the second half being about “Amaturization.” The second being a very informative and interesting subject of discussion.

The article was hard to follow at first but once the reader falls in the the pattern of Walls writing it is a very informative piece of writing.

The article talks about how art has become art and two key directions that it was taken in. This fits in to the discussion of photography being art as it shows the use of photography as well as how it has become expressive in some ways.

Preble, Duane and Sarah. "Camera Arts and Computer Images." Preble, Duane and Sarah. ARTFORMS. New York City: HarperCollins College Publishers , 1994. 171-183. Book.

The passage talks about photography giving the literal meaning of photography, “light-writing” or “light-drawing”, both very fitting. The next thing to be talked about is the development of Photography from the realistic paintings done to the creation of an actual camera over a hundred years later. This leads in to  the technology of photography, here the author talks about the camera and how it is basically the same as it was in the beginig. Photography and social change is next it opens talking about how images can move us and stir our emotions. The last section on photography is about color images and that it took time for photographers to come around to the idea.

This section was an interesting and thought provoking work. The piece had information that would help an artist really dig in to the discussion.

This fits in to the discussion as it is about the changes made in how people thought about and saw art. The article is useful as a academic reference of where to look to see photography shown as an art.

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Photojournalism/Street Photography

Photojournalism, is a form of journalism in which written words are subordinate to photographic presentation of a story. Images of refugees and war ravished countries often dominate the news, image often can express the story in a more connectable way than words. The flipside to this is that as photography is very touching it can also have vulgar or bizarre content that can make viewers uncomfortable. Most of photojournalism is in magazines, where the story is illustrated and accompanied by a short written story to follow it. Photojournalism is often connected with street photography a newer genera of photography that is all about the snap shot style, capturing the moment as it comes. This genera like photojournalism show the world as it is often finding the beauty in what is there but not trying for a perfect and flawless image of classical photographic beauty. (Wilson/Mancof 2017)

Wildlife photography often is photojournalism, as they are telling the story of that animal of that breed of animal. They are aiming to tell a story to raise awareness or to ask for help. Either of these make it a news story told by an image thus making it photojournalism.

The lines between genera’s are often blurred in the fact that many genera came from others. “In fact, many early street photographers started out as photojournalists or fashion photographers and often continued to perform those roles for a living while they pursued their art during their off-hours.” (Blumberg) There is often connections and similarities between the photographs taken by two different photographers with differing approaches to capturing an image. They both may have similar composition, and could even have similar subject matter but aimed toward a different audience.  Photography has a strong base in documentary. It was and is used for capturing the changes and major events that are accruing in the world around the artist. The fact that not only can photography have a useful purpose as well as an expressive purpose is important to its growth. Other art forms are capable of both uses as well but photographs can do it with so much more accuracy. “Lautrec, who worked side by side with photographers attempting to capture the essence of urban life.” (Blumberg) Those who work to capture the essence of a culture, an event, or just an everyday event in someone’s life. They need the right tools both technology wise and creativity wise.

The camera used also had an affect on the images that were captured. “At first the camera was seen as a tool that could replace the artist’s hand, but over time the camera’s unique capacities—its instantaneousness and ability to see more than the human eye (and with better focus)—clearly set a photograph apart from a painting and made photography not an adjunct study but rather a distinct medium valuable in and of itself.” (Blumberg) This opened the door to photography being more than just a way of documentation. As photography developed and the tools developed the generas expanded in to many other subgeneras that are today used to not just tell the story of the subject but to express the story of the artist. This shift from photojournalism/documentary photography is one that has affected how photography is seen and used, in todays industry. Photojournalism helped to produce the next generation of photography. (Blumberg) A new camera called Leica, a lightweight handheld that allows the photographer to travel easier and blend with the crowd. A man named Bresson influenced younger generations to go by their gut rather then just by the rules of composition.

Composition is still important to a snap shot of the moment. Only well don images get places in magazines such as Nat Geo and more specific photography magazines. Books, newspapers, and magazines are some of the more common places to find photojournalism and others like it. Fashon magazines are very visually centered along with wildlife magazines. But these images are no longer simply for the journalistic purpose they are also art this came about with the realization “for the first time in the history of photography, the photographer was clearly revealed as an artist with a point of view and not a mere recorder of facts.” (Blumberg) The showing of art has taken off and many artists Are telling stories with their images still but in a more expressive way than a photojournalist would. This shift has definitely changed the photography industry, it has shifted not completely away from but it no longer focuses on documentary and journalism uses but more toward self-expression and connectivity to the audience.

https://www.britannica.com/technology/street-photography#ref1203565

https://www.britannica.com/art/visual-arts-Year-In-Review-2016#ref1239867

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Night Photography

Night photography is a tricky style. Much of how to perfect nigh photography is left up to self education, one can learn in a classroom and from other material but the best method is to get out there and mess with the camera. Not to mention it gets you better acquainted with your camera. To achieve night photography one needs to get high quality images a good way to get this is to shoot in RAW both a down and an up is their size. Again a tripod is a helpful tool when taking these images because of the low light it is hard to take an image in focus without a tripod. The image should be planned before it is taken. The artist should pay close attention to what they want to see once the sun goes down, traffic lights or drawing with light the place should be planned as to have the best affect for the image.” Use the 'sweet spot' range of apertures for your lenses - this is usually between f/8 and f/16, but take test shots to find out. Even pro-level lenses don't produce the best results when used at their maximum and minimum apertures. By using apertures in the middle of the available range you'll increase your chances of capturing the sharpest shots with your lens.” (Meyer 2012) This is another key to getting the focused image that everyone is trying to achieve.  The ISO also has an affect on how the image is captured in night images the ISO should be raised as to gather more information. A photographer should always leave their camera on manual mode. “narrow aperture and slow shutter speed for night photography.” (Meyer 2012)

Composition is still very important in a nigh image even more so. “Carefully study the scene before you start taking photos. Are parts of the scene in darkness? Do areas of the shot become more interesting, brightly lit or colorful as it gets darker? If so, don't be afraid to zoom in on the most photogenic areas. Zoom in with your wide-angle zoom lens or 'zoom with your feet' - just move closer to your subject…” (Meyer 2012) A photographer should find the interest in the photograph. They should move around to capture a scene from different angles and perspective. A night phot is eye catching when done right the photographer must work at the focus and the focal point to make the photography stand out. Pictures of the night sky for example, a picture of the moon has to have a long exposure and thus can not be moved or the image will have motion blur.  This is where the skill comes in the composition has to be done in a way that sets that photographs of the moon apart from other photographs. Some photographers “tune” their cameras they set things up especially for taking long exposures (“exposure is the amount of light per unit area reaching a photographic film or electronic image sensor, as determined by shutter speed, lens aperture and scene luminance.”) But the old stand by is to just not touch your camera! It is simple some of the oldest tricks in the book work well.  The next part of taking a night photography  is finding a creative style and subject matter “reflections are a lot harder to capture during the day as they’re dependent on the light in a scene – when you take away the natural light, you only have to worry about the man-made light. Try to use as much color as you can as these will merge in the reflections on the water, creating a contrast between smooth and sharp.” (Josh) The images look amazing if done well. Movement can be very interesting at night if catch both blurred and sharp figures the figures will add interest to the image because of the contrast between them. Night images on there own have a high contrast as the light that is in the image if often very vibrant and the dark is a deep blue or a black that sets the lights apart from the background. These images are not something to sell for high prices but they can be fun, especially with a film camera but tell one gets the hang of the aperture and shutter speed should stick t a digital SLR to begin with.

https://expertphotography.com/4-steps-to-mastering-creative-night-photography/

http://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/night-photography-tips-9-essential-steps-for-beginners-1320947