PHO5597 - Complete

I have posted all of my assignment from this course (with the exception of my final portfolio which was an amalgamation of all the assignment photos - and a few extras) and almost every one has had the same mark: A-. Near the end of the course I determined that it was near impossible for me to get anything other than an A- in the course itself without really screwing something up, and as it turns out I was right.
I checked my marks the other day and I did in fact receive an A- in the course. I am pretty happy with that mark as this was the first course in which I felt as if my photos were actually being graded for composition and content in a non-beginner's sort of way. I definitely learnt a fair bit in this course most of which I am already instinctively putting into practice when I shoot.
The part-time program from Algonquin College hit it out of the park yet again.

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Motivation Monday - Peter Lindbergh

"My feeling is that for years now it has taken a much too big part in how women are being visually defined. Heartless retouching should not be the chosen tool to represent women in the beginning of this century." Peter Lindbergh on the overuse of retouching in fashion photography.

Peter Lindbergh (born Peter Brodbeck in 1944) has been called "the worlds greatest fashion photographer" (Ian Phillips, 1997). He has been taking fashion photographs since 1978 and has created some absolutely amazing photographs since. He has shot several television commercials and ad campaigns for some of the biggest companies and with some of the biggest stars (e.g. Tina Turner for Hanes). He has even directed a short documentary, which received great reviews and awards. He has shot some of the most famous fashion models such as Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford (photographed together in 1990, below). One would think, as a fashion model, being photographed by Peter Lindbergh would be not only an honour, but also something you would definitely include in your portfolio.

His photographs have been published in almost every fashion magazine in existence including Stern, Harper's Bazaar (Fashion Olympics article, below, featuring Lucy Liu) and Vogue.

His first book, Ten Women, was published in 1996 and has sold over 100,000 copies. It is a collection of black and white photographs of ten top models of the moment. He has been given award after award and many photographic honours throughout his career.

One of the things that I find most inspirational about him are his views on Photoshop and digital retouching (see quote at beginning of post). From what I understand of his views, mine are similar in that, retouching should not be a photographic tool as it is. It should take less of a role and the photographer should be more aware of their subject and have the abilities to create a flattering, and yet still honest, image without relying on digital assistance. Lindbergh definitely has the skills needed to create not only flattering images of his subject, but incredibly interesting and unique ones.

(images found through Google)

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Final Portfolio

I presented my final portfolio for my Composition and Design course this past Monday and was rather impressed with how I did. I am not the greatest public speaker, and I am even worse when I need to talk about my own work (rather than an abstract idea, project or some sort of research), but I managed to talk for 10 minutes, which was just under the requested time. My portfolio is twenty photos long and since it primarily consists of photos already posted here, I will not be creating any long series of posts for the images. If you are interested in viewing the photos, most of them are in my PHO5597 set on my Flickr account.

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Motivation Monday - John Sexton

"And then as I frequently do, some times I'll peek out from underneath the focusing cloth and just look around the edges of the frame that I am not seeing, see if there's something that should be adjusted in terms of changing the camera position" - John Sexton.

John Sexton (born 1953) has had quite an impressive career thus far. He has many honours and awards to his name and of course, a fantastic portfolio. He is quite possibly one of the most widely known contemporary black and white landscape photographers and educators. He had the honour and privilege of working with Ansel Adams from 1979 to 1984 (when Adams died) and this clearly shows in his magnificent works. He teaches several workshops and has taught many museums and universities in the past on photography techniques both in and out of the darkroom (including print making).

I love how his images are so incredibly classic and yet completely distinguishable. More classic examples of how one can take an every day scene, similar to the above photograph, and make it simply breathtaking. Also the complete control of his equipment - which is evident in the second image in this post, of the forest stream.

(images found through Google)

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Waterfall

This was taken in the Botanical Gardens in Montreal back in July. It may look somewhat familiar as it is the unedited version of the photograph I used for my blog header.

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Never Forget

One of the beautiful elephants that live at the Toronto Zoo. I think they are one of my favourite animals - especially at the zoo.

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Photoshop Gone

I am temporarily without Photoshop. In order to not have to write this out twice, the story behind this is posted on my other blog and can be read here.
Without Photoshop, I feel a little lost and bewildered. I am able to complete assignments by using Dave's computer, but without a properly calibrated monitor, I am not able to work on anything else as it just takes so long. Dave's computer can't really handle the Adobe software and it is therefore extremely irritating to have to use it there - though it is definitely better than not having it at all.
Dave and I are working on a few solutions to my Photoshop problem. But in my honest opinion, I truly believe I am going to have to fork up to dough to purchase the legal software. The creative suite (CS4) is available through major retail stores and the Adobe website for $2500, but using my student number at Algonquin College I can get it for $900 (student version).
To make a long story slightly less long, I will not be posting any newly edited photos anywhere for a little while. I am going to do my best to find some already edited photos that have been completed (and resized) for your viewing pleasures though.

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