Elizabeth Carmel: Crisp Photography, Lake Tahoe

Elizabeth Peyton (Inspiring Paintings): Julian & John Lennon

Alfred Eisenstaedt - VJ Day

This photograph VJ Day by Alfred Eisenstaedt, is a classic photograph. It was taken after President Truman announced the end of the war on Japan in 1945. In Times Square, this American sailor spontaneously grabbed this nurse whom he did not even know and kissed her in celebration of the end of the war. It is a prime example that when you are in the right place at the right time and can capture a moment that it could become iconic. Nothing happens by accident, but when you see something that is spontaneous and their is a camera in your hand you must take that opportunity to shoot the photograph. That is what Eisenstaedt did. I think this photo is excellent and describes the true happiness felt by the men and women of our country at the end of the war with Japan. He captures the spontaneous nature of the moment by taking the shot in Times Square with a lot of people around and watching these two people share in the joy of the moment. The fact that you can't see the people's faces also gives a sense of spontaneity to the photograph, not knowing who the people are and identifying them as just a sailor and a nurse. This is a great example of street photography and how natural photos can be very successful if you put yourself in the right place at the right time and see something worth photographing. 

Joel Peter Witkin - Las Meninas

Similar to Velazquez's painting of Las Meninas, this is a photograph by Joel Peter Witkin called Las Meninas. This seems to be a more disturbing interpretation of Velazquez's painting, with his face smudged in black and facing directly towards the viewer. At first glance in appears that the girl in the foreground is sitting upon this weirdly shaped contraption, but I interpret it now as an exaggeration of the camel hump dresses women were made to wear during that time. It seems to be mocking that tradition. The girl having no legs is just another example of how young girls were molded to dress and be a certain way and they didn't have control of who they were to become. Another interesting thing I noticed was that the king and queen of Spain that Velazquez was supposed to be painting remain in a content and still  pose with no expression on their faces. I feel that is another mock towards the royal tradition and how in most pictures or portraits of the royal family, they are depicted with no emotion. Even with all the chaos going on in the foreground and middle ground of this photograph, the king and queen remain in that same pose. In the original painting by Velazquez, the dog is being poked in the back by a little girl, I think in this photograph the dog being attached to a long rope being held by the girl is a symbolism of that torture. It seems that Witkin was going for a less formal interpretation of the painting he based this photograph off of, and also mocking a little bit of the royal tradition.

Sandy Skogland - Walking on Eggshells

The above picture is by Sandy Skogland and it is called Walking on Eggshells. 

There are many things going on within this photograph including the presence of gold snakes, rabbits, eggs filling the floor, a mirror, bathtub and sink, and a toilet. There are also two nude figures, both women; facing away from the viewer. Each woman is on the tip of their toes (walking on eggshells). There is a gold aura to the photograph. Along with everything going on in the frame, there seems to be symbolism on the walls. The rabbits and snakes seem to be interacting in some fashion and their is this unusual fearlessness presented in each character. There is a warm lighting to the photograph as well which blends with the gold coloring.  

"Self"

For the "self" series of photographs I did, I took photos of different aspects of myself. This photograph was pretty strong when I printed it out, it showed my more intense side as well as what I think is my best feature, my eyes. I wanted this photo to be intriguing. 

"Know"

This is a photograph of my roommate Erica. She is a very intense person and loves to work out so I thought for the assignment people "I know", I would shoot a photograph of my friends in their state of who they are. She is doing a push-up in this picture.

"Don't Know"

For this people I "don't know" series of photographs, I decided to be a little creative and take pictures of graves and the names on the graves. I thought it would be a different kind of way of depicting people I don't know and unfortunately will never know.