Helen's Blog

 Another artist I came across as I was researching and figuring out where to go with this project. I love her work as she blends together unexpected images. Her work makes you tilt your head I love it!  link to her page For this project I want to create a surreal image that combines realism with digital manipulation. The central focus will be a martini glass or cup of some sort with people swimming and jumping into it. Doesn't really make sense when I put it into words but I want to explore how photoshop can create surreal images. A simple cocktail glass or object of some sort will be transformed into something it is not, a mini world. I have always had a very big imagination and tiny people/fairies were a big part of my childhood. I have created tons of mini houses for tiny people to live in, I want to explore scale in this project. I hope the final image will be able to capture my imagination and create a whimsical little environment that plays with reality.   I wi...

 I was doing some research on photoshop and graphic pop art artists and came across Erik Johansson, a photographer who edits all his photos in photoshop. I was drawn to his work because of the optical illusion it creates. I love the way he can take ordinary life photos and transform them into images that change the way you look at and see things. His creative thinking and the way he uses it to manipulate the way our brains see his images is sureal. The images he creates look and seem impossible but at the same time look so realistic it twists your brain, I think thats one of the main reasons his work stands out to me; his work looks so real but its impossible. I will attach a link to his work, its worth checking out! https://digitalsynopsis.com/inspiration/impossible-photo-manipulations-erik-johansson/  

 This project highlighted how photography does not fully capture identity, it in a way constructs and limits it. Individual identity is one of the most complex aspects of our lives. Both of my photo books explored how viewers can interpret identity, and how identity cannot be shown through a single image. At first I was a bit lost on how to show and work with Institutional Identity (our ID photos). ID photos reduce a person to a standardized image, a controlled version of who they appear to be on the outside. The main idea I was drawn to after thought about this is everyone is way more complex than what an ID card shows. Starting with a standard ID photo felt restrictive on showing any of my personality, my story, who I am as a person/ my identity. So, I decided to build off of the ID photo and as the book progresses I show more emotion and character. As I was photographing myself I started to think about who I was and seem to be according to different people. I decided to use typ...

 Hello Hello! It came to my attention my thematic video was missing from my sunset time lapse project. Here is my video! Long overdue...better late than never? link to video!

The canon rebel t6i has so many different settings and buttons and it has taken some time for me to figure out how to use it to its fullest advantage. I watched this video and have come back to it a few times so I thought I would share! Heres the link to the video:  https://www.google.com/search?q=canon+eos+rebel+t6i+tutorial&oq=canon+t61+eos+rebel+tuto&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCAgBEAAYFhgeMgYIABBFGDkyCAgBEAAYFhgeMg0IAhAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMg0IAxAAGIYDGIAEGIoFMgcIBBAAGO8FMgcIBRAAGO8FMgcIBhAAGO8FMgcIBxAAGO8FMgcICBAAGO8F0gEJMTg5ODlqMGo0qAIAsAIB&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:edf121ea,vid:nxmb0Uvd1kE,st:0  

Identity-proj #4 ID photos play an interesting role in showing someone's identity. First and foremost one photo (id selfie) only shows one face of someone, everyone is way more complex than what any card can show. I want to explore the institutional identity of someone, and personal identity. One photo will never be able to show everything about a person, but small details can reveal a bit more information about a person. Beginning with a standardized ID-style portrait I will create a book where the images of me will slowly shift into photos revealing more expression, movement and individuality. I want to reflect on how identity cannot be fully captured within a rigid system and instead exists as something shaped by environment and experience. I hope to explore concepts of individuality. Every student has an ID card, how many of them are smiling in their photo? How many have glasses? How did they choose the kind of glasses? Did they dye their hair? Are they wearing makeup? Why are ...

 I was doing some research on self portrait studies in hopes of broadening my project ideas and insporation, came across  Anna Heimkreiter's page where she gave a breif history of self portraits. Here's a link to the website, you can find her self portrait portfolio on this site as well! I love the way she manages to capture the beauty of nature in her portraits.  https://wherewonderwaits.com/self-portrait-photography/ Here's the link to some more information about Robert Cornelius's first ever "selfie". I found the definition of selfie interesting as well, who knew "selfie" was the 2013 word of the year??! https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/robert-cornelius-self-portrait-the-first-ever-selfie-1839/

 Came across this video today. I found it interesting as it highlights how our faces are constantly changing. Even though it is the same person in every image, her appearance shifts over time. A self-portrait is not just about capturing what someone looks like in a single moment but it also shows and represents who they are, which is shaped by experiences, age, and personal growth. Just like the video compresses years of development into a short sequence, our self portraits capture a specific moment in our identities.  link:  video

 Super cool to see how photoshop can change photos!