Life and Death

[shanmonster]

This is my first photo exposé. Bearing in mind I'm an extremely amateur photographer who has no idea what she's doing, what do you think?

Life




Death

Comments

life and death expose

[(Anonymous)]

You have captured the subject very well. Looks like we will see less of you in front of the lens, and the roll of film in the minolta will alway be fresh.
I like your composition of the photo's.

Re: life and death expose

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I figure I'll still be doing more modelling than photography, but I do like to take pictures from time to time. I have a couple of self portraits coming up later on....

[(Anonymous)]

I think the one looking through the broken fence at the tombstones is very powerful, with the blackness of the fence and its rough texture. The tombstones in the background contrast strongly against it and have a very powerful effect. On me anyway.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

That's my favourite, too.

[superbrad.livejournal.com]

I like your "Death" better than your "Life".

I wonder what significance that has? :)

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

It means you want me to kill you!

[(Anonymous)]

Me too. The 'death' ones are interesting compositions, that 'say' something to the viewer. Personally, I find the 'life' ones mute and uninteresting. It's always the same in artistic work, isn't it? darkness wins over happiness.

[superbrad.livejournal.com]

Eh, not always. I find a lot of F00Dave's more colorful, upbeat photos to be very nice.

I think it's more Shan having a knack/liking for Darkness. :)

[fourcorners.livejournal.com]

I think they're very skilled and exercise a mature eye

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Danke!

[thespectacle.livejournal.com]

i think you have grasped how to frame the subjects from a perspective that makes for interesting shape and form. your "death" series seem to work better visually, because the colors are muted...fits the function better. your "life" series are muted as well (no snap), but i think when you juxtapose them with "death", i would have liked to see more vibrant colors. the cat pic seems like a misfit in the mix. plus, cat & dog pics are too cliché for me to handle--only second to baby pics.

all in all, i think you are off to a good start on getting to grasp shape, form, and perspective...making the subject visually simulating. the "death" series is pretty good actually. i'd give you an "A" if you were in my class. i would like to see you progress to exploring interesting subject matter and make the shape, form, and perspective fit the function. good subject matter to explore and have fun w/: self-portraits (catharsis, narrative, as metaphor), body as a metaphor, and narrative allegory are always good places to start. Duane Michals is a good example of narrative allegory. Cindy Sherman is good to look at for what one can do w/ self-portraits. Edward Weston did a lot of famous work w/ body as a metapor.

hope some of this is useful
CHEERS!

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the feedback!

I actually came up with the "life" and "death" titles well after I'd taken the pictures. There was no set theme in mind, aside from the cemetery shots. That entire roll was shot expressly in the old graveyard.

Yeah, I felt funny about putting the cat picture in with the green pieces. It felt a bit like an easy multiple choice question where you had to pick the answer that doesn't fit. I'm pretty jaded of pet photos, but when I saw the cat in the setting sun behind the wire, it looked really pretty. The photo didn't quite grab what I saw, unfortunately.

As for more vibrant colours, well, I don't know how to fix that. Yet.

I am very interested in doing self-portraits, partially because I'm an egomaniac! Heh.... I will look for works by the artists you mention.

I take it you're not a fan of Anne Geddes.

Heh heh heh....

Anne Geddes

[thespectacle.livejournal.com]

perhaps in a designer (market) kind of way, but not so much in an artist sort of way.

[montecristo.livejournal.com]

I just have some scattered comments. First, I think the word for which you are looking is "exposition," not "exposé." I liked the life set better than the death set. I was somewhat at a loss to figure out how the creosote covered telephone pole and the weeds growing up through the cracks had much to do with "death" other than the fact that the weeds appear to be dead. You've got a really good eye for composition. I like the fence one best also.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

You're absolutely right! I swear, the internet is stealing away my grasp on the English language. Eep! My photographic exposé will have to come some other time, mayhap when I get my very own paparazzi.

I like taking botanical photos. It might be because I was a landscape gardener and botanic illustrator for a couple of years. Or maybe it's just because plants tend to hold still. Who knows?

As for the death and the telephone pole mystery, here's a hint: the telephone pole is made of a dead tree. Tenuous, I suppose, but there, nonetheless.

Photo's

[(Anonymous)]

Photography is a cross between art and science. It is important to balance both as a viewer could have a praising comment on a "fluke shot", or will not understand a "message" as you are being too abstract. It's a hard one!
I'm not a pro but would be honored if you had a peek at: www.fotolog.net/gaduy

P.S. You should take more shots!

[metasilk.livejournal.com]

I'm in agreement with the others; the "Death" composition works better than the "Life" because of the consistency of value. In both sets, the lower right image doesn't seem to fit, and jars my eye therefore. This is especially true for the cat: you've change color range, type of creature, and shape of composition...and it's caged. The titles seem a little trite, though. My favorite single image is the broken railing, followed by the green berries. The leave in the cracks (Death lower left) reminds me for some reason of Andy Goldworthy (http://www.vineyardandartist.com/1104_PRODUCT/PROD0810933519_AndyGolds.html)... probably the hures and curvature.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the titles are trite. I'm terrible at titles.