Digital Photography

Best photo...

2006-12-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

This is one of the first photos I took for my final project. I like this photo because the lights create the shape of a Christmas tree. Also because the lights illuminate the entrance of this building in the middle of the night where you just can see that part of the wall, making it very beautiful. This is one side of the Macy's store building in 34th st. My project is about Christmas and this is a symbol we see everywhere at this time of the year. I want to capture and reflect that as soon as you see it. So far, I have been getting what I want. I just need keep going, visit other places I have in mind, take some more in my neighborhood and show other views of Christmas.

Annie Leibovitz Exhibit

2006-11-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

The Annie Leibovitz exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum was very powerful and inspiring. I went this Saturday and the museum was full and while making the line to enter, I heard a lot of people commenting about her and the exhibition. In this exhibition she shows personal photos which include her family, friends and close relatives. Also, there are photos of celebrities and famous people that she uses for her commercial work for some magazines. The exhibition is very entertaining and I like the way it was setup with a projector where they show interviews of famous people talking about her work, some portfolios of some of her photos and the photographs in the walls with description and her thoughts written on the wall about some of the work.

Annie Leibovitz’s photos express a lot of emotions. Most of their works are portraits, even though there are some landscapes too. Many of the photos express the importance of family. She shows that in her personal photos and the commercial ones too. The first photo I saw was one with Donald Trump in an exotic car and his pregnant wife in the middle of the stairs of their private jet. By looking this first picture I knew that her work was exceptional and that she had a very productive and respectful career, I just wanted to see the rest of the photos. In her personal photos she shows photos of her daughters and other close relatives. At the beginning I did not understand why the decision to put both her personal work and commercial ones like Demi Moore pregnant, Jim Carey, Jamie Foxx and others, but I read in one of her words written of the wall that she consider her commercial work and his personal work as just one life. I believe that is why she decided to put both sides in her exhibition. That shows the passion for this art. She wants to express that the same way she can take photos for commercial purposes and show a variety of emotions, she can do that with her personal life too, and she wants to show her spirit to the public through these photos.

The exhibition is very rich. The people that appear in those photos make her work more important and raise her trajectory a lot more. But more important is her talent and the quality of her work. For example, there is one that I stopped and contemplate for a few minutes and that was the President of the United States George W. Bush and his cabinet. First of all, it is not usual to see a photo of the five or six people that are in charge of the destiny of the United States, together and in a very close and unusual scene. I like the composition and the soft lighting in the scene.

One of the things that impressed me the most was that she took all these photos in a close and personal atmosphere. I believe that besides being just a professional photographer, she also gets involved in the life of those celebrities at the time of taking the photos and that allows them to trust her work. I believe that the audience for this exhibit is everybody. In conclusion, I like her work and I would like to see her work after 2006 in another exhibit. I enjoyed the trip to the Brooklyn Museum.

Final Project

2006-11-26T10:58:00.000-08:00

I have been living in New York City for almost seven years and I still impress by how New Yorkers celebrate the Christmas spirit and the festivities at the end of each year. People from all over the world visit massively “The Big Apple” every year but many of them come to enjoy the winter holiday season. This time of the year is very peaceful and people get together as family to celebrate, say bye to the current year and welcome the next one. Christmas is one of the people’s favorite holidays and more in NYC because of the spirit of unity and solidarity.

I personally enjoy a lot this time of the year. New York City is always in the first row when we talk about decorating and making the people feel and live at the maximum these festivities. The subject for my final project is “Christmas in NYC”. I chose this subject because I want it to be current or something that is happening now. I think that this week with thanksgiving, the Christmas festivities are on and I like to capture that for my final project.

I want to capture the colors of Christmas, red and green. Also the decoration and ornaments appropriate for this holiday. I am planning to capture the icons that we see every year for these festivities, such as: The Christmas tree, Santa Claus and others. The time of the day will be more at night than during the day, if there is some snow is even better because that is also part of Christmas. I am planning to shoot more outside than inside, but I will consider both. I am planning to go to famous places of New York City to capture the spirit of Christmas. I do not have specific places to shoot. I going to move around the city and look for this scenarios. I am also considering going New Jersey and shoot in the suburbs. From open places to windows and indoor, I want to capture why this time of the year is so welcome and the expression of the people enjoying these festivities.

I will use different angles for this photos, I do not want to stick to just one angle. I want to make it interesting and at the same time show the purpose of the subject. I want the viewers to see how Christmas is in New York City.

Shapps Photography

2006-11-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

Shapps photograph objects that are usually hard to make it interesting and attractive to consumers and general public, but he plays with similarities and differences. In the left, a can of fillets of anchovies and in the right a cool mint listerine pocket pack. First he makes the position of the products identical, with the top cover looking like somebody is actually opening and taking one of the product. The shadow is dramatic in both products. He also plays with colors. He put the light blue of the listerine pack in the background of the fillet of anchovies and do the same with the colors of the fillet of anchovies by putting it in the background of the listerine pack, making contrast and relationship at the same time. Also he makes relation with the real purpose of these products.

photo of the week

2006-10-29T14:57:00.000-08:00

This is a photo of a sculpture located in the park between Manhattan bridge and Brooklyn bridge. The shadow that falls in the sculpture makes it more visible and focus in comparison with the background. You can see the shape and movement of the sculture bringing it as the important point in the photo. The bright light of the day helps too. Also I like the light reflection in the water of some of the buildings in the background in Manhattan.

Karl Blossfeldt

2006-10-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

I think that Karl Blossfeldt photography concentrates in parts and shapes of what it seems to be like 3dimensional methalic pieces becasue of the highlights and roundness of the figure. On the other hand, the composition he use in this photo turn it to be a two dimensional object because of the front view he used to take the photo. I like the photo becasue it has a lot of movement as others in his collection. I think that the point of taking the photo to just a portion of the object and not the whole one, makes it more interesting. He concentrates in the division of the stem of plants and the movement and life it shows in their shapes .

Manhattan Bridge

2006-10-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

I took this photo last monday before class. A view of Manhattan bridge from the Empire Fulton state park next to the bridge. I like the angle I used to take the photo, almost under it. The perspective creates a nice view of the shape of the bridge. the blue sky on the top then changing to a grayish color at the bottom creates a soft gradient. The shadows under the bridge street platform makes contrast with the sky and define very nicely the archs that holds the left column
of the bridge, making it like a cut out.

Koudis Photography

2006-10-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

I like the composition of this photo. I believe it is a smart idea and a very successful one. He use a photo of a man sitting and in the background a photo of the coner of the sidewalk and the street. He looks like a small person in a giant city. I like the way he used the proportion of the subjects.

I belive that a client would like more a composite image because you can play more and have more options to really project the idea you want to sell. I think that in this case a straight photograph can not project what this photo shows, and can be more difficult to get the final idea.

Close Sunset

2006-10-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

In my last trip to Dominican Republic, I took this photo in my way back to New York through one of the airplane's window next to me. It was a beautiful sunsent. It is different than looking from the ground, because you feel part of it, you are close and everything you see around the airplane is just the sky. I like the colors, the blue og the day getting darker and the yellowish color of the sun appearing through the clouds. The wing starts to lose details as the night falls. I like the mood of the photo.

Joel Meyerowitz

2006-10-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

In this photo, we can see the a view of the sea from the porch of a house which usually is a nice scene in a regular and sunny day, but in this photo the stormy and foggy weather outside change the mood of the photograph, transforming it in a terror movie scene. It looks like a hurricane is approaching the house, there is not electricity and just a gas lamp is illuminating the scene. He even captured a thunder. I like this photo becasue it is unusual and it looks dramatic.

College Student Photo

2006-10-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

Borough Hall train station. As college students, transportation is very important for our sucess in school and more in this city. We use public transportation daily to go to school and back home or to do any homework or project for any class. We basically depend on that because is faster and more convenient. We know that attendance is basic to pass a class and learn new things, and I believe that our success in school can be affected in a negative way without public transportation, like it happened in the last transit strike. I like the structure on the entrance of the train station. Also, I like the side view of the station.

Point of view: College Students

2006-10-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

The point of view of college students. Which are their interests. College students notice new technology coming out to the market, for example: computers, cell phones, and others. They use it for study or personal purpose. Also, in their daily life, they use transportation to get in and out of school such as trains and buses. Others use their cars for transportation and many of them like to know about the new cars coming out, the wheels or the music. As students, they are always looking for food, usually fast food because of the time. They also notice clothings, other students or classmates, sports, music, and others.

Berenice Abbott

2006-09-24T15:57:00.000-07:00

Berenice Abbott
Grand Opera House; Northwest corner, West 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue. Sept. 3, 1937. ID: 482564

url: http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/abbottex/cny0787.jpg

This photo is a view of west 23rd street and Eight avenue in 1937. Immediately I see the difference of the cars compare to today's cars. It is amazing how those cars cost millions of dollars now and you only can see them in car shows but is good to see that today they have some in good condition to learn and see how its structure was like. I also see how people dress at that time. It looks like the suit was a regular clothing. Also, there are a lot of signs, typical of New York City, even though in the 1930's there were not the billboards and TV screens we have today but that is the process of evolution and modernization. Because of photography, we can go back and learn about the history of this beautiful city.

Use of Light Photo

2006-09-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

I took this photo on my last trip to Dominican Republic. These are my friends in D.R. I like this photo because the sun in the beach is so strong that creates a silhouette of the body of my friend Anthony. There is a nice contrast and this is a good example of how daylight transforms the photo. I like it.

Chesterhiggins.com

2006-09-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

Vital Forms / Diva

This picture called Diva has high contrast. I like the way he used the light behind her. I like how some highlights in her body help define the structure and expression of her. The white background marks perfectly the lines of her body. I think that this photo makes her come out very good. I like it and it is very professional.

Favorite Photo

2006-09-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

Shea Stadium - New York Mets

I am a baseball fan and a Mets fan. I took this photo in my first trip this season to Shea Stadium. I shot this picture during the game. I like it because you can see the main interaction of the game which is the pitcher versus the hitter. I love it becasue of the intensity and motion in their action. You can see the movement in the right leg of the pitcher which turns blurry as well as the bat of the hitter and the ball coming out of the bat. I also like the pattern in the grass and the green in the summer.

Don Dixon - Commercial Photos - Conceptual

2006-09-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

Nose - Snow Cave

I personally like this photo because as soon as you see it makes you think on what is the concept or if there is more than one meaning. In the picture he used the nose of a person's face in a horizontal view which you can associate very quick with a snow cave. The shape of the nose, the shadows and lights, the hole, the texture like snow and the blue sky background makes a nice composition, with a smart concept and more than one idea you can use to compare.