This topic was about the use of various smartphone apps to post-process photographs to enhance their sense of memory to create an air of vintage. Not all the pictures in this collection actually do this but I picked the photographs I thought were the most interesting.
We start with two photographs by Morgana, shot out in the natural world.
The angle of view in both of these frames the foliage very nicely. The second shot has a beautiful warm tonality that brings out the feeling of a sunset. This is the kind of subtle yet beautiful manipulation that epitomizes this style.
The next shot by Lauren places us on top of a mountain overlooking a wide vista.
The value of this shot is that it really places us in this location and makes us want to just sit down and relax and celebrate the view.
The next shot by Keriann does a similar thing in a very different way.
This photo puts us in a comfortable chair, bathed in beautiful light, looking through the drapes. We don't really see what is the outside which makes us go into more of a daydream state of mind.
The next set of five photographs all use lamps in one way or another. They are by Colleen, Lauren, Morgana, Minami, and Keriann.
An old wedding photo on the wall in the background accents a small a corner of a room with a great streak of light coming in the bottom corner.
Another collection of old photos on the wall backs up these two matching chairs that make us wonder, “Where is the couple that should be sitting here? Where is the couple whose history is on the wall behind us? “The reduced tonality also pushes the photo into the past.
A great room is presented in this photo, the string of lights on the wall illuminating the space with minimal tonality, all of which creates a great feel. And then we find a person sleeping in the bed! Is this a dream?
It is almost as if the lamp becomes the subject of the photograph. The diffuse light coming in from behind alters the appearance of the objects in the background and the room itself, putting the viewer into that pensive state of mind.
This shot is a little bit more fractured, with the lamp being cut in the bottom left corner and the angle of view making us look up. The mystery comes almost more from our angle of view than the feel of the room, but the reduced tonality and the subtle lighting all work together very nicely.
The next photograph is also by Keriann and is even more abstracted than the previous.
This one almost becomes a little painting, but there is still an illusion of space which puts us into a location that just raises questions. This in-between world could easily be dismissed as being about nothing but this kind of photograph can be really intriguing. It makes us really want to figure out where we are and what is going on.
The next two photos are by Lauren and are shot in some strange basement space.
The tonality is reduced in both, yet in different directions (one more red, one more yellow). We are left to ponder where this place is, what this stuff is, and perhaps the most intriguing point, what in the world are we doing here?
Now back to the real world.
This interior shot by Ian puts us into what looks like a very comfortable restaurant.
The fact that we can look out the window puts us into a particular state of mind. The shot is not taken from a seated position, however. The place looks so clean it must serve healthy food.
The next two photos are also by Ian and the similarity in visual structure made me want to put them side-by-side.
The left-hand photo is some sort of lobby while the right-hand picture is out on the street. There's a person walking through the frame in the outdoor picture. I wish there was somebody walking through the frame on the right as well. [This kind of comparison and continuity is the kind of thing you should be looking for when you put together your final portfolio.]
Minami has us looking down at the curb in the next photo.
The discarded teddy bear is sort of a sad shot. This could’ve been enhanced with some additional post-processing, something to make it look more faded and a bit grimy.
The next photo of a Nifty Fifty restaurant by Dymond has the feel of nostalgia, which is actually the theme of the restaurant.
I was puzzled by the sign at first, "Open 6 AM". Then I saw underneath that it says "Eat Breakfast in Town". For me, 6 AM is just before I go to sleep, not when I have just woken up! But still a good time for a meal.
Kevin presents another shot of a restaurant.
This one looks almost accidental, which is what adds a sense of excitement. We find ourselves trying to look inside for more clues, but nothing substantial is discovered, so we have to look for more clues.
Another night time photograph with an odd sense of perspective is this one by Colleen.
The group of people in the corner make me want to just hang out with them.
This photograph of the bike by Dymond is pushed back in time using the vignette tool.
This could have used a bit more desaturation but still, bicycle pictures never seem to get old.
The next segue by Keriann takes us from the railing behind the bike to this simple streak across the frame.
This photo surpasses the level of abstraction in the previous photograph of the corner of the room. It is a real talent to be able to express a whole world with such a small amount of content. This is a good example of the phrase, "economy of means" that means “to say as much as possible with the least number of words”.
The next photo by Keriann is also a semi-abstract shot of a more geometrical form.
If the viewer only sits and looks at the visual structure, then the photograph is limited. If the photograph however takes you to another place, then it transcends the structure and moves into the Emotional discipline.
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The next set of photographs seems to be about taking a break. It has been mentioned the taking pictures of food is one of the new smartphone clichés but some of these photos start to move beyond that and become interesting photos. I will let you make the final decision for yourself.
The first photo by Ian is shot on airplane.
The framing is balanced and the reflection of the sunglasses works well. We start to ponder what is in that glass and how long is this flight going to continue?
The next photo, again by Ian uses a more vertical vantage point and another pair of glasses. This is nicely set up and is a visual pleasure.
Lauren takes us back to the use of phone apps for post-processing. The desaturation makes this photograph interesting.
It is shot from the vantage point of the person drinking the coffee and puts us into their brain. "Hmmm, what do I have to do today?" Now we are not just looking at what she is looking at, we are thinking about what they're thinking. This steps into the Conceptual discipline.
The next shot in a darkened room by Keriann has us peering over our drink, again not so much looking as thinking. This is very effective.
Finally, Morgana takes us to an extreme overhead view exploring how we use beverages laced with drugs to enhance our online experience. (Just teasing, but caffeine is a very addictive stimulant…) This is a nice shot even though it has a cuddly creature within the frame. See, it is possible to transcend cliché-land.
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And finally we get to the portrait/ self-portrait section. The previous photo by Morgana starts us off, actually, because while the previous set photographs takes us into the mindset of the photographer the last one actually includes the person.
Dymond gives us a shot that is heavily processed and looks like it could be from the 1950s. This a photo that would've been shot to celebrate some special event.
This next double-exposure by Morgana is very interesting. It is not clear whether it is two photographs overlaid or some kind of reflection, but the effect is great.
The best part is probably the eyes peering just over our shoulders from the upper right-hand corner. The very red lips provide an additional accent. This is a good example of a photographer using compound images to create an emotional ambience. [If you want to stop over at the Tyler Photo Area, another group of my students has an exhibition up called ‘Multiplicity’, that is about this way of working, although no one was doing double-exposures exactly.]
In the next photo by Kevin we feel like we are being dragged along inside some kind of chase scene from an action movie. It is the combination of the angle of view and the reflection in the glasses.
The next close up by Keriann uses just enough lens distortion to exaggerate the eyes without making them look too weird. The persistent gaze directly back into our eyes is enough to stop us in our tracks.
Lauren returns with a photo from a very sharp angle of view that features very sharp lighting and makes us all remember how much we dislike waking up.
And the collection finishes with this long shot of a figure sitting on a rock in the stream by Coleen.
This one takes a totally different approach by stepping back to include the environment that contains the subject. At first I thought maybe she was crying because she has her hands up to her eyes. But then I realized that she may be taking a photograph of us looking at her. There's not quite enough resolution to see for sure, so the mystery remains.
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The photographs that use various apps to post-process the photographs come closest to fulfilling the topic, not that this is always the most important thing to do. The photographs that put us into someone else's space are particularly compelling. Those that put us into someone else's state of mind are the most successful.
Thank you for all the good work this time around – – –
