For my Florida story, I'd like to create a series depicting my experiences growing up in the Sunshine State as an immigrant--more specifically, I'm referencing the fragments of memory that I have of the beginning of my life in America because I was only 3 at the time. The simplest things during that time were actually a novelty for me and my family.
I stumbled upon an artist on Instagram by the name of Sarah Bahbah (@sarahbahbah) and she places subtitles on her photos. She's not the first person to do this, but her work sparked something in me.
I liked how it made her photos look like film stills. So I guess you could say that's what I'm going for. I'm also going to be trying to reference Paul Strand for this project but we'll see how it goes because he was one of the most influential photographers of his time and I can barely even figure out my manual settings sometimes.
I'm still working on finalizing that narrative and the quotes that I want to use but in the meantime, I've done two sample edits towards the bottom. I'd like to use photos that capture the meaning or evoke a certain feeling with the quote. I'm going to try my best to think outside the box and not be so literal. Let me know what you guys think (what works, what doesn't).
Here are the photos for this week. Thanks for bearing with me and reading through all this haha.
You did a really interesting thing with the text; it definitely feels like a film still and also works compositionally with the images along the bottom of the frame. I noticed your unusual dramatic angles (images 4 and 5) and emphasis on centering the subject (1, 2, 9, 10) and I would push these elements even more. I think these images would make a lot of sense toward the idea of the Florida story if they each had the captions, that was really effective.
ReplyDeleteThese photos are very still and calm. The photos with the captions in particular are very intriguing because of the landscape imagery paired with sentences that carry a lot of weight. Although I really enjoy the calm imagery with text, I think that if you create images that are packed with information (and continue to make interesting, weighted captions) it could be a captivating addition to the series. Great work!
ReplyDeleteI feel so in the light and calm. I enjoy how you changed it up and included the text. It definitely added an element of story to your photos. I think you should continue exploring the images with the text and grab attention from your viewers.
ReplyDeleteyour pictures are almost dream-like, and the style works well for the context of your fragmented memories! The texture of the first one is really successful. On another hand, the third one is over-exposed, but I think that might be the theme you were going for. If that was your goal, I would suggest making the distorting a little more obvious. Also, have you ever shot with a glass prism when taking pictures? I think it would go really well with your theme.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to order a crystal to shoot with but I keep forgetting. Thanks for the reminder Hannah!!
DeleteThe 1st, 2nd and 7th image are the strongest. The dreamlike quality and soft light in the first image is really beautiful and in the 2nd, the subject is abstracted to a silhouette and is in lovely contrast to the white background. Some of the other images are not as formally successful for me and I think what needs to happen is more work to capture images that have the same strong impact as the first. The photo of the building with the quote on it; their relationship to each other is not clear and the photo seems out of focus but not on purpose. I would also try a smaller pure white font maybe? Keep developing your Floridian story, try to be as strategic as you can with your subject matter. We can't make the connections that you have already made with these objects so their connections must make sense to us, its your job to do that.
ReplyDeleteGood job.
Your first photo makes excellent work of isolation of the subject. Your fourth photo is also powerful in capturing the juciness of the leaf. Did you spit on it? I think the film stills are an interesting choice and are succeful when the text is white against a darker background (as you have it) good work.
ReplyDeleteLuckily I didn't have to spit on it. It was still wet from the rain lol
DeleteI think as everyone has already said your first and second photos are your strongest! If you do keep this narrative for your floridian stories be sure to be weary of light and the qualities it casts on your subjects conceptually, photos like your first second have the potential to be very impactful since your narrative is essentially about new beginnings. i love your fourth photo also, the droplets sticking to the leaves are very ethereally home-y. your ninth photo catches my eye, it seems to resemble like some type of scene in bridge of terabithia although i think it would benefit if you darkened the background so that it would allow us to focus on the hanging fixture. overall though im really excited to see what you will make i really love your concept.
ReplyDeleteackk!! the text yes ! The text is what really makes those particular photos successful and really transforms the entire photograph, an effective method of contextualizing the images in a way that's relevant to not only Florida, but your own experiences. I think that all of your photographs could use the text. Since the text creates a cinematic aesthetic, using them throughout your story would innately create a story line and would feel like we're getting a condensed version of an actual film. I think the text is definitely going to be the most important component of your story cause when I look at your images without text, they feel weaker than those with text since we are not given the context and personal influence.
ReplyDeleteyeah I'm Vibin. its so serene but the subtitles really add that seriousness of the story. I enjoy the fact that you're telling the story through natural and manmade items and incorporating them together.
ReplyDeleteThe first photo is exposed perfectly and I can literally feel the wind gowing through this (lavender?) . I'm excited to hear more about your floridian story as you continue with this idea.
ReplyDeleteThe first and second photos epitomize the “feeling” of this theme the most; there is a visual contrast between the fine, dainty details of the dark shrubbery and the bright and blurry background. The second to last photo before the example photos is also strong in the form that the plant forms against its background. The last photo is a tad bit dark, but perhaps that was what you were going for?
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