abstractions & alternatives
Tomorrow night I have some images in a group show at SJSU I organized. It is an unofficial group of fellow female undergraduate photo majors. The theme we settled on was Abstractions & Alternatives and then we each brought to the table our own interpretation of that…I chose to explore the Holga double exposure portraits I have been working on and made portraits of each of the women exhibiting in the show. I might be biased, but I think the show looks great! After the jump is the flyer for and a few installation photographs of the show.
food: in the studio
For advanced lighting class this semester I have been focusing a bit on photographing food…tons of work but tons of fun. These are the first few projects I have done, with more to come in the next 4 weeks or so. I am also working on a food portfolio for another class that is focusing more on scenes with natural light. Fingers crossed that when all is said and done this semester I will have a food portfolio to be proud of.
assignment: photograph 5 (I did 6) of the 25 healthiest foods in clean white style…sadly many of the other options where out of season. Oh how I would have loved to do figs!
assignment: photograph a reflective object.
meghan
The second project for my advanced lighting class was to reference a classic painting to emulate (with a “modern twist”). I searched high and low and settled on not a classic, but a beautiful image with the model in mind. Meghan was beyond lovely to work with…not only an great assistant, but an awesome model.
in my 30′s…
By and far the biggest project I did at the end of last year was a photo project for my Image & Idea class. I struggled with concepts and changed my mind a million times only to settle on something personal. I did a portrait series of friends, all women in their early 30′s. But the big thing for me beyond just the image was finding a way to share their thoughts and emotions on the topic. I had each woman complete the statement “In my 30′s…” and then arranged these hand written notes into the installation. I received a wonderful response from men and women of all ages and I am excited to see what we have to say “in my 40′s…”
Below are some shots from the installation, with the larger project ahead of scanning each hand written note and making an electronic home for the project.
I saw the sea and the sea saw me
The final for my photographic illustration course was to photographically illustrated a children’s book. I chose “I Saw the Sea and the Sea Saw Me” by Megan Montague Cash. Katie was beyond lovely to help me…and I am so happy with the photos. These represent part/most of the story.
(with geek apologies to the internets, as I didn’t convert the profiles and the colors are a tad off)
working backwards: photo illustration part one
It would make more sense if I would have posted these as they were made…but life and busy and stuff. Below are my three most recent assignments for my photo illustration course, with two more and the final (re-illustrate a children’s book!) to come:
illustrate a personal pet peeve (mouse over for mine!):
re-illustrate an illustration:
illustrate and assigned phrase (mouse over for mine!):
photo 121: lighting
Still playing catchup! I am not so much a studio lighting person…but the intro class last semester was fun, I learned a ton and has made me look forward to taking the next level studio lighting class (strobes!). (OH! And yeah, THE FOOD was my favorite studio work!) So for now….I share:
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- …not what I turned in, but one of my favorites…
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- …a product…in it’s environment…
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- …glass! gels!…
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- …composite image…or “painted with light”…
“A”rt
This past semester kept my busy with the Capitol A “A”rt projects…and as much as the cynical side of me complains about taking these kinds of “foundation” art classes rather than more photo classes, I must admit that Art 13 (3-D Concepts) was fun. I still have a more arts less crafts mentality, but this class has helped me see art in new ways…which I guess is what college is for.
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- wire frame
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- cardboard chair
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- bobby pins
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- dollar store
after the jump I break down each project…
food…in the studio
So far, the favorite subject I have shot for my studio class is food…In my dreams, I will have time this summer to produce more food shots.
thoughts on a duel
thoughts on a duel from rachael olmstead on Vimeo.
Now that school is officially over, I guess I can officially share my projects. This was the final project (but not the final) for my digital video class. Many people made movies with real video cameras, but I am low tech and opted for stop motion. And black and white film. It is a funny story really, how this all came together. But I won’t bore you with the details. I can’t help but note thought that the second screens of text are somehow wonky when uploaded online but play fine on quicktime. I have tried many times to fix it even though it has/had no bearing on my grade, as it was not a online presentation. But still, I must note that as anal as I am, it is driving me nuts enough that I have still been trying to fix it almost a month after it was turned in, just so I could put it online. But alas, f-it. I’m cleaning the hard drive for the next year and off it goes to the external.
die cut sureal
These were done for a surreal assignment for my digital class. I had been fawning over these die cut (or as we debated last night when we were hanging- dye cut?) Victorian masks at a shop in Half Moon Bay for years and recently broke down and bought one (mine) “just because”. When this assignment came up I knew instantly I would use them for this project. I used more photoshop madness to do this than I ever have or hopefully ever will…but in the end I am really happy with the results. They will be shown in a class exhibition at SJSU which is also sorta fun.
sjsu black & white part one
Now that my first semester at SJSU is winding down I probably should start posting assignments before I get too back logged. I am taking another black and white class, so not super exciting since I have had two prior…but the darkroom is always fun none the less…these are part one of what I guess will be four more b&w posts.
