Camera-less assignment: Scene #2

The first thing you notice when you enter this room is the smell.  It isn't necessarily a pleasant smell, nor a terribly bad one.  I for one love this smell because it reminds me of this room I love so much.  The smell is somewhat musty and home-y.  There is the obvious smell of fabric, due to what this room contains.  When you first walk in, you are amazed at all the stuff crammed into this smallish space.  To the left, there is a worn down couch with stained fabric.  It is not a couch for sitting on, considering that the space is taken up already by a lamp, some wood, two pairs of shoes, and many articles of clothing that were neglected to be hung up.  As you walk on the cold concrete floor, you have to be careful of where you are placing you foot.  As you make it to the back of the room, there is barely enough room to walk.  You are stopped by five racks jammed with clothing.  As you push your way through these ancient items, to your left there is a whole wall dedicated to hundreds and hundreds of shoes that have been worn probably once, and on the rare occasion, twice, in their life time.  Every one slowing collecting dust with the years. There are many pairs lying on the ground, waiting to be placed in their life long position, until maybe years from now are chosen to be worn.   

Camera-less assignment: Scene #1

As I walk in, I notice the big chandelier hanging in the center of the room, giving off plenty of light, but not too penetrating.  The floor is a tan marble.  It is so polished that you can see your reflection.  As you look to the left, you can see your whole reflection, due to the fact that this wall is made of big panels of mirror, like that in a dance studio.  The opposite wall is painted tan, almost matching the tiled floor.  A little further into the room, you can see an outlining of a door in the tan wall.  This must be a hidden door used as a coat closet, or just storage.  The fire place gives off a homey feeling to those around it.  The huge painting above it is very intricate.  One could stare at it for hours.  The tables all around and draped in white table cloths and surrounded by big comfy-looking chairs with interesting designs.  Vases filled with beautiful spring flowers gives character to each table.  The big windows at the end fill the entire room with the light of the nice spring day.  One would feel very at home and safe while dining here.

Camera-less assignment: Person #2

Not far off, resting on the bleachers is an old man.  I would say he is about the age of 70.  He is rather plump, and has a full beard.  Not as big as Santa's, but full.  It is as white as the flag on the sidelines.  He wears a deep red cap, possibly to hide any sign of hair loss.  His big round glasses illuminate his bright blue eyes, topped with big white furry brows that resemble caterpillars.  His shirt is red, but not as dark as his hat.  It's almost as if he tried to match them, but was a little off.  His kaki pants successfully reach his belly button, and are secured with a brown belt.  In his seated position, you can see his white socks end about half way up the calf.  His shoes look like penny loafers, like the ones you would expect a grandparent to wear.  He has black binoculars hanging around his neck.  Every so often, I see him get a gleam in his eye as he frantically gropes for his binoculars.  After positioning them correctly, his mouth widens into a smile, sometimes followed by a cheer and brief standing, or a sigh and a swinging motion of the hand.  There is no doubt that it is a grandchild he is watching out on the field.   

Camera-less assignment: Person #1

At first glance, I thought the figure seated three feet away from me was a man.  As I looked closer though, it is in fact a women, about the age of 30.  Her matted short hair gives off the appearance of a man.  Her hair is also curly and very very dark.  She wears glasses which hide her eyes, making it hard to distinguish what color they are. She has a round, short face, with trickles of sweat forming at her brow.  I can't figure out why.  It's not too hot inside.  Maybe she's nervous for something?  No one will know.  She sits with her legs crossed, her baggy sweatshirt creating creases around her torso.  She has on faded jeans, and shoes that... wouldn't be acceptable at a nice restaurant, let's just say.  I hear a door open behind me.  She looks up and quickly stands with a bright smile on her face.  She crouches down with her arms outstretched and a little child, about the age of 5 runs into her arms.  She wears an expression of pure joy while holding the child. Her child.  He is crowned with the same hair as his mother, and now possesses the same expression.  She stands and takes ahold of his little fingers and they walk out the door, smiling all the way.

Angele Etoundi Essamba

Angele Entoundi Essamba was born April 17, 1962 in Cameroon.  At the age of 10, she moved to Paris, and spent her school years there, receiving a degree in philosophy.  She then attended the Professional Dutch School of Photography in Amsterdam in 1985, with the encouragement of her Dutch husband. She went on to opening solo and group exhibitions in Europe, Africa, Cuba, and the United States.  In 1988, Essamba published her first book, Passion, which included her photographic work as well as poems accompanying them, in Dutch, French, and English.  She most recently won the "Le Prix Special Afrique" in 1996 for her photography.  She currently lives in the Netherlands with her husband.

Angele Etoundi Essamba's work has been seen in many exhibitions around the globe.  It has also been the subject of many catalogues and photobooks. Essamba's photography's main focus is the african self-image.  She expresses the sensitivity of race and of her african heritage.  She wants to express the beauty of the African men and women.  She pays close attention to the contrast and design of her subject.  I love her overall composition and contrast of her iamages.  When I look at them, I feel that beauty of her african subject, which I believe she wants her audience to feel.  She wants them to appreciate the great beauty of her african heritage.

This image automatically jumped out at me from the page.  Which I think was Essamba's intent.  She pays close attention to contrast, between the dark skin and the whites of the subject's eyes and fingernails.  The highlights are also very slight, yet very apparent.  You can see light on her nose, mouth, around the eyes, and in the creases of her fingers.  You don't notice these at first, but once you do, it really adds to the overall contrast between black and white.  It shows you the full texture of the fingers and her lips, it's like you can imagine what they would feel like.  To me, this image fully expresses the african beauty which Angele wanted to portray.

This is another that stood out.  Probably due to the pattern on the fabric.  Again, this image portrays contrast between black and white, not only on the subject's face, but also on the fabric she is under.  This women again portrays african beauty in a way, but also the shelter of their race.  I think this image tells a story of how her race was (and still is, by some) a persecuted race.  She looks timid, like she is hiding from something, but it's also beautiful with the contrast of the fabric.

This image is simple, yet extremely beautiful.  The subject's skin is not as dark as the first, therefore not creating as much contrast with the skin, but still some.  She is staring directly at the camera, forcing you to notice her piercing deep brown eyes encircled in a sea of white.  As your eyes slowly travel down the image, you see another amazing element, her lips.  They are so beautifully highlighted in just the right places, showing off a gorgeous quality of the african women, once again expressing the beauty of the race.  I also love how half of her face is in shadow.  It would be kind of boring, and like other pictures if we could see her full face, but we can't which makes it even more mysterious.

At first, I couldn't tell what this image was.  All I knew was that my eyes were drawn the the prominent white of her fingernails.  After looking closer, it appears to be a women with her arms wrapped about her.  The lighting is beautiful in this image.  It highlights her hand with the white fingernails which casts a shadow onto her torso.  The detail on her black robe is ever so faint, but once you notice it, you can really see the depth and detail put into this picture.  

This photo is so...cool!  I love how the one in the middle is of her eyes closed, and then the second open, showing that deep brown iris again.  Her dark skin isn't ask prominent as other images, but we see african beauty portrayed here through the traditional head dress.  To make this image more interesting, Essamba adds three pictures in one.

Project Proposal

k, so i had no idea that this was due a while ago.   So, sorry it's late.  I think I will do something to do with age.  I think I want to take pictures of people of different ages and their manorisms. Like, a little kid playing ball, or a middle aged women cooking, or an old person sleeping.  Or something along those lines.  Or something completely different. I'm not sure yet. 

Toni Frissell

My photographer is Toni Frissell.  She is known for her fashion photography, World War II photography, and mainly portraits, in black and white.  She was born in New York City in 1907.  She married a socialite McNeil Bacon, but never took his name.  Her influences were the famous photographers of her time that she worked with.  She died April 17 1988.

Prior to the war, she was asked to potographer for the fashion magazine, Vogue.  Her photography was unique because she has her subjects in nature settings while wearing the clothing.  In World War II, she became really interested in shooting (photographs I mean) parts of it.  First, Toni photographed for the American Red Cross.  She then worked some for the eighth army air force. Then she became the official photographer for the Women's Army Corps.  She took photographs of   women in the army.  These images were later used to encourage support for women fighting in the army.  After the war, she went on to take portraits of many famous Americans and Europeans such as Winston Churchill and Jaqueline Kennedy.

I love this photo.  The focus is perfect, you can really see the texture in her dress.  The way she is positioned is just perfect for the shot.  And the lighting is great.   

I love the lighting in this shot.  It tells a story with the emotion in the kid's face.

This shot is beautiful.  It was taken at a perfect point.  Again, the lighting and focus are perfect.

This is so cool.  You can really see the texture of the sand and all it's shadow. 

This is one of her war shots.  Their faces are all somber.  It tells a story.