Friday, September 26, 2014

Bio Bit: David Bailey



A Healthy Helping of Elbow Grease


"A positive attitude can really make dreams come true - it did for me." - David Bailey

Despite a difficult childhood with limited opportunities David Bailey still followed his dreams, worked hard and has consequently become known as one of the best photographers of our time. With photographs ranging in all different styles, his work finds
The Style King
inspiration in every aspect of life and reflects a bit of his colorful, diverse personality. He is best known for his fashion work for Vogue and wide range of advertising and stock images. Born in a poor section of London in 1938, David didn’t have much opportunity to rise above his social circumstances, as he said himself "you could become a boxer, a car thief, or maybe a musician" (1). To be able to make a living as a photographer was almost out of the question. As a young man, David worked many different, small jobs such as a carpet salesman, shoe salesman, and window-dresser (1). Eventually he picked up photography again, after having given the hobby up when his snap shots from when he was younger were never successful. He became the apprentice of a fashion photographer, even though he was never interested in fashion. At the time, it was the only way a person could make a living as a photographer. Quickly rising in fame, he was able to branch out and take portraits. His style changes from image to image; from gentle and sweet to dark and brooding, the best way to sum it up is that his style reflects all the diversities of life. His portraits are bold with high contrasts, capturing people’s personalities and quirks. Starting in a low position in society, from wearing cardboard shoes to being taken to the movie theater every night because it was cheaper than heating the home (2), David Bailey shows that with enough determination, hope, and a willingness to work, that dreams aren’t always as unattainable as they might seem.

David Bailey Photography

Bibliography
(1.)  "PDN Legends Online: David Bailey." PDN Legends Online: David Bailey. N.p., n.d. Web. 26
        Sept. 2014.
(2.)  "David Bailey." Facts & Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.
"About." DAVID BAILEY PHOTOGRAPHY. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.


Friday, September 19, 2014

Bio Bit: Richard Avedon



The Brief Retelling of Richard Avedon’s Life



On May 15, 1923 a baby was born. Of course, many babies were probably born on that day, but we’re talking about one specific baby. Richard Avedon his parents called him. Little known to the baby at the time, but he would live a life filled with a love for fashion and photography, be close friends with the poet James Baldwin, and work for large periods of time in three major fashion and photography magazines. In fact, this small baby, born in busy New York City, would grow up and shape many of America’s cultural ideas of beauty and fashion through his work.
Pleasure Photo Room
From an early age Richard developed a love for fashion. His father “owned a clothing store called Avedon's Fifth Avenue” (1) and his mother “came from a family of dress manufacturers” (1). One day when he was twelve, walking down the street with his father, observing the clothing of the shops and passersby, Richard’s eyes fell on a bald man with a camera. This man was having a beautiful model pose against a tree outside Plaza Hotel. He was fascinated by this and soon he would be doing that very same type of job, traveling even to Paris to photograph Parisian models in iconic Paris settings. Avedon was one of the first people who directed his models to show emotion and movement, bringing a touch of realness to the immaculate looking women. One of his iconic images shows one of the most popular models of the time, posing between two elephants and petting them! Richard Avedon was always pushing the limits of creativity and trying things never done before. This is the reason why his work stood out so much. And why his work still continues to influence the culture’s ideas of beauty today.

Enticing the Light




Bibliography



                (1.) "Richard Avedon." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 19 Sep. 2014.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Sunday Social: VIII

1. Favorite Scent

That's hard, I rarely pay very much attention to what I smell. I guess it would have to be walking along the road outside my house in late summer/early fall and there's an almost subconscious sweet scent of flowers, hay and grass.

2. Favorite Food

 My favorite food is food! If I had to narrow it down more though, I'd have to say anything with lots of cheese and nothing spicy. Mac-n-Cheese, Lasagna, Pizza, and Potato Salad are up there on the top of the list.


Gizmag


3. Favorite Sound

Laughter. From my family, my friends, little kids and strangers alike.

4. Favorite Picture currently on your phone

I took this picture from a book cover at Barnes and Noble. It's from the Halo series (evidently that's a book series as well as a first person shooter game?) and there's a soldier's helmet on the ground abandoned and a little girl looking down at it with the rest of a slightly futuristic feeling city world rushes by. It's haunting and it made me want to write the story - not the book's story, just a short story inspired by the picture. So I snapped a picture of it for later inspiration.




5. Best memory of the year so far

The camping trip I went on with my youth group in July is probably one of the best; all the Ultimate Frisbee we played and time just spent hanging out with my friends.

The Foto Fab Five

Here are five of my favorite pictures from this week's photo shoots







Sunday, September 7, 2014

Sunday Social: VII

1. 5 Things you want us to know about you

1. When I say I'm not a "girl" I'm not saying I don't think I'm a female, it means I'm more of a tomboy - it's sad that in this culture I have to clarify that. 
2. I'm just a kid at heart, I've never really been a teen and I'll never really be an adult. Age is just a number.
3. Yes, I talk to myself when I'm alone.
4. I'm always willing to try something new.
5. I get mischievous impulses to do something, like to randomly throw a grape at someone (or worse, knock a vase down at the furniture store!) And sometimes I act on them.

Image Credit: Mom


2. 5 Favorite things about blogging

Writing
Sharing my drawings
Sharing my photography
Writing some more
Being able to design this blog

3. 5 Things you are doing before the year is over

Enjoying Thanksgiving, working on college, hanging out with friends, having my birthday, and breathing.

4. 5 Favorite Fall Fashion Staples

A jacket, a hat if it's windy so I don't get earaches, maybe a scarf, my camera around my neck, and I don't know... clothes.

CarlChristensen
 

5. 5 Favorite beauty products

A smile, clean hair, brushed teeth, a good night's sleep, and blue eyes.

Sunday Social

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Friday, September 5, 2014

Bio Bit: Diane Arbus



Young Forbidden Love: Diane Arbus


"My favorite thing is to go where I've never been." - Diane Arbus


Look back and remember your first crush. If you’re like most other human beings, it was at a fairly young age, and most likely your first crush wasn’t your last. For Diane Arbus, the famous and controversial photographer born in 1923, her crush at the age of fourteen became a lot more than just a warm memory of the naivety of adolescence. Allen Arbus, the boy who captured Diane’s heart, was the son of one of her father’s business partners. He was nineteen and, because of her youth and the connection to business, Diane’s parents strongly disapproved of her infatuation. However, because of her stubbornness to do what is forbidden - something that marks the rest of her life story - this only caused the romance to grow stronger in secret. Diane was a promising art student, and her writings were amazing in high school. Her whole family was artistically talented and her father encouraged her to pursue a painting career. Soon after school though, Diane gave up writing and painting saying “I hated painting and I quit right after high school because I was continually told how terrific I was, I had the sense that if I was so terrific at it, it wasn’t worth doing” (1).
Art DepartMENTAL
All ambition in pursuing any kind of career eventually became swallowed up by her one and only desire to become Allen’s wife. As soon as she turned 18 they got married in 1941. It was Allen who introduced Diane to photography and soon the two followed their interest into a successful commercial and fashion photography career. They made a good team together, with Allen doing most of the shooting, and Diane, described as being “extremely smart and witty and incredibly perceptive…” (1), came up with the ideas and props. Eventually, the limitations and demands of the commercial business began to frustrate them both. Diane wanted to do more artistic photography, and Allen wanted to follow his dreams of being an actor. These conflicts of interest began to also put stress on their marriage. In 1956, Diane broke away from their business to study and develop her own vision as a photographer. By 1959, just three years later, the couple separated and Diane went to live with her two daughters on her own. What could’ve brought such a blossoming love from youth to such an ending is unclear. But amidst stresses and the parting of a shared career, coupled with Diane’s fascination with the socially forbidden and the embracing of a living-on-the-edge attitude about money, social status and sexual freedom, a healthy, loving, and committed marriage would have difficulty surviving. The heart, allowed to lead without the head, often leaves people burned, causing the most passionate love to suddenly die over something as simple as a single disagreement. This is the painful lesson that Diane Arbus learned as her “true love” from youth ended in cold separation.


Bibliography
(1)    "A Fresh Look at Diane Arbus." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Sept. 2014.

"Diane Arbus." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 05 Sep. 2014.


Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Web Gem: Photosynth


Heidelberg Project by CommodoreCrush on Photosynth

Photosynth is a website that allows you to link together similar images of a place into a smooth, 3D immersive experience.  The results are mind blowing. The technology is continuing to be developed to eventually be able to link together all the images on the web to create intricate 3D models of our world. Although the privacy issues might be a little sticky if you think about it too much, this is an amazing advancement in the shared photo world!

Asteroid Explorer HAYABUSA2 rollout はやぶさ2機体公開 at Sagamihara by nvs-live on Photosynth