Assignment:
This project was started in class. We were asked to look around campus and take pictures of things that we notice about our environment.
Original Noticing Photograph
After taking this photo, I feel that I could pursue an art project based on the subject and shapes that appear in it.
The photo is taken from the bottom of a staircase looking upwards. The effect that it makes on a two dimensional surface is interesting to me because of the receding line, and you get to see a different perspective of a subject you do not often see. For a project, I could take this further by taking pictures of staircases from visually interesting perspectives. I would not want to limit myself with the bottom to top perspective is the staircase is designed differently. The original photo that I took has not been edited, so I could also take this further by digitally editing the photos to be more interesting. I could also play around with editing to see if I could create a forced perspective.
Another aspect of this photo I find compelling are the monochromatic geometric shapes that emerge. I think that together, they create an interesting composition and element of design that supersedes the subject. I could take pictures of geometric shapes that I find interesting based on color. The result can be minimal if one focuses on the simple shapes that are created or if one focuses on the monochromatic colors shown. But, the artwork can also be viewed as complex if a viewer considers both elements, color and shape. This could be interesting to pursue because I would not be limited to the subject of the piece.
Based on the responses I have gotten about these two ideas, it seems like people are most excited about the pictures of staircases. My first challenge is to find staircases that I could get interesting perspectives of. I spent the day walking around my neighborhood looking for places with interesting stairs, and realized that it was a task that was easier said than done. Eventually, I decided to take a trip to the Met Breuer since I have never been there before. Along the way, I passed the Met Fifth Avenue steps and tried to find a creative way to photograph their iconic steps.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Steps
I hoped that in this photo, I could accomplish the task I gave myself of taking photos of stairs at unique perspectives, and capture the energy surrounding the area. The steps being shown in this perspective is not one that many people see the steps from when they visit the museum. They are usually looking at the steps from the front of the building to walk up to the prestigious institution, which is matched by the overcoming amount of steps there are leading to the entrance. The people shown around the steps also reflect the tone of the museum. It is clear that there is a diverse group of people that go to the Met. The excitement around the Met is also reflected by some of the tourists taking selfies, and by the multitude of people making their way up the steps.
My Building
This next photo is one of the stairs leading up to the second floor of the building. I found this view to be most compelling because of the shapes that are made in the ceiling from the stairs. This perspective was also unique to me because I had never looked at the building or architectural components that needed to be made in order to compensate for a stairwell.
The Met Brewer
The next few photos are from the steps at the Met Brewer. I thought about taking pictures there because of the concrete and modern style architecture the building has, and I figured that the staircase had to reflect those qualities as well. The picture above was taken from the bottom up like my first inspiration photo. I found this perspective interesting because you can see the outlines of the stairs and not just the ceiling like in the first picture or in my building. I also found this interesting because of the lighting. The light was filtering through my lens differently than in the other locations because of the placement of the lights, which I assume is from the unique architecture and lack of natural. The light then created a leak that is shown in the bottom right corner of the photo.
The Met Brewer
This photo is similar to the previous one because of its looking upward perspective, but the lighting had a different effect on this photo since it is directed at the camera. I found this photo interesting because of the lack of light shown on the stairs. The color and darkness of the photo contributes to the tone of the Met Brewer and the stairwell. It perfectly embodies the cool and industrial feeling that the building was designed with. In terms of teaching and curriculum, I would find the differences between these photos to represent the importance of light placement in photography.
The Met Brewer
This photo was interesting to be because of the perspective it forces the viewers to see and the warm tones brought out of it. First, taking the photo at this angle was somewhat difficult. I had to lean over the side of the handle bar to look downwards to the street level of the stairs. It was almost difficult to hold the camera still because of the gravity of the angle I was at. Second, the color of the handle contributed to the warm tones brought out by the pure white lights in the stairwell. This was an aesthetic touch that I appreciate because it offsets the colder feeling people might get surrounded by concrete.
The next two photos are taken from the same angle but edited differently. The first photo is cropped so you could see the ceiling of the stairwell, the top sliver of concrete. It is also edited to include more highlights and mid-tones than the other. For both photos, I chose to edit them based on their compositional potential and slight change in perspective.
The Met Brewer
For this first photo, I chose to crop it with more of the right side of the stairs shown because of the slight angle towards that side of the stairwell. I figured that the photo should be cropped based on the way that the lens was angled, hence where the audience should be looking. I also chose to crop it so that part of the top of the ceiling was in it to balance the shadows made from the light pouring in from the top of the staircase and the light at the bottom left corner of the photo. I thought that the warm light of the ceiling would be a good "break" for the viewers eyes to make sense of the many shapes the light was making against the staircase.
The Met Brewer
This next photo was cropped the way it was because it was taken, mostly, in the center of the stairwell. I wanted to make this photo as balanced as possible. When keeping this in mind, I also knew that I had to compensate for the light leak int he bottom left hand corner of the photo, which lead me to be mindful of the gradient from light to dark in that corner. If the change from light to dark was too sudden, by cropping it too closely on the left, than it could direct viewers attention to that harder edge it would have created. So, I made sure that I left enough light in the corner to see the slow transition from light to dark. I also enjoy the way it was edited because of the dark shapes that take up most of the space, but also how it is balanced with the out of focus highlights that are receding into the background.
The Met Brewer
This last photo was taken while I was standing on the steps and looking to the side to see them at eye level. I cropped and rotated the photo to be at the angle of the railing because it would give people a new perspective of the staircase. I also thought that it would take a viewer a moment to figure out what the subject is, which adds to the unique perspective of the photo.
Overall, I think that this creative response was a success. I think that I could take this idea of noticing and translate it into a lesson for students in a beginners photography class. In this way, students would be able to take pictures of things that are of interest to them, explore the use of their camera, learn critique and technical terms of photography, and translate their formal knowledge into creative art making.