Selfies
Vivian Maier
I chose this image because it interested me the most out of the 10. The image seems like it was taken at an angle pointing down towards the mirror that I assume is on the floor. When I initially looked at the image my eyes where drawn to the building in the background of the image the rest of the background is just trees and the sky. In the front of the image I see Vivian, her camera and the mirror that she has taken the image in. The framing of the image makes it so that you can only see the mirror and floor of which the mirror is on and cannot see the surrounding area. The image is also in black and white which kind of gives the image a interesting look as I don't feel like the image would have the same effect if it was in colour.
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Masked Selfies
Omar Victor Diop
What characters does Diop become in his selfies and why?
Diop becomes forgotten historical figures of Africa in his photographs and says he is "aiming to revisit the history and heritage of African and afro dissent around the world".
Why does he choose those characters?
He chooses to photograph himself as these people as when he was was growing up he was never shown "Africans of excellence and who where exceptional" so he believed that there weren't any he discovered there where many and now uses photography so that others won't have the same problem, he says "For example I want young people to see you can be African and exceptional".
Why do you think he makes a connection between himself and the historical figures he depicts in his selfies?
He may make a connection between him and the historical figures he depicts in him images as the people he bases his work on are African and so is he this may make him feel a connection towards them.
What advice would he give to a young photographer?
He said he would tell young people wishing to get on to photography "to start now" he says "You also don't need to wait for a professional camera because now even with a phone you can create beautiful images and when you do something like that you need to show it and not keep it to yourself".
Who would you like to become in your selfie, and why? This could be a real person, an imaginary creature, your future self, etc.
If I was to choose somebody to become in an image I would probably choose Cristiano Ronaldo as I enjoy football and feel that he is one of the best to play the game. He is on of the most well know Football players from Madeira which is a part of where I am from.
Diop becomes forgotten historical figures of Africa in his photographs and says he is "aiming to revisit the history and heritage of African and afro dissent around the world".
Why does he choose those characters?
He chooses to photograph himself as these people as when he was was growing up he was never shown "Africans of excellence and who where exceptional" so he believed that there weren't any he discovered there where many and now uses photography so that others won't have the same problem, he says "For example I want young people to see you can be African and exceptional".
Why do you think he makes a connection between himself and the historical figures he depicts in his selfies?
He may make a connection between him and the historical figures he depicts in him images as the people he bases his work on are African and so is he this may make him feel a connection towards them.
What advice would he give to a young photographer?
He said he would tell young people wishing to get on to photography "to start now" he says "You also don't need to wait for a professional camera because now even with a phone you can create beautiful images and when you do something like that you need to show it and not keep it to yourself".
Who would you like to become in your selfie, and why? This could be a real person, an imaginary creature, your future self, etc.
If I was to choose somebody to become in an image I would probably choose Cristiano Ronaldo as I enjoy football and feel that he is one of the best to play the game. He is on of the most well know Football players from Madeira which is a part of where I am from.
Inge Morath and Saul Steinberg's Masquerade Project
Which character did you become and why?
I became Cristiano Ronaldo for my masked selfie I chose him because he is a Portuguese footballer from Madeira. What materials did you use? I used a paper bag and some printed pictures to create a mask for me photo. What went well? How could you make it even better next time? What inspired you about Omar Victor Diop's work? Was the mask a good addition to the costume selfie? If you are performing a character in the image, is it still a self portrait? |
Which character did you become and why?
I became Cristiano Ronaldo for my masked selfie I chose him because he is a Portuguese footballer from Madeira. If you didn't dress up why is that? I didn't really dress up but I was advised to use the red cloth as it would match the red Portugal kit. What materials did you use? To make the mask I used a paper bag and some printed photos of Ronaldo and the Portugal kit and I used a red piece of fabric to wrap around me to match the red for the kit. What went well? I think the creation of the mask went quite well and the photos went well too my favourite of the ones is the one I chose to display separately from the rest. How could you make it even better next time? The lighting on a few of this images could have been better but in general I believe all the images could have been improved with a bit more time being taken on them. What inspired you about Omar Victor Diop’s work? Diop's work inspired me to chose a person that I had some sort of connection to as he chose to represent forgotten historical African figures because he felt a connection due to the fact he was also African this inspired me to choose Ronaldo as he is from the same place my mum is from. Was the mask a good addition to the costume selfie? I believe the mask was a good addition to the image as I would prefer nit to show my face in these images. If you are performing a character in the image, is it still a self-portrait? I don't believe that it is a self portrait if you are presenting to be someone else. What do you think of the photographs? Do you remember how the lighting was? Using the studio was different from using natural daylight. How does this change the image? |
Extended Writing task.
Danny Treacy, From series Them
In Treacy's image you can see a man standing against a black background with a mask that gives a sort of mysterious effect as his face is covered meaning we don't know who is under the mask and a mismatched/half and half outfit that seems dirty and possibly old or reused
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Omar Victor Diop, Malik Ambar (1549-1626), 2014
In Diop's image you can see a bordered image of Diop he is standing against a green background at an angle facing away from the camera the border gives the image a kind of formal feeling and it makes it seem a bit more like a painting he may have done this to greater represent the image he was recreating as it may have been in the form of a painting. All He has football boots and a football which is quite unusual considering the outfit he is wearing(genuinely wouldn't play football in that outfit)
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Vivian Maier, Self Portrait, 1954
In Maier's image, which was taken in black and white, you can see a sort of metal fencing that is visible twice, once in the very front of the image and once reflected in the mirror it seems as if Maier's is standing outside a shop window and looking into the mirror from the outside. The focus of this image is Maier's as the front of the image isn't very clear whereas her face and the mirror is in focus and clear.
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All these images are similar due to the fact they all have an element of disguise for example the fence in Maier's photo disguises her face, Treacy wears a mask in his photo which covers his face and keeps his identity a mystery and Diop is dressed up as somebody else which is sort of a form of disguise as he isn't himself in the photo.
Instructional Collage Selfies
WWW: Trying different ways of putting all the images together as every time I tried a new arrangement I got a better idea and understanding of how I wanted my final collage to look.
EBI: Is this a self portrait? in my case no this is not a self portrait as the images are not of myself. In the case of others where the photos are of themselves I believe that it is a self portrait as the images would be of them and the only difference from a typical self portrait is that it has been turned into a collage. |
My cyanotype
What is the cyanotype process?
How do your images differ from the ones you have seen online through your research? Write a step by step process of what you have learned bout how to do the cyanotype. What do you think of the finished product? What would you change if you could? if you were to create this process again what would you add to make it more of a 'personal self portrait' |
Assessment
In the first photograph (Kenneth Josephson's - Chicago, 1980)
You see that Josephson has taken a photo of what seems to be a man holding a piece of paper with a square cut out the middle through that you see the hand of the driver of the car in front of him. The self portrait aspect of this photo comes in through the shadow in the bottom right of the image where you see the photographers top half as a shadow on the car (shadow selfie).
In the second photograph (Francesca Woodman - From angel series, Roma, September 1977)
You see Woodman has taken a mirror selfie but you cannot see her fully in the image. It seems as if she is hiding behind what seems to be a large sheet of paper or cloth and you can see her legs out the bottom of it, at first glance this may be mistaken for something else like a chair but when you look closer you see that it is in fact a person. On the right of this image you also see what seems to be another person again hidden so you cannot see their face but only their hand.
these images are similar as they are both self portraits but with an aspect of mystery as you do not see the photographer in either of these photos but only a small representation of them eg the shadow or the feet. Another similarity in these images is that they are both quite dark images (Taken in black and white).
These photographers have taken different approaches when it comes to framing. Josephson's image is framed at more of a close up angle so you only see the main subject of the image, eg the car and shadow along with some background where as Woodman's image is taken with a wider framing enabling the view of the image to see the images surroundings and not just the main subject of the image which in this case I believe would be what is in the reflection of the mirror. Alongside that both of these photographers have used the idea of frame within a frame even if not obvious at first. In Josephson's image I believe the use of the square cut out in the image is an example of frame within a frame and in Woodman's image I believe the use of the mirror is an example of frame within a frame.
These images both have an element of mystery about them as you do not see the photographers. The second image however also has an unexpected/surprising effect on the viewer of the image as you wouldn't necessarily expect for there to be these hidden people in the image especially on first glance when it all seems to be nothing but normal furniture.
These photographers have both taken a creative approach to the self portraits starting with the basic stuff like Josephson's image being a shadow selfie and Woodman's image being a mirror selfie rather than a standard selfie and then the more advanced things for example frame within a frame which both the photographers used, the use of the square cut out in Josephson's image and the use of the objects to obstruct the view of the photographer in Woodman's image.
If I was to choose one image I would choose the image taken by Kenneth Josephson
You see that Josephson has taken a photo of what seems to be a man holding a piece of paper with a square cut out the middle through that you see the hand of the driver of the car in front of him. The self portrait aspect of this photo comes in through the shadow in the bottom right of the image where you see the photographers top half as a shadow on the car (shadow selfie).
In the second photograph (Francesca Woodman - From angel series, Roma, September 1977)
You see Woodman has taken a mirror selfie but you cannot see her fully in the image. It seems as if she is hiding behind what seems to be a large sheet of paper or cloth and you can see her legs out the bottom of it, at first glance this may be mistaken for something else like a chair but when you look closer you see that it is in fact a person. On the right of this image you also see what seems to be another person again hidden so you cannot see their face but only their hand.
these images are similar as they are both self portraits but with an aspect of mystery as you do not see the photographer in either of these photos but only a small representation of them eg the shadow or the feet. Another similarity in these images is that they are both quite dark images (Taken in black and white).
These photographers have taken different approaches when it comes to framing. Josephson's image is framed at more of a close up angle so you only see the main subject of the image, eg the car and shadow along with some background where as Woodman's image is taken with a wider framing enabling the view of the image to see the images surroundings and not just the main subject of the image which in this case I believe would be what is in the reflection of the mirror. Alongside that both of these photographers have used the idea of frame within a frame even if not obvious at first. In Josephson's image I believe the use of the square cut out in the image is an example of frame within a frame and in Woodman's image I believe the use of the mirror is an example of frame within a frame.
These images both have an element of mystery about them as you do not see the photographers. The second image however also has an unexpected/surprising effect on the viewer of the image as you wouldn't necessarily expect for there to be these hidden people in the image especially on first glance when it all seems to be nothing but normal furniture.
These photographers have both taken a creative approach to the self portraits starting with the basic stuff like Josephson's image being a shadow selfie and Woodman's image being a mirror selfie rather than a standard selfie and then the more advanced things for example frame within a frame which both the photographers used, the use of the square cut out in Josephson's image and the use of the objects to obstruct the view of the photographer in Woodman's image.
If I was to choose one image I would choose the image taken by Kenneth Josephson