Just some pictures

I like the color, light, and the composition... it's simple.

This image goes with the one above. These were for a small assignment for class.

 The images below were for my first part of my final assignment. However, I did not use these for my final. I went a completely different route in my final set of images. I like this series below because the feeling it gives me is a cold Wisconsin feeling. These are images from a neighborhood in Madison I frequent quite a bit. It is a nice area, and I am glad I got to shoot some things I have had my eye and my memory on shooting for the last year or so. Its nice to push those areas out of my "to shoot" mind.

"Great Water"- Lake Michigan

 This is my home-Lake Michigan. I was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. For those of you who have never been here, I say you try it out. For how cliche it is to say that I love the lake, and that the lake is the best part about Racine, it is the truth.

I lived in North Carolina for four years. I was minutes away from the ocean, and it was amazing. However, I remember telling people about the lake and beach back home. Most people didn't even know what Lake Michigan was, or where it was. They didn't know the beauty that I knew in the lake. In my now 25 years of being alive, I have never lived away from water. There was always a massive fluid monster close by. I have figured out that I could never live in a land locked place. It would drive me crazy.
The water is my escape, whether it is a lake or an ocean. When I was little I would tell people that I was obsessed with water. I am starting to think there is some truth in that odd quality about me.

 This series was created for an assignment where I had to show something about the land, people, and culture of where I live. I had thought about what to shoot for a few days, and like many other people, I wanted to show the lake. To me, that is why there was even a settlement here. The lake is a big commodity. Not many people know about the shipping of goods that happens on the lake. When I would go down to the shipping yard in Milwaukee, I would just be in awe of the massive ships, and barges. It is just a lake, but it is no ordinary lake. 

 Of course this series was taken during the colder months, aka November. During the warmer months the beach is always busy with activities, sports, and people enjoying the sun and water. In these images I wanted to try and show parts of the whole concept. I didn't want to be too literal, I wanted to try some more abstract shots ( I am longing for them). Plus so many people around here take pictures of the same things...beaches, and lighthouses. I took them to fill the concept and the assignment, I personally don't like images of lighthouses. Where I come from it is way over done, so I apologize for the lighthouse shot, I wanted to include it for the sake of the assignment.

 

But I digress..... These images are my take on the lake. There is a hope that these images show everyone something about the area that they might have missed. Maybe they will give you a new perspective and thought about the Great Water. 

Nothing specific here...

Square crop working out well here. Caught this driving down the interstate!! It is one of my new favorites.

Street shot. I miss shooting things like this. I can't wait to get back to it.

 

I pass by the Mosquito Inn everyday, twice a day. I love this old building. I will shoot this at night when the weather is a bit warmer..Darn you winter!!

These are just some images from an open assignment a couple of weeks ago. I remember the weekend I took these, it was the warmest weekend we had in a while. I spent some time at a few state parks, which is where the third image came from. That warmth gave me a kick in the butt to create and I hope these images give you some sort of kick to start or do something!! 

"Art is a representation not of what the eye sees, but of what the soul seeks," 
 William Stillman.

"The question is not what you look at, but what you see."
 

- Henry David Thoreau

Next...20th Century

 As you might be able to tell by the post title, this set of images is in the style of the 20th century photographer! How exciting. Last week was the 19th century now it is the 20th century. So many years so many changes. What you can expect and see is images with a modern approach. Fragments, selective focus, unusual angles, juxtaposition, non-grounded buildings, fragmentary views, details, interesting lighting... those are the things a 20th century photographer would utilize in their framing.

 I know that these two centuries of photographers and photographs don't seem that much different, but you can see that there were more radical views of buildings in the 20th century. They become more experimental, and not so straight forward, or dead-pan type of images.

Where these were taken was at the fishing pier down by the power plant in Oak Creek. I love this spot because no one is ever down there, and the views of this massive complex, to me, is fantastic. I love standing by something so big, and the feeling of being so small. I like the feeling of being little, and unimportant. This building has interesting shapes to it. There are so many different parts of it, and they each have their own character. Some parts are very simple, and plain. While others are complex and intricate. One of the best parts is when you are driving down the big hill toward the pier and you can look out over the buildings. That point is when I felt like I was on the same level as the structure, then when I finished my drive down that hill, I again felt the massive structure hanging over me.

In these images I wanted to show all the parts of the building. From the simple parts, to the complex ones that I am not sure what they are used for. I also wanted to show how massive the buildings are. All of the interesting detail. Typically 20th century photographers use color in their work, but I went with the black and white just to simplify the differences in structures. Keep that in mind when looking at the work of 20th century photographers. The only other thing I might do with these images is put a black boarder around them. Other then that, that was my experience of  the 20th century photographer.

Photograph in the manner of a 19th century photograher they said.

Dekoven Center Racine, Wisconsin

 Last week in class, our lesson and assignment was about the 19th century photographers. Or the people who started the craft. At that time in history, photographs would photograph buildings because those were the only things that wouldn't move and mess up the exposure. Their style was very straight forward. They captured the buildings essence. It was as if they were shooting for a magazine.



The photographers wanted people to get the idea of how big the building was, how it looked, the details, the "catalog" views.

My favorite house in downtown Racine, since I was a little tot.

  Some of these images are not the best 19th century photographer photographs, but they were the images I submitted for my assignment, so I wanted to share them with everyone.

Here is a list of the most famous 19th century photographers- William Henry Fox Talbot, Eugene Atget, and Francis Frith. 

 This was a difficult concept for me, as well as other people in my class. To strip down what your style is to photograph is a more simple way, is a hard thing to do. Many people in class including myself, felt like there was going to be a lack of style in these images. I am glad I chose to shoot in downtown Racine. I knew the architecture would fit well with the 19th century style. I just started shooting everything in a straight forward mind frame. I tried to keep them simple. I think I had some success. Not the best, but it was a nice experience to go back into history and try to capture an image in the way one of them would have.

Chapel at the Dekoven Center Racine, Wisconsin

Dekoven Center