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Light painting

David Kanoa James

Time

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Light Painting

            How does one portray time with a camera? Easily. Every photo you take is a snapshot of that 125^th of a second. Every photo you take is a documentation of a feeling, an experience or view. But how do we get past that? Is there anyway to depict time in a photo without relating to the then? I don’t think I have an answer to this problem, but during this experiment and assignment, I tried to take the focus away from the moment or time the photo was taken and redirect it to the actual photo.

            I decided that a great way to have fun and represent this was to do some light painting. Here the expression of time is still given because the shutter must be open for a specific amount of time to get the desired effect. The moment captured through this process is much longer than an instant; in fact, it can catch an entire event. With light painting I was able to be very creative with my friends to depict scenes from our imagination that would otherwise be impossible to recreate with the budget of a college student.

            However, it still relates back to the fact that at one moment in time we created these fantasies of ours on a camera. These photos will always represent the time that we spent to create these shots. These photos will always show a moment in time. Personally I don’t think that you can navigate away from that idea that a photo captures a moment of time. But at least I tried with my concept of light painting. 

Annie Leibovitz

David Kanoa James

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

DVD response

Annie Leibovitz

            When I learn about success stories like this I become somewhat more motivated than I already am to become great at photography. Annie Leibovitz’ attention to detail and her gut is what got her to where she is today. She was the first woman on the scene to roll with the punches and be just one of the boys.

            She pushed people to take photos that they weren’t comfortable with. She was in control and confident and is still when she does her photo shoots. Demanding and firm she directs people gently into doing what she wants. Her visions keep getting bigger and so does her clientele. And when making over 100,000.00 dollars a shoot you know she has got to be doing something correctly.

            But the question arises; “Did she sell out?” to this I can say that the answer is a complete and absolute “No.” Annie Leibovitz never was considered an artist at what she does in the beginning of her career. She just followed where her camera took her. She documented as much as she created. In all reality she didn’t really start becoming more creative in her work until she changed from documentary photography to actual studio work.

            But it’s not her fine studio work and her big budget that gets the photos that she creates. It is her bold attitude and willingness to attempt things unheard of or over the top. This goes along with what I have always said about photography and what I try to remember every time I take a photo. “Its not the photographer with the sharpest lenses or the most expensive gear, it’s the photographer with the fastest finger and the biggest balls that succeeds at greatness.

Jerry Uelsmann

Jerry Uelsmann

 

Jerry Uelsmann was fascinated with photography at a young age. Going to school in Michigan he got poor grades as a lad but still manage to graduate high school. Later he became a wedding photographer so support himself as he moved towards higher learning.  He went to various schools but eventually graduated with a masters in fine arts at Indiana University. This allowed him to teach photography at the university of Florida at the beginning of the 1960’s.

What sets jerry apart form the rest of photographers is that none of his art is done with a computer. Hiss surreal landscapes and magical depictions are created using over a dozen enlargers in a dark room and vast quantities of time. Also, he refuses to do commercial jobs and survives off of teaching and grants.

However he does not view the advent of computers as a bad influence on photography as many would expect him to. “I am sympathetic to the current digital revolution and excited by the visual options created by the computer. However, I feel my creative process remains intrinsically linked to the alchemy of the darkroom.”

Today you can see some of his work on the cover of death metal albums and in the opening sequences of the “outer limits” series

 

 


 

cultural event

David Kanoa James

2/27/11

Cultural Event 3

Side Show

            I didn’t pay the fifteen dollars to go see the Lamont production of Side Show. To be honest I was shocked when they said that the production was for a fee larger than 5 dollars. Its not that I don’t like to support the aspiring actors its that I personally feel that a school that charges 48 grand a year should allow its students to see anything that comes through Lamont for free. Especially if its put on by fellow students.

            But besides that fact I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Sitting in the back with my usher friends who let me in for free I was able to enjoy this University of Denver’s rendition of an acclaimed play. The singing was wonderful in parts, especially the harmony formed by Daisy and Violet, the two stars of the production. Simply, the vocal talent belonging to most of the performers was wonderful.

            What I noticed to be a week point of the performance was that it was hard to hear some of the performers at points throughout the production. This was the first play that I had seen at Lamont where the performers were given mikes to amplify their voices. I have to say that though it was a great idea to help with the singing parts it was somewhat spotty during conversation. The turning on and off of mikes seemed to be a little shabby.

            Beyond performance aspects the scenery was wonderful. Great tapestries of different characters from the play adorned the walls and lights were strung along the ceiling to give the illusion of being in a circus tent. Costuming was wonderful too, with the character diversity of a bearded lady, gypsies and a lizard man, the production crew obviously had their work cut out for them but rose to the challenge wonderfully.

            I enjoyed the performance greatly and was happy to be a part of it in audience form. Part of me wanted to get back into theatre because of how much fun the many performers were having. I also wondered how I would have portrayed the different characters onstage in contrast to how they were being depicted.

Artist statement,

Self Portraits,

I walked into the studio to find it in a state of disarray. I guess that’s what happens when the code to the door is the same combination on my luggage.  Either way, happy portraits were out of the picture.

I cranked metal and just started shooting film. I had an idea for a real grungy and contrasted feel for my photos. I added a red filter to the front so there would be no mid tones. I also brought zoom of the camera to as close to 18mm as I could so I could incorporate the entire scene. I didn’t want to take photos that made me look good. That was the last thing that I wanted. I wanted to show it all, and I wanted to show how pissed I was at the moment.

What turned out was somewhat acceptable by my standards. To be honest I was unimpressed with this series of photos because I felt the film could only do so well when trying to capture the moment and the detail.

Depicted in the shoot is me doing a Haka about Paikea a Maori hero and legend. I spent 6 month in Dunedin on the south island and while there my life changed. Learning this dance and getting in touch with some of my distant Polynesian cousins was a changing experience for me. I am somewhat distant from my own Hawaiian roots as most of us are now so this was one way I felt like I could belong somewhere.

The Maori have a belief called Whakapapa. This concept relates everything in existence to everything else. They believe that the birds are the cousins of the fish who are the cousins of us. in their eyes we are all equal and we must take care of the environment because it is directly related to us. This concept also relates back to lineage and the transgression of genes and culture from one generation to the next. The Hawaiians and the Maori both come from the same ancestors that migrated out of the east pacific. If I could trace my heritage back to when my ancestors arrived in the Hawaiian islands over two thousand years ago I too might be able to relate myself to someone who traveled on of the first seven canoes to reach Aotearoa, (New Zealand). But because I cant find my roots I will go back as much as possible. But for me that just means identifying with one of the closest cultures to mine. Maori.

Kanoa

 

Adventure Down Town

The Man with the sign is a worker who left the Denver Art Museam because of racial preferanceing. he had been working there for 25 years as a janitor and applied for a managerial job in the department. it was given to a white worker who was less qualified by 24 years!