Reading Quiz - What The Eye Does Not See

“The link (with the human eye and its usual optical radius)... is not really needed” - Ossip Brik "What the Eye Does Not See"

The concept of the "link between the human eye and its usual optical radius is not really needed" in terms of photography and film is due to the limits one faces when things are only viewed by "the human eye" or at "eye-level". These two mediums (film in particular, and later on in photography) have been able to transform the way we look at different objects.  They capture moments or views that our eyes can't see or even process with out the help of these mediums at a radius that our naked eye can't view on it's own.  In film and in photography, we don't need to use the connection with our eyes and our optical radius, the camera can act on it's own when we simply change the angle in which the camera is placed.  

Looking At Photographs - Garry Winogrand's Untitled

Garry Winogrand

Untitled (1962)

The photograph that captured my eye, almost right away, was Garry Winogrand's Untitled.  As Szarkowski says, Windgrand's picture is "so rich in fact and suggestion."  Photographs sometimes tell a story to it's viewers.  In this photograph, however, the viewer isn't exactly sure what "the story is".  Unlike "conventional" portraits, the subjects (the couple) are not in the middle of the frame, however, the viewer's eyes are still directed to them based on how Windgrand has positioned the couple in comparison of the first fence, directly behind them.  The couple is looking at each other, not directly into the camera, it's as if he was trying to capture/suggest an intimate moment between the two, in what looks like a day at the zoo.  The vertical lines of the cage draw away the viewer's attention, again, allowing all the attention to be drawn onto the couple.  The little objects that are seen in the background are not really in focus, even though the animal is white, and stands out against the gray shadowy background, his gaze seems to be focused on the couple as well. 

Week 2 - Camera Questions and Reading Quiz

1. Describe your camera's sensor? What size and type is it?

My Nikon D3000 has a 23.6mm x 15.8mm size CCD sensor; DX Format imaging sensor.

2. What is the maximum image size your camera is capable of shooting in terms of pixel width and height?

3,872 x 2,592 (10.2 effective megapixel)

3. What options do you have for controlling exposure with your camera?

My Nikon D3000 has 6 automatic exposure scene modes; portrait, landscape, child, sports, close-up and night portrait.  I also have the option of setting it to just auto and auto flash-off as well as "M" or manual, "A" or aperture priority auto, "S" or shutter-priority auto and "P" or programmed auto with flexible program.

4. Describe some hypothetical situations in which you would want to use different exposure modes/settings.

Some situation in which we would want to use different exposure modes or settings is to maybe be able to capture "action shots" or "motion shots", where we would have to change the speed of the shutter.  Also to create a sense of depth of field in a photo.  In order to determine how much of an object is going to be in focus in the frame, once must change the f-stop settings. 

5. What ASA/ISO range is your camera capable of? Why would you choose one over the other?

100-1600; Hi-1 (ISO 3200 equivalent); You would choose one ASA/ISO over another depending on how much light you want to allow to come through.  The higher the number, the more sensitive it is to light.  Higher numbers tend to work better for "darker" scenes and lower numbers tend to work better for "brighter" scenes.  For example, an ISO of 50-100 would work for bright light conditions where as an ISO of 800-1500 would work for dark light conditions (but with more "digital noise").  

6. What is white balance and what options do you have for adjusting it on your camera?

The Nikon D3000 offers a number of different white balance options:

Auto
Cloudy
Direct Sunlight
Fine Tune by Kelvin color temperature setting
Flash
Fluorescent (7 types)
Incandescent
Shade

7. What is the histogram and how do you use it?

A histogram is a graph that is read left to right that measures the levels of brightness of a picture.  One may use it to change the "tone" of their photo.      

8. Set your display options to show the histogram. Is the histogram available in the preview, or only after you have taken the picture?

The option of having a histogram displayed is available to be seen after a picture is taken on my DSLR.

Reading Quiz

1. On pages 1-3 Szarkowski describes many ways that photography offered a new kind of picture making process with a very different group of practitioners. Describe one of the ways that photography was a very different art form.


Photography was a very different art form, as described by Szarkowski.  It provided a new picture-making process, that was based on selection and not synthesis.  Paintings were constructed based on traditional skills and schemes that were TAUGHT.  Photographs were taken, with no common tradition or training.  They were "easy, cheap and ubiquitous, and it recorded anything", while the art of painting was difficult, expensive and only recorded what was "known to be important".    

2. What does John Szarkowski mean by the characteristic “The Thing Itself”?


"The Thing Itself" is one of the first things that photographers learn; that photography dealt with the actual.  The subject and the picture taken were not always the same, however, it was believed that this was an artistic problem and not a problem that could be fixed scientifically.   It was easier for the public to believe that all photographs told the truth and could not lie and it was easier for photographers to also believe or pretended to believe that they could never lie or deceive.     

3. Szarkowski writes that the time that photographs describe is always the present. What does he mean?


Szarkowski means when he says that "the time that photographs describe is always in the present" only describes the period of time in which the picture was made/taken.  Photos don't capture the past or the future, but rather that particular moment in time.    

First Assignment

Reading Quiz

1. Describe one way in which “Every image embodies a way of seeing”. (John Berger handout)

One way in which "every image embodies a way of seeing" is through the use of a photograph. The way a photographer "sees" is generally expressed based on his (or her) "subject" chosen.  

2. What kind of camera does Wendy Richmond use for her Public Privacy project?

Wendy Richmond uses her cellphone camera for her Public Privacy project.

3. Why does she choose to use that type of camera? How does it relate to her project?

Wendy Richmond uses her cellphone camera because "it is like a periscope".  It allows her to look like she is just text messaging, surfing the web or checking her messages like everyone else around her that she is capturing.  Using her cellphone camera, relates to her project, Public Privacy, because she is able to capture images of the people around her without any one noticing or drawing any attention to her project, privately.  She is discreet and is able to capture "everyday" moments that are not staged, of the "public", free from interference or attention that may be brought on if she used any other type of camera.