Serafina Congeni: February 2010

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Urban Decay

Everything eventually decays. It is a natural phenomenon that cannot be stopped. For instance, people get wrinkles and their hair turns gray. People hate these changes, but I photographed the natural decay of an urban area, Akron, to show that everything decays. I focused on natural decay, not decay created by humans. Therefore, my main focus was rust and paint chips. I also titled some of my photos ironic names that capture the average person's sarcastic opinion of decay. Some titles are the average person's serious opinion about natural decay. All of these photos were taken in February 2010.

"Focus on what is Important"

F-stop: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: N/A

"Red Carpet"

F-stop: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: N/A

"Hide the Flaws"

F-stop: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: N/A

"Home Sweet Home"

F-Stop: f/9.0
Shutter Speed: N/A

"Peek through the Past"

F-stop: f/7.8
Shutter Speed: N/A

"Unavoidable Reminder"

F-stop: f/7.1
Shutter Speed: N/A

"The Decay Blues"

F-stop: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: N/A

"Troubled Bridge over Maple Street"

F-Stop: f/5.8
Shutter Speed: N/A

"Rusty Support"

F-stop: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: N/A

"Welcome."

F-stop: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 10/300s

"Under Our Boardwalk"

F-stop: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 10/40 s

"In the Beginning"

F-Stop: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 10/500 s

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Photographer Report

1. Ansel Adams

2. February 20, 1902- April 22, 1984

3. Ansel Adams grew up in San Francisco. He was socially awkward and as a result he had trouble in school and eventually took up music instead. To escape, he spent many summers in the Yosemite Sierra, and fell in love with the nature he found. He began to photograph the scenery and he eventually joined the Sierra Club. This club is what started his success, as he first published his photos in the club's bulletin and had his first exhibition at the club's headquarters in 1928. Adams photographed the club's annual trips to the Sierra Nevada, and began to realize that he would be more successful as a photographer than a concert pianist. Another key factor to his success occurred when he met Albert M. Bender, in 1927. Bender was a patron of the arts, and he helped publish Adam's portfolio. Adams eventually received the Conservation Service Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts to conserve nature through his photography.

4. Ansel Adams is known for his photography of nature, especially of western United States, because that is the focus of most of his photography. He helped preserve the nature in this area by making the public aware of its beauty. He contributed to the realm of photography a vast collection of images of the breathtaking western United States and introduced this beautiful part of our country to be who otherwise would never see it.

5. I love photographs of nature so I was automatically attracted to Ansel Adam's work. After looking through a lot of his work I realized that I also love the timelessness of his photography. Since they are of nature, the photographs look like they could have been taken yesterday, when in reality they were taken many decades ago, and that is what makes his work so great.

"Moon and Half Dome"

December 28, 1960

Dogwood Blossoms

1938

Bridalveil Fall

1952

Mooonrise from Glacier Point

Before 1959, date unknown

7. http://www.sierraclub.org/history/anseladams/

http://www.anseladams.com/

http://www.masters-of-photography.com/A/adams/adams.html

Monday, February 8, 2010

Portrait

I photographed my eleven-year-old brother, Dominic. He is the only person I know who completely has it all together. The world would be a better place if more people acted like Dominic, so I photographed his everyday life to show people how to act when they forget. These photographs were taken in early 2010.