WHAT IS DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY?

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In this lesson we learned some key differences between digital and analog photography and some applications of each.

This unit has two separate tracks of projects depending on your access to a digital camera.

If you have access to a digital camera (even if you don’t own one you may borrow one from a friend or family member) we STRONGLY recommend that you take some digital photos. There is no substitute for actually creating digital art. You will surprise yourself with some of the great photos you capture.

If you have access to a digital camera, follow track 1. We recommend that you take a look at the other projects in track 1 for this unit as they build on each other and you can work at your own pace.

TRACK 1

Find a digital camera and get comfortable

The first step is to find a digital camera that you can borrow to use for this unit. Don’t worry about the technical quality of the camera. For our purposes, even an inexpensive camera can help you take great photos. Ask to also borrow the camera manual. If the original is not available, there’s still a good chance you’ll be able to find it online. The manual will highlight some of the camera’s best features that you might have trouble accessing on your own. Get comfortable with the camera by practicing. Take some photos in various settings.

Write any questions or discussions you have.

TRACK 2

Identify quality photos online

If you don’t have access to a digital camera or choose not to participate in taking photos you can search the web for five photos that you believe have artistic merit.

Post the photos and write a few lines under each photo about why you think it is an example of good quality photography.

Assignment Guidelines:

REMEMBER: You have to follow one track of assignments; either shoot photos or write about photos. You can not mix the tracks.

Submission Requirements:

Track 1: A log of questions or comments about the process of familiarizing yourself with a digital camera.

Track 2: Photos and a description of why they appeal to you.

When submitting written assignments please remember to:

  1. Submit the assignment question(s) and your responses.
  2. Proof read for spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
  3. Remember to use complete sentence structure.
  4. Paragraphs need to have a minimum of six sentences.

Upload your Digital Photography project for the track that you chose to explore.

What objects have significance in contemporary american culture?

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Creative Assignment: Still Life

Creative Assignment – Personal Still Life Photograph

Still Life– One of the principal genres (subject types) of Western art – essentially, the subject matter of a still life painting or sculpture is anything that does not move or non (or no longer) living. Still life includes all kinds of man-made or natural objects, cut flowers, fruit, vegetables, fish, game, wine and so on. Still life can be a celebration of material pleasures such as food and wine, or often a warning of the ephemerality of these pleasures and of the brevity of human life. Refer to pages 600-601 of your textbook & more info on still life here:  https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/still-life

Instructions:

1. Create a Still Life composition of real objects that emulates one of the classical paintings below (4 to shoose from) and photograph it with your phone camera. Your image should look as similar as possible to your chosen paiting BUT UPDATED with objects of your choosing. The objects and resulting composition should express your personal identity. Think of objects that are important to you, are just part of your daily life, or a combination.

Here are some questions that might help you start choosing objects:

Do the objects have cultural importance to you and your family? What objects have significance in contemporary american culture? What do you eat often? What specific clothes do you wear? What video games, books, movies are important to you? The options are endless, just choose objects that give the viewer a sense of who you are.

Process:

– Choose one and the painted images below and arrange the objects to create an interesting, thoughtful composition that mimics the painting’s composition. Think about how objects based can be arranged by levels of importance. For example, if you really love soccer and include a soccer ball in your composition, make sure it is clearly visible and interacting with the other objects in a manner that reflects this. Consider what the dominant objects are in your reference painting. – Consider the perspective and angle from which you photograph your still life. Look at your chosen examples below. This is more than just documentation. Mimic the composition in the painting and photograph from the same angle you seen in the image.

– The background and surfaces your objects are placed on are also important. What happens when you replace the white draped fabric in a painting with a baby blanket or patterned fabiric that has meaning to you? What do they convey to a viewer? Everything in the framed image should be considered part of the artwork and should be emulated. – Look at the lighting used in your chosen reference image. Is it dark, bright, contrasty? Make sure your composition is lit appropriately and photographed well . You can use overhead lighting, table lamps, or natural light to light your photograph. Just make sure the image is not dim (unless that make sense for your composition, content, etc.) – The final product should clearly resemble your chosen painting, but be updated and contemporary to you.

2. Write a detailed essay about the subject matter and context of your photograph. Next describe the content of the photograph in another paragraph. What are you trying to convey with your image?

Remember:

Subject Matter = the person, object, or space depicted in a work of art.

Content = the meaning, message, or feeling expressed in a work of art

Context = circumstances surrounding the creation of a work of art, including historical events, social conditions, biographical facts about the artist, and their intentions

3. Submit your final photograph and essay. Make sure your name and date are at the top of the document. Image may be embedded in your document (don’t make it too small in size).

Consider this first pair of still life compositions, one a classical painting & one contemporary photograph that emulates the painting:

 

Paul Cezanne “Still Life with Skull”, 1898 -Note the colors, background, fabr ic, composotion, object arrangement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wayne Theibaud, “Makeup” -Note the spare background and surface, use of reflections, composition, and colors   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pieter Claesz “Still Life with Skull and Writing Quill”, 1628 -Note the lighting, arrangement of objects, suggestion of use, objects extending out of image, overlapping objects

 

Research Art Paper Assignment

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This is an in-depth analysis of one artwork. The work must fall within the time frame of Western art encompassed by the course (14th Century to early 20th Century), and it should reflect aspects of an artistic trend discussed in class. Choose something that grabs you. In the past, I’ve required students to visit a museum to choose their topic. If you can do this, it would be very enjoyable, but I can’t require it.

In the paper’s introduction, identify the work by providing the artist’s name, title, date, medium and the collection (museum) in which it’s located. In the body of the paper, consider how the artwork is representative of artistic trends of its day and the individual artist. You can break down your discussion into sections dealing with subject matter, and the purpose the work served (for example, who commissioned it or its original setting), and style analysis. Plenty of description helps the reader see what you see. Be sure to link the work to its artistic period and artist, providing historic context for the piece.

Think in terms of 4 or 5 pages of double-spaced text, plus a “Works Cited” page and illustration(s). Proper titles of art are italicized or underlined. (You’d never know this from your textbook.)
Research is required to get a full understanding of the piece and its historic context. At least five scholarly sources should be listed, and at least three of those should be print sources (books, periodical articles or museum publications) rather than online sources. Please use in-text citations and list your sources in a conventional format. The optional Sylvan Barnet’s Short Guide to Writing about

Art includes the Chicago style for source citations, as well as great writing guidelines and sample essays. I also accept APA style or MLA style, both of which can be found online.

Explanation Reason Behind The Selections/Choices

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explanation reason behind the selections/choices

explain as you would in conversation why you made the choices you made, focus on what you feel are the most important elements of the style you set up. for each typography assignment