Alec Soth

Assignment #1- The treasure hunt

My favorite image from this selection is from the winner Etienne Courtois. When I saw this photo I was so in awe at how completely perfect it was. Im not sure why but I was so drawn to this photo. The composition is dead on. The division of space in every corner gives such a controlled feeling.  The color helps a lot like the blue from that truck, but its really the choices that were made while cropping that makes this great. 

Assignment #2- To tell a short story through pictures. 

This photo by Manuela Costalima (website) is the last one in her short story series. As I was looking through all of them I thought they were all so beautiful and had a great sensibility to the light. The connection to these photos were truly so beautiful on the surface but they have such an emotional almost sad energy. As I was looking at these there was this underlying Italian feeling and It reminded me of my family and I'm not sure why. Soth says later on that this series has feeling like the italian photographer Luigi Ghirri.  Oh and one of her images was the winner for this assignment. 

Assignment #3- Take a picture of a non- photographer and have them take a photo of you

This photo was not a winner or anything but I really like this photo by photographer Richard Payne. He fitsr photographed his 2 year old daughter Ruby and then handed over the camera to her. Starting at his shoes after a few shots she finally got his head in a photo. He calls it her "hockney-esque" style. There's also something about the angle she takes this. Since the bottom one is a different perspective from when she ends its truly the odd view looking up. The photo of her is really just a beautiful portrait on its own. I like the colors and composition

Assignment #4- document an encounter with photographs and text

So this photographer doesnt actually have a name but "Seberome" (their flickr name) has a series of great images about a boy growing up. Even though all five are about the same length I feel like I know this family and this boy Ernst. In this paticular photo I really love the colors. They just repeat all over. All the images have a de-saturated color palate which makes this so much more depressing. Plus a few are in the winter. I like the simplicity in this whole series.

Larry Sultan

This series "Pictures from Home" published in 1992, Sultan photographed his parents in their home in San Francisco. This book features dialogue from his father about the work and photos from his childhood. The issues of aging and retirement play important roles considering his father was fired from his job for not moving with his company. What I like about these photos are not only the success he had photographing his parents but how he turned these sometimes odd moments into beautiful compositions. The use of natural lighting in these photos made me fall in love. I really like the directness of the first photo. The perfect composition and the warm colors make a comfortable photo. Plus he's barefoot so the carpet looks extra comfy. 

Not only do I love the lighting here again, I am drawn to the left side reflection where you can see the inside of the newspaper and his arm. This leads you to another dimension of the photo. Also that pop of yellow makes this photo much stronger. The newspaper is significant because Larrys father is jobless at this point so looking at the business section was a better choice then like entertainment or something. 

This last photo is a dark photo compared to the first 2. What I like about this though is that light again. I feel like his mother is awake before everyone else and is getting the first glimpse of the sunny day. It also makes you feel like she may be trapped by either old age, or just life.