Blogness

Photographers

2009-04-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

Photographer 1 - Antonio Ysursa

Antonio Ysursa is actually part of an online community of artists that I'm involved with myself. I find his work to be absolutely beautiful, and I can see a lot of similarities between his photography and that of Sally Mann. His compositions are gorgeous, and he seems to put a lot of thought behind the feeling he wants to capture. Most of his images capture sweet moments in time, somehow managing to seem candid even though they're clearly posed. He's only eighteen years old and already his work is remarkable enough to gain recognition; although by no means a famous photographer, I find myself drawn more to his work than other well known artists. He has a wonderful body of work and most of his pictures manage to tell a story within one shot.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/antoniophotography/show/

Photographer 2 - Monika Kovaljesko

Part of the same community of artists online, almost like a myspace for art, Monika Kovaljesko is another very gifted amateur photographer. I find her work to be very inspiring, not just because of the composition but because of the ideas behind them. She sets up every picture, and yet still they manage to flow naturally.

http://mony.carbonmade.com/

3 F-contest entries

2009-04-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

Funes Submission

2009-04-13T16:03:00.000-07:00

Indian Rock Native Garden

2009-04-06T13:16:00.001-07:00

The directions to this field trip made me uncomfortable at first glance, so I was humbly grateful when Matt offered to take me along with his merry band of carpoolers. When I wasn’t driving, the garden looked rather easy to get to and nearby, but I’m sure if I were behind the wheel confusion would instantly ensue.

I expected the native garden to be much larger than it was, I must admit. It was rather interesting to hear our guide compare the area as just a finger of the hand that used to be Indian land. At the same time, it was awfully depressing. So little remained of what used to be beautiful wildlife! Still, even in such a small area, we found a various collection of different native plants.

Rincon Indian Reservation

2009-04-06T13:15:00.001-07:00

The drive to this trip sucked—especially because I was behind the wheel and the windy path promised a couple of swerves. I probably thoroughly frightened Cameron into never carpooling with me again. Poor guy!

After all the past fieldtrips, I was completely confused when we arrived. I knew we were planting, but to arrive at an empty field left me dumbfounded. Where were the native plants? I expected to at least see SOME. And then it clicked. Of course, we were the first to put them into the ground! Past fieldtrips also taught me to dress warmly… but on this special occasion, the sun damned me to hell and back with its relentless heat.

Split into groups, we found only one person in our cluster that knew anything about the positioning of plants. He took the position of leader by default, dropping off the pots in certain areas and suggesting where to plant them. Our group unceremoniously began planting as soon as we got the go-ahead, and finished in no time. Our quick work was rewarded with a few mugs and some little donuts. I was proud of everyone for doing such a good job, but at the same time I was disappointed in my failure to get any decent pictures. Oh well, maybe next time.

Pechanga Reservation Nursery

2009-04-06T10:56:00.000-07:00

I adored this field trip—though that doesn’t mean I wasn’t downright skeptical at first. After all, we were meeting in a Casino Gas station’s parking lot… and what could a Casino have to offer? I didn’t expect much when I hustled onto the bus with everyone else and claimed a seat in the back.

The first stop was inevitably confusing; as we pulled up to an ominous fire hazard, I originally thought we were to pass the golf field and venture into uncharted territory. Instead, the group in front of me merged into a bush just a few feet away. Looking back, I’m not sure why I didn’t realize there was a ridiculously large tree there, but I was delightfully shocked to see it when I emerged onto the other side of the weeping brushwood. The angle at which the light streamed in through the leaves brought such a dream-like quality to the area. I adored the unique bow of the branches, the sweep of the leaves, the tree looked so strong yet tired at the same time. The massive Oak failed to impress everyone, but I loved it!

Back on the bus, we passed a dangerously thin bridge I was just itching to cross. It looked rusted, unsafe, and of course, beautiful. I knew the bus wouldn’t fit onto the unmanned wooden boards, but I continued to hope for a sharp right onto the arc. Sadly (or thankfully?), we passed up that route to go around instead, to a man-made pond. Willie Pink, our tour guide, explained the difference of a picture drawn onto a rock versus engraved into it, then spoke a bit about the pond itself.

Past the stoned-off water, a pathway led us up to beautifully crafted huts in a cleared patch of land. My classmates and I hurriedly snapped some pictures while Mr. Pink explained how the huts were stilled used every year for camping adventures. I couldn’t imagine sleeping in them, I’m such a nonsensically spoiled technological junkie, but that didn’t stop me from admiring the beauty. The huts gave the overlook of a small village, with their clay pots scattered all around their homes.

Mr. Pink’s tour was one of my favorites because of a very important factor; he made sure we were involved. He demonstrated points he explained, like the creation of an arrow shaft, the artistry behind a clay pot, the labor behind building a hut. He joked with us as he led us from one point to another, helping me better connect to his words. Despite the continuously dropping temperature, he kept most people interested in what he said, sharing anecdotes as well as facts. The nursery was the last stop in our little adventure, where I got to dip into a strange warm, but awkwardly smelly green house! Past the roar construction nearby, Mr. Pink told us about the nursery and the growth of various plants.

Despite the interesting trip, everyone seemed happy to get out of the cold and shuffle back into the bus to return to the warmth of our cars.

Wild Animal Park - Third out-of-class Fieldtrip

2009-04-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

As much as it shames me to admit, I was never aware of the gardens full of beautiful plantation in the wild animal park—it is, after all, a wild animal park, not a wild plant park. It’s true what they say, you learn something new every day! I’ve been to the WAP several times, yet it was still the first time I ventured to that side of the park; the plant side.

Our tour guide, Maren Peterson, was very thorough! She went through her points smoothly and accurately; always ready with an example to redirect our eyes to when she brought up a specific plant. I was surprised to find the gardens to be so huge, I couldn’t possibly imagine planting and taking care of so much vegetation. Though the effort showed in the result! The beauty of its was undeniable; several times, a few classmates (myself included) got left behind because we lingered too long to take our photographs. We really got lost in the moment, and the beauty of the gardens. I couldn’t believe that I never knew they existed. The further we ventured into the gardens, the more I forgot where I was—Wild Animal Park? Here? No way, this was an herbaceous splendor!

The light change was painstakingly ongoing, with the sun constantly slithering in and out from behind the clouds. That made it difficult for picture taking, but somehow created some interesting compositions. Overall, the trip was a fantastic educational process. I was impressed to find out how even with their massive collection of different types of native plants, they park was also trying to plant native grass! It was also interesting to learn that native plants are much more tolerant against fires.

Sally Mann

2009-03-02T18:25:00.000-08:00

Sally Mann - Photography

This movie was overall a treat. I had seen some of the photographs presented but never had I actually heard of the photographer responsible for them. It was strangely difficult for me to follow her line of thought at first, she seemed to be all over the place, and her techniques to achieve the perfect picture appeared to go overboard at times... but when the pictures she took were shown to us, I was absolutely blown away. The majority of her work was breathtaking, from her pictures of her husband to those of her dog. I thoroughly admired her compositions and her capability to capture really delicate moments. I did wonder several times what her children thought of her work, especially since they were her main subject for many years. It would have been interesting if we heard more from them.

Quiz

2009-03-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

Pauma Valley

2009-02-16T18:39:00.001-08:00

Driving to the second field trip proved to be as troublesome as the first. Not only did we get lost, yet again, but we had to stop and ask for directions. There's a whole new level of getting lost with a perfectly functioning TomTom in your possession, but in our defense we didn't use the thing until it was already too late—and even then, we had some difficulties with the address. Winding up the path on a mountain didn’t seem fitting when we were going to a farm, so we turned back around… and that’s when we saw it.

Outside, a couple of our fellow classmates seemed as confused as we were. A quick “Is this the right place?” was answered by mirrored shrugs and incomprehensible grunts. As a group, we wandered into the premises until we stumbled on a lecture that was seemingly waiting for us. With perfectly empty seats at the front, Cameron and I settled down for the lecture. After reading the articles assigned, I was surprised to hear that organic food was the most rapidly growing segment of American food industry. I had never really paused to think about it, but the lecture enlightened me even further. Before the flood of information came, I’d never stopped to think about what I put in my body, or the process behind it—nor did I ever ponder the hardships of farming. Movies always make it look so easy: feed the animals, water the plants, harvest and you’re done. Boy was I wrong.
After the lecture, we drifted away from the screen and presentation area to explore the actual farm. Now I hadn’t arrived at the farm hungry, but I left that lecture with the impending feeling that my insides would devour themselves if I didn’t immediately offer it another sacrifice. Thankfully, our guide was kind enough to lead the group to edibles, where everyone pretty much attacked what they could. With a mob around the fresh food, I wandered off towards the fences and tools off to the corners of the farm.

The stretch of land large, at least to a city girl like me, and we wandered fairly far into the farm—well, I did. I followed a stretch of fence that I found to be beautiful, regardless of the worn feel of the wood. Blocking off an opening behind me was a brilliantly yellow strip of caution tape, which was a great contrast to the wood and pavement behind it. Beyond the thin blockade, cars whizzed by with curious passengers that couldn’t help but gawk at the group of students scourging the farm behind me.

The further away I stayed from the group, the more my hunger died, which I was horribly grateful for, but even so by the end of the day I was still craving for food. Cameron and I both wanted a quick fix, just some fast food to quench our hungers, so we hit the road in search of a good stop..
... but before we left, he absolutely insisted on lingering behind while our classmates sank into their cars and gradually slipped away to take the perfect picture. We stood in the looming cold of night while he angled his camera, adjusted his tripod and went through a quirky interaction with his tool of the trade. I won't go into detail, but it got creepy after a while.

Edward Burtynsky

2009-02-16T17:43:00.000-08:00

Artist Edward Burtynsky - Photography

Photographing landscape has always seemed... difficult, to me. I've always thought it hard to capture the detail in such a large amount of space but still keep a focal point. The more I think about it, the more impossible it seems, but somehow Burtynsky manages to take snapshots of time from the landscapes he visits that are both beautiful and interesting. While watching the TV, I never grew bored of looking at the same picture for several minutes as he spoke about his process and goals. The images were downright breathtaking; my favorite was the photograph angled down a mine where every ridge was visible to the eye.
I also admire that he opened up his own printing shop that's opened to the public, through which he can offer his services and aid to others while developing desired images for himself.

Playing with onOne

2009-02-16T15:55:00.001-08:00

Food Choices

2009-02-09T15:19:00.001-08:00

I had a banana for breakfast... and that's about it. My schedule didn't give much leeway to enjoy any real sustenance! As for the banana, it was bought at Costco and probably grown in a grove somewhere far away. I grabbed it because it was a convenient thing to eat on my way out of the house; other than that, a banana doesn't hold any sort of importance to me. I wasn't 'driven' to eat it, I just grabbed what was available.
The fact that I don't eat the proper three meals a day will probably come back to bite me in the ass one day. I try to eat as healthy as possible, but the occasional junk food proves to be much more alluring than a fruit or designated meal. Oh well.

Tree of Life - First and Second out-of-class Fieldtrip

2009-02-09T13:19:00.000-08:00

Getting up at seven o'clock in the morning has never been more excruciating then after a full night of video games and mindless chatter with friends. I was in a complete daze when I got up to get ready, and I managed to forget not only my cell phone but my camera--which required two trips back to the house before I got far.

Cameron and I carpooled up to the Tree of Life Nursery; I'm glad he drove because I had no idea where it was. We used a TomTom to guide us--it probably wasn't an actual Tom Tom now that I think about it, but I'm so accustomed to calling Navigation systems TomToms that it's hard to think of them as anything else--and it led us up the correct path without ever talking, which was disappointing in its own juvenile way. I was obscurely tired, even after a Red Bull, a good thing for Cameron because I never got the chance to fiddle with, and probably break, the gadgets in his new car.

We initially missed the entrance to the Nursery, it was my fault because I had the TomTom in my possession, but I made it sound like the driver's fault when I told him to make a U-turn. It was an illegal one, mind you, but we won't go into that. When we pulled into the parking lot we made the mistake of assuming we were early because not many other cars were in the immediate area. We wandered mindlessly into an area neither one of us found familiar, and while Cameron tried to charm some information out of a woman that worked there I studied the few flower pots that riddled the ground. We were definitely in the right area.

After briefly bumping into our professor, we ventured further into a path that led to a tree getting assaulted by a mob of hungry hummingbirds. It took me a moment to adjust my eyes to their movement as they darted back and forth in their attack, but Nikki and Andy seemed to have no trouble following them with their cameras. Speaking of which, I was never able to check out a proper camera from school so I ended up bringing my own digital one. I felt absolutely ridiculous standing next to the three of them with their fancy cameras, like I was the only girl at school without the new barbie doll-- or the only boy without the new Nintendo DS game. The latter was probably closer; I hate barbie dolls.

I followed them when they abandoned the attacked tree for a larger one off to the left, but I broke off from the pack soon after to follow the trail further North. I didn't see anyone in the area I ventured into, but signs warned me of unsteady cliffs and rattlesnakes as I slid in further.

I found a small grove to the right with a fallen pipe subtly pointing the way in; there, an old rusty gate along with the help of barbed wire cut off a section away from the rest of the trail. I figured the gate was to keep people out, but it hung ajar so I dared to pass its invisible blockade. More grass greeted me on the other side, along with trees and bushes that rattled with wildlife.

As I tried to capture the beauty of the nature around me with my camera, a persistent shuffle in the bushes followed me. I spun around several times to catch the culprit in the act, but every time I was too late. It continued to rattle against the branches and fallen leaves, only quieting when I turned in its direction, and although I was always poised with my camera in hand I never did find out the identity of my stalker. I did get some good pictures, though.

I went further down the path until it cut off at one of the cliffs that I had been warned about earlier, and even though there was an amazing tree with branches stretching down the short fall I didn't approach the edge any further. Instead I turned to go back with worry that I might have missed the lecture by the famous basket-weaver Abe Sanchez.

Thankfully, I hadn't. I joined my classmates inside a hut to listen to Mr. Sanchez as he went into detail about basket-weaving, its history, purpose, and importance. I was a bit disappointed that he never demonstrated the art of basket-weaving in front of us, but it was still very interesting to hear about the different plants used to make the baskets so sturdy and beautiful at the same time. After the lecture we dispersed one by one, retreating back to our cars. I had had my own little adventure and I left satisfied with the evidence of my journey inside my little camera.

Mark Dion

2009-02-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

Mark Dion - Tree Garden

Five years on a single project sounds like a lot to me, but after watching the process of his actions I understand that any less and his project might have not worked out. Moving the tree in exactly the correct position and bringing out the bright green through so much effort is truly remarkable. He definitely succeeded in emphasizing nature as a process, a long and grueling process, that takes not only time but effort to blossom. The concept of a living artwork is difficult for me to connect with, as my work revolves more around drawing directly onto the computer or a piece of paper, but I can see the appeal behind his work. Consequently, his work of art changes over time, a 'process' as he put it, so it really does change-- which is what he seemed to want when it came to this particular piece, because he mentioned wanting his audience to have a different experience every time they walked in through the doors. I assume that is exactly what happens!

A Lake of Pure Sunshine

2009-02-02T15:10:00.000-08:00

Scott Calhoun - "A Lake of Pure Sunshine"

Scott Calhoun's blog was surprisingly fun to read; his writing was personal, direct, yet held the specific imagery needed to paint a picture in my head. It did not feel like I was reading about his adventures, but instead I was listening to him as he told me about his experiences. Most of the time, I had no idea what he was talking about when he went into detail about the poppies, but I could still see them. His storytelling was enough to draw me in, even though initially I had no interest in poppy flowers or the location for the best pictures of them. The humor was definitely a plus, it drew me in and compelled me to continue reading.

The pictures he took did a great job of aiding his narrative, as well. He chose just the right image to help bring his words to life, while at the same time bringing the picture to life by his words. It was an interesting experience to read his writing!

Class 1

2009-01-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

Janel Munoa - "Exhuming Andrew" Music Video

The composition used in the video was very well done. I enjoyed the music-- but it was much too loud in comparison to her voice, so I failed to catch most of the lyrics. The most visually compelling part, in my opinion, was when she vigorously drew on the wall with the coal and the residue flew everywhere with each stroke. It was not only symbolic, but very interesting to watch. I also adored the way her drawings came to life, like they could hear her and were awakened by her words. I thought it was interesting that the visually 'disturbing' images she chose were mostly of animals (buffaloes) and bombs exploding, but humans were not displayed until the very end when the audience was shown a picture of numerous amounts of wrapped up corpses. I'm not sure of the symbolic meaning behind that, but there probably is one. The music video was also timed perfectly to match the beat of the music, an element I liked very much!

Robert Adams - Photography

His photography was very beautiful. I especially loved his black and white pieces, because of the sheer contrast and attention to detail I saw in most of them. The picture with the black smoke against the white sky and the lone tree in the background was absolutely riveting. I found it interesting when he mentioned how he thought he was taking pictures of things he did not like, but as he continued to public his photographs he realized that they were beautiful. The images seem to be a connection for him as well, to the environment and the history behind each site. Through his photographs, he can not only convey what he sees to the audience, he can show the beauty and destruction in every inch. His work was similar to the music video we saw because of the truth it showed, never trying to make anything look beautiful but instead bringing out the beauty while still showing the ugliness.

An-My Le - photography

Her pictures have more of a personal feel to them than Adams', maybe because she has a history in those areas herself, maybe because she connects easier to where she used to live and what directly effected her, but these photographs were so much more enticing. I liked her statement that not having complete control over her subjects almost made her pictures better because she was able to capture the feeling behind the composition that way. Just like the first two artists, she brought out the history of her environment through her art.