SW7

Evolution of Optics
= Description: =

This piece here is a full set with 3 photos. The photos, when put together, make a photographic progression set. The idea portrayed here is a concept of cameras taking pictures of cameras. Whatever camera is in the lens is either older or newer than the other camera in the photo. The set is going to be printed at poster size and set on the wall in the order above. The idea here is that we are either going back in time with cameras or going forward in time with cameras. I did not keep track of all the cameras production years to place them in the correct chronological order; and a reason I did that would be how I didn't want to force myself to

=** Analysis: **=

I wasn't necessarily influenced by a certain person or a certain culture with this project. The influences base came from the progression idea I had in the last projects IWB pages. The whole idea came from a photography progression, and "Old vs. New" cameras. You can also see how this links to several other pieces. The Shanghai camera made an appearance in a previous studio work by making a photogram of an etching plate. I drew a camera progression side by side (not camera in lens) in my IB Art observational drawing exam. The composition and style came from experimenting with lighting on the cameras in the dark and seeing what works well together.
 * What were the artistic and/or cultural influences for this project? Who/what influenced either the composition and/or the style. **

** What materials/media/processes did you use and or experiment with, and how? ** The materials I used to create this project is my Nikon D5000 camera, a 100 watt bulb, and photoshop. I experimented with different lighting when taking photos of the cameras. I also experimented taking pictures of different old cameras. In post production, I experimented with different types and sets of color grading the images. It took a while to get the right combination that would fit the images and link them as a set.

I responded to a lot o criticism and opinions from students and my teacher. Every time I would finish one photo, I'd ask a person to look at it and wait til they determine if it is real or not. It was very useful and every time someone though it was real, I knew I achieved my goal.
 * How do you think you have responded to advice and criticism during this project (and during the term), both from fellow students and the teacher. Did you actively seek advice? If so, was it useful? **

** Clearly explain the weaknesses/areas for improvement - ** A weakness/area for improvement in this piece would be the color grading in the last shot. Since the last shot is not color graded to perfection so it matches the set a %100 since the levels, blacks and whites are different in the last photo.

** Clearly explain the strengths of the piece – ** In terms of strengths for this piece, I believe I did a good job in making the viewer believe that the cameras are in the lenses/viewfinder. Ofcourse a professional photographer, after a long look ,would know that this image is fake but having them at least look at it for about a minute before they figure it out would be enough.

** What could you take through to the next project and develop further? This could be anything, from a technique to an idea, not neccessarily just the theme. ** With this project, since it involves taking pictures of old cameras, I could take pictures with those old cameras and make a "film version" of that project. Doing it all manual using the enlarger and developing those prints. The idea here is to expose the light sensitive paper with the camera, and then zoom in with the enlarger and place another camera in the other camera.