For my photo project I chose the topic of "sequence with distortion of time". I chose to depict this using portraiture. I am going to have two models, one male and one female. My portraiture is going to explore the effects of light on the subject throughout different points of the day. I will use 5 different lighting situations (morning, mid-day, afternoon, dusk, and night) for each model (all 5 for the female and then the same 5 for the male). The background (outdoors) will not change and neither will the position or expression of the model in each of the 5 pictures. However the background will change between the two models. It was extremely difficult to find examples of this in the work of other photographers (which is kinda good because if a bunch of people already did it, why would I wanna do it?) but I did find a few who have work that mildly resembles certain processes.
Duane Michals (couldn't find a blog)
When I first decided on sequence, Duane Michals was the first person who came to mind. Pretty much any work i've ever seen of his is sequenced and this sequence is actually the one that Ron mentioned in class. The sequence flows impeccably; there are no odd breaks that makes the viewer wonder how one image could possibly transition to the next. I hope to learn from Michals' expertise in sequencing and incorporate it into this assignment.
Sam Javanrouh (not his blog but where I found him)
The concept behind this image is fairly similar to the concept behind mine. It shows the passage of time in a single city scape by combining multiple images taken at different times throughout the day. This image helps me to determine which times of the day create the most drastic changes in light seeing as the first 3 sections of this image barely change.
This image is by some chick named Leah Beach who I've never heard of before in my life. It is a contact print of a single subject photographed 24 times, each shot at a slightly different lighting situation. Each column depicts the subject differently; the first column is extremely well lit by the natural lighting where the last column is silhouetted by the fact that the sun has fallen. This image also helps me to determine which times of the day will ultimately effect the lighting of the subject.
This image is a long exposure taken with a pinhole camera. Although my images will not be long exposure images I hope that they will give the same effect; depicting time in a manner that the viewer is not used to seeing it. I am also considering choosing a background that will allow me to view the movement of the sun.
Sugimoto created images using extremely long exposures that lasted the duration of the film or play occurring in the theaters. I thought it was interesting how he solved the problem of reciprocity failure and had to figure out how to extend the exposure time using filters. If anything, I would like to convey the same feeling of time passing in my project.
Once again, the passage of time is what intrigues me about this image. The fact that the photographer is able to convey this passage of time is something that I would love to emulate in this project. I'm noticing that manipulation of light in some sense is an excellent way of depicting this passage of time. While shooting for this project I need to have drastic changes in my lighting in order to convey this movement.
The passage of time is odd in this image. Often times when people think of what was once there they see it less clearly than what is currently there so the fact that what is being created is a faded and blurry creates a skewed sense of time. I was considering changing the surroundings in the image as well as the lighting situation but I feel like that will take away from the main focus which is the lighting.
JK Keller took a picture of himself every day for 8 years and turned it into a video (couldn't get the video on here so I linked the page)
Keller is not technically a photographer (he's a graphic designer) but this is technically photography so it totally counts! Keller chose to depict time by showing the changes time can bring to the human subject. He doesn't change the background but he doesn't change the lighting either. What he does change is the subject's appearance. This is an excellent depiction of the passage of time and I had also considered changing features of my models to make time seem to pass by more quickly.
I honestly hate this photo and don't see it as art. That being said, it is the only image I've been able to find that depicts the exact same subject in two different lighting situations. This is exactly what I want to do except with a model and using 5 different lighting situations....and I'm actually gonna do it well.
This last image was first introduced to me by Randy last year in photo 1. We then saw them in person in a gallery in New York. The depiction of time has also become a depiction of chaos, allowing the viewer to see time in a different way than normally. The hands are grabbing onto the only thing which is stable in the scene, possibly implying that time is not stable and is, in fact, a mob of chaos. I hope to get my models in the exact same positions in order to gain that same sense of stability that is seen in the handrail.
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