Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge, Jumping; over boy's back (leap-frog), 18884-1847

This set of images by Eadweard Mubridge depicts a one boy jumping over the others back. I find this really interesting, because first of all, I think this feat of leap frogging while standing is pretty incredible. Also, it's funny how the boy who is being jumped over seems completely emotionless and unaware that someone is jumping over his head. It's very interesting to see the various position that the jumping boy's body is in; not only his body in the air, but also the position of his body prior to the jump. His body, when frozen in time, appears to be leaning slightly backwards before he jumps, which is odd.

Charles Baudelaire

At a photography convention in 1859, Charles Baudelaire famously said "Let [photography] rescue from oblivion those tumbling ruins, those books, prints and manuscripts which time is devouring, precious things whose form is dissolving and which demand a place in the archives of our memory - it will be thanked and applauded.But if it is allowed to encroach upon the domain of the... imaginary, upon anything whose value depends solely upon the addition of something of a man's soul, then it will be so much the worse for us."

Although Baudelaire did not approve of photography as a whole, I believe he would have approved of this image:

This is simply a photographic image of a kidney viewed under a microscope. I think that Baudelaire would definitely approve of this image because he was all for photography used as an aid for science rather than photography being used as a form of art.

Photo on Campus

I found this photo on campus at the bottom of a stairwell in Connell Student Center. I chose it because I really like the dapper outfits all of the men are wearing. This photo does have a whimsical and mysterious feel to it. I wonder what exactly these men, probably Mercer students, were posing for, which adds to the mysterious quality of the photo. It's also really cool to see a small glimpse of what downtown Macon looked like back in the day. I like the composition of this photo, too; the men on the viewer's right are closet to the photographer, while the men towards the left recede into the background.

Civil War Photograph

Antietam, Maryland. Septermber 1862.

During the Civil War, photographers utilized the medium of photography to capture the hardships and casualties of battle. The above photo, taken at the battle of Antietam, is very shocking. It depicts a seemingly infinite line of the bodies of dead soldiers. I chose this particular Civil War photograph because I loved the composition- how the endless amount of bodies curves in from the left of the frame and then stops in the center. Despite the depressing subject matter, I think the composition is lovely.

My Photo Book: Eugene Atget

Prostitute on Her Shift, rue Asselin, La Villette- Eugene Atget (1921)

Eugene Atget was a photographer living and working in Paris at the turn of the 19th century who is best known for taking photos of the people and the sites around the streets of Paris. Many of Atget's photos were labeled as "provocative", such as the above photograph, Prostitute. He consistently used the albumen and gelatin silver techniques, refusing to change over to newer photographic technologies that came about during his lifetime. Atget wasn't a particularly well known photographer when he was living; however, after his death, several of his admirers and colleagues worked to get his name out there. As a result, Atget became recognized as one of the most important photographers of the early 20th century.

Photojournalism

Roger Fenton

Felice Beato

The above images are from the 19th century and mark the true beginning of photojournalism. However, these photos are very different from the journalism photos we see today. In the modern era, journalism photos tend to be rather busy and seem to attempt to capture a specific action at a precise moment. Modern photojournalists seek to snap the most exciting and intriguing moments of everyday life events. Contrary to the photos taken by photojournalists today, the above photos are very calm and even atmospheric. The photos are still intriguing, yet they only focus on one persona and they lack any exciting action. The photos from the 19th century also feel much more intimate, capturing these figures in very personal moments. Also, it seems like these days in photojournalism more emphasis is placed on the subject rather than on the composition, but in the 19th century photos it appears that composition still played a large role in the field of photojournalism.

"The Snowflake Man"

Snow Crystal- William A. Bentley, 1902

William A. Bentley was the first person to photograph a single snow crystal, thus discovering that no two snowflakes are exactly alike. He accomplished this by attaching a microscope to a bellows camera, and in 1885 he made his startling discovery. Throughout his lifetime, Bentley would go on to photograph over 5,000 snowflakes, making certain that each snowflake photographed was completely unique.

What William A. Bentley did for the worlds of both science and photography is really great. I can only imagine that Bentley's microscopic snowflake were the predecessors to macro photography as we know it today, as well as the precursor to the modern day microscope. Bentley combines the fields of art and science in order to make scientific discovery, making beautiful photographic images all along the way.

Stereo Photograph

I really love this stereo photograph, but I could not find the name of the photographer. I like how it is of ordinary, every day subject matter. It depicts the lives of a typical family from this era, a family who most likely viewed stereo photographs themselves. I like how the curtains in the background add some interest to the photograph.

Mid-18th Century Collages

Untitled, loose paper from the Filmer Album, collage of watercolor and albumen prints- Paul F. Walter (mid-1860's)

I absolutely love these collages from the Metropoltian Museum of Art's exhibition "Playing With Pictures". They're all very whimsical and have a surrealist quality to them. In a way, this way of collaging can be thought of as the precursor to scrap booking, However, scrap booking enthusiasts definitely do not cut out pictures of their friends and family and place them on made up painted backgrounds. I would really like to try make a modern day version of this 19th century collaging hobby.

Carte de Visite- 1850-1900

Ambrotype- 19th c. Memento Mori

Pictured above are both a carte de visite and an ambrotype. Both of these images were made around the same time period, yet they both have completely different effects on the viewer. The carte de visite depicts a somewhat wealthy 19th century family. The carte de visite has a much more pleasant subject matter than the ambrotype on the bottom. which shows a deceased baby. Although the subject matter varies, both of these photographs were created with the same purpose in mind- to create a memory. The photo on the top serves as a record of the family, and the bottom ambrotype serves as a record of a deceased child.

Large Format Photography

Emily Gomez, from Unearthed

This is my favorite large format photograph from Emily Gomez's exhibit "Unearthed". I think this eimage is really beautiful. I really love everything about it-the light, composition, contrast, mood, etc. Out of all of the images in "Unearthed", this photograph definitely had the most impact on me. I find it very powerful yet mysterious.

Romanticism: Beautiful & Sublime

William Henry Fox Talbot, Loch Katrine, 1845

William Blake, The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sub, 1805

The two images above represent the aesthetics of the Romantcism movement in the 19th century. The Romantics sought to portray the sublime and the beautiful through their artwork. The photograph represents the beautiful while the painting by Blake represents the sublime.

The photograph by Talbot represents the beautiful rather than the sublime because it exhibits a softness. This softness is due to the soft light that radiates throughout the composition. The composition itself is very proportional, which creates an overall peaceful effect in the photograph.

The painting, on the other hand, depicts the sublime. It's more powerful than the photograph and contains elements of storminess and terror. That demon near the top of the frame is definitely terrifying. Vastness, another characteristic of the sublime, is also present and is represents by the blackness that surrounds the figures in the painting.