Final Portfolio Reactions

The reaction to my final portfolio was actually better than I expected it to be. Overall everyone seemed to really enjoy my pieces. Most of them actually got very good comments that made me quite satisfied with my work over this semester, and especially how far I have come since we first started. What was especially great to hear is that my pieces were definitely photos, not just pictures.

One major comment that I got again that I had received before is that quite a few of my pieces look like some sort of postcard or advertisement. I was quite satisfied by these remarks, because I feel like that is a great compliment. The works that were most referred to with these terms were the one of the boy fishing off the dock, the picture of the women in front of Costco, and the photo of Prairie Crossing.

What was surprising to me was how much everyone seemed to enjoy the picture of the noodles on the beach. This was one of my favorite pieces, but I was not quite sure if everyone else would see it as being as great as I did, but to my satisfaction they did!

Again people commented a lot on the piece of the boy fishing off the dock, and despite a few small suggestions for improvement such as moving the frame of view downward a bit more, it was as successful this time as when I showed it during the webpage assignment. Another piece from that assignment that got a very good reception was the piece of the old tire sitting in the water on the beach. I thought it was sort of interesting that no one could say exactly why this piece had such good appeal, and I have to agree with them because I have no idea either.

The last piece that I feel is worthy writing on was the picture of my dog sitting in her lawn chair. While at first it did seem to be just another cute dog picture to bring out the "aw's", people found other aspects of it that pointed it more toward being a photo. Whether I completely pulled it off though, I really do not even know, but I know for sure that it was definitely very close to being more than just another animal picture.

Ernst Haas Josef Koudelka

Two really great photographers that I enjoy are Ernst Haas and Josef Koudelka. There really is not much similarity between these two photographers, except that I believe that they are both marvelous at capturing the moments they were, and the people in these times. Haas's work tends to be a lot more optimistic than Koudelka.

Koudelka was from Czechoslovakia, and his most famous works were taken during the Cold War, especially around the times of the conflicts between the Soviet Union and and Eastern Bloc nations. During this time, his photos were known as being taken by the "anonymous Czech photographer." His work, while being not very heart-warming, are spectacular. They definitely seem to show the dark times in these places during this time, and they interest me greatly because this was a dark time in our history. While being dark and showing the darker side of humanity, artists like Koudelka are needed because they document these important moments for future generations to see.

Ernst Haas's artwork is definitely on the opposite pole of style from Josef Koudelka. Haas does not pay attention to the darkness of the world, but instead he captures the more light-hearted goodness around us. His photographs are meant to make people secure in my opinion, and, yes, to even bring out the occasional "aw" from the viewer. I find that juxtapositioning Haas's and Koudelka's works creates a fantastic contrast. They most definitely do not share the same outlook on the world, except that maybe they seek to capture the time and the place they are in. Haas uses very normal elements in his photos. Normal exposure levels, normal levels of saturation and vibrancy (or perhaps raised slightly), and just about everything else normal. He instead uses good framing and the interest of his subjects to keep the viewers interest.

Klein and Erwitt: The Magic Moment

William Klein and Elliot Erwitt pieces are both amazing. Every artist, whether it be photographer, painter, etc., looks to create the one piece that captures a moment, a great moment that inspires and draws the emotions from the viewer out. Klein and Erwitt both managed to do this in my opinion. Definitely in Erwitt's photography and in most of Klein's, a person can see the magic in the moment they captured. While both artists grew up in very different lives, one of Jewish descent, the other French, they both seem to mirror the work of the other. Klein looked to find any time that seemed to be capable of making a great photo and then used extraordinary methods of capturing these, with grainy film, high contrast, or even overexposure. Erwitt's formal art methods were not quite so extreme, but instead he focused more on the subject of his pieces, finding life's ironies and amusing moments to draw the viewer's attention. However, despite the difference in style, they both sought to photo the same kind of photography, the magic moments in life.