Still Life / Photograms

Photograms, Still Lifes, & The History of Art

"A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, an so on...) With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Graeco-Roman Art, still life painting emerged as a destinct genre and professional specialization in Western Painting by the late 16th century, and has remained significant since then. Still life gives the artist more freedom in the arrangement of elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as Landscape or Portrait." ~Wikipedia

1) What makes a good photogram?

•  Answer this question in your process journal after the class discussion (treat this like you would a Visual Response)

2) How can a photogram also be a still life?

• "How can a photogram also be a still life?" Create a blog post titled, "Still Life" and answer this question in your own words.
•  Learn  how to use the flatbed scanner & scan your best "still life" photogram and add to the post.

    

    



    

    

 Due Date: on or before May 29th.

Complimentary Colors & Color Theory

...to elaborate on Ben's post (In Links & Cool Stuff to Check Out), the color wheel is a corner-stone of the elements & principals of art & design. Visual arts students study this extensively. Below is an example of the basic color wheel:

Do you remember studying it in elementary school? My favorite trick for remembering complimentary colors works like this:

Red / Green  (think "Christmas" colors)

Blue / Orange (think "Halloween" colors)

Yellow / Purple (think "Easter" colors)

~

Below is an example of an advanced color wheel,

which is the version most widely recognized by contemporary artists 

& educators:

Fun color facts:

1) Primary Colors (can't be made by mixing colors)
 Red / Yellow / Blue
2) Secondary Colors (are made by mixing two primary colors)  
Orange / Green / Purple
3) Tertiary Colors  (are made by mixing one primary color with one secondary color)
 Yellow-Orange / Yellow-Green / Blue-Green 
Blue-Purple  Red-Purple / Red-Orange

4) Complimentary Colors (are opposites on the color wheel)

5) Printing color photographs relies heavily on the color wheel 
(You will need to be very familiar with this by the time you get to Gr. 12!)

Assignment:

Print or draw a color wheel in your process journal. 
Label the following in your own writing. You will need it for our class field trip this Thursday! 

a) Primary colors
b) Secondary colors
c) Tertiary colors
d) Complimentary colors

History of Photography Assignment

1) #LetMeSitForADaguerreotype (Jordan & Austin)

2) Tintypes (Serena)

3) Box Camera (Haley)

4) Camera Obscura (Amanda & Tehya) 

5) Dry Plate Negatives (Gabrielle)

6) Polaroid or Instant Film (Michelle & Cindy)

7) Pinhole Cameras (Talia)

8) 35mm Cameras (Kevin)
9) Flexible Roll Film (Victoria)

 Presentation Dates:

• May 20th: Group 1, 2, 3, 
• May 27th: Group 4, 5, 6,
• June  3rd: Group 7, 8, 9,

Please note: If you are in a group, you must make the extra step of evaluating your partner ~ask Ms. Echols for a partner-marking rubric.

Presentation Criteria:

• A Blog post regarding your topic posted under: "Ms. Echols (Examples & Assignments)" & be sure to include your name(s)!
• 1-page Summary of your topic & it's place within the history of photography
• List (& link) at least 2 different sources on your handout. 

Please note: Your summary must fit on 1 page and be able to be glued into everyone's process journals.

Term 4 "to Do" List

In Your Process Journal:

• Visual response to  "Documentary on Body Language"
• Notes on "How to Make a Photogram" & "History of the Photogram: Chapter 1"
• 3 Examples of Photograms & a brief reflection on why they were selected
• "Aperture Review" handout 
• Visual response to  "Annie Leibovitz" video
• Visual response for "What makes a good photogram?"
• "What makes a good still life photograph?"(Written definition of a still life)

On Your Blog:

• "Aperture Review" photos (indicate aperture, shutter speed & ISO)
• "History of Photography" Presentation & Handout"
• "Good Photogram" answer to question & scanned image of your BEST photogram
• "Still Life @ Home" (1 photograph)

Photo Assignment(s):

• Photogram ~ Still Life (Post your best print on the black, magnetic board in the hallway)
• Still Life @ Home (digital or film)

Other Things You Can Do.....

• Mess around in Photoshop
• Practice your flash cards (bundles of flash cards are on Ms. Echols' desk)
• Look up "Links, Articles, & Cool Things To Check Out," and comment/review one of the posts. There are 19 to choose from & counting... (bonus marks)
• Add a new post to "Links, Articles, & Cool Things To Check Out." (bonus marks)

Please note: It is never acceptable to say "I have nothing to do." 

There is ALWAYS something to do in photos class...if you think you've run out of things, feel free to ask Ms. Echols for more ideas. 

Intro to the Darkroom

Photograms ~ Captured Shadows

Tuesday

Person A: Click on the link below, watch "How to Make a Photogram," and take detailed notes in your process journal. 

The Art of Photography ~ How to Make a Photogram

Person B: Click on the link below, and take detailed notes on "The History of Photograms: Chapter One."

The History of Photograms

#2 A & B: Pair & Share information. Exchange notes. Class Discussion. 

~

Kodak Teaching Instructions

Darkroom Basics ~ Photograms

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Documentary on Body Language

This is really interesting...it applies to everyday life, but is also very helpful for photographing people.

Analyze the body language of powerful people as.....

World leaders battle over handshakes
Brittany Spears falls apart
Paris Hilton gets arrested

Click on the link below & answer the following questions
(write down in note-form as many points as possible):

Body Language Documentary

Please do a visual response to this documentary in your process journals.

Aperture & Focal Length

How Focal Length Affects Viewing Angle:

Different focal lengths produce different viewing angles, which in turn create different images. In addition, different focal lengths also produce varying levels of perspective and depth of field. As focal length changes, the amount of subject captured by the lens (viewing angle) also changes. 

Lenses are typically grouped into 5 categories (you should familiarize yourself with these):

1) Ultra-Wide Angle (a.k.a. Fish-eye) lenses range from 14mm to 20mm

2) Wide Angle lenses range from 24mm to 35mm

3) Standard lenses range from 45mm to 70mm 

    (these are similar in field of view to the human eye)

4) Telephoto lenses range from 80mm to 300mm 

    (allow you to "zoom in" close & compress the background)

5) Ultra-Telephoto lenses consist of any focal length greater than 300mm

For more detailed information, click on the link below:
Understanding Focal Length