B&W ABC's

Black & White Alphabet

These images are of my fiance signing letters. A couple of them are the normal sign language that you would find if you looked it up on the internet, but most of them are a group of signed letters that were made up by the group he used to hang out with.

Square Alphabet

These images were all taken in my apartment. This was a very difficult project and took a long time but I enjoyed trying to think outside the box and once I started to really look at things letters just seemed to come out of no where.

Must-Know Figures - Current Event 5

This article is concerning the re-writing of the history books in grade school. The debate is over whether Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall should be held in the same "model American citizen" as figures such as Benjamin Franklin.

Chavez was a civil rights activist who fought for the union labor rights and Marshall was the first black man appointed to the Supreme Court and was also one of the attorneys fighting for the desegregation in public-schools.

Some people think that they are not worthy of being held to the standard as Benjamin Franklin. However, these 2 men are a very large part of U.S. history. I believe that they should be given more space in our history text books.

I especially agree with this quote from the article, "Chavez and Thurgood Marshall 'played a real crucial part in our nation's fighting for liberty, which is really what America's been founded on,' Agosto said."

To be honest, I think that the people making a huge fuss over this issue are simple minded and not open to change. They are sticklers and want things to just stay how they are, but I believe that our grade school kids need to be informed about men like these so that issues like these are never forgotten and these men should be appreciated for the work they did for our country.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/09/16/us/AP-US-Texas-Schools-Social-Studies.html?_r=1&scp=25&sq=texas&st=cse

Self Portraits

THIS IS ME IN A NUTSHELL.


I did not really enjoy this project. I tend to enjoy being behind the camera more than I do as the subject. My dog is my kid. I love her like she is my baby and I wouldn't take back getting her for anything.





Pancakes, eggs, and milk is my perfect breakfast. Especially the one in the image because those are chocolate chip pancakes and my fiance is completely amazing when it comes to making my favorite breakfast.







I really enjoy the nights when my fiance and I get to go out with our friends to concerts and festivals and things like that, so I am always straightening my hair and putting on my make-up before we walk out the door....and it takes like 25 minutes so it's a big part of our night out.

I am also an English major and I really, really enjoy reading. When I have downtime I am almost always sitting on my couch with a book in my lap ignoring the rest of the world around me. :D




The last image is of my fiance's and my hand intertwined. We are recently engaged and he is my world. The sweetest man I could have ever asked for and he is my rock when it comes to school, always telling me that I can do it, and letting me get my homework done on my own time without being pushy. I love him.

John

I had a fun time working with John after he opened up to us. He is an Art Education major and in our class is known as "The Lip Ring Guy." He likes to draw and he has a relaxed look about him in the way he dresses and carries himself, which I appreciate because I never felt intimidated or uncomfortable.

Jamie

JAMIE S.

Jamie is a quirky kind of girl with a great sense of humor. She is very photogenic and makes for an easy subject.
You can see her riding her bike around campus but she said that her bike wasn't something that defined her. Photography is a hobby for her, she loves her dogs, and she cooks, too.


I really enjoyed getting to know her and John. She made me feel comfortable around her and I had fun with this project.

BILL EVANS VIDEO

Universal musical mind in all people.

Various styles of music spoken. Some effort needs to be exposed because of different cultures. Rely on lament rather than a professional. Professional focuses on mechanical, lament more so goes with what he/she already possesses.

"Serious influence."

Freeing the conscious to establish the spontaneous creative element.

"improvisation became lost..."

"Jazz is a PROCESS of making music."

"able to make music in the moment"

Is photography more like classical or jazz????

Classical is said to be more composed and set whereas jazz is more easily improvised as long as it's in the same key.

I think that photography can be much like both. If classical is composed and set, well photography can be too. One can be in a room with the perfect lighting, the right helper, the perfect studio, and the best camera and compose an image. At the same time, an image can be improvised like jazz music. One can go out on a random day, extremely bright light (sun) OR not much light at all (cloudy), have a random subject and it be spontaneous but still be just as beautiful as an image that was composed to look beautiful. Professional photographers are not in one category. We have those who are in their studio day after day shooting still-lives or taking pictures for an advertising company while others are out in the world every day taking pictures of "life," what is in front of them at that moment, a moment that might otherwise be lost forever.

There’s Code to Crack - Current Event 4

This article is about "The Lost Symbol" which is the extension of "The Davinci Code." And as the article says this series of books has caused some controversy because of the symbolism used. I have to say that I have read "The Davinci Code" and watched the film, and I was, at some points, confused...maybe a little offended, but I had to come to realize that this is a fictional tale. Though, books like these make me wonder, if so many people tend to get offended and find the theories to be outlandish, why is it that those same people tend to be the first to the bookstore for the new releases? I think even though the people know its untrue, it makes them think about reality and wonder if something like these stories could have some truth hidden underneath. I know that after watching "The Davinci Code" it made me really sit and wonder about if there really is a decendent of Jesus Christ, did Mary Magdalen really have a child by him, is the symbol of woman an upside-down triangle? The thing is we won't ever really know will we? And it's because these stories use "discoveries" of things that would take many many years to prove that it makes it fiction with a possibility of truth.

Texas Pulls Out of Merit Scholarship Program - Current Event 3

This article was about the scholarships given to the top ranking students of high school as an incentive to attend University of Texas (though they are not the only university doing so). I think that the plan to take part of that money and putting it toward financial aide to those students who made the grade but were not qualified for a National Merit Scholarship is a great idea. I have been in college longer than I had hoped to be but I am thankful to have had help from a program my parents started when I was in elementary school. If it hadn't been for this program my family would have had a difficult time paying for me to go to college. Not to mention, my parents make too much money to qualify for FAFSA. I think that having financial aide available that could help the lower percentage of high school students that want to go to college is a financial decision worth making. I also agree with the statement at the end, "scholarships shouldn't be awarded on the basis of test scores alone." These merit scholarships are given to students who have the highest high school GPA and the highest SAT scores and PSAT scores, well if there's a student, like me, who freezes when it comes to putting a test on the table in front of me and does terrible on it, but has good grades otherwise, then that student should have the same opportunities as the ones who are lucky enough to be good at test taking.

Yousuf Karsh

Karsh is another photographer whom uses black and white. I think the reason I enjoy images with no color is because it leaves the audience to fill in the story. Most of the images I saw were shot from the shoulders up. I don't yet know how I feel about that element. I enjoy the crispness of a black and white, as well. I can really see what Vaughn was talking about with lighting men and women differently when looking at Karsh's work, especially if you compare the two images I've posted here of Audrey Hepburn and Winston Churchill.



She looks very flat, like Vaughn mentioned. Her features are smooth and she looks elegant.



With Churchill, you can more easily see the curves of his body and face, and his wrinkles are visible as well.

Barry Feinstein

I believe Feinstein is most famous for his project with Bob Dylan. I have always loved the art of black and white images and they are the majority of this project.



I love the feel of capturing history. It's like taking that blink of time and being able to hold a part of it forever. The world is always changing and it's amazing to see how it was before my time, "a simpler time," as they say.

Martin Schoeller

Schoeller's portraits have a very small range of lighting, backdrop, and tone. His photographs remind me of mugshots. Most of his subjects are well-known celebrities. I like how his images show every detail in the subject's face. Most of them are only headshot, which personally doesn't give me much inspiration, it's not the route I see myself taking.
One thing I do like is that the celebrity shots are among the ones of people you could pass on the street and it makes them seem like "real" people. I also like the images with the warmer tones more than the ones with the black to white fade.

Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry is most well-known for his photo of the Afghan woman on the cover of the 1985 issue of National Geographic magazine. His use of light makes the colors in this portrait "pop." I love how he takes something tha tis an every day part of life for this woman and makes it beautiful. In his bio on www.art-dept.com/artists/mccurry it says that eh "captures the essence of human struggle and joy." It also states, "McCurry has searched and found the unforgettable." His story really shows the extremes a photographer must sometimes go through to get that one "unforgettalbe" image, and he proves that hard work and true dedication can take you to unbelieveable worlds through a lens.

Innocent but Dead - Current Event 2

As I read this article I started thinking about all of the cases that have come about in the last few years releasing innocent inmates because of forensic evidence. They pull at my heart strings because one can't really imagine the life they had to live behind bars knowing they are innocent and thinking that no one would review their case and dig deep to find the truth. I think that law enforcement is too easy to judge sometimes. Now with the technology I hope that things like this do not continue to happen. The fact that a man was killed by the state before proven innocent is even more tragic. I am on the fence however, because even though I feel terrible for their families and for them having to endure the prison life, I feel that they put the blame on the officers who didn't have the resources that we do today. I also feel that the ones who are guilty can use these stories to their advantage by making the officers second-guess themselves.

Driven to Distraction - Current Event 1

After reading this article in the NYTimes it really got me to thinking about some of the tragedy that has occured in my town. Since my fiance heard on the radio that no one is allowed to talk or text on their phone during school hours and that teens under 18 cannot talk or text at all, I have really been trying to not talk or text while I am in my car. I agree with the article saying that having someone in the car is somewhat of a distraction, so you're less likely to be distracted by the phone because you're too busy interacting with the conversation being held with the passenger. I worry about two of my best friends quite often because they tell me the same thing the one woman's friend told her, "I don't even have to look when I'm texting." Well, it's also one less hand that could be on the wheel. We had a tragedy happen a couple years ago in my town. A young girl, still in high school, was on a farm road, texting one of her friends and wasn't prepared for the curve ahead. She crashed and has been in a coma ever since. I often pray that her family stays strong and that she will pull through, but her story goes to show how harmful it might be to be texting or even talking on a cell phone.

QUESTIONAIRE

1. Name, phone #, and e-mail: TRACIE GIBBS, 903-268-0665, trgibbs86@gmail.com

2. What’s your major? What year will you graduate? ENGLISH...HOPEFULLY 2010

3. Why did you choose a photography class (or photography as a major), and what do you hope to learn from school in general and this class specifically? I WAS A PHOTO MAJOR BUT DECIDED I WAS BETTER AT GRAMMAR. I HOPE DO BE ABLE TO KNOW HOW TO USE ALL THE SETTINGS ON MY CAMERA AFTER THIS CLASS. 

4. What are your goals after graduation? Please list your goals in reverse order, starting five years out, then three, two, one, and six months. IN FIVE YEARS I SEE BEING MARRIED WITH CHILDREN. OWNING MY OWN HOME WITH A LIBRARY.  I HOPE TO BE ESTABLISHED IN MY CAREER. I WANT TO WORK FOR A PUBLISHING  COMPANY AS AN EDITOR. 

5. What artists, musicians, photographers, writers, movies, books have influenced you/your work?

I HAVEN'T PARTICULARLY LOOKED INTO ARTISTS. I LIKE TAKING PHOTOS BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S A CAREER OPPORTUNITY FOR ME; I WANT TO LEARN THE TECHNICAL PARTS OF MY CAMERA BUT AT THE MOMENT I HAVE NO INFLUENCES. 

6. Where do you get information about current national and international events?

HONESTLY, I DON'T. I DO NOT REALLY LIKE TO WATCH OR READ THE NEWS. BUT WITH THE NYTIMES.COM REGISTRATION I GUESS I'LL START HUH?

7. Are there any important websites that you are referencing for art/photo competitions and/or information?

NO.

8. What museums and/or galleries have you been to in the past year?

NONE.

9. Have you had any photo projects and/ or training in the past?

NO. I HAVE NO TRAINING. I HAD ONE PHOTO CLASS LAST SEMESTER WITH DANEA.

10. What is the value of art for the artist?

PRICELESS.

11. What is the value of art for the audience?

I THINK IT DEPENDS. IT IS DIFFERENT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL IN THE AUDIENCE.

12. Is photography a vocation or an avocation?

IT COULD BE EITHER. I FEEL THAT TO GET THE BEST OUR OF YOUR WORK IT NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING YOU DO EVERYDAY AND PERFECT EVERYDAY.

13. What is your passion?

READING! I LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY, BUT I AM TYPICAL. I LIKE THE "PRETTY" THINGS. BUT I REALLY ENJOY THE LITERARY WORLD.

14. 
    

    14.What are you afraid of? What makes you uncomfortable?
    

    I AM MORTIFIED BY PUBLIC SPEAKING. I AM AFRAID OF HEIGHTS. I AM AFRAID OF FAILURE. I AM UNCOMFORTABLE BEING PUT ON THE SPOT. 

15. Do you have a passport?

NO.