Today I had a meeting with my Thesis committee and they pointed out that 2 out of the 5 images I presented had a different feel to them. The 2 weren't dirty enough to follow along with the other 3. It was actually kinda funny. Ben said he felt like he was a mouse traveling around these small, dirty, and forgotten spaces. I really liked that idea and maybe thinking like a mouse and maneuvering around like one might help me to find new spaces. Wayne said he also agreed that these images could go bigger. Yay! I'm not going to put these in fancy mats. Jane suggested just putting them on foamcore and letting them float off the wall. I feel this would be more true to the images. A nice white border would contradict with these dirty and shadowed spaces. Wayne also said that a glossy paper makes the images more appealing, that these spaces are scary yet intriguing.

Oh and I'm not going to use 2 out of the 3 images I first selected to write my paper on. So that kinda stinks because I already had the outline done but at least the paper will be more coherent if all the spaces depict this dirty forgotten industrial space. I still really like the roller image but only on a color and shape basis. I'm really happy that I've nailed down my subject matter and strategy!

On Track!

Today we all had another meeting with Jane. My crit went really well. Kinko's printed my photos out on nice glossy paper and on an actual inkjet printer! They were 11 x 17 but Jane suggested and I totally agree to go bigger. I'm going to print at the lab but I forget how so Sarah said she would help me. The quality will be much better. I am having some trouble with my own computer reading Raw files which is an unnecessary headache. Content wise, I'm playing around with placement of small objects and lighting. Visually each picture is very different but they all resonate with the scale and volume aspect I'm exploring. I asked the people in my crit to guess what the images were and their guesses were almost correct. It's fun in this way. We discussed that I should probably title the images what they really are in order to achieve that "A-ha!" moment. For a while I was afraid that I wasn't going to reach that moment but I'm okay with the titles being obvious to support that realization. The depth of field I have been shooting is very shallow with selected parts being in focus. This Friday I intend to rent the pinhole cap for maximum focus and possible distortion.
I've already chosen the three images I will discuss in my paper for Senior Thesis. They are from the images I had shown today. It is definitely a lot easier to crank out these photos now that I'm sure of my subject matter and content. I'm also a little curious to what we will be working on next semester. If we are supposed to have our paper done and most of our work already done then what work will we have left to do?

So I've been working with my new lens and it has come in handy. I'm also going to rent the pinhole thing from the cage. I have also become more engaged with my environments such as moving things around, changing the lighting and sometimes even blind shooting. My house is getting a little boring so I'm off to new locations! Shallow depths of field really help with the scale sometimes. I'm not going to introduce small recognizable objects into the scene. It would be too plain and obvious. I also plan on going to the Great Frame up in Milford to see what kind of options they have for framing. And let's hope this time FedEx doesn't print out ugly photos.

Good news! On Friday I ordered a Canon 50mm macro lens and it has already shipped! It should be arriving in the next few days. This new lens will def. help with my close up photos.

Wayne Enstice is on my Thesis Committee and he suggested that if I find that I can not reach the "A-ha" moment where the viewer realizes that what they are looking at is not what they originally thought, then I should introduce small recognizable objects withing the frame. For example, putting a penny or a paper clip somewhere in the frame. This idea almost reminds me of Where's Waldo puzzles but I think it's fun. I'm going to try this as soon as my new lens comes in.