Almuneda Carracedo & Robert Bahar

Online artist 5

I have seen this at a film fest in North Park. This documentary follows the story of three women immigrants who worked in the garment industry, underpaid and overworked. In the process a boycott against the popular young women's retailer Forever 21 was made. I thought this documentary was both beautifully shot and the story was also compelling. Besides photography I also enjoy creating videos. I think I could use some of the skills I have learned and continue to learn in photography, and apply it in how I shoot my video footages.

*Please click on the blog title for online link

Tony Howell

Online Artist 4

I absolutely love night photography. I guess I could have done a special project about night photography, but the self transformation book was really important to me too. I came across this photographer from the UK online. He actually does different kind of photography. There is something about the night...when the last light of the sun is about to go out and the sky does not look black but rather a deep shade of blue. Sometimes you get lucky and see some shades of purple. I just love it. In a way I been experimenting with night photography before this semester even started, and I'll probably will be coming across it again in my work.
Here are samples of some of my early night shots.

Final Book Update

Hooray! My book is finally done. This book has become very personal. It was both hard (as sometimes it is hard to look back at the past) and pleasurable working on it. Though, I don't think I had enough time to really vividly express my self transformation, I believe this book captured some bits of my life that have shaped the person I am today. So here are some pages from my book.

Anne Geddes

Online artist 3
Date viewed: April 8, 2008


I love seeing these small infants wrapped around petals of flowers. They look so beautiful and so peaceful. I wonder how she creates her images, It looks like she uses Photoshop, but I read she rarely use digital cameras. On her website there is a series called Miracle, a collection of her favorite pictures in 25 years of work. All of the pictures are of infants wrapped in different kinds of flower. She mentioned she shoot mostly in the early morning since that seems like the time the babies are calm. Finding the right time to photograph your subject is definitely plays a role. I know first hand how hard it is to stop a crying baby, and yes I also remember that magical time of calmness. Such as when your baby is finally asleep, and you look at her and think what an incredible small person. How innocent and pure. Some of her images definately reminds me of that moment.

aaah...spring break

Over the weekends I went to take more pictures for my artist book. This took me to my old high school, around our neighborhood, and just places where I use to go to a lot. I been working on my artist book during this spring break...we only have about a month to finish this before it's due...and I'm feeling kinda anxious. I'm working on some other stuff, but these few days my focus is to get this artist book going. I'm building more ideas as I go. I just bought a new scanner which I got for a pretty good deal at the store so I can start scanning some materials. My process right now is to just get the layout and the images going, and then concentrate on the text later on.

I have also reconsidered the names for my chapter like for this one I'm thinking instead of "As a teenager" I'm replacing that title to "As becoming" I feel like a lot had happened through my teenage years and even my early twenties...I wanted to include my early twenties with this chapter. Plus this title is more ambiguous than the previous one, which is intentional.

Anyway the semester is almost over, and I can't believe graduation is near. Maybe I'll have a nice vacation somewhere after graduation!

Abigail Cohen

Online Artist 2
Date viewed: March 23, 2008

Abigail Cohen was a young artist finding her voice, and exploring her own life through photographs. Herself and how she relates to others around her had been her ongoing subject. She thought of life as a cycle of always dieing and being reborn again, a circle that is never ending. Her work one cycle of my Journey shows Abigail of finding her own voice as an artist and as a person. She talks about how everything has a balance, a balance between intimacy and tension, of chaos and fluidity, of mystery and awareness. Unfortunately, Abigail's life was cut short because of a heart failure at the age of 27.

This artist compels me because she was close to my age when she passed away. It's so sad to see anybody pass away at such a young age. I especially think her work one cycle is meaningful, I connect with her in that I think around your mid twenties, is the time when you are really trying to find your own voice. I also think it's always harder when you actually make yourself the subject of your artwork. This means you have to analyze yourself, and make the "personal" public. Putting it out in the public means that it will be open to criticism. I'm glad that she was able to put herself in this spot, and have found to be herself and not be ashamed of it. "I am concerned with being home, being attached, being safe, but also being left vulnerable to the wild world, beckoning and demanding my attention," she remarked. In life there are times where you feel safe, and then there are times when you feel scared. Feelings or emotions always changes. I think there is always a sense of freedom when you are able to present yourself as both being strong and vulnerable at the same time.

Photography at the Poles

Art Event 3
Location: Balboa Park
SDNHM: Odover Gallery
Date: February 23, 2008

At the Odover Galley an exhibition called Photography at the Poles was happening. Here photographers focused their talents in capturing the icy poles. Penguins, polar bears, ice rocks, walrus, and arches formed by ice were captured. The icy landscape freezed the atmosphere but yet in a pleasant way. The joy of the three penguins playing and jumping by Ralph Lee Hopkins, will make you smile. Hopkins also photographed the picture above.

Abe Ordover on the other hand had another attempt of capturing the landscape of the poles. He focused on the great sea arches formation, and the defined shapes that they make. One I especially liked was where the ice arc was coming out of the frame, breaking away from it. Over and over he showed the different blue shades the ice makes in his photographs such as Blue World and Blue Ice 613. He also had pictures of penguins. I was struck by a photograph titled "love", a close up image of two penguins. As I look at these photographs, I started to become a little bit jealous. Man, I wonder how it felt to be out there to take pictures of these magnificent animals of the poles. I wonder how the chilly wind felt on their cheeks, and even maybe at times of concentration the chilly weather is forgotten.

There were also two video installation in the exhibition. One was called Shot in the Antarctic by Allan Harley. I find video and photography as a medium that I will be willing to work with. Harley's shots of penguins are joyful to watch. A Colony of penguins seems to be there for one another. Penguins are considered birds that can't fly, but other birds won't be able to survive the cold weather of the Antarctica either.

This exhibition was inspiring. A lot of the pictures were up close, it gives you a chance to take a really good look at these wonderful creations. I remember I did a photography of ducks and geese. I wished I would have focused my camera lens more on them. My hope is to have a better camera someday. This makes me want to take more pictures.