Kimberly Mendez

Kimberly Mendez

Duane Michals, "Heisenberg's  Magic Mirror of Uncertainty"

1998, Gelatin Silver Print

When I was selecting am image to post, I came about this one and it showed me the different sides and faces a person can have. There is always the one face that you see when you are first introduced to each other, then as time goes by you start to see the good, bad , ugly, and the pure. Is she deciding what face she wants the world to see that day? Or is she still trying to figure out who she is as a person? Its just up to you as the friend/spouse/ or even your own self to decide what kind of face you see yourself wearing that day and if its the one you want to be known for wearing. 

Leslie Sanchez

Leslie Sanchez
Authur Fellig "Their First Murder"
October 9, 1941, printed 1950, Gelatin silver print

This photograph was very eye captivating for me, especially because of the various emotions displayed. At first, I was confused trying to depict in what was going on. Also, their reactions do not match with what I would have expected someone to react after just seeing someone die. Especially the little boy that looks like he is smiling. At the same time their reactions are very raw and human. Everyone has different reactions, yet they are all valid and real. The way everyone is positioned it is very chaotic. The girl off to the right looks like she is being punched in the head. This makes me feel uneasy wondering if they are okay or is the little girl okay. It is also timeless in that where people are absorbing the fact that someone just died and someone is taking a picture of them. It makes me think of the exact moment where I'm taking in a news I heard, and my reaction. Authur Fellig, or Weegee, would photograph crime scenes before any emergency services would arrive. He also had other work like taking pictures of people kissing in the theater, thinking they were not seen.

Emily Vail

Emily Vail

Arthur Leipzig, "Chalk Games"

1950, Silver Gelatin Print

This photo, I feel is a unique one – especially for its time. The 1950's was the golden age for television, and in a city like New York City, it is astonishing how these kids are still finding the fun in being outside with each other. The flamboyant drawings that are drawn into the street made me originally think that this photo took place in a creativity hub like the 1980s. This photo keeps my attention mostly because of the fact that I am trying to decipher what the drawings are. It can truly help the world understand what was interesting to the American child during the 1950s. The composition of Leipzig's photo is interesting because of how he kept it in black and white to give it the historical effect, even though it is an artistic based photo. From the old cars, the matching outfits of the kids, the bird's eye view of the street, and to the unusual sense of peace in this photo: everything seems to work together. That is why this photo is so captivating.

Riya Israni

Riya Israni

Jerry Uelsmann, "Apocalypse II"

1967, Gelatin Silver Print

Jerry N. Uelsmann produces composite photographs through the use of multiple negatives and hours of darkroom work. Unlike most photographers, he does not use multiple attachments. Instead, he uses a single camera, and several enlargers. Uelsmann approaches his work with the belief that mistakes are simply a part of the creative process. Uelsmann's work also utilizes recurring imagery, as the negatives he uses may appear as a focal point in one piece and as part of the background in another. I chose this particular image because I believe it holds a sense of mystery and surprise, while simultaneously providing a clear example of the intricacies that Uelsmann is able to achieve with his complex process. In addition, the tree-like form provides a sense of danger, while also providing beauty. I also like that there is no clear interpretation or meaning to the image—it is completely up to the viewer.

North Vincent

North Vincent
Friedrich Seidenstücker, "Berlin, Winter"
1947

I have always had a great interest in history as well as scenic beauty, and this image seems to combine these aspects very well. The artist, Friedrich Seidenstücker, was a German photographer and sculptor known for his images of post-war Berlin. This is a photo of a bombed-out building in Berlin two years after the second Word War ended. It was taken in black-and-white, although even if color was added, there would likely be no difference. Snow covers every surface, allowing the building parts to jut out and break the uniform white. The structure, almost looking like a castle from medieval times, sits in the very center. Above, the sky shifts from grey to white, showing the texture of clouds. The image is very still, with absolutely nothing in motion; this is helped by the fact that there is nothing alive in the photo. This might have been done on purpose to show how much of the city was literally left lifeless after the war.

Veronica Bautista

 













Veronica Bautista

"Wennjie Qiao-Solar Eclipse"

August 21, 2017

Photography allows your mind to be creative and a wanderer. What I took out from this esthetically pleasing photograph from Wennjie Qiao is the passage of time; time is something our eyes cannot depict as well as this picture can. This photograph of the solar eclipse made me understand how often we may forget that our time is running out and we need to enjoy everything in life, family, nature and to remember that even the sun needs a break. That brings me to conclude and ask what are you willing to do with your time as of now? Will you be more loving? Will you try to do something you've always wanted to do? Will you be able to see the next solar eclipse? Photography can take us to whole different worlds and thoughts, but are we willing to see what is depicted?

Alexa Daffern

 

Alexa Daffern
Leonard Freed, "Muscle Boy"
1963, Vintage Gelatin Silver Print

I selected this picture because it moved me and reminded me of a topic that is very near and dear to my heart and that I have become very passionate about. In this photo, you see a handsome little boy lifting his arm and flexing his muscle, but you can very clearly see his ribs underneath while doing so. This reminds me that many kids growing up aren't blessed with the same privileges that we are. Many starve, many don't have clothes, and so many don't have a place to call home. It makes me take a step back, reflect on my life and all that I have, and remind me that I should be grateful for the life I've been blessed with. So many people on the other side of the world or even in more run down cities struggle more than me and people who have more should make more of an effort to help those who are less fortunate.

Ernesto Alcaraz

Ernesto Alcaraz
Hiroshi Sugimoto "Radio City Music Hall"
1978, Gelatin silver print

"Suppose you shoot a whole movie in a single frame? " In 1976, Sugimoto experimented on what it would look like to do just that and the results were spectacular. The process of how these images are made adds to their beauty. The long exposure causes the screen to look completely white and in most of the other theater photos the people watching the movie will not appear in the photo. The light blooming through the rows keeps your eyes moving through the image. Although there are many other photos by Sugimoto of theaters, this one intrigues me and stands out from all the rest because of the architecture of the hall and how the people are still visible watching the movie as if they were watching a blank white screen the entire time. This provides an underlying mystery to whomever is viewing the photo and allows them to create their own narrative.

Hayley Allen

Hayley Allen
Keegan Allen "That's life. I enjoy the rainy days."
2015, Digital

I chose this photo here made my Keegan Allen in his book "life. love. beauty" because the image captured my eye. I was flipping through his photo book in his New York section when I found this. The reflections from the lights bouncing off the ground, the blurry cars, and the main focus of the broken abandoned umbrella really caught my attention. I visually really enjoy how the subject of this photo is placed at the center bottom of the image, not directly in the middle. I like the harsher focus on the umbrella making the New York City background blurry. This picture makes me question its previous owner. I wonder at what point walking in the rain someone gave up and chose to get wet instead of trying to salvage their umbrella… makes me wonder.

Nomar Alonso

Nomar Alonso

Diane Arbus "Masked Woman in a Wheelchair"

1970

I chose this image because it was the first one that caught and held my attention. I had been scrolling through a book of Diane Arbus' photos and this was the only photo that made me question what was going on. It is such a simple photo, yet there is so much missing. Was the woman simply moving along with the mask? Was the mask given to her for the photo? Was she posing for the photo or hiding her face from the camera? where was she going?

 I read a little About Diane Arbus and found in a short documentary that she felt different emotions when she looked into the glass of a camera. No matter what happened on the other side of that glass, she was simply amazed. I think thats what I want this photo to mean to me. I want to run into a situation like she did in this photo and I want to experience what she experienced.