Assignment 2: Shutter Speed and Motion

ISO 400 28mm ƒ/22 1/60

Slow Shutter

ISO 400 28mm ƒ/18 1/125

Fast Shutter

Reading Assessment 1 

On Barrett Chapter 2, Describing Photographs

1. What is the author’s thesis? The author's thesis is the emphasis in description of a photograph. It allows both the audience and the photographer to feel more connected to the piece, getting to know the art by  when the medium, style,subject matter, and the form. This also increases the ability for the author to get more well known by emphasizing a deeper meaning within the piece.
2. What examples does he use to support the thesis? The author uses examples of different artists/ photographers and how they implement  these strategies within their work. For example,Jan Groover, provided a paragraph about how a critic can describe form and its effects on subject manner. In my book I highlighted that she said “ our common understanding of the meaning of these pedestrian objects is transformed to a perception of them as exotic and mysterious. She than has a picture of just plain old cups in a different very beautiful way that takes away the average approach. 
3. In your own words, how does Barrett define: 
1. Description Barret defines description as answer to questions. Another way to show descriptive information is through subject matter, medium, and form.
2. Subject and Subject Matter is referring to identify and typify persons, objects, places, or events in a photograph. When describing subject matter critics name what they see and also characterize it.
3. Form refers to how the subject matter is presented.. Descriptive statements about photographs fare about how an image is composed, arranged, and constructed . We can attend a photographs form by considering how it uses what are called "formal elements".  Other formal elements identified for photographs include black and white tonal rang; subject contrast; film contrast; negative contrast; paper contrast; film format and lastly POV. Critics refer to the way photographers use these formal elements as " principles of designs, which include scale, proportion, unity within variety, repetition and rhythm, balance, directional force, emphasis, and subordination.
4. Medium
   The term medium refers to what is what an art object is made of. Descriptive statements about a pictures of a medium, usually identify as a photograph, an oil painting or an etching. For photography medium may have to do with what type of film they are using. 
5. Style
   Style indicates a resemblance among diverse art objects from an artist, movement, time period, or geographic location and is recognized by a characteristic handling ol subject matter and formal elements.Neo-expressionism is a commonly recognized, recent style of painting, and pictorialism,  photography based on direction, and the snapshot aesthetic.
   
4. In your own words, summarize what Barrett means when he refers to:
1. Comparing and Contrasting
   A method of analyzing a photographer's work is to compare and contrast it to other work by the same photographer, to other photographers' works, or to works by other artists. To compare and contrast is to see what the work and see the question has in common with and how the work differs from another body of work. Critics need to not limit their comparisons of a photographer to another photographer. The critic should understand both viewpoints from each photographers work either way. 
2. Internal and External Sources of Information
   In chapter two, it becomes apparent to us that a critic can find much to mention about the photograph by viewing to the subject, form, medium, and style.As a result of this, critics often go to external sources to gather descriptive information. Finding the a deeper understanding of that photograph and what is the meaning of it. Which also triggers the audiences view on the photographer .Lucy Lippard, creates a partnership with the artists she writes about and feels comfortable interviewing them and seeking their views of their work. This brings more attention to full meaning of the artwork to both photographer and the audience. 
5. In your own words, summarize Barrett’s position on the relationship between:
1. Description and Interpretation
   It Is probably as impossible to describe without interpreting as it is to interpret without describing. As read in chapter it states that a critic can begin to mentally list descriptive elements in a photograph. However at the same time the photographer has to see those elements while looking at the whole photograph if those elements come together and feel almost connected in any sense. But the whole makes sense only in terms of its parts. The relationship between describing
   and interpreting is circular, moving from whole to part and from part to whole.
2. Description and Evaluation
   Joel-Peter Witkin is a perfect example of description and evaluation. He is a controversial photographer who makes edgy photographs. Critics judge him differently; and their judgments, positive or negative influence their descriptions of his work to evaluate him properly.
6. Write a concluding paragraph that includes:
1. Summary of at least two other points you think the author was trying to make
   I think the author is trying to broaden the readers usual approach to photography making you think more about especially that 
   The author made effort to emphasize the use of Description. Descriptions are important to viewers because they have interesting information that adds additional info to understand and appreciate the photographers intent of the piece. I also thought the reading on the different approaches to criticism was interesting. For example a critic in New York times Andy Grundberg, uses the approach of critic, both theoretical to define photography and applied criticism toward journalism.
2. Two things you learned from this reading 
   From this reading I had a better understanding of the small parts of a picture have a large part in understanding the full idea of the photo. Stating that the whole makes sense only in terms of its parts. I also got a deeper understanding of the critics part in the photography world. I highlighted this in my reading, descriptions are the basis which they can agree or disagree with the critics interpretation and judgment. 
3. What is the author’s conclusion? The authors conclusion of the piece basically goes over different ways a photo could be analyzed whether it is based on feminism, intentionality interpretation, interpretation based on techinique. He basically goes over the depth and analytical approach of analyzing photos the critic basically thinks deeply into why a photographer would use all the areas of description in their photo. 
4. Your reaction to the material this article had simply broadened my usual approach with taking a photo stemming from my ability to use it for a deeper sense than just taking a picture that is Instagram worthy in my opinion. It is based on all different aspects of the art, including  the medium, style,subject matter, and the form. This also increases the ability for the author to get more well known by emphasizing a deeper meaning within the piece.