Inspired by a Master - Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham

Born in Portland, Oregon in 1883, Imogen had a very successful life ahead of her. Imogen took mostly portraits, botanicals, and landscapes. She was a photographer of the early 1900's. She studied at the University of Washington and majored in chemistry. To help pay her fees, she worked for her professor and made slides for the botanists. This may have been the spark to her interest in botanical photos. Later when she moved to San Francisco, she even opened a studio in her own house. One could find her work at Photographers Exhibition at Golden Gate International Exposition and the Smithsonian Institution.
Imogen Cunningham inspires me because, of course, her achievements, and also her style of photography. A running theme I had discovered was her capturing a subject with great details. There was a sharp focus on her subjects to get every intricate detail. I attempted to do the same with my photos, so I hope you like them. Check out the photos I used as inspiration, too.

Original Photo Before Editing

My Dandelion, 2014

Cunningham's Original Photo - Amaryllis Flower, 1933

I edited my photo in Camera Raw by taking out the saturation and vibrancy (to make the photo black and white). I also adjusted the light by +6, sharpened by +150, and decreased the shadows by 47. When I took the photo, it was around noontime. To create the black background, I had used my black cardigan.

Original Photo Before Editing

My Mission San Jose High School Amphitheater

Cunningham's Original Photo -  Mills College Amphitheater, about 1920

I used Camera Raw to decrease the vibrancy, saturation, and highlights by 100. I adjusted the lights by +100, the darkness by +6, and the shadows by -3. I was inspired by the angle at which she took her photo, and since Mission has an amphitheater too, I wanted to capture this. I also cropped the image.

Original Photo Before Editing

My In Sunlight 2014

Cunningham's Original Photo - In Moonlight 1911

I was inspired by her use of light from the moon. Since I attend school during the day, I took advantage of the sunlight. I edited my photo in Camera Raw by decreasing the saturation, vibrancy, and highlights by 100. I also increased the clarity by 6.

Original Photo Before Editing

My Tulika Mohanti, Photographer, 2014

Cunningham's Original Photo - Benjamino Bufano, Sculptor, 1953   

I edited my photo of Tulika on Camera Raw. For this photo, all I did was convert it to gray scale and increase the luminance by about 15.

Original Photo Before Editing

My Tea Kettle, 2014

                              

Cunningham's Original Photo - Coffee Pot, 1938

I edited my photo on Camera Raw by converting the image to gray scale. I had also increased the clarity by 14.

Second Portrait

On Camera Raw, I added luminance to the colors orange, yellow, green, and purple. I took out the luminanace from the blue to add a pop. I increased the saturation of the blue color by 100. I also adjusted the temperature by an increase of 11.  I decreased the contrast by 48 and shadows by 9.

Composition Review - 3 Rules

Mr. Farley provided the class with a picture he took. The assignment was to edit it to show the three composition rules we chose at the beginning of the year. I used Camera Raw to add clarity (for Texture), to rotate the photo (for Leaning In), and to crop (for Avoiding the Middle).

Before

After

From NYT's Lens, I chose picture 11 from Revisiting Unhealed Wounds in Chechnya, because they depicted my rules best. The grass and mud on the shoe added texture to the photo, and the shoe was positioned in a way that followed my rule of Leaning In. I couldn't find a single picture that "avoided the middle," but Picture 11 showed my other two rules best.
See Picture 11 Here

My Three Composition Rules:
1. Leaning In- Link to Leaning In
2. Avoid the Middle- Link to Avoiding the Middle
3. Texture- Link to Texture

First Portrait

Sixth Photo Assignment: Conversations

This is a picture of Tulika Mohanti at the Bell Tower Quad in Mission San Jose High School. I adjusted the lighting and contrast of the colors using Camera Raw. 

Fifth Photo Assignment: Depth of Field

I used a Nikon camera to capture the depth of field with a tree branch and a solid-color wall in the background. I added light to the photo and enhanced the green color on the leaves.

Fourth Photo Assignment: My Self Portrait

I took photos of my shadows for my self portrait. Then I added color: red to show my passionate, ambitious side, green for my optimistic side, and finally, blue to represent my loyalty and integrity.

Third Photo Assignment: My Third Rule

Rule of Texture:

The many veins of the leaf, the water droplets, and the stem provide texture to my photo.

Rules of Composition:

1. Leaning In- Link to Leaning In

2. Avoid the Middle- Link to Avoiding the Middle

3. Texture- Link to Texture

Second Photo Assignment: My Second Rule

Rule of Avoiding the Middle:

My focus is on the girl, but I avoided making her the center of the frame because it can get boring. This will also give a visual balance, because the blue color of her outfit pops out. 

 Avoid the Middle- Link to Avoiding the Middle

First Photo Assignment: My First Rule

Rule of Leaning In:

When the person or thing is leaning in towards the inside of the frame, it attracts attention to her gaze. In this case, she is looking down to the center of the photo, bringing awareness to the details of the photo (the flowers on her shirt, the rocks on the bench).

Leaning In- Link to Leaning In