Renaissance

For this project I had to photoshop a face into one of the famous paintings that the teacher listed. I chose a painting by Carvaggio named "The Head Of Medusa".

                                                    The Head Of Medusa by Carvaggio

To appreciate and recognize Caravaggio’s Medusa painting, it is important to know its background. A gorgon is a terrifying female creature in Greek mythology. Medusa was a gorgon with a head full of serpents for hair. She was so disgusting that who ever took a glimps at her turned to stone. The Greek hero Perseus was handed a shield by the goddess Athena, so that he could bypass looking at her, as he chopped off her head.

Medusa in Caravaggio’s painting is presenting her moment of recognizing who she really is. Realizing that her head and body were not together anymore and that she was still breathing, Caravaggio sees the fear and terror in her eyes. Medusa gives amazing example of Caravaggio’s target on facial expressions in his paintings.  

Michelangelo Merisi da Carvaggio (1571-1610) is from Milan, Italy. He was a part of the Baroque art movement. Carvaggio was asked to paint Medusa as a gift for the Grand Duke of Tuscany, to be put in the Medici collection in Florence. Italian Baroque was a lot similar to Italian Renaissance, but the color palette was darker, deeper, and religion themes were more favoured. 

Caravaggio was known for his natural and realistic paintings. He used objects/people who precisely resonated to human emotions. His many light to dark contrasts made the paintings come alive, as if they were almost looking in the past. Medusa was a very unique buyer for Caravaggio, because it prepared him to compete with Leonardo da Vinci, by entering his painting to be seen by the Medici family, as da Vinci did in advance to him.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa_(Caravaggio)

http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/761448/a-new-caravaggio-joins-the-canon-as-x-ray-investigation

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/jan/25/art

                                         I  photoshopped Griffin Brackett into Medusa's face.

Painting With Light

 Camera Used-Canon EOS20D
Aperature- 10
Shutter Speed- Timer for 15 seconds.
Lens Used- Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS

Earlier that week someone came up to me and said "wow, you are so rad!" I thought awesome, but what does that mean? I looked it up and it isn't actually a word; it is short for "radical"but it is suppost to be used as another word for "cool" or "hip". The urban dictionary definiton is "An abbreviation of 'radical'--a term made popular by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Still primarily used by people on the West Coast who find words like 'cool', 'awesome', and 'tight' to be tired and overused; 'rad' is generally considered to be a much higher praise than the aforementioned superlatives. Also used as a general expression of awe." 

When I tried thinking of what I wanted to for painting with light, nothing came to mind. I then remembered earlier that week someone said "wow, you are so rad!" I thought what an interesting word! I then decided to write the word in capital letters. 

Studio Lighting (Mixed Lighting)

 Camera Used-Canon EOS20D
Aperature- 25
Shutter Speed- 800
Lens Used- Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS

I was aiming to show mixed lighting. I brought Theresa into one of the hallways near the gym. I asked her to stand next to one of the door windows so the natural light could come in on her face using 2 on 1 lighting. The white effect on the right side of her face shows her natural glow and the forced light on the left side of her face is high lighting her hair as well as the most beautiful parts of her face.

I was inspired by the weather that day. It was dark and dreary and I thought my pictures were going to give off that effect; but right when I started to take pictures the sun came out and gave a beautiful glow to her face! I was so happy and inspired by the randomness of the moment it helped me take the pictures more effectively. 

The natural light shined on the right side of her face and the studio light is shining on the left side of her face and hair.

Studio Lighting (Experimenting With Light)

 Camera Used-Canon EOS20D
Aperature- 20
Shutter Speed- 800
Lens Used- Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS

I wanted to show my experimenting with light in this photograph. At this point of this unit I was stressing out because I thought I wasn't going to have time to take all my pictures! As I walked into the studio lighting room Alexa was sitting down and not really paying attention to anyone else and she looked really great! I then set up my camera on the tripod and moved the light to the right side of her body facing at her and another light to the left of her pointing up at her face. She new I was setting up for to take my pictures but she didn't know I took this. She of course still looks beautiful! 

Studio Lighting (Perfect Lighting)

 Camera Used-Canon EOS20D
Aperature- 20
Shutter Speed- 800
Lens Used- Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS

I was getting very frustrated becuase I tried photographing guys, and they just wouldn't listen and they wouldn't stop moving! I asked Callie and of course she is very patient and let me take pictures of her. We just started talking and I caught her natural smile. It is not a forced smile and that's what I was aiming for.

My goal was to do perfect lighting. I put an umbrella light on the right of her, pointing at her face. I also placed one to the left of her shining half at the wall and half at her. I pointed the light at the wall so there were no obvious shadows.

Name Banner

Studio Lighting (2 on 1)

Camera Used- Canon EOS20D
Aperature- 15
Shutter Speed- 800
Lens Used- Canon Zoom Lens EF-S 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 IS

Andrew was in a bad mood that day. I asked him to sit down becuase I was desperate for pictures. I then noticed how sad/tired he looked. After I noticed his sadness it was my goal to make him smile for me! I brought Josh in the room becuase he usually makes Andrew smile. Josh of course cracked a joke and andrew naturally smiled! I didn't think I was going to get any good pictures that day, but I eventually did. Thank god for humour!

I placed two lights to the right of him one shining half at the wall half at his face and another shining from below straight at the right side of his face. On the left side I put one umbrella light on so the lighting wasn't too dark on one side of his face. It turned into 2 on 1 lighting which I was trying to do in the first place!