Photography Week
- Tami
- Sep 29, 2020
- 5 min read
Tuesday 29th September 2020
I haven't taken the pictures yet, I only just convinced the model yesterday and I think I have everything ready now.
Corners - I don't really know why I am fascinated with corners but I have decided to explore different random things about them.
"In Russian culture, corners have always played an important role. Traditional Orthodox Russian homes had a special icon corner, called the “red corner”, because the word “red” (КРАСНЫЙ) also means beautiful in Russian. The Red Corner was a home altar, where the family stood in prayer each morning and each evening. The icon area was draped with a cloth with embroidered ornaments. A candle glowed. Upon entering the house, visitors first acknowledged the icons as representatives of God’s presence in the family.
Slavic people believed in mystical properties of corners, for example, they claimed that a place inside of a corner absorbs any energy. That’s why a usual punishment for a naughty child was to stand in a corner – the child calms down more quickly there.
Outstanding corners create, the so-called “energy vortex”, which can “blow away” the energy of a person. That’s why unmarried people should avoid sitting at the corner of a table otherwise they will never get married, according to Russian superstition. Others believe that this will only hold true for seven years, making it possible for younger children to sit at the table corner.
Some modern girls ignore this superstition, and say that if you sit at a corner, your husband will be “with a corner” (МУЖ БУДЕТ С УГЛОМ), which means that the husband will have his own place (house or apartment)."
"In feng shui, the eight corners of luck are related to the different directions and corners of your home. In all, there are eight types of aspirations – those things that make our life enjoyable. Aspirations such as love, health, happy families, opportunities and income all make up a happy, satisfying life. The aspirations are each tied to a different direction, such as north or southeast or west. These can be seen on the feng shui “bagua” or map. You should always energize all corners of your home to bring you the best and brightest opportunities and keep your life harmonized, balanced and feeling happy and fulfilled. That’s true even if you use personal feng shui and know that a certain direction is better for you than another."
These aren't exactly what I was looking for but they are interesting. Also, feng shui is a pseudoscientific traditional practice originating from ancient China, which claims to use energy forces to harmonise individuals with their surrounding environment.
Last week I forgot to talk about the contexts of both things. The 1950s were a decade marked by the post-World War II boom, the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement, however, most of these events hadn't occurred by the time Morning Sun was painted in 1952. The Great Depression (1929) and the Second World War (1939-45) definitely added to the people of America's feeling of loneliness but maybe they were already used to it. The quick innovations and also how quickly everything moved on and changed may have made people felt lonely and spinning out of control.
"The post–World War II economic expansion, also known as the golden age of capitalism and the post-war economic boom or simply the long boom, was a broad period of worldwide economic expansion beginning after World War II and ending with the 1973-1973 recession."
We have something in common with those times, unemployment rates, however, I don't think this is what makes/results in the loneliness these days but it may be a factor. With the large advances in technology making us feel close though we are far, the realisation that we are actually pretty alone and small (thanks to advances in space travel) may make some feel quite lonely especially with the pandemic going on as well as many other stressors.
"The official unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, its highest since the Great Depression, when it exceeded 25%. The actual figure today may be closer to, or even above, 20%. A “depression” label could be appropriate if the unemployment rate exceeds 20% for a long period of time. Economists think that’s unlikely."
"It is almost impossible to explain how much of an impact the war had on all aspects of life. You were not allowed to simply waltz into a store and buy as much sugar, butter or meat as you like. You also couldn’t fill up your gas tank whenever you wanted. Hemlines were made differently to save material. Sports balls were made of inferior rubber. Rubber soles were a luxury.
But after the war, everyone’s spirits focused once again on extravagance and pop culture. Movies were pumped out, fashion changed drastically and sports got all of their athletes back. Post WWII, cars started becoming very big and luxurious."
Now back to researchy things.
"Openness begins with the face. The person’s eyes are open wide, and focused on you; her eyebrows may be raised; her face is turned toward you. The person may be smiling, nodding, or otherwise signalling positive attitudes. The pupils of her eyes are large rather than small – but don’t do yourself or others injury by trying to see them close up.
Next, his torso is turned toward you rather than away. His hands are open, his palms are open and turned toward you, and his torso is exposed rather than protected by his hands or arms.
Finally, look at the person’s legs and feet. They can be open or crossed, and her feet can be pointed toward you or away from you. The former in both cases is open, the latter is more likely to be closed.
Overall, open people tend to move toward you, closed people away. The adjustments in space can be quite small, so observe closely.
What does open body language mean? Openness means just that, being open to the other person, or people. Receptiveness, alignment, and a positive attitude are all more likely when someone is open to you – and you’re open to them. Openness is a good thing – almost always."
"A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. But this is only part of an overall facial expression. You also use your eyes and your eyebrows. As a result, you can do a nasty smile, a genuine smile of caring, happiness or love.
However, I’m sure you’ll agree that a smile is most often an indication of something nice. This is because when you see a person smiling it usually makes you want to smile as well; it's contagious."
I am thinking of making a background (doing so would make the use of the corner obsolete), maybe of a party scene, I am not so sure.
Here is the plan:
Finish research
Go to DM room to create background
Take trial pictures
Make sure everything is right for the pictures
Before that makes sure you have everything
If I like the background for these scenes, edit together
I don't really know, finish?
Things to think about on Thursday and do next week -
Photography shoot
Create a contact sheet showing your images
Storyboard your ideas (think about dialogue)
The next stage is create a story based upon your photographic images
I need to check UCA for templates of these things.
What is a contact sheet?
"A contact print is a photographic image produced from film; sometimes from a film negative, and sometimes from a film positive or paper negative."
Storyboard definitions -
"A sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a film or television production."
These are some of the backgrounds I made.
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