Week # 1 - Power of the Image
Everybody has this thing where they need to look one way but they come out looking another way and that’s what people observe. You see someone on the street and essentially what you notice about them is the flaw…our whole guise is like giving a sign to the world to think of us in a certain way, but there’s a point between what you want people to know about you and what you can’t help people knowing about you. And that has to do with what I’ve always called the gap between intention and effect. -Diane Arbus, Revelations (p. 57)
Read
- Meridel LeSueur Women on the Breadlines & I was Marching
Assignment
Shoot a roll of film with a Holga. Each frame a head shot of a different person. Keep notes for each shot/person - how did you approach them? What was their reaction? Did your approach impact on the final image? Do not shoot people you know. Instead approach strangers or people you interact with on a daily basis but never speak to - who do you buy your coffee from? see on the subway platform every day? Have a contact sheet printed. Put it on the wall when you come to class.
Most professional labs process 120 roll film. One resource is
29 West 23rd Street
212.924.8100
$7/roll for develop & contact sheet
Monday - Friday 7a - midnight
Sat. & Sunday 9a - 6p
Turn around is a day
More Resources
Photographers:
Liz Lerman’s Critical Response is a guide to providing helpful critique for artists.
A short video on how to load film into the Holga
Holga tips:
- Don’t shoot with the lens cap on!
- The film advance doesn’t have an automatic stop so be sure to look carefully in the little red window to see when the next number is in the center.
- Look before you shoot - a quick check of the four corners of the frame and then your subject. Breathe. Don’t press that button until you see what you want.
