JOHN LANGFORD

3.04.2017

Polaroid / Square Format Inspiration

Recently I've been fascinated in Polaroid imagery--the washed out colors, the square format, the happy mistakes, the experimentation, the ability to evoke a kind of nostalgia. My interest in this style of photography began with the Holga, which I use to shoot lo-fi square format photos. More recently, I've also been shooting Portra color film with the Yashica-D, which is also square format, but with a focus that actually works and manual controls. For me, the tones of this film plus the square format can create a Polaroid aesthetic. That said, the Yashica-D still yields more precise imagery, and has it's own uniqueness that is different than that of a Polaroid.

I am currently experimenting with photo transfers, and I plan on using the Yashica-D negatives to create a body of stone paper transfers. I am also working with a Daylab to create Polaroid image transfers and emulsion lifts. I also hope to shoot some straight Polaroids, as I have an old Polaroid camera I have yet to make use of. Recently I have been inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky's Polaroids, some which can be seen in my previous post. Below is some inspiration from some other photographers I found. I recommend checking out their portfolios, as they have some great work.

Hilary Clay / Holga

Jill Auville / Polaroid

Charles Guerin / Holga, cyanotype

Charles Guerin / cyanotype

Andrew Pershin

2.28.2017

Andrei Tarkovsky's Polaroids

All photographs are from Andrei Tarkovsky's book Instant Light.

1.04.2017

Food Photography Inspiration

Eva Kosmas Flores

Editorial food photography is about creating appetizing, well composed photographs. These photos are often found in cookbooks and food blogs. While this photo has nice ambient light from the window and good composition, it also makes me want to eat a pomegranate, and for that it is editorial.

Local Milk

Fine art food photography is about creating aesthetically pleasing photographs. Although these photographs can be appetizing, that is not the objective. The photograph above has beautiful lighting, tones, and composition. While the egg surrounded by flour looks good, it is not particularly appetizing. Also, this photo is not meant to show a step or final product of a recipe. But the photograph itself is captivating, and for that it is fine art.

Adinda

Most food photography has either a dark or light theme. In the photo above, the black background against the green elements is quite effective.

11.28.2016

Andy Warhol

Ethel Scull 36 Times

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was an American artist who is well known for his experimental pop art. He used a number of mediums, such as drawing, photography, painting, film and silk screening. His work was often seen as controversial, as it explored advertising, politics, and sexuality.

Above is Warhol's portrait series of Ethel Scull. He took Ethel to a photo booth to take the originally black and white photographs. Warhol used acrylic and silkscreen on canvas to create the final piece. This piece explores grids and color.

11.04.2016

Self Portrait: Video Essay

This video shows my progression of learning kendama, a traditional Japanese toy. Learning kendama is fun, requires persistence, and is at times distracting. I have been playing kendama for four years, and it has become part of my everyday life.

Music by ODESZA

Self Portrait: Star Book

For the first part of the self portrait project, I created a starbook containing images that represent who I am. These are photos of my family, friends, pets, favorite food, and most meaningful places.

Bookmaking Inspiration

Unknown

Karen Hanmer
[photo source, artist site]

Stef Mitchell

Unknown

Catherine Nash

Self Portrait Inspiration

11.02.2016

Deep South

Found Film

The objective of this project was to make something new from old film that was left behind from past students. I used the Chromoskedasic process on the first three prints. The last two photos were printed from film that I bathed in various household cleaning solutions. This distressed the film, giving it a grungy look.

9.06.2016

Japanese Stab Binding Inspiration

Riitta Ikonen

Although a simple patter, I like the contrast between the white book and the bright pink string. The text is also effective.

Erin Zamrzla

Interesting geometric patterns, and great text / graphics on the covers.

Becca Hirsbrunner

I love this arrow pattern.

Other Inspiration:

Ai Sasaki

An accordion book inside a wooden matchbox type box.

6.04.2016

Final Portfolio

This portfolio includes my best work from both semesters of photography 3-4, as well as some from photography 1-2.

My family and I have always done a great deal of biking, camping, skiing, windsurfing, and other outdoor activities. I have always been fascinated by the natural world. In the first grade I was a rock enthusiast. I also drew a lot of cacti. In the fourth grade I was an avid gardener. I knew the name of almost every variety of ivy. In middle school I started creating videos, which provided an interesting way to capture and preserve my interests as well as the people and things around me. I am now deeply fascinated in astronomy. All of these things have in some way influenced my work.

This semester, specifically, I continued to produce more analog work as well as some digital. I also started shooting with a holga, which allowed for abstract, distorted and multiple exposure prints. As I became more comfortable with analog, I began to integrate new and old photographic techniques; I made cyanotypes of digital photos by using transparencies, and I scanned in and digitally manipulated color film. Towards the end of the semester, I also dabbled in the art of book making.

5.15.2016

Urban Landscape and Street Photography Inspiration

Street Photography

Damian Chrobak

Damian Chrobak is a contemporary Polish photographer. Chrobak studied at the Academy of Warsaw, and later became the founder of Un-Posed street photography collective. He moved to London in 2004, and has since then been capturing the city's street life. His work has been published in numerous countries, and he has also shot book and album covers. Chrobak's work reveals the hidden meaning often found in everyday moments. His work is humorous, surprising and clever.

Richard Koci Hernandez

Richard Koci Hernandez is a contemporary award wining video and multimedia producer, and worked as a photojournalist at the San Jose Mercury for 15 years. His worked has appeared in Time, Wired, The New York Times, a National Geographic book and international magazines. In 2008, Hernandez received a national Emmy award, in addition to the James K. Batten Knight Ridder Excellence Award in 2003, and two Pultizer Prize nominations. Hernandez is a San Francisco Sate University journalism graduate. He later taught workshops at multiple universities and associations. Hernandez is now an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley. His work is both color and black and white, and is often textured and layered.

Marcin Plonka

Marcin Plonka is a contemporary documentary photographer and graphic designer based out of London. He took up photography as a teenager, but stopped photographing for some time to study graphic design at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Wroclaw. He picked up photography again in 2010 and has since then been working on personal projects. His prints are high in contrast, dark, and provide insight into the lives of others.

Urban Landscape