Hello Picture People

Hello Picture People! This is my first post! This is my first blog too! I’ve done this because I am being threatened happy to! This 1st post is just to talk about this 1st post. I will speak about other things in the other posts! If you would like to see what my blog is about, and what my posts are about,  then go click on the word ABOUT. I would just like to say thank you to Mr. Wanek my photo teacher for teaching me about photo’s and for helping me make this blog. Please feel free to comment on the other things. Leave comments to my posts!

Hello Picture People It's Me

Energy

This post is basically based on any thing cool that I see that is energetic! This includes power plants, electrical appliances, non electrical appliances, nature, science, and even a person who just got pissed off by one of their friends and now they have negative energy! Yay! After my brief discontinuation with my photography, I am once back on Foto 4 Phun! Please take a look at this first picture, would you? These fans will never fit in my house! Damn the heat!

This Week Is Transportation

This week is transportation! Anything about moving! It’s about getting from there to here, and getting from here to there! Whether it’s by foot, bike, motor bike, car, truck, boat, ship, plane, helicopter, blimp, tank, it’s all transit! If you live in the city, especially a big city, such as Chicago, you would probably realize that there’s transit everywhere. City’s are actually ment and built for cars in the first place! Although I make sure the pictures that I take this week are interesting, and I really try not to photo the every day boring image of a gray SUV or a black sedan simply driving down the street! I go to work by the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) everyday! If you try to take good, interesting photo’s of transportation, a good note is to be creative and squeeze in absolutely anything involving transit for a non-obvious and unpredictable effect. If you saw the post I wrote called Picture People Portraits in the Extras section, you would have seen the part where I photographed two old men on the bus. As I said in the post, I had taken about 10 different photo’s of them in the bus, but would include those other photo’s in another section. Well here is this collection!

Also, unfortunately the other photo’s of transit are in the slide show as well, so just look at the old guys in the slide show. Then read about the other photos below!

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The CTA Green Hornet, was probably still running when these two old guys where young. I really don’t understand why they removed all the Chicago street cars. You can actually see the old 1930’s street car rails, still on the roads, in the poor area’s of Chicago. The areas that no one cares about, fixing the roads, is something that wouldn’t happen. But I consider that a good thing, since the old rails are still there. Speaking of old transit, here’s a new picture, that looks old, I took on top of a roof top garden. If you saw the Old Aged post in the Extras Section, you would have read about how I was going to put this picture in the transit section. Well here it is!

Devon 6400 North

As I said before, it’s a good idea to photo a picture involving transportation, instead of showing transportation itself. I did both in this shot. The main subject is the sign, yet the biker and maybe the red sports car in the back, catches your eye! When I took this, I saw everything perfectly on target! The biker was in a great position and area! And yes, I only show the colors red and green in this photo, in order to catch your eye better!

This Week Is Food

This week is food! 1/3 of Americans are overweight! Food…is fun to eat, because of the way it tastes! The way it smells! The way it looks! The way it keeps you from dying! The way it does kill you! The way plants are genetically modified! The way meat plants work! The way food is fast! All good! Some photo’s I took where of food in the store, some where of groceries at home, some where of food in my fridge, some where food in other people’s fridges, some where of breakfast, some of lunch, some of dinner, some of dessert, some of the farms, some of fast food, some of slow food, some of carry out, some of Taiwanese, some of Indian, some of American, some of German, some of Sweeden…and much more! Now I shall show the photo’s I took of these fantastic consumers products! This is a photo of my 1900’s styled pantry, and the products it contains!

An Illegal Substance

This is 1800’s soda in my 1900’s pantry. The only person who drinks this unhealthy teeth rotting stuff is my mother! She drinks 4 bottles a day! This is a picture of how much she buys in one trip to the store! She buys 7 six packs every week! And puts it in our pantry! Although I admit of having a problem of eating TV dinners and not real food!

The Fridgidare

This is my freezer, and as you can see, there is a row of T.V. Dinners displayed as a row of red books! When I see this picture of the food I usually eat, I say to myself “Oh God! How pathetic!” You also see a few hundred boxes of ice cream or just ice, and a few large cheese pizzas! I like the color in this picture of my fridge, the brightness and the saturation of the boxes of food! Food just doesn’t taste good! It can look good too! Although I’m sure every one knows that! This next picture is Thai food from a Thai restaurant!

Manee Thai

I consider it very fortunate how I literally live next door to a pan Asian restaurant! It’s called Manee Thai or something! It burned to the ground once, but it has now been rebuilt again! This is a quick spontaneous picture of Thai food that my neighborhood crossing guard didn’t eat yet. There was a great opportunity! This week is food, that food in the picture hasn’t been eaten yet, it looks like a good picture, I had a camera, it all matches! Personally, I don’t really like Thai food, just American food, and a little Indian food. I liked how the texture of the food was, how I saw all the shines and how it was very saturated with color. I also liked how it was dark in the restaurant, the darkness felt like a good mood or scene, the table had a good effect with the window light reflecting off it. This picture kind of reminds me of an advertisement. This next picture is a picture of Ice Cream Pie! I didn’t take it however!

Ice Cream Pie

I got this picture off a post from another blog. You can find their blog on my blog roll. The person teaches you a way to make this delicious dessert, and I just have to simply say thank you to them! Combining pie and creamed ice together is brilliant! I just decided to add this photo into this section because it’s completely food related! I also like the way it was taken. Artistically speaking I like how the pie is focused and how the granite in the back has been blurred! I had just gone to a food garden! Would you like to see the pictures I took!

Food Farm

This is a photo I took, when I went on a field trip to the 1st restaurant in the country to have its own organic food farm on its roof. It’s the first farm, not garden. And it’s in Chicago too! It’s called UNCOMMON GROUND! I took many professional looking pictures of their plants! These are completely organic plants grown for the customers of the restaurant! The farmer actually said that they use dish soap to kill or get rid of the bugs eating the food! Soap instead of poison really works! THE SOAP IS ALSO FOOD SAFE. They grow many plants and even harvest 4 million bees! Here is a perfect picture of a pepper!

Perfect Pepper Picture

The lighting of the sun was completely wonderful for this shot, I also tried to silhouette some of the other peppers and leaves in the back! I succeeded! This pepper picture is my first try too! Would you like to see other garden gatherings? Here is a picture, of other fruits I took a picture of! I think this collection of plants are bell peppers.

Bell Peppers

The sun didn’t hate me today! It let me take this wonderful pepper shot! I liked how I could get everything in focus and how I could show the time line of the pepper, how the pepper’s color changes in order! To me these look like plump pumpkins! I also liked how the light hit the lumpy texture of these peppers. My old art teacher would always make my class and I draw and paint and photo bell peppers! For some strange reason! They and their peppers annoyed me! Well I finally like them! Because of this nice photo!

This Week Is Set Up

This week is Set Up! Try not to get this title confused with the term set up as a trick or a stick up for your money. A set up as setting a display up to take a picture of, is what this article is about. I usually take spontaneously unset photo’s, as do many other photographers, but it is my job to do the assignments I am told! This week is Set Up! I set things up, such as in this picture I took, of a disgusting dirty, graffiti tagged pay phone at the bus stop!

Missed Call

I set up a cigarette container, under the phone booth, and took the receiver off and left it hanging. The sun and shadow and gum all over the sidewalk was all there by itself but the main subject is the point of set up! I tried to give it a feeling, or a story with it. I tried to give it a bad feeling to it. Along the lines of “Someone knew something about someone else, and tried to call someone, but then that someone was found somewhere dead!” Like mafia for example. Maybe not! My opinion! Anyway here is another set up of the objects within my pocket.

Change the World

My pocket change and keys where set up on a red sheet of construction paper outside a buildings park! I intended to blur the coins in the front and sharpen the keys in the back. I placed the camera right in front of the set, no zoom, and took the shot. This next photo is of my house keys in the door knob!

Entry Accepted

I did just basically take a picture while opening the door to come home from work, but I just simply thought it looked interesting enough to photo! And I did set it up! Making sure that the two extra keys both faced away from each other at each side…It’s set up! I liked it…even though it’s not too interesting! No one ever said photo’s need to be interesting! Anyway that’s all I have to really say about setting photos up. Personally I prefer taking spontaneous photo’s and photo’s that weren’t set up! It shows authenticity and realism! I always think un set photo’s simply look better too. Just one problem with un set pictures, is that they may move away or leave sometimes!

Walker Evans

Walker Evans was a photographer from the 30’s and 40’s, and he mainly took photo’s for the FSA (Farmers Security Association) during the mid 30’s. He began photography in 1928, he took photo’s of the affects the Great Depression had on American Life during the mid 1930’s, and he’d taken many photo’s during the late 30’s and 40’s in Chicago. I really like the way he portrays his photos and how he takes them.

Coney Island 1928

EvansVIII 1935

Chicago Oriental Theater 1947

In Chicago Walker Evans took many unplanned pictures of people in the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) system. I don’t even think he asked their permission!

CTA 2 Creepy Men

CTA Tense Man

CTA Woman at 145th St. Lenox Ave.

CTA Mother Hiding Son From Camera

Logan Westom

I am now showing you other people’s work! His name is Logan Westom and he is an avid photographer. He does Photoshop techniques and edits RAW images. I really enjoy these photos below. I really like how there is  a lot of negative space. It helps you focus on the things in the corner, also showing off their silhouette and details! The negative space is also beautiful! The sky! The background! I really like his work. That’s why I am showing it on my site! Also (THIS IS A MESSAGE TO LOGAN WESTOM!) (DO NOT SUE ME, I AM NOT STEALING YOUR WORK I AM SHOWING IT TO OTHERS! IF YOU DON’T WANT THAT JUST ASK ME TO TAKE IT DOWN!)

Picture People Portraits

This post is all about random pedestrians and the portraits I take of them…mainly just strange ones, who have earned to have their photo taken. Some of these individuals I photographed had real character. Character that you may recognize from a TV show, a book, a funny relative, a story…etc. Really distinctive character, with traits that you thought didn’t exist! FOR EXAMPLE; I had missed the opportunity to take a photo of an old woman, sitting at a bus stop in front of a White Castle, wearing a blue flower dress, with an ugly jaw and nose that where closely together, hair like Albert Einstein, and every time she took an inhale of her cigarette she’d open her mouth very wide like she was screaming, tilt her head back, and inhale and exhale a lot of smoke! Not such a good image to take, yet an interesting one! I wish I could’ve taken it! I’ve many other examples! If only I had a camera! If you have read the article I made about the work of WALKER EVANS, in the other photographers section, you’ll notice that I am basically doing what he did in Chicago during the 1940’s! This photo below was of a man wearing a bra, STRANGE, running down a street. My boss Mr. Wanek dared someone to take a picture of him, so I took the dare, unfortunately, and got the photo! I don’t know why I did it, but now you can see an unscrupulous immoral individual!

I Don't Like This At All

Okay…I really don’t know why I took that! Would you like to view a better individual and his dog? I took this photo 2 hours ago, outside of my office building, the dog’s name’s Diesel!

Diesel Is Expensive

My job was to photo several pedestrians, who where willing to participate, by posing in front of a hanging table cloth on a rope as a back ground. My coworkers and I where only able to find one pedestrian to do the job. I don’t know what this man’s name was but he told me his dog’s name! Diesel! I enjoyed taking this photo because of the way the light and darkness portrays his face. I also like how there are many little spots and dabs of light all over his shirt from the leaves of the trees! It looks dramatic to me! This next photo below is of a co worker I took, who is also named Adam, at the Columbia university in Chicago.

Adam My Coworker

We wanted to capture drama in this image by using one powerful light from behind him. It gives intense highlights on his face and shirt. I purposely tried to show only one eye through his sun glasses while the other side of his face was consumed by the darkness. We also really tried to show the veins popping out of his hand. I think I took it well! He said that he wants to be on a magazine cover! This next picture I took is of me, in-front of an abandoned seeming small shop in a random area.

See Me, See Me

If you can see, I am wearing a White Sox hat, when I am a Cubs fan, and I have white shoulders, when I’m wearing a blue shirt! That’s because my coworker Adam accidentally created an illusion by standing behind me! He didn’t want to spoil my shot, or get out of the way, so he just hid. That mistake of his shoulders and hat on me, I consider a good thing! I also like the strange random reflections of the window, and how the sign behind me is backwards! I originally was just taking a self portrait, but thanks to my coworker, it looks more interesting! This next picture was taken on the bus on my way to work!

CTA

I took a collection of pictures of these two guys. As I said in the beginging of this article, I am taking pictures of people who are strange or who have some type of charcter in them. These two Old men did. So I secretly took photo’s of them. Although I think they where on to me! The old man, oh sorry, to the left, kept starring at me! This was the last photo of the collection I took before they left! They are both starring at me, right into the camera, in disgust! I saw character mostly in the other collection of photo’s. There personality and character showed through their hand gestures and the way they strangely dressed, and because of their accents. I saw the old man to the left again the next day on the bus. He kept staring at me! Maybe I should ask next time. I don’t think he’ll see this post anyway…If you read the article I wrote about Walker Evans in the Other Photographers Section, you can see a big similarity between the one photo he took of two creepy men on the CTA, and my photo!

Old Aged

This photo was a nice photo I took on another day working for $4 an hour. It was a spontaneous scene, and I had been surprised of how well it set it self up! It was taken under a red line stop, some random yet old looking shop, two of my coworkers had dressed that way that day, IT ALL MATCHED UP! I just walked-saw-took-took again-took again took again-left! It looked to me like a scene from Chicago during the mid 30’s or early 40’s. I really enjoy these old things. Things where nicer back then. People where moral then. Things back then where full of prosperity! Any way this photo is fun, and belongs in the category known as extra! This is an extra photo, one not part of any subject I am doing this week, but one that is taken for the sake of art, and the moment I saw it.

Chicago 1936

This next photo is of a small old brick home in one of the many neighborhoods I walk through. This neighborhood specifically being a historical one. If you noticed, there are many historical Chicago homes, yet many don’t look like it, because of much lack in design. Although, little hints in architecture can give away its age.

Cottage Care

This was a pretty little brick home, reminds me of a cottage. It was an outcast compared to all the tall, 2 story, brick buildings I saw surround it! I like the way the light beams from the sun hit the house, and how there is a lot of darkness and light. Not too much medium lit places in this photo. They’re either all black or all white! It looks dramatic! I also think the house next door really helps describe how big it is compared to the subject home. If you look, you see the houses length disappearing off into the light because it’s so big and long! This is too an old aged photo! The next photo I took was like perfect timing to me. I liked it! all I changed was the color!

Devon ave. 6400 North

If you read the This Week Is Food Post, I wrote that I was on top of the roof top garden restaurant, viewing all the foods. This is a shot I got from being on top of it! It looks old! Yes there is a modern red sports car in the back ground, but I thought this shot could look old! I like it! I took it right on time! I saw the biker heading in that direction, thought that would be a nice moment, and waited till he rode through that area and took the shot! Great! I only left the red and green with saturation, in order for an interesting effect. That’s all I did. I don’t alter photo’s I take! I meant to give the sign a green color in order to direct your eye towards it. Also towards the red bricks. This photo not only is an extra photo that belongs in the old aged section, but also belongs in the This Week Is Transportation Section! That’s why it’s in there as well!

This Week is Light

I have made a schedule…to have photo subjects every week! This week is the subject of light! Pretty much anything to do with having your pupils decrease in size. I have observed that the best way to take a photo involving light is around 6-10 am. That’s my opinion. That’s okay if you disagree. I just found the gold-ness/orangeness of the light of the morning to be better of the light in the afternoon…un-fortunatly light always changes its location within every two minutes! And runs away from me! Most photo’s I take are spontaneous and unplanned…because they look fine the way they are and I am also rushed by the light which hates me! A good or interesting thing to try is to photo an image of light comparison in the same shot! I took his photo focusing on the plates, when I really wanted you to see the natural white light vs. the un-natural golden light. I took this image around 7:14 am.

Bright Light vs. Old Gold

As you can see, there is a definite difference between theses lights. Luckily they don’t interfere with each other and are shown separately and clearly in this image I took. Another well image I took within the morning is this one. I took it around 6:43 am.

Paper Towel No More

This is an empty paper towel rack in my bathroom. It was taken using natural light from the window. The light was naturally white, strangely, but within ten minutes it changed to it’s usual average golden glow. The 3rd picture below is a picture I took of a frying pan on my stove still filled with cooking oil. I took it on the same day I took the 1st picture on this post. This was taken around 7:36 am.

Hell's Kitchen

I took a very old 1990’s fake X-mas candle with a red light bulb for a flame, and knelt it to the pan for this strange yet interesting effect! I like it! What does this spontaneous photo remind you of? It reminds me of a dark room, or evil fire in the kitchen! This light experiment is pure artificial light! So picture 1 is both, picture 2 is natural and picture 3 is artificial! There it is! 3 photo’s I took all involving natural vs un natural! Please comment! That was this week of light!