Final Project- The Book

My book project was a photo archive of a trip I took to Thailand with my family over the winter break.  Our trip was about three weeks and was spent traveling around all over, seeing everything that we could in the short time that we had.  My main idea for this book was to highlight the details of Thailand and show them through personal and up close photos.  I wanted this book to reflect my trip experience from my point of view, letting the viewer live vicariously through my photographs and give them the feeling that they themselves were there on that trip with me.

The Scaner

ICE 4: Color Profile

    

 

ICE 3: Dry and Wet scans

  

 

Project 1

Diptych- Chrystal

Chrystal’s starting image in her diptych shows her with her child sitting on a window seal.  The two are locked in a joyful gaze, smiling at each other as the child brushes her hand across her mothers face.  This tender moment is highlighted with the soft bright light coming from the sunshine out side giving the photo a nice glow.  This moment reminds me of many moments I shared with my mother as a child.  Going through photos of my younger years I noticed they were typically taken when I was wrapped up in my mother’s arms.

The second photo adds an interesting twist when shown with the first photo.  We see Chrystal on the same window with her child but both are nude.  We cannot see the expression on the child’s face but we can on Chrystal’s, which is that of “no expression” or possibly a look of someone who is in deep thought.  The lighting is not as bright and soft as the original and is more focused in one area.  On the floor we see that there is spilt liquid next to the child and a used spoon.  On the wall there is a mattress leaning up against it that is dirty and is possibly on its way out to be disposed of. 

What I can take away from these two photos when presented together is that the fist photo represents the joys of having a child by how it shows the two being so happy together.  With the second photo I feel that it shows the more real side of things, which is why the two subjects are nude.  It shows that it is not always easy, fun, or enjoyable, that sometimes things get messy and difficult to deal with.

Who Cares About Books

What I found very interesting about this reading was how the author Darius Himes explains the difference between digital and physical works.  He uses the example of photo books, explaining the difference between reading a book digitally like on a computer, and reading an actual book that you can hold in your hands.  We live in such a digital work these days and every thing is starting to become more “digital” and feels like having physical works has become somewhat rare.  I agree with Himes in regards to viewing a photo book digitally vs. physically in the sense that the connection with the work is on a completely other level.  Being able to touch and observe all of the detail and work that is brought together to make up the photograph that one is viewing is much more satisfying then looking at a digital copy on a screen.  A physical copy of work gives it so much more life than it would if it were viewed in a different medium.  Viewers want to be able to interact with the work they are viewing and looking through photo books allows for that connection to happen.