Dogz and Catz
This was basically my first "scheduled" shoot for open studio, showing that I was delving deeper into my theme. I was imagining these two cats and dog against a blank wall all sitting together. But my plan was foiled because Skye was the only one who was willing to sit still. Ruth was very curious, and Kitee didn't want to be near Skye. So I instead focused on taking pictures of them individually, trying to implement a sort of thoughtful mystery to each, and thought I could just matte them together.
I chose this picture of kitee because of the shadow on the wall behind her, and because she was looking the right way. Because I'm making a pairing, I want them to be looking at each other. So, I chose the photo of Skye because she was looking the right way as well, and because of her thoughtful expression and detailed face. I edited the picture of Skye to be more contrasting and interesting to look at, and added a dark vignette because it created a noticeable noir effect. I then copied the editing onto the picture of Kitee, and adjusted the exposures of each so that they had similar lighting.
I hadn't yet matted more than one photo together this year. I matted 3 photos together my freshman year and it was one of my favorite projects from the class. For this one I wanted to have a more noticeable similarity between the photos instead of just color balance. So I chose photos where it would sort of seem like my pets were looking at each other, facing off in a sort of staring contest. I like how hyperrealistic Skye looks, and how Kitee seems to be blending in like a spy. The irony comes in with their face-off, and the Noir comes in with the style they were edited with.
5-Step Critique
This piece is a pairing of two photos printed on glossy paper and matted close together. The picture on the left is of a dog looking pensive with a dark vignette and the picture on the right is a cat looking back at the dog while sitting on a table with a shadow cast on the wall behind it. A unique part of this photo is the balance that is created between the two images using shape. It can be seen when one looks at the unique shapes that each pet has, and how these form an interesting balance when they are next to each other. These features of the photo are being used to create a sort of dramatic irony, which is important because this seems to be the main goal of the piece. Another cool element of this piece is the perspective that each photo is taken at which adds to the deep values. The dog photo is taken up close at an angle, with the sun coming from the side. This highlights the rounding features of the dog's face, and this makes the photo much more interesting. The picture of the cat is taken further away from the front with the flash on, so that a shadow is cast on the wall behind it. This perspective works to emphasize the many different values of the cat's surroundings. It's important because the value of the surroundings give the photo its noir feeling. When one looks at this photo, there seems to be a previous story behind it. Maybe the dog and cat have a running feud, or maybe one is the criminal, and one is the detective. I like that this pairing doesn't have a story that is known for certain, but that the viewer can look at it and decide on the story. This piece also seems to have a definite purpose. Because the cat and dog are looking at each other, I think the artist wants the viewer to feel a sense of tension. The dark colors in the photos as well as the way they relate to each other creates a tense and dramatic irony. In this piece, I think the perspective and tones in each photo are very successful in conveying a feeling and story. Perhaps one thing that could be improved is that with more editing, it may be possible to make each photo even more dramatic.