A DAY AS A NIKON COMIC

I chose to do my Comic Life on my Digital SLR because it is one of the most important items of mine. The irony in this comic is that the camera thinks it owns me instead of me owning it. So it's pretty much like me and my camera 'switching bodies.' I'm not sure what I would be without my camera and my camera thinks the same thing about me.

PHOTOGRAPHER RESEARCH PROJECT

SURREAL PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIUSEPPE MASTROMATTEO

Giuseppe Mastromatteo is an Italian surreal photographer and creative director. He was born in Italy on August 6th, 1970 and is currently living and working in New York. Mastromatteos graduated from Accademia di Comunicazione di Milano (located in Milan, Italy) with a degree in art direction. He has worked with many established advertising agencies and collaborated with The Triennale Museum of Milan. 

His awards include: Young Lion 1999 & 2000; 2 Grand Prix ADCI; 11 Gold, 6 silver, 7 bronze ADCI; 7 Shortlist Cannes Lions; New York Film Festival; 3 Bronze Epica Awards.

His work has been displayed at many art fairs and galleries, all including:

2012

INDEPENSENSE 2nd, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - Solo Exhibitions - New York
RED DOT MIAMI, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - Miami
ART PALM BEACH, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - West Palm Beach, Florida USA
SCOPE Art Fair, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - New York
AFF Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - New York
ART HAMPTON Bridgehampton, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - New York
MIA FAIR, Fabbrica Eos - Milan
ART PARIS Art Fair, Fabbrica Eos - Paris
INDEPENSENSE, Fabbrica Eos - Solo Exhibitions - Milan
INDEPENSENSE, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - Solo Exhibitions - New York

2011

ART GREENWICH New York, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - New York
RED DOT MIAMI, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - Miami
CUTLOG, Fabbrica Eos - Paris
SEAFAIR NEW YORK, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - New York
ART HAMPTONS Bridgehampton, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - New York
AFF, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery - New York
INDEPENSENSE, Galerie 208 - Paris
“Il dubbio della bellezza - Fotografie dalla collezione Gibelli” Denis Curti, Palazzo Te Fruttiere - Mantua
Road to Contemporary Art, Fabbrica Eos - Rome
AAM, Fabbrica Eos - Milan
AFF, Fabbrica Eos - Milan
TEATRO SELVE, Group Exhibitions - Vigone (Turin)

2010

ARTVERONA, Fabbrica Eos - Verona
GOOD LUCK LUCK LOOK, San Salvatore Gallery - Solo Exhibitions - Modena
“TERZO RINASCIMENTO”, Acaos Galleria Civica di Arte Moderna - Aci Castello (CT)
HIDENTITIES, MC2 Gallery, Group Exhibitions - Milan
ANNI 00, Associazione Culturale Famiglia Margini - Milan
TERZO RINASCIMENTO, Galleria Nazionale delle Marche - Palazzo Ducale - Urbino
REMAKE, Contemporaneamente Gallery, Group Exhibitions - Parma
ROAD TO CONTEMPORARY ART, Group Exhibitions - Rome

2009

PARIS PHOTO, Forma Foto Museum and Contrasto - Paris
INDEPENSENSE, Lattuada Studio / II Diaframma - Milan
PHOTONOEMA, Fotografia del Pensiero - Milan
STEP, Fabbrica Eos - Milan
CONTEMPORARY LIFE, IF Art Gallery - Island of Elba
ARTVERONA, Fabbrica Eos - Verona
INDEPENSENSE, Contemporanea(mente - Parma
SWINGART, Le Rovedine and Fabbrica Eos - Milan
MIART, Fabbrica Eos - Milan
INDEPENSENSE, Fabbrica Eos - Solo Exhibitions - Milan

2008

MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT, Group Exhibitions - Miami
VISIONNAIRE DESIGN GALLERY, Fabbrica Eos - Group Exhibitions - Milan
ARTVERONA, Fabbrica Eos - Verona
MIART, Fabbrica Eos - Milan

2007

ART IN COCKTAIL, Jamaica - Fabbrica Eos - Milan
MUSEO CASORIA, Permanent Collection - Naples
ARTVERONA, Fabbrica Eos - Verona
JAMAICA, Fabbrica Eos - Solo Exhibitions - Milan
MIART, Fabbrica Eos - Milan
“14 Metri Quadri”, Fabbrica Eos - Solo Exhibitions - Milan / Crema

2006

“14 Metri Quadri”, Fabbrica Eos - Solo Exhibitions - Milan

Mastromatteo has recently released a new series of photographs entitled "Indepensense."  He got his inspiration from Margritte and Man Ray's images.Through his work he is trying to achieve repulsion and a sensation of fascination at the same time. His photo's are very poetic and you can tell that every image has a story or point to it. In my opinion they come off as interesting but at the same time disturbing in the way he represents the surreal portraits. The backdrop is white and simple which lets us focus on the absurd characters. The characters all have a blank expression leaving us curious and uncomfortable. They have hands with mouths or eyes or ears placed on them; the faces are ripped in half still with no expression; the human body is distorted without involving blood and surgical tools. This talented photographer digitally manipulates his images using editing programs such as photoshop. 

I chose this photographer because it is very different from what I normally see and what kind of photography I normally take. It's interesting and as I was searching for photographers to research I've realized there are so many different kinds of photography that I never even knew of, inluding Mastromatteo's style. Here are some of his surreal portrait photos: 

I posted this image first because it is my favourite piece of his. It comes off as fashion photography to me with a bit of a twist. This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2009 series called "Indepensense."

I often wonder what the photographer was thinking while taking and editing their photos; in this one especially. This woman only has one head and her arms are combined together. You can tell that her image on our left is the correct one by the direction her head and palms are pointing. At first I thought Mastromatteo had taken this one image and flipped it to make the woman on the right but as you can see in the photo the image on our right has her breasts touching her thighs while the image on the left does not. I would love to watch Mastromatteo in the process of editing his photos! This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2012 series called "Indepensense." 

This image disturbs me because of its allusion. The woman's head is as if it is getting split in half. Her blank expression makes her look scared. It reminds me of a horror movie, the woman is getting punished for something she wasn't supposed to do. This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2009 series called "Indepensense."

"Untitled"

This reminds me of a love story except for the distracting fact that there is ears growing out of their hands. In this photo I can see how Mastromatteo is trying to oppose sensation of fascination in his photo's while also having a repulsive factor. This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2009 series called "Indepensense."

I posted these three separate photos taken by Mastromatteo together because once I saw them I instantly thought of "Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil." I could be wrong because it didn't show through any of the research I found that his work had anything to do with this myth but I believe it may. The three wise monkeys normally cover their ears, eyes, and mouth but in these images everything is covered except for that. In my understanding of these photos Masrtomatteo's idea may be the complete opposite, "Hear Evil, See Evil, Speak Evil." His photography definitely keeps me thinking. This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2010 series called "Indepensense."

This image makes me curious. I wonder if the faces shown on the mask are actually what the models look like. This potentially may be making a point about our society nowadays. This is only my opinion but it seems as if he is trying to say that the human race (females & males) hide who they are, behind imaginary masks. We are all so brainwashed by society that we can't focus on what is real. This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2008 series called "Indepensense."  

I'm not too sure what Mastromatteo may be trying to say with this photo but I wanted to add this to show that he doesn't only focus on the face. This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2009 series called "Indepensense."

This is another one of Mastromatteo's newer photos. In his 2012 series his only models are this Asian woman, the African woman in the second picture posted and a Caucasian male. I'm curious as to why he only chose three specific models and races. This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2012 series called "Indepensense." 

"T" Museo Triennale Bovisa

I chose this image because it is one of Mastromatteo's older photos. As you can see the red blocks coming out of each ear and her mouth form the letter "T," just like the title of this photograph. I wonder why he chose the letter T out of all the other possibilities in the alphabet. Maybe he named it after seeing that the blocks formed a T or maybe there is a deeper meaning to it. This is from Giuseppe Mastromatteo's 2006 series that he likes to call "Pre-Indepensense." 

Here is Giuseppe Mastromatteo's website if you are interested in seeing the rest of his work:

http://www.giuseppemastromatteo.com/art-gindepensense2012.html

BLACK & WHITE (REFLECTION)

You Are Beautiful by Brianna Johnson

Out of all my black and white reflection pictures for this project this one is my all time favourite. I find it inspiring and as a young growing child you need to be reminded that you are beautiful. Everyone is beautiful in their own way even though some may not see it but through this reflection image you can clearly see it.

Make Your Own Happiness by Brianna Johnson

This image makes me smile every time because of the memory behind it. When I was taking this photo she had a serious face at first but then as I was about to take it she made a silly face in the mirror and started laughing at herself. A true smile is always the best best smile. 

Tyra In Wonderland by Brianna Johnson

I took a mirror out to the forest by my house to take this whimsical image. Not knowing that this mirror was $900.00, once I got back in the house with it my dad was freaking out at me. The things photographers will do for certain image. This photo gives me a very fairy tale feeling almost reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. I'm very proud of this picture I took!

Through My Eyes by Brianna Johnson

My theme for this project is clearly my beautiful little sister Tyra. In this image it shows the reflection in her big brown eyes. You can really find 'reflection' in many things you wouldn't even think of. In her eye you can see the whitest whites and blackest blacks, it's full of contrast.

Upside Down by Brianna Johnson

I named this image upside down because the flowers are tossed out of the vase when normally they would be placed inside the vase. I wanted to take them out to use it for my black and white reflection project but I was a bit unsure if this was reflection because it magnifies her face.

Mirror Bubbles by Brianna Johnson

The reflection of the sun shows in the playful, soapy bubbles. While my sister plays in the sun by blowing bubbles with her friends, I play in the sun by snapping photos of them. I find this photo unique because it shows more ideas of what reflection could be, besides a mirror.

Secret by Brianna Johnson

This photo makes my nine year old sister look more grown up than she really is I find. It reminds me of an olden days photo. To me it has a mysterious feel to it. It looks as if she knows a dark secret she wants to tell but can't.

Picture Perfect by Brianna Johnson

To be happy and beautiful in your own skin is an amazing trait. This shows that no matter who you are, how you look, what nationality you are, what size you are, how old you are, you will always be perfect in your own way. To be happy and positive is another amazing trait. My image of Tyra is not only an image for my reflection project but it is an image that tells a story; it's art. Tyra is on our balcony doing a photo shoot for me and she caught eyes with her reflection in the glass door.

NATIONAL BIKE MONTH

Follow The Leader by Brianna Johnson

This is a picture I took of my younger brother and his three friends. My brother is the leader in this photo. He loves to ride his bike so I knew he would be perfect for this project. I originally had their full body in the photo but while I was playing around with the editing process I wanted to see what it would look like if I cropped their top half out of the image and I liked it way better. It lets yo focus on each colour, form, and size of the bike instead of the kid who's riding it.

Mint Rider by Brianna Johnson

My brother and his best friend were riding outside on this beautiful day so I just had to chase after them asking if I could take pictures of them for my project. This picture reminds me of a photo that could be used in an add for bicycles. I love all the colours displayed because they're all so vibrant and even the boys' poses give it such a cool biking feel to it.

Me & My Bike by Brianna Johnson

My little brother's bike is kind of like me and my camera. We both are in our own happiness when we use it and it gets us away from the world. I love this photo because it clearly represents that. The empty road, the glistening sun, the tall trees, the dark shadows, and Kaleb plus his bike. It's when he is the most independent and happy little boy.

DEPTH OF FIELD

CLOSE-UPS

Rolls by Brianna Johnson

I'm not exactly what inspired me to take this photo but it sure gives me a laugh. This is my little brothers stomach, in this case his "rolls." He was sitting on the couch as I approached him asking if I could take a picture of his stomach. I like this close-up because you can see everything from the creases in his skin to the tear in his jeans.

Little Brown Bug by Brianna Johnson

I didn't even realize there was a little brown bug on this beautiful flower until I uploaded it on to my computer. I thought it was super cute once I noticed it. I love the colours and detail in this photo and knew it would be perfect for my second close-up photo.

BOKEH

Maya Lucertini by Brianna Johnson

Meet my best friend. This is Maya Lucertini, we've been close ever since kindergarten. She's an inspired model and photographer. On the other hand I'm an inspired actress and photographer. WE have a lot in common especially the fact that we are both very weird, I mean... unique. She needed photos for her modeling portfolio so she asked me to take them and as I was looking through them all I found the perfect bokeh portrait.

Kiwi by Brianna Johnson

My friend's pet Kiwi is the sweetest bird I have ever met. Too sweet I had to snap a picture! My friend extended her arm out so that I could focus on the bird. You can still see her in the back ground but she is all blurry, this technique is called bokeh.

OUT OF FOCUS FOREGROUND

Doggy Head Shots by Brianna Johnson

This is my stinky dog Cooper. I took him to the park today so I could take this out of focus foreground picture. It was an adventure for him because he doesn't get out too much. It took a few shots for him to actually look at my camera because as you can see to his left he was a little bit distracted. Another dog was playing at the field while he was forced to "stay." Poor Cooper, at least I got my needed images!

HDR PHOTOGRAPHY

HDR photography stands for high dynamic range. This type of photography is a technique used to create an intense image. To do this you have to take shots of the same image but they each have to have different exposure levels and puzzle them all together to make one high dynamic ranged image. The magic of what editing can do is simply amazing.

I found this photo quite intriguing because it doesn't look 

that realistic. It has a dark mood because of the grey clouds, the wind, and the dirty looking dog. It looks as if he is lost; walking on a dead road. It's a very sharp image and has a lot of detail. 

This high dynamic image caught my eye because of how detailed it is. You can see every single crease in this mans skin. You can tell how coarse his hair is. You can see every pore on his aging nose.  You can see every stitch on his plaid shirt. It looks as if he has a story to tell but he's hiding it away. This image has a very mysterious mood to it; how he's covering one eye and staring right at you with the other. It gives me the chills.

I almost feel as if I am sitting on the bench and staring at the beautiful scenery in this photo. How the light is seeping through the darker clouds; how the still water is sitting there peacefully; how the golden sand surrounds the empty bench; how I wish I could be there. This image makes me feel very welcoming. The contrast is beautiful and as most high dynamic ranged images it is very detailed. The bench seems as if it is awaiting a soul to enjoy this gorgeous scenery with it. One picture can send many powerful messages and emotions without any words at all.

photography/http://photo.tutsplus.com/tutorials/hdr/80-examples-of-stunning-hdr-photography/

Roses are red violets are blue this is my HDR photo I took for you. I had received this lovely bouquet of red and white roses from a lovely admirer. I focused on one rose that was in the center of the bouquet; still taking note of the Law of Thirds though. After I turned my photo into a high dynamic ranged image I edited it so that the intensity was clearly represented on that one red rose.

~To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.~

JUSTIN QUINNELL

Cocktail by Justin Quinnell

I find this photograph by Justin Quinnell very unique. Turning yourself into a pinhole camera is definitely something one would not think of but he managed to do it. I find this picture the most intriguing out of all his 'smiley cam' photos. It seems as if this picture is coming from the straws point of view instead of a humans view. I like and dislike Justin Quinnell's use of his 'smiley cam' because it is very disturbing but it's something you don't see every day which makes his talent stand out.






Beach by Justin Quinnell

This black and white photograph again is another very odd piece by Justin Quinnell. Not only are his 'smiley cam' photographs interesting but his black and white pinhole pictures are as well. He has a very different style to his photography. I love all the techniques he uses to make his pictures fascinating.










St Marks Square, Venice by Justin Quinnell

I absolutely love this picture. Justin Quinnell has made a very ancient looking photo have a modern edge. This is one of my favourite photos created by him because of twist to it. It's an image that gets you thinking about what was going through his head during this photo and what it symbolizes.