**I understand that this was to be done ‘double-spaced’, but I could not find a way to format this to do double-spacing.  And as I talked with you about in class, I have had no college classes to learn how to write a report of any kind, so I have done my best to write this.  Doing it about a photographer that I truly enjoy his work and inspires me so much, made it easier for me to write, I think.**

I enjoyed doing research on Landscape photographers and quickly found a definite favorite to write about.  I am writing this on the photographer / artist, Ted Gore. www.tedgorecreative.com

Ted Gore – Facebook

Some information gathered from a “photographer of the month” interview ‘Aperture Acadamy’ – 2016

 

 

 

 

Ted Gore, winner of ‘USA Landscape Photographer of the year – 2015’, started his career in Landscape photography while he was in college through his obsession for photography and creativity, although he was not studying anything creative (chemical engineering).  He, and his roommates went backpacking on the Appalachian trail, which he ended up hiking in its entirety in 2003. During his college years he also spent several summers doing internships in the bay area. Gore said “My career in motion graphics really gave me a boost with my abilities with landscape photography because when I picked it up, I already knew all of the software I needed for the processing side of things, and I was also knowledgeable with graphic design and skills pertaining to composition and color, two very important aspects of graphic design. I found those translated over to landscape photography in a very helpful way.”

When I first came across some of the work of Ted Gore I was amazed in the use of colors and the surreal look of many of his photos.  What I saw was larger than life.  Then I did some research on how he gets his images and the processing he does to make them into such dynamic artwork.

Gore wrote a entry in his blog titled ‘Color theory and Landscape Photography‘, which I found extremely informative and interesting.  He started the blog by saying, “Color. When it comes to landscape photography, color has the power to both take a good image to great, or take that same image, and absolutely ruin it. Sometimes it is a very thin line to balance on, but absolute ruin can be avoided with a little knowledge of color theory.” While reading this blog / article, I learned how he looks at color and how colors can work well together, or not.  How complete opposite colors on the spectrum can be very complimentary in photography, for example, blue’s and oranges and green’s and pinks.  The blog entry was very informative and helped me to look at color differently when it comes to artwork in photography.

Gore lives in Las Angeles, California, but travels worldwide to get his images.  Gore says that there is not much locally for him to photograph, other than a few prime coastal spots.  He does like that he has pretty quick access to the Eastern Sierra, which offers many photography opportunities within 3.5 hours of his home.

He was speaking about how he does his processing of photos, “I float around in some kind of grey middle ground when it comes to all of that. I certainly don’t let the camera define what it is I capture.”  “Sometimes I do minimal possessing, sometimes I do a lot.” But he also states that he does not change a scene or the shapes and such.  He has been criticized about his work at times.  People saying that is work is not “photography”.

Speaking of his compositions and what he looks for when he frames his photos, he stated  “Compositions are like puzzles to me. Ultimately what I gravitate towards is finding interesting ways to use the elements around me in a foreground, to present the subject in a way that glorifies it, immerses the viewer into the scene with the use of visual force, and also shows it’s relationship with it’s surroundings or the atmosphere.”

The work of Ted Gore gets very deep into so much that would take the length of a book for me to report about, but I can say that Ted Gore is definitely my favorite Landscape photographer.  I will be taking his course that he offers, to learn how to create similar images as he does.  Through how he works with looking for the images to capture, and how he edits his images.  I did reach out to Ted through facebook, hoping to be able to talk with him a little bit and get more personal information from him for this paper, but I did not hear back from him within the time that I needed to get this paper written.  I still hope to talk with him in the future.

What I personally see in his work, Is such awe and beauty.  Very majestic.  The colors and shapes just draw me in.  I literally said to myself when I was first viewing some of his work, “Wow, that’s amazing.”  I immediately decided that I wanted to learn how to do what he does.  Then I later found that he shares his “secrets” in how he does his photos and see’s color in nature.  So, I will be learning a lot from Ted, through his lessons and writings.

Years ago, I had a love for scenic photography.  But I became bored with it, since I felt that my scenic shots were all seeming too much alike, and not anything special about them.  Doing this research and write-up after finding the work of Ted Gore has truly inspired me to get into landscape photography once again, with a desire that I haven’t had in the past.

In the future, when I talk with people about landscape photography, I will definitely be recommending to people that they check out the work of Ted Gore.

 

This photo documents what looks like a rodeo event.  It is hard to tell if it is an actual rodeo taking place, because the background does not show what would normally be seen in a actual rodeo arena, since there is nothing in the background like a fence or people in stands or anything.

I think this is a great stop-motion photograph.  I have done similar photographs in the past, so I know how difficult this shot was to capture.  With everything moving so fast, it takes a very fast shutter speed to capture it with no blur whatsoever (shutter speed of probably around 3000th of a second).  I really like the detail it shows on the ground, and the perfectly blue sky in the background.  The haze of what looks like dust, separating the foreground from the sky, really adds a lot to the photo.  The lighting is amazing.  This to me is pretty close to being a perfect stop-motion photograph.

This is a photo with Mt St Helens in the foreground, and Mt Rainier in the background, taken in 2004.  I think this is an amazing photograph.  It looks like it was taken from a airplane or a helicopter and was timed just right to get the two mountains to line up for the perfect framing for the photograph.

To me, this brings thoughts of what once caused extreme devastation, and brings beauty into it.  The way the volcano’s are lined up to look as if they are one, is really amazing.  The lighting seems to be just perfect.  The detail shown in Mt St Helens is really sharp and breathtaking.  Mt Rainier is perfectly shot to make it look like it belongs in the picture to make it all look like one full mountain.

Dearl Poore

11/17/18

J134 – F18 – Photojournalism

Extra Credit – Faculty Art Exhibit – Reception

On October 11^th, 2018, I attended the Faculty Art Exhibit Reception. It was really amazing to be able to talk with a couple of the artists of work that I really enjoyed.

I was able to talk with Kathleen Caprario about a piece of her artwork that she had in the exhibit. It is titled ‘bioDIVERSITY: Western Legacy” (see photo). It is a very large piece of multi-media artwork measuring 42” x 166”. I asked Kathleen about the piece. Her inspiration and what was put into making this amazing piece of art. A very interesting piece and a very interesting lady to talk with. She is very passionate about her work. I also recognized a piece of her work the following week at one of the places on the Springfield First Friday Art Walk. She has a very unique style. Then I saw her there at that art exhibit and said hi to her.

My favorite piece that was at the Faculty Exhibit, was a piece by Adam Grosowsky (see photo). A oil painting, on canvas titled ‘Keina with blinds’. I was very happy to be able to meet Adam. Such a talented artist. I really ‘felt’ this piece. It actually made me a little emotional. Adam shared with me that it was a painting in progress of one of his students. There is just something about his style of painting that I really connected with.

I enjoyed viewing many of the pieces of artwork at the exhibit. All were interesting in some way. After going to this reception and also going to the Art Walk, I have found myself wanting to attend more of these types of events.

The Photographer Review

I am writing this on the photographer Randell McGlasson. Owner of ‘Special Touch Photography’. He is based out of Palm Springs, California. Through Facebook, I was able to contact Randell and set up a time for a phone interview.

Randell specializes in Wedding and Boudoir Photography. I have been a fan of his work for many years, so it was nice to be able to talk with him and hear the story of how he got into photography. He shared with me how it has been such a big part of his life.

When Randell was very young, he remembers looking through cigar-boxes full of photos of his parents and their family from before he was born. He shared how he saw the photos as, “A moment – steps in time.” He admired the sense of style in those pictures. “Forever there to relive.” He shared how it felt to him “Like home cooking. A place and time, like a photo.”

In 1974, His older brother died while in the military.  At the funeral, the only photo that was found to show of his brother, was his military photo.

A few years later, Randell’s younger brother passed away in a truck driving accident.  At his funeral, there was only a few pictures shown. They were badly taken and blurry.

These things inspired Randell to start learning about photography. He shared that he was able to get a camera, and he started looking for and studying books about photography. He wanted to learn how to take great pictures, to be able to document special moments in time. He shared, “Moments in memories fade, but being able to look back on those moments in time, in a photograph, will refresh those memories forever.”

In 1984 Randell started putting most of his time into doing photography. He had friends model for him, and he took up jobs doing wedding photography for very little money. By 1986, Randell was given a wall in the corner of a convenience store that his dad owned, to start showing his photography. His pictures started getting a lot of attention. He started promoting his business by doing two bridal shows a year, and soon he had so much work that he could hardly keep up. It was also during this time that Randell started doing Boudoir photography. Randell said, “I really enjoy doing wedding photography, but what I really enjoy doing is Boudoir shoots. I really love the beauty of a woman’s body, even though I am gay. The wedding shoots are what pays the bills.”

I asked Randell if he had ever received any awards for his photography. He said he hadn’t, and that he has never been interested in getting any awards. He told me, “My return clients that come back to get generation and generation of photos done of their families is reward enough for me.”

Randell also works as a waiter in a high-end restaurant. He enjoys working with people. He is also a professional singer. He has sung in Miss Oregon Pageants and has won many national singing competitions.

Randell shared with me photos of his beautiful home, and his yard and pool, that he enjoys with his husband in Palm Springs, which he calls their “oasis”. He worked very hard for decades to be able to have a comfortable, good life.

Randell grew up in California, but he lived in the Eugene / Springfield area for many years. When he had his photos on display in his father’s convenience store back in the 80’s, I was one of those people that saw his work, and I became an admirer of his photography ever since.

You can view some of his work on his website : http://www.specialtouchphoto.net/

Here is a picture that I did in my interpretation of the style of Randell’s wedding photography.

 

The photo is of ‘Camp Fire’ Northern California’s Feather River Canyon.  The fire started on Thursday and quickly spread to the city of ‘Paradise’.  I found this photo on activenorcal.com.

This photo does a good job of showing the type of devastation that is happening along the fires path.  I like that it shows the silhouette of a photographer who is taking photos of the fire.  I think that helps in showing the newsworthiness of the disaster that is happening.  I think that the exposure of the picture is done very well.  It puts the eyes on the fire and less on the silhouetted other things in the photo.  This photo for me brings emotion of complete loss.  This photo makes me want to keep up more on the ongoing story as the fire continues.

This photo is of Gabi Wilson.  Better known as H.E.R.  The photo is from the San Francisco Chronicle with an article about her being ‘Apple Music’s’ latest “up next” R&B artist on the streaming platform.

The photo is part of a photo shoot in New York, promoting her album.  The photo was purposely over-exposed as an effect I think worked well for this type of photo.  The whites and the sky are completely blown out, so you not able to clearly see any of the background, but yet you can see some details of what is around her by the reflection of the building in her glasses.  I personally like doing this type of over-exposed type of shot in many photos that I take.  I think that in the photo of her, it helps to put the emphasis on her, and not have the surroundings take the focus off of her.

This picture is of a single driver crash that happened on Saturday, March 31st of this year.  The driver was a 17 year old female.  This picture was used by KMTR news.

To me this picture shows such a horrible tragic crash and death of a young girl that has barely started her life.  The picture if of poor quality.  It is very grainy and the lighting is not good at all.  But it all kind of adds to the feeling that comes from seeing this picture and knowing what happened.

Being that there only the car in the picture, gives it a somber feeling.  Kind of like a war scene that has been passed by.

This photo depicts the outcome of a horrible tragedy.  These are pallbearer’s, carrying the coffin of one of the victims of a man that opened fire in a church, killing many people.

This picture was taken to be published as part of a news story.  If someone didn’t know the story behind this picture, they may still be able to tell that this is a Jewish group of men because many of them are wearing a jamaka.  The picture is well framed and the lighting is good.  It is hard to see where they are or what their surroundings might be.  I think the picture would be better if it showed more of what is going on around them.  I don’t see much sadness in any of their faces, which I think is kind of odd.  I was a pallberer for my brother when he passed, so I know how this can feel if you are close with the person that has passed away.  And this having been an untimely death because of a mass shooting, I’d think there would be even more emotion in the faces of the people in the picture, but I do not see it.

I think that the picture may have been better if the photographer would have found a better position to shoot from.  The photographer must have knew ahead of time that they would be carrying the coffin through this area, so the subjects of the picture were expected to pass by there, so I think the photographer should have framed the picture better to see what was going on and where they were.

This photo taken by Pulitzer Prize Winner, Lynsey Addario.  The photo is of a Congolese woman cooking for her children. They were displaced by fighting in their country.

I think that this photo is a great example of what photojournalism is really about.  This is the type of situations that I would like to get pictures of if I am able to get out and travel the world with my cameras.  Documenting what people in other parts of the world go through.

I like the lighting in this photo.  How although it shows a dark scene, it shows detail of what is all around in the photo.  This photo does a great job is evoking emotion of the viewer.  Seeing the devistation that they are living in, and even the angle that the photo was taken from, really make this a great photo.  I want to learn to do this with my photography.  Not only my photography it’s-self, but in how I think about my photography and what I want to shoot.