Behind the Scenes, Personal Project, Portraits, Series Faith Through Fotos Behind the Scenes, Personal Project, Portraits, Series Faith Through Fotos

Endure

A CrossFit photo shoot with the one and only Karli Stroud!

It has been challenging but rewarding being able to work with many sweet clients and on many personal projects during the same time period recently. I'm thankful for all of you, to be able to spend a short time together reflecting each other's passions and sharing them through portraits. 

Endure is a short series portraying my cousin, Karli, a caring and humble physical therapist, CrossFit coach, and an inspiration. This series is shown as it would in a magazine spread, and quotes from Karli herself and 9:24 CrossFit coach, Pete Doan. 

Thank you all who were a part of this shoot, whether in pre-production, production, or the post-production, everyone who gave feedback and simply supports these big ideas I have. 

 
 

Behind the Scenes

 

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YPA's Where Are They Now: Leah Schonauer

YPA News feature updating my adventures and photographic career since being a part of the YPA Mentorship Program in 2014. 

Extremely honored and humbled are the only ways I can describe seeing my name on the Young Photographers Alliance News page. These past two years since the YPA Mentorship Program has been a whirlwind, with lots of different directions in my photographic career and life in general. Find out my recent adventures in my self-written article on the YPA website! 

Read my YPA Where Are They Now: Leah Schonauer article by clicking the link or the photo below.

 

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Yosemite

Checking off my bucket list. 

We all have personal goals, whether it be people we want to meet, places we want to see, or something we want to learn. Sometimes these goals are out of the question for the time being, but we always secretly hope to make them happen. 

Going to see Yosemite has been one of my goals for years. I don't know what interested me so much about it, other than photographs I had seen in textbooks throughout my school years and always wanted to see it from my own perspective. As a nanny in Los Angeles, I've had incredible opportunities to travel around California and other places that I never thought would be possible for me. If you have a dream you want to make a reality, then you have to be aware of possible opportunities and make the best of them. Some goals we have for ourselves are small: maybe to run a mile, to perform at a big event, maybe it's a dream job. In order to do any of these things, we need to be dedicated and start with small steps, working our way up to the goal and maybe pushing farther than what our original goal was. We also need to remember to be open to God's plans and opportunities given to us (I like to think they're little winks from God).

I was able to stay in Yosemite for only a few hours, but I am happy I had this incredible chance to see such a beautiful place. The first view I saw of the valley, I have to admit that I teared up a little. There's something about this artwork completely made by the hands of God that gets me, and I am glad to have been able to have the chance to see one of his "pieces" first hand. I'm sharing some photos (some iPhone photos thrown in too) from the day at Yosemite spent with my cousin Becca, but I hope someday you'll be able to see these sights first hand.

 

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Bloom Where You Are Planted

Symbolism in the little things.

 
 

I bought an flower from the 99 Cent store in town to bring a little life into my room, if I can't have my very own garden. The tag said it was an african violet, but I think it's a type of pansy. I thought it would be a simple thing to take care of, I mean it fit in a small cereal bowl that I planted it in (totally using my resources here), I mean what could go wrong? I set it in my room and watered it when I thought it might be a little dry, it looked like it had some sun in the afternoon, since the sun sets where my window is. "It'll be fine," I thought.

Reality. My plant died. Well became very close to dying; it was droopy and sad looking, and the once blooming buds were shriveling. I asked my mom if I should just throw it away because there wasn't much more I could do. I began to realize the soil was just too dry, as I had thought I may have overwatered it before. Soon, I learned that watering it in the morning and at night helped my little flower, as I saw the color come back into the buds. I rearranged my room and I sat the tiny cereal bowl garden in my window on a stand, so it had more of a chance to see the sun through the day. I counted the blooms. One... two... three... water in the morning... water at night. It began to droop again, maybe too much water? Water in the morning, water a little at night. Four, five, six, seven. A week went by, I was learning to care for this little gem as it bloomed right where I planted it. Eight, nine, ten, eleven! More and more blooms popped up. Every day there seems to be more. I now have 19 blooms on a flower that I planned to throw away when things were looking a little rough and the water had dried up. 

Bloom where you're planted.

Sometimes the first place we are planted is a little rough, drying up our inspiration and hopes. Maybe we're losing the life we once had. The next place we plant ourselves is a little better, we start to learn what works for us and what doesn't so much. Sometimes we fall. But we look to The Light and slowly, but surely find our way and find ourselves with more blooms of joy than we ever dreamed were possible in an idea that began in the size of a cereal bowl. 

faith-through-fotos_leah-schonauer_african-violet-flower
 

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Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas

Portraits of my friends Lynzie & Bronson in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Since I've started living in the Los Angeles area, I've had unexpected and long awaited traveling opportunities with some of my "life goal" destinations. Not only have I been given the chance to see places around Southern California, but another spot on my list to see was Las Vegas, Nevada.

It was an amazing opportunity to meet up with my friends Lynzie and Bronson in Las Vegas. They had been planning their trip out for months, and I only a week, but I wanted to meet up with them when we were just hours away (a lot closer than being across the country!). Lynzie and I have been friends since kindergarten and they both live near where I am from in Ohio. So, in order to meet up with them, we in a way did a 'photo for travel' trade and I got to see the city in the process. Nothing like traveling with your friends and taking great photos along the way! Here are some of my favorite shots at Caesar's Palace and on our walks around downtown. (More to come in the future of my adventures traveling in Vegas and other places!)

 

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Los Angeles: Part 3

A pretty sweet view of the mountains, s'mores, and my new obsession In-N-Out Burger.

That moment when you're driving up a mountain and then think, holy smokes, is this even real? 

Week 3

January 16 - 22

We went to Lake Arrowhead, California to help Todd's uncle move into his new home. This was the perfect opportunity to see some views in the mountains (and not even the tallest ones). They are along the San Andreas fault line and the view overlooks San Bernardino below. Here are some fun views along the way. Look for the jeep in the second image and the houses built on top of the mountain in the third image.

 

The beautiful view out the back door of the house at Lake Arrowhead.


In-N-Out Burger. It happened. Oh man. I finally understand what all the hubbub is about with this place. It felt like we were at an auction or a fair waiting for our order. I mean, it was actually a lot of fun waiting in line, who would have ever guessed! I went the traditional route and ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a strawberry milkshake, and my verdict is that I better start working out more and get a another job to keep up with my cravings of this place. 

Michelle and Lana ate there for the first time, too. Lana tasted a little bit of Michelle's vanilla shake and then wanted to drink the whole thing. She literally cried when it was all gone, which isn't that far fetched of a reaction.

 
 

Some of the other fun activities of the week included shrimp + cilantro tacos at Cafe Rio in Manhattan Beach, s'more night by the fire pit (yes, this happened in January, I am totally pumped about the weather out here), game night featuring Mancala, blueberry pancakes at Uncle Bill's Pancake House in Manhattan Beach, and the Farmers Market in El Segundo on Main Street. 


Of course I can't leave out photos of my adventures with Lana around town through the week. This week we went down to the beach, the farmer's market, and even took a ride with Uber (which is probably the most convenient idea ever). Also as a side note: she is quite the stylish little lady.

 

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Los Angeles: Part 2

Santa Monica, The Revenant, and Lana.

Week 2

January 9 - January 15

This past week's adventures included a little more (okay, a lot more) of the beach. On Saturday morning I drove to Santa Monica. I even drove on the 405 (fun fact: in California, they call highways "the-405" rather than "I-77") with 6 lanes of cars and enjoyed it, I'd like to think Pittsburgh traffic prepared me for such nonsense. I walked from where I parked all the way to the pier and I passed the time with some touristy shopping for postcards and keychains until all the shops and vendors started opening around 11:00 AM. The pier is filled with rides and a ferris wheel, musicians and an arcade, and even restaurants. The pier is a fun atmosphere and the view at the end is just incredible, the ocean always amazes me. 

Saturday night I couldn't help myself, I needed to watch The Revenant and I am so happy I did. Such a beautifully done film and that goes to credit the acting, cinematography, music, and story. A must watch especially for photographers and artists, especially. 

Sunday morning I went with a neighbor to a church service held at El Segundo High School, which is actually used a lot in movies and TV shows including Superbad, The Hot Chick, Joe Dirt, 90210, and others.

In the midst of these fun outings, I was kicked with some type of cough/sickness. But what better way to forget about a runny nose when you can walk along the beach and see the mountains!

Here are a few of the outings Lana and I took this week around town.

Shot of the week. We had just went outside and walked a little down the street. Good little Lana waved to every person she saw, and some trees and inanimate objects thrown in there too. She was a little bummed when they didn't wave back. It's so easy to just settle for iPhone photos, but I'm hoping to bring my camera with me more often.

 
faith-through-fotos_leah-schonauer_lana-biersack
 
 

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Print Portfolio

My print portfolio case by Shrapnel Design & my final selected portfolio images.

As you may know, I graduated at the end of June this past year from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In order to graduate, one of the requirements was to show a print portfolio to the faculty and at the Portfolio Show. This portfolio book is also a tool to show potential employers your work that may not be displayed directly on your website portfolio, but is still consistent in style. The portfolio includes my best work created up until graduation, along with an artist statement. It is a difficult self-assignment because of all the decisions that need to be made, and in a timely fashion. These decisions include what type of case, plastic sleeves or no plastic sleeves, what type of paper to print on if you are printing yourself, choosing which images show your overall and consistent style; from there, the layout of the images on the page, and many more technicalities. A lot of time and thought went into this print portfolio, although all the prep work goes unseen.

I chose to order my white aluminum case from Shrapnel Design and use plastic sleeves to protect the prints. My portfolio is 11x17 in order to show the closest crop size as possible to the originals, and printed at full bleed. The average number of images in a portfolio should be about 15-25 and display your technical skills and creative ability, in a consistent manner that reflects your branding. An artist statement about my work is displayed before the images. The cover of my portfolio reflects the watermark that I use for social media which "Faith Through Fotos" printed at the bottom.

So here it is, my artist statement (able to be clicked on to read more easily) and my print portfolio from this past year! 

 

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Welcome to Los Angeles!

New adventures for 2016, starting off the New Year in beautiful Los Angeles!

Big news for 2016, I moved to the great and wonderful Los Angeles on the first of the year. This has been an incredible opportunity so far and I've decided to do a weekly blog about my adventures on the west coast.

This first week has been a dream! I flew out of Cleveland, OH which was actually my first flight, ever. I had a layover in Chicago and then was off again to LAX. Luckily I had the window seat for the first flight, but not so lucky with the second flight. But regardless, I made sure I was able to see out the window and get some shots of the gorgeous sunset. I will never forget as we were about to land in Los Angeles, the sun was just setting and lights were just starting to come on, it looked like a Christmas tree! As I looked out and saw the ocean, the flight attendant spoke, "Welcome to Los Angeles".

So the reason behind moving out to Los Angeles.. I was given the opportunity to work as a nanny for the sweetest family. The parents, Todd and Michelle, have an 18 month old, busy, bundle of happiness named Lana. I can easily say this is the most entertaining and favorite job I've ever had, and it's only been a week.

Week 1

January 1 - January 8

So far, I've been able to see around the town I'm living in, and travel to several beaches along Southern California. I've been able to see El Segundo Beach and bike through Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and all the way to Redondo Beach Pier along The Strand, which is a biking path. The weather has been a little strange off and on with El Niño, rain and thunderstorms after having a drought for four odd years. Oh well, at least it reminds me a little bit of the midwest weather. 

This experience has led me to meet some amazing people, and I'm excited to see where else it will take me! Lesson of this developing story: don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone and go exploring the world, if it's across town or across the country. Do new things, talk to new people, enjoy yourself, and give thanks for the blessings and opportunities God puts in your path.

 

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A "Modern Antique" Project

Bringing a little life into the style of antique portraiture in these Mock Wedding portraits with color.

About a year ago, I posted this photo on Instagram..

 
 

"When I heard about The Rescued Film Project (@rescuedfilm), it reminded me of one old photo I picked up at an antique mall several months ago in Wexford, PA. There's such a wonderful mystery about a photo without names, dates, places, or knowing the photographer that saw a specific scene. Was this taken on his or her way to work? How old was the photographer? Why was he or she drawn to the moment? I encourage you, with all old photographs, to appreciate the memory and time that it holds, and not to forget the life that breathes in it, still."

 

With that said, I have this love for antique photos, they just make me so curious. I was inspired to "recreate" photos to mimic the style of antique portraiture. I actually shot these before I graduated. I shot these in May earlier this year. The reason I haven't shared these sooner is because I've been having a creative block with this set of images. Sometimes this happens, and I've realized that I just have to wait it out and let them become what they need to be in order to be shared. I started this project thinking I wanted to share photos that looked worn and sepia tone or black and white. But after months of working with these, I decided that other than the first image, I would leave them images in color to let them come to life. Often times when we take a look at old family photos, we put this "tone" to them and can't or don't imagine what life really looked like other than in the photo. And so, I left these images in color, with an antique wedding setting, style, and wardrobe to not forget the life that has been involved in every photo ever taken regardless of time period, and the life that breathes in it, still.

 

 

Below is a before and after, showing the extensive work in Photoshop to make the atmosphere eerie and intriguing in this specific photo. 

 

Behind the Scenes

 

A very special thanks to the people who made this shoot possible...

Models: Daniel & Bethany Snoke

Wardrobe: Shiloh Leath

 

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On Veterans Day

Final images from my shoot inspired by Call of Duty, with behind the scenes and before and after images.

Final image from Collin's shoot used for my print portfolio.

Final image from Collin's shoot used for my print portfolio.

My inspiration for this shoot originally came from Call of Duty. My brothers used to be in love with the game, and gosh darn it, their promo photos are so good. Google Image search "Call of Duty" and you will agree completely. Plus, my friend Collin has been wanting to do a shoot for quite some time using all of his airsoft gear. We did the shoot in two sessions, one at sunrise and one at sunset, which makes for a pretty long day, but the crew had a nice long break for naps between. The team included Collin Galbraith as the model, Chelsea Black and my brother Jonathan Schonauer as assistants.

Although this was a personal project inspired by a video game, on a serious note, I'd like to dedicate these images to all the Veterans that have served our country. I take every thing I have for granted on a daily basis, forgetting the freedoms that I have, thanks to the brave American troops this country has, and our Awesome God. I debated sharing these images on Veterans Day because I didn't want them to be "offensive" in any way to make military or war look "easy" or "pretty" with all the Photoshop and setting up this shoot took. And I hope that that message doesn't get passed on through the images. I want these photos to represent the soldiers as individual people and be a reminder of the incredible sacrifice they have made. It's not much, but I just want these images to say "Thank you!".

 
 

Below is a before and after, showing the extensive work in Photoshop to make the atmosphere eerie and intriguing in this specific photo. 

 

Behind the Scenes

 

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The Lafferty Family

Portraits of the very sweet Lafferty family in Gibsonia, PA earlier in the summer.

I can't think of a way to explain the capacity of genuine love Terry and Jenny Lafferty have for their children. It astounds me how sweet and patient they are with them all. And what beautiful kids they are inside and out! Thinking of all the laughs while photographing them interacting together just makes me smile. Scrolling through these photos, I can't help but hear those contagious giggles! It was such a beautiful day for photos too! It was a little bright at times with their pretty blue eyes, but I love all of these images showing so much joy and nostalgia of childhood.

(I missed taking photos of Patrick as he was away at school and working. Hopefully we will catch him next time around!)

 

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West Holmes Lady Knights Tennis Team

Promotional poster and portraits shot for the West Holmes Lady Knights Tennis Team for their Fall 2015 season.

I remember the sports team posters hanging up all over the small towns around my high school, years ago. In pizza shops, in grocery stores, around the classrooms as soon as school started up again in the fall. As small of a town that I come from, it was neat to see such intense portraits of the team members, it was almost like you were looking at a celebrity, even though chances were that you knew them and their entire family. Oddly enough, it's been a secret dream of mine to make one of these posters for a sports team. Maybe it's my love for Nike catalogs or dramatic lighting, but I'm a sucker for the emotion that goes along with it. I was lucky enough to have been approached by the West Holmes High School Lady Knights Tennis Team to put together such a poster. The only 'restrictions' were to use the title "You've Met Your Match" and that I had one day to plan the shoot. Little to no time at all to get everything together, I love the look of these portraits, both individual and team shot. The awesome (and very sweet) ladies a part of the Varsity tennis team and this shoot include Sabryn Cutlip, Maty Macaulay (senior), Erin Stitzlein, Cassidy Mohler (senior), Kate Rodhe, Samara Gallion, Elise Knebusch (senior), and Natalie Molnar (senior). Thank you all for letting me be a part of this shoot! 

Below is the final poster I put together for the West Holmes Tennis Team that includes their season schedule and sponsors.

 
 
 

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Internship with Kaela Speicher: Week 8

Assisting Kaela in a modeling portfolio shoot with Jaclyn.

Over the past two months, some big changes have come about in my life. Towards the end of June, I completed finals, wrapped up everything for Portfolio Show at Heinz Field and graduated from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh with my Bachelors in Photography. Needless to say, I've had my hands full with work, which I will be sharing more about in a later post. But on another note, I'll be catching up on posts from projects and the final weeks of my internship. 

First up is behind the scenes of Kaela's modeling shoot with the always stunning, Jaclyn. Jaclyn is building her modeling portfolio, so I assisted during her shoot that took place in studio, downtown Pittsburgh, and Oakland. Jaclyn had a variety of classy outfit choices, and Kaela chose the perfect looks for each location. My favorite look may be the final one with the strips of light shining through the columns. I just love that the dress mimics the columns itself. As always, I'm still impressed with Kaela's abilities to location scout for a specific look and stay organized. A skill that is so necessary when it comes to photography and working with clients.

*Also did I mention Jaclyn looks like Angelina Jolie?!

Check out Kaela's website to see more of her fashion work: Kaela Speicher Photography

 

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Internship with Kaela Speicher: Week 5-6

Before and after selections of a couple retouched images Kaela and I have worked on.

     The past couple weeks have been insanely busy with my internship, classes, planning for graduation, and eating and sleeping somewhere in between. We have covered a combination of retouching methods and also adjusting the perspective of an image, especially in architectural photographs. Architectural photography is something I've never attempted, besides Instagram if that counts. But needless to say, I've never worked with correcting the perspective of an image further than adjusting the distortion simply in Lightroom. Now, since learning how impactful it can be, I take a look at the perspective and distortion of each image I edit.

     Furthermore with retouching methods, Kaela has given me several of her files to retouch on my own with the methods we have covered, and then review them when I've worked with them. Below are two of the images a combination of both Kaela and I have worked on the past couple of weeks. All images belong to Kaela, and you can see more of her work on her website: Kaela Speicher Photography.

 

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Internship with Kaela Speicher: Week 3 (Part 1)

Three things I learned how to become more organized when it comes to client meetings, client shoots, and personal projects.

     Being an artist, there's something that's wonderful and intimidating about talking to other people about your work, especially with clients. So this week, Kaela set up a client meeting, and I went along to observe what needed to be covered, and how to prepare for it. Kaela met with her client for a future shoot geared toward revamping a modeling portfolio. Goal #4 on my list of things I wanted to learn through the internship was how to keep organized and schedule shoots in an organized, step-by-step way.

     It's easy to become bombarded when dealing with multiple sides of a business by yourself, while coordinating client shoots and personal projects between a model, makeup artist, hair stylist, and personal schedules. It's a necessity that I learn how to keep this balanced and keep some sanity along the way. Not only did Kaela's men's fashion shoot the previous week help address this goal, but observing a one-on-one client meeting was so beneficial to understand how to keep organized, and how to take notes about what should be planned. 

     I learned 3 simple steps to keep organized and your sanity from all the elements involved that must come together.

1.  Prepare. After the initial interest from the client, make an inspiration board for what he or she is looking for. You can also send this collection to hair and makeup artists you will be working with, if they are involved in the shoot. Write down any questions you have for the client, and make sure you bring these questions and a pen and paper for notes. Have an ideal schedule ready to share with the client, and you can make minor changes if need be.

2.  Meet. Meet with the client (cute coffee shops are the best) and come to an agreement on what you are able and are willing to do on both ends. Sign contracts and model releases for your personal records, and have a copy available for your client. Plan specific wardrobe, hair, makeup, and locations to send to the rest of your team. Mark out what needs to be done before the shoot, and schedule days to meet these goals.

3.  Organize. Make up an itinerary of the day of the shoot, and go over your checklist of client needs, location, wardrobe, equipment list, then update your creative team with this itinerary. Send any updates and keep in contact with your client so everyone is on the same page.

     And bam! Whoever thought something so complex could be organized in such an easy way.

 

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Internship with Kaela Speicher: Week 2

Behind the scenes of a men's fashion shoot with Kaela.

     This week for my internship, I started off Sunday afternoon by assisting Kaela on an all day men's fashion shoot in several locations around Pittsburgh. Doran Mauldrin was the model, makeup and hair done by Hannah Donovan, and styled by Teera Doner. 

     Pulling ideas from the inspiration board Kaela had put together, the team brought to life the look she had envisioned. Starting with studio headshots, we went over basic lighting techniques and how to make them most effective for men and women. She even set up some shots for the recently famous "man bun" appearance.

     We packed up and drove around to different locations around downtown Pittsburgh with very unique characteristics (thank you Google maps), but spots that had the most beautiful natural light. There were outfit changes between each location change to best suit the surroundings. Doran, being a fairly new model took direction from Kaela very well, and caught on very quickly to subtleties that can improve the appearance of the portrait when viewed from a camera's perspective. Through this all, I learned how to make the most flattering and most effective light in any location. I also picked up on ways to pose male models, because let's face it, it's a challenging thing to do.

     The shoot also enforced why it's so important to work with other creatives. When a photographer is busy worrying about if a shirt is wrinkled, the makeup is showing to much shine, or there needs to be a reflector to fill the shadows, it can be overwhelming and exhausting to continue to compose the shot and direct the model, and expect to get exactly what you're looking for. Having others who specialize in each area to work with will make an overall more impactful and more professional outcome of the photograph you are wanting. Period.

     In my time outside of class and shoots, I have been working on my retouching skills, one photo at a time. Patience is a must-have when it comes to retouching, but it is well worth it with the final image. My hopes are to use these things I've learned while working with Kaela and apply them to portfolio for graduation, and the time to follow. 

 

While assisting, I made sure to get behind the scenes photos to share. Below are some of my favorites.

 

And here are a few of Kaela's images she released early. See more of her work on her website: kaelaspeicher.com.

 

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1920s Inspired Cinemagraph

My first cinemagraph put together at this weekend's 1920s inspired shoot.

 

     Cinemagraphs are so intriguing, but for some reason, so unsettling. And of course for this reason, I wanted to create my own. Cinemagraphs combine photography and video into one frame of continuous motion, but only of a selected part of the image. The process is a little tricky at first, but planning out the shoot, as always, makes it go much smoother.

     We had the opportunity of working with the talented Angela Taylor of Blush Makeup Artistry to create those crazy eyebrows for this 1920s look. I thought a cinemagraph would go along perfectly with this 1920s theme with my dear friend, Elise. 

 
 

"Hope is the thing with feathers  
That perches in the soul,  
And sings the tune without the words,  
And never stops at all, ..."

-Emily Dickinson

 

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"Alfred and Lucille": A Duane Michals Interpretation

"Alfred and Lucille" is a simple project I shot and developed as an interpretation of Duane Michals' work. With the help of my parents and a little patience in the darkroom, the short sequence turned out rather adorable.

Quote from Duane Michals at The Carnegie Museum of Art

     Last month I visited The Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh to see the exhibit for Duane Michals, which highly inspired me to work on a fun little project of his style. Michals was actually born and raised in McKeesport, Pennsylvania in 1932, which is not too far from Pittsburgh. He is known for his ‘frame-by-frame’ sequences, multiple exposures, and handwritten text on the print itself that he originally was criticized for. However, in my opinion, Michals' work is witty and playful in a relatively simplistic way. His film sequences and portraits are shot on black and white film and he often includes blurred motion to show the movement or action of the subject. He has used family members as the main character in his sequences and has done many personal projects that run along the themes of family, dreams, and death with a lighthearted approach.

     Another project that Duane Michals has presented are oil paintings on 19th century collodion prints. For each image, he alters the subjects’ features with vibrant oil paint, drawing from principals of early photography, modern painting, and Surrealism. Each image is rejuvenated with allusions to both Picasso and Picabia. The amazing thing that Michals draws our attention to in this series is the difference between the tintype and artists of the 20th century, and unites them as one art piece. He names some of his subjects as if he knew them, and gives meaning and life to their left behind portraits, which I find interesting as well.

     For my project, I drew inspiration from a combination of Duane Michals' sequence work, oil paintings, and shooting with black and white film. Replicating Michals' style in shooting, I shot my sequence on black and white film, while capturing motion and playful expressions. From his work with oil painting on tintypes, I chose Fred and Ginger, 2012 as my photo of reference to base my shoot off of. I photographed my parents (as a side note- thank God for parents that put up with and support my artistic ways) as the characters of Alfred and Lucille as Michals' would depict his family members as characters and name those in his oil paintings. As Michals' would embrace the flaws of his photos as he wrote on them, I did the same with mine, having light leaked paper and bent corners. The final image is painted with acrylic and I applied glitter to add texture, all to mimic the character of Michals' oil paintings.

Information found at: http://www.dcmooregallery.com/artists/duane-michals 


My Interpretation



Inspiration

Sequence entitled Grandpa Goes To Heaven, 1989 by Duane Michals. Images shared from The Carnegie Museum of Art's exhibition "Storyteller: The Photographs of Duane Michals".

Oil Paintings by Duane Michals. Images shared from DC Moore Gallery exhibition "Duane Michals: The Painted Photograph".

 

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