Milwaukee Nightlife

The sun has set and the night has arrived but what is there to do in Milwaukee? There isn’t a big Milwaukee nightlife but what Milwaukee does have are the Water Street and the North Ave Bars. I focused on the North Ave bars because they attract the eye. The brightly lit bar signs light up the roads and grab a person’s attention. Dress to impress is the theme of going to the bars but now since it is winter not as many people are out at the bars. Parking is a main issue when it comes to going anywhere in Milwaukee. Some bars located on North Ave are Cush, Vitucci’s, and Hooligan’s. There are a variety of restaurants on North Avenue. If you are hungry one of the restaurants you can dine at is the Twisted Fork, which offers classic American cuisine in a contemporary atmosphere. The great thing about North Ave area is that there are not only the bars but also the Landmark Oriental Theater and the Landmark Bowling Ally. So if the bar scene isn’t your type of thing you can go to a movie or go bowling. The atmosphere of North Ave is a very chilled a relaxed one. So if you are looking to just have a night out, North Ave is a perfect area to explore.

PR/Press Project

I am using my portrait project for my PR/Press Project. They are senior pictures that I took. In the process of taking these photos I had to contact the people, take the shots, and then print them out. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamarker/sets/72157602779352709/

Memory

My earliest memory is when I was 3 and running across the street to go visit this dog named Rocky that I was obsessed with at the time. Being in such a hurry I tripped in the middle of the street and found myself on the ground screaming in pain. I had scrapped my knees and elbows pretty bad and my mom ran outside to my rescue. Then after my mom carried me into our house I remember my dad putting Band-Aids on my knees and elbows. Then I begged to go see Rocky and my dad told me that I needed my rest and then I threw a tantrum. I don’t have a picture of this memory but I found this picture of my sister and me when I was 3 and she was 8.

Truth and Representation

Truth is fact or reality. A photograph can show the truth but be altered to show a false reality. You can’t always trust what you see in a picture. Pictures can lie due to all the software created in order to alter photos. That software can be used to make a celebrity thinner then they actually are or make them look fatter then they actually are. Since society loves gossip and juicy stories photography has been tainted to the point where you can’t believe half of what you see in tabloids and even newspapers. But photographs taken by CSI investigators is totally different because they show the facts to help solve a case and are not altered in any way. They document the scene of a crime using true pictures that are untouched by photography altering software. Unlike a paparazzi who can go on their computer and digital edit a photograph to make it more controversial and buzz worthy.

Photo Ethic:
I think that photographers especially paparazzi have the moral obligations to keep photographs that are going to be used to exploit someone not be digitally altered from the true original picture because it is horrible to make a profit off of a false photograph.

Szarkowski

John Szarkowski says there are five essential elements of photography. Those elements are:

The thing itself: “The first thing that the photographer learned was that photography dealt with the actual…”

The detail: The purpose of taking pictures is not to make a story clear but to make it real. By taking the time to do detailed photographs it makes the object in the photograph appear like it is right in front of you rather then just a picture.

The frame: The edges of a photographer’s photograph are what he found most important and the subject the photographer has shot is something else. By framing a photograph it can create relationships between the subjects in the photo.

The time: All photos are timed exposures and the outcome of these timed exposures are parcels of time.

Vantage point: By using an unexpected vantage point, which gives a sense of scene while withholding the narrative meaning. Taking it from different vantage points people would not normally view the object in can change the perspective of the photograph.



When I take pictures I think the detail is the most important element. I want to make the viewer of my photograph believe that the object or person is right in front of them. Make the picture seem real rather then just another photograph. There is nothing more amazing then seeing a photograph that just jumps at you and makes you feel as if you are there and witnessing it for yourself.

Portraits

Portraits show the true colors of a person. In a picture facial and body language are key. You can tell if a person is really comfotable or not by how they look in a picture. By even adding more people into a picture you can see hoe body language is exchanged between the two or more people in the picture. The photographer must know how they want the portrait to turn out otherwise the person they are photographing will become nervouse. The photogrpaher has to direct the shots they want in order to put the person at ease.

Document Proposal

For my document project, I thought about several ideas but the one I am going to do is photograph the set-up and architecture of the buildings in downtown Chicago.

I find architecture very interesting and want to document it in a big city area. I don't see downtown Milwaukee as having interesting enough architecture compare to downtown Chicago. I also feel I would gain more intense and dramatic photos because the building structures in downtown Chicago are more complex then in downtown Milwaukee. Milwaukee does have some great architectural buildings but I have seen more in Chicago.

I mainly want to show the different structured buildings that are in the Chicago downtown area. I will take photographs of buildings from different angles to show contrast and variation among them.

My favorite time of day is at sunset. When the sun is out and shining everything seems to be too illuminated but when the sunsets the sky seems to light up into an abundance of colors almost like a rainbow. The lighting is perfect to photograph and makes the sky come alive. Everything around me is in a dim glow. The bright sun fades into horizon and the night is just about to begin. It’s exciting to witness such a beautiful sight and to think that every end to a day there is a sunset waiting to be photographed and viewed to it’s full potential. The best part of all is capturing that perfect sunset so you can show the beauty of it to everyone. The only down side is that not everyday there is a good sunset that really catches your eye but the lighting it provides is beautiful in itself.

My Camera

The camera I am using in this class is the Sony Cybershot DSC-W55. It's a light blue camera, which is small and compact. It has 7.2 mega pixels, 2.5" LCD monitor, rechargeable battery, 3x zoom, automatic picture settings, video mode, and much more. What I love about it is that this camera takes very clear pictures and brings out all the colors of the scene being shot. It also has a long battery life and I don't have to recharge it often. I also like the size of this camera because I can carry it in my pocket. Finally I like how fast this camera can take pictures so I don't miss a moment. The only problem I have with this camera is that it doesn't have a good zoom. I can't zoom in that much so I have to be closer to my subject if I want a close up picture.