Political Event-
I believe that one of the main political events that changed the course of my life was the Vietnam War. When I was nine years old my two brothers had to pick a number in the draft. My oldest brother, Ward, picked a high number and went off to college and never served in the armed forces. My other brother Bobby picked a low number, was drafted, and started receiving letters to register with the Army. He was devastated, my brother Ward loved to hunt, and Bobby fed the deer and birds and brought home stray and injured animals. This was the early 70s and he also experimented with drugs. He was peace, love and Woodstock. He died a tragic death before he could ever go into the army.
This dramatically changed my family and how I viewed life. I believe that the course of these events made it clear to me that family and who you love is what's most important, and that it is the people not the place that make the home. I knew once I became pregnant with my first child my career in the financial corporate world would end and my emerging family would come first. After 13 years of having the privilege to stay home to raise our children I made the decision to go back to school to get certification as an art teacher and continue to be a hands-on parent as my children enter middle school. This will allow me to go back to work and have the same schedule as my children; which my husband and I feel is vital in our ever changing world.
My husband and I have been together for 28 years, married for 18 and have had two children together. There is no question in my mind what home is. Home is who you love.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
Home Proposal
The association one makes about the word Home can have almost endless possibilities. Home can mean people and love to some and possessions to others or a combination of all. It could also take a different approach and explore a more spiritual meaning of the word Home.
A place of worship can be a place of comfort, refuge, peace and love for many; those are all words I would use to describe Home. Further associations with places of worship are birth, baptism, involvement, community and a final resting spot. I feel this series could take many different avenues one involving the spiritual feeling of the structure, its members and their association to religion and God. Another focus could be on the actual structure or items inside and out; the baptismal water, stained glass windows, the pews and alter. Some people feel that when they finally get the end of their life they are going home, home to see loved ones that have left before them, home to meet their God or their Creator. The pictures could be arranged in an almost chronological order, birth to death, giving attention to be respectful of the subject matter.
Another route I would prefer to explore would be that Home is the people in your life. (This is contingent upon being able to borrow the light kit several times) If I can make the arrangements to borrow the light kit from school I would like to take portraits of those in my life that make up my home. To me personally Home is not a place, the place is unimportant, it’s the people and a feeling of love where ever you are. That is Home to me. Experiment with portraits that would somehow show he essence of he person. I would like to explore indoor lighting. Use of different backdrops High Key with white and Low Key with black can also be explored. -NJO
The association one makes about the word Home can have almost endless possibilities. Home can mean people and love to some and possessions to others or a combination of all. It could also take a different approach and explore a more spiritual meaning of the word Home.
A place of worship can be a place of comfort, refuge, peace and love for many; those are all words I would use to describe Home. Further associations with places of worship are birth, baptism, involvement, community and a final resting spot. I feel this series could take many different avenues one involving the spiritual feeling of the structure, its members and their association to religion and God. Another focus could be on the actual structure or items inside and out; the baptismal water, stained glass windows, the pews and alter. Some people feel that when they finally get the end of their life they are going home, home to see loved ones that have left before them, home to meet their God or their Creator. The pictures could be arranged in an almost chronological order, birth to death, giving attention to be respectful of the subject matter.
Another route I would prefer to explore would be that Home is the people in your life. (This is contingent upon being able to borrow the light kit several times) If I can make the arrangements to borrow the light kit from school I would like to take portraits of those in my life that make up my home. To me personally Home is not a place, the place is unimportant, it’s the people and a feeling of love where ever you are. That is Home to me. Experiment with portraits that would somehow show he essence of he person. I would like to explore indoor lighting. Use of different backdrops High Key with white and Low Key with black can also be explored. -NJO
Project 3 ideas
Project Idea 1:
The original idea that I created came from a conversation with a friend of mine. Sherif is a 30-something man who immigrated to the United States nine years ago. The last time I talked to him, he told me about how he wanted to better his English speaking abilities, and how he has no time to do that because of his hectic work schedule. “This is my home,” said Sherif, as he turned and presented the gas station, notably his little heated box. During the night, when most people are sleeping, Sherif works the night shift at a gas station, and works approximately 60 hours a week. Thus, the concept of work as home was developed, and the project idea of documenting this man’s home was developed.
The project for work as home would be in a style that doesn’t fall in line with place or person, but more as a place where one mentally lives. The pictures would include portraits and landscapes, as well as more abstract uses of light and movement. As the hours for photographing would fall between dusk and dawn, possibilities involving the passing of time are available. In addition, establishing shots from the other side of the highway, or even from the middle of the highway are a possibility. One of the positive assets of this project is availability, because, excluding the rare visit from someone getting gas or Dunkin Donuts (where Sherif formerly worked the 12 hour night shift 5 days a week), it would only be Sherif and me at this location.
Project Idea 2:
The second project idea is a more involved one. Instead of photographing a metaphorical home, this would be a literal home. However, this is not a home that one inhabits. This is “The Home I Do Not Have”, which is a humorous look into places (mainly IKEA) for the interior furnishings that my house will have when I buy one later in life. The final project, tentatively, will be a sort of Barbie dollhouse that will incorporate mixed media, focusing mainly on my photography, IKEA’s advertising photography, and potentially the use of a preexisting dollhouse to “build” my house. Otherwise, it would be presented as if it was my house, without the usage of a dollhouse.
Potential ideas that have crossed my mind for this project have been often very different, but I feel that some of them have valuable potential. Perhaps I could take pictures of myself at all stages of a house; at the IKEA store, I can be sleeping on a bed, cooking in a kitchen, using the bathroom, etc., and then use those pictures over pictures of my current home to show the desired result. In addition, the concept of using all of these pictures as one, thus showing more than one of myself in any given room, is definitely an idea I will use if I go through with this project.
mikey smith
The original idea that I created came from a conversation with a friend of mine. Sherif is a 30-something man who immigrated to the United States nine years ago. The last time I talked to him, he told me about how he wanted to better his English speaking abilities, and how he has no time to do that because of his hectic work schedule. “This is my home,” said Sherif, as he turned and presented the gas station, notably his little heated box. During the night, when most people are sleeping, Sherif works the night shift at a gas station, and works approximately 60 hours a week. Thus, the concept of work as home was developed, and the project idea of documenting this man’s home was developed.
The project for work as home would be in a style that doesn’t fall in line with place or person, but more as a place where one mentally lives. The pictures would include portraits and landscapes, as well as more abstract uses of light and movement. As the hours for photographing would fall between dusk and dawn, possibilities involving the passing of time are available. In addition, establishing shots from the other side of the highway, or even from the middle of the highway are a possibility. One of the positive assets of this project is availability, because, excluding the rare visit from someone getting gas or Dunkin Donuts (where Sherif formerly worked the 12 hour night shift 5 days a week), it would only be Sherif and me at this location.
Project Idea 2:
The second project idea is a more involved one. Instead of photographing a metaphorical home, this would be a literal home. However, this is not a home that one inhabits. This is “The Home I Do Not Have”, which is a humorous look into places (mainly IKEA) for the interior furnishings that my house will have when I buy one later in life. The final project, tentatively, will be a sort of Barbie dollhouse that will incorporate mixed media, focusing mainly on my photography, IKEA’s advertising photography, and potentially the use of a preexisting dollhouse to “build” my house. Otherwise, it would be presented as if it was my house, without the usage of a dollhouse.
Potential ideas that have crossed my mind for this project have been often very different, but I feel that some of them have valuable potential. Perhaps I could take pictures of myself at all stages of a house; at the IKEA store, I can be sleeping on a bed, cooking in a kitchen, using the bathroom, etc., and then use those pictures over pictures of my current home to show the desired result. In addition, the concept of using all of these pictures as one, thus showing more than one of myself in any given room, is definitely an idea I will use if I go through with this project.
mikey smith
Project3, Home
For my final project of Home, I am trying to decide on two different ideas. The first idea is to photograph all of the school’s that I have ever attended. School is an important part of everyone’s life and we spend about 20 years in it. School is where we meet people, make friends that we may still have, learn and make plans for our future. When I think of home, I think about my friends who mean the world to me, and a home that I will one day work for and create. I would have never known any of my friends if it was not for school and would have no future either. I have attended six schools in my lifetime and would like to have an outside and an inside shot of all six to create twelve images.
The other idea that I have is more literal, shooting in
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Project Three - Home
For my final series on Home, I would like to explore a piece of my life that I have always associated home with: Food. Whenever I am at school, forced to feast on meals made from cans, freezers, boxes and microwavable bags, what makes me yearn for home is memories of my mom's cooking. There is something inherently personal about food that is made from scratch. Dishes cease to be just about relieving hunger. Instead, they start to be the meals we turn to whenever we are in need of comfort, nostalgia or happiness. Beyond the obvious, there are so many examples of what food does for people. If food wasn't such a multi-faceted thing, there wouldn't be so many conditions that revolved around it - emotional eating, binge eating, dieting, eating disorders....
I hope to explore how food relates back to my sense of home. I want to photograph the food in a way that hasn't necessarily been done before. I feel like food photography is something that has become a bit cliche, due to a multitude of food magazines and cook books. Thus, I want to try to explore newer, more novel was of capturing it, while still maintaining a sense of 'home.'
I hope to explore how food relates back to my sense of home. I want to photograph the food in a way that hasn't necessarily been done before. I feel like food photography is something that has become a bit cliche, due to a multitude of food magazines and cook books. Thus, I want to try to explore newer, more novel was of capturing it, while still maintaining a sense of 'home.'
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