THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TRICKS OF ALL TIME
1. Half-pressing the shutter button (to prefocus) eliminates shutter lag.
Everyone hates shutter lag. That's the half-second delay between the time you press the shutter button and the time the photo is actually snapped--during which your child, pet, or action photo slips away. (Pocket cams have shutter lag; S.L.R. cameras don't.)
Shutter lag is the time it takes the camera to calculate focus and exposure. Thing is, you can make it calculate that stuff ahead of time. Aim the camera, anticipating where the subject will be, and half-press the shutter button. When you hear the beep, you've locked in the exposure and focus. Keep the button half-pressed; now you're ready. When the subject appears, push the rest of the way down. Presto: no shutter lag!
2. For the blurred-background effect, back up and zoom in.
In technical terms, what you're looking at is a limited depth of field. That's a geek-shutterbug term meaning, "which part of the scene, front-to-back, is in focus." Subject yes; background, no.
That beautiful, professional effect is easy to get if you have an S.L.R.; it practically happens automatically. (Dial up a wide aperture--a low f-stop number--to accentuate the effect.)
On a pocket cam, choose Portrait mode. Move your subjects away from the background--the farther, the better. Finally, use the back-up-and-zoom-in trick. That is, stand away from your subjects--the farther, the better--and then use the camera's zoom to "bring you" back up close. Thanks to a quirk of optics, zooming in helps create a shallow depth of field.
You may look like a weirdo, backing way up like that. But it really works.
3. Force the flash outdoors.
It might not occur to you to use the flash when you're taking pictures of people on a bright, sunny day. It certainly wouldn't occur to the camera.
Problem is, the camera "reads" the scene and concludes that there's tons of sunlight. But it's not smart enough to recognize that the face you're photographing is in shadow. You wind up with a dark, silhouetted face.
The solution is to force the flash on--a very common photographer's trick. The flash can provide just the right amount of fill light to brighten your subject's face--without affecting the exposure of the background.
It eliminates the silhouette effect. Better yet, it provides very flattering front light. It softens smile lines and wrinkles, and it puts a nice twinkle in the subject's eyes. (It also means that you can ignore the old "rule" about taking photos on a sunny day--the one that tells the photographer to "Stand with the sun behind you.")
4. Exploit the magic hour.
Hate to break it to you, but serious photographers don't get a lot of sleep. Show me an award-winning, breathtaking landscape--a pond shimmering in the woods, golden clouds surrounding a mountain peak--and I'll show you someone who got up at 4:40 am to be ready with a tripod as the sun rose.
That hour after sunrise, and the hour before sunset, is known as the magic hour. The lower angle of the sun and the slightly denser atmosphere create rich, saturated tones, plus what photographers call sweet light. It's an amazing, golden glow that makes everybody look beautiful, every building look enchanted, and every landscape look breathtaking.
It's a far cry from the midday sun, which creates much harsher shadows and much more severe highlights. Landscape shooting is more difficult when the sun is high overhead on a bright, cloudless day.
5. Use a lampshade socket as a tripod.
Another chronic problem with pocket cams is getting blur when you don't want it--which is just about any time you're indoors without the flash. Yeah, yeah, we know: "Use a tripod." But come on: for the average person on vacation or at school events, buying, hauling around, and setting up a tripod is a preposterous burden.
Often, there's a wall, parked car, bureau, tree, pillar, door frame, or some other big, stationary object you can use instead, to prop up either the camera or your arms.
But here's my favorite trick: It turns out that the threads at the top of just about any lamp--the place where the lampshade screws on--are precisely the same diameter as a tripod mount! In a pinch, you can whip off the lampshade, screw on the camera, and presto: You've got a rock-steady indoor tripod.
People might think you're a genius, a nutcase, or a genius nutcase, but never mind. It works.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Clarence John Laughlin, Louisiana's great photographer
Ghosts along the Mississippi is a classic book of large photos of large plantation houses along the Louisiana run of the Father of Waters.
I always find something new to enjoy when I return to the book.
Wikipedia says, Clarence John Laughlin (1905 - 1985) was a United States photographer best known for his surrealist photographs of the U.S. South.
He worked on personal projects utilizing a wide range of photographic styles and techniques, from simple geometric abstractions of architectural features to elaborately-staged allegories utilizing models, costumes, and props.
Many historians credit Laughlin as being the first true surrealist photographer in the United States. His images are often nostalgic, reflecting the influence of Eugene Atget and other photographers who tried to capture vanishing urban landscapes. Laughlin's best known book, "Ghosts Along the Mississippi", was first published in 1948.
I always find something new to enjoy when I return to the book.
Wikipedia says, Clarence John Laughlin (1905 - 1985) was a United States photographer best known for his surrealist photographs of the U.S. South.
He worked on personal projects utilizing a wide range of photographic styles and techniques, from simple geometric abstractions of architectural features to elaborately-staged allegories utilizing models, costumes, and props.
Many historians credit Laughlin as being the first true surrealist photographer in the United States. His images are often nostalgic, reflecting the influence of Eugene Atget and other photographers who tried to capture vanishing urban landscapes. Laughlin's best known book, "Ghosts Along the Mississippi", was first published in 1948.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Semester exam guide for Fine Arts
Semester exam guide / Fine Arts survey / Trudeau
Open notes, multiple choice, Scantron, 100-question exam based on past tests.
1. Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, Syria and __ .
2. The Levant was an ancient region in the Eastern end of the Mediterranean. T / F
3. In the realm of language and literature, the Phoenicians are credited with development of the __ .
4. Phoenicians must be related to the Jewish peoples. T / F
5. Jabal is Arabic for a) monument b) mountain c) knife wound d) mascara.
6. Spain makes the biggest part of what we refer to as the __ Peninsula.
7. The Muslim Arabs invaded Christian European territory
by ship. T / F
8. S’il vous plait must mean a) thank you b) best regards
c) please d) if you must go . . .
9. Drama, including tragedy and comedy, is one of the arts that was not created by the Romans nor by the Greeks.
T / F
10. The Times review of Abby Singer’s Bistro featured two pieces of grilled, marinated __, which were served on a bed of arugula with tomatoes, olives and prosciutto.
11. The Times reviews notes that “My friend scrapped off the onions — not an onion person myself, I couldn't blame her.” That was a) illiterate in at least 2 ways b) a marvelous moment to share with the reader.
12. The two principal elements of a review, according to your teacher, are __ and __ .
13. Sparta vs Athens: the wars that took place about 400 BCE on the __ Peninsula.
14. To the Greeks, withholding intimate contact from their husbands - to stop the war - seems to be a a) ridiculous idea b) clever idea in a play by Aristophanes called Lysistrata.
15. Characterized by sinuous, asymmetrical lines based on plant forms, this style was used in architecture, interior design, graphic art and design, jewelry, and glass. It was international in scope and was called __ __ .
1. Israel
2. true
3. alphabet
4. true
5. b mountain
6. Iberian
7. true
8. c please
9. false
10. mozzarella / cheese
11. a illiterate
12. description, evaluation
13. Peloponnese
14. a ridiculous
15. art nouveau
Fine Arts / open notes intro to Greece quiz / Robert Trudeau
1. The sea that lies both north and east of Greece is one that Homer called “the wine-dark sea.” It is the __.
2. Sparta, Olympia and Corinth are on the principal peninsula of Greece. This region has four fingers (small peninsulas) and is called the ___ .
3. Across the Adriatic Sea from Greece lies a nation whose southern region was once part of the Greek Empire: __ .
4. Place whose name - when translated from the Latin - implies “middle” and “earth,” or “terrain,” therefore a region in the middle of two great regions of the earth. The place is the __ __.
5. The ancient culture and nation - the name means “purple” - that has, in the modern era, become Lebanon: __ .
6. Israel is both a historic name and the contemporary name of a recently-formed nation. Its ancient name is __ .
7. The great Greek city of Egypt: __ .
8. Give the modern name of an ancient Turkish city that has borne 3 names: __ .
9. What is the mnemonic that allows us to remember the names - in order - of the most famous Greek philosophers?
10. What material object - disallowing sculpture - performed the same role as photography in the Classical Greek era?
11. The dirty little secret of Athenian Democracy: the use of a large number of __ .
12. Who developed the earlier notable civilization?
a) Cretans b) Cretins c) Athenians d) Spartans.
13. The word that denotes an advanced sense of beauty and purity of taste: __ .
14. The building is the Parthenon; the mesa upon which it lies is the __ .
15. Eleuthera is a gorgeous island in the Bahamas. Eleutherae is an inland location in the nation of __ .
16. Aphrodite would be known by the Romans as __ .
17. The Norwegian explorer and author who tested the trekking possibilities of the ancient Mesopotamians, Polynesians and Egyptians. Thor __ .
18. The notable Greek island that suffered an enormous volcanic explosion about 1600 BCE.
19. An example of sagging in ancient Greek statuary:
__ __ .
20. __ is a philosophy of art and life that emphasizes order, balance, and simplicity.
1. Aegean
2. Peloponnesus
3. L' Italia
4. Mediterranean
5. Phoenicia
6. Palestine
7. Alexandria
8. Istanbul (Constantinople, Byzantium)
9. Spa (a hot-springs resort in Belgium)
10. pottery
11.slaves
12. Cretans
13. aesthetics
14. Acropolis
15. Greece
16. Venus
17. Heyerdahl
18. Santorini (aka Thera)
19. the Venus de Milo
20. classicism
1. Democracy and art was enabled partly by the system of slavery.
2. The Greek Empire, which preceded the Roman Empire, included parts of Turkey and Italy. See Greek temples in 3 nations.
3. The Minoan civilization, on the island of Crete, preceded the rise of Athens, the center of art, and Sparta, the center of militarism.
4. The city-states of Sparta and Corinth as well as the temples at Olympia are on a peninsula known as the Peloponnesus.
5. Greek pottery is so finely painted that it is an important source of historic evidence. Their pottery resembles photography.
6. Helmets, shields and ships show that the Greeks had a taste for the fine curve and graceful proportion. They had a high sense of the
aesthetic: artistic beauty and taste.
7. The Spartans pursued the art of war, the Athenians were equally serious about the aesthetics in every other phase of life.
8. The name of the great temple above Athens is the Parthenon, named for Athena Parthenos, "Athena the the virgin." Btw, here we see a connection with Mary, virgin mother of Jesus. The mesa on which the extraordinary temple is built is the Acropolis (acrophobia, fear of heights).
9. The shocking realism achieved by Greek sculptors is perhaps exemplified by the Discus Thrower created by Myron of Eleutherae about 450 BC.
10. Spa, a word denoting a health center, is an acronym for the 3 great Athenian thinkers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. "Spa" gives us the chronological order.
1. Ellington Great pianist as well as band leader and composer?
2. Ellington Famous as a New Yorker but was a native of Washington, DC?
3. Armstrong Loved smoking reefer?
4. Armstrong Cut some great records in Chicago?
5. Ellington Famous for the tune "Take the A Train"?
6. Armstrong Famous for his performances of the tune "Basin St Blues"?
7. Reinhardt Played his instrument with 2 fingers?
8. Armstrong Married 4 times?
9. Reinhardt Born and raised in Belgium?
10. Armstrong Wrote 2 biographies?
Vocab - sociocultural, hermeneutic, enigmatic, abysmal, cacophony, solace, quantum, squalling, disharmonious, dramatic foil, pouty, semi-coherent, brooding, mopey, ciphers, flouting, libido, rakish, facade, somber, demeanor, suave, cynical, cold war, totalitarian, humorlessness, paladin, pseudoserious,, cosmopolitan, provincial
11. sonically chaotic: cacaphony or disharmonious
12. showing off - bragging: flouting
13. the face of a buidling or a person: facade
14. mysterious: enigmatic
15. rotten terrible: abysmal
16. soberly controls your entire life: totalitarian
17. person with broad educational background and broad point of view: cosmopolitan
18. the psychic and emotional energy associated with instinctual biological drives: libido
19. a paragon of chivalry; a heroic champion: paladin
20. person whose education and outlook are limited and inhibited: provincial, parochial
Back to jazz -
21. Chicago Second city of Jazz (and of the US in general): __ .
22. NYC City in which the fathers of jazz - such as Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong settled.
23. diaspora Movement of impoverished black Americans from the farms of the Deep South to urban centers of Upper Midwest and Northeast: __ .
24. 1890's - 1900 Approximate date for the birth of jazz: __ .
25. Congo Square or Place Congo Name given to the place in New Orleans where slaves gathered on Sundays: __ __ .
26. Creole Louisiana term for people of mixed ethnic background, esp. a mixture of French, Spanish, native American and Afro-Caribbean: __ .
27. African (or mixed) Gens de couleur libre was a special ethnic category in NO. It indicated a person who was __ yet not a slave.
28. Second line Parade dance practiced by New Orleanians in funeral processions: __ __ .
29. Dizzy Gillespie A radical bend in the direction of his trumpet’s bell became part of the visual signature of __ __.
30. shibboleth "Break it down," "chops," "crib," "daddy-o," "dig" and similar words were jazz __, words that could indicate that you were an insider. Eventually these words went mainstream, such as the recent phrase “wanna give a shout-out to Shirley.”
Three of the greatest figures of early jazz:
a) Louis Amrmstrong
b) Duke Ellington
c) Django Rheinhardt
What's the best fellow - of the 3 above - to accompany these cues?
1. Born and raised in Washington, DC?
2. Great pianist as well as band leader and composer?
3. Loved smoking reefer?
4. Cut some great records in Chicago?
5. The tune "Take the A Train"?
6. The tune "Basin St Blues"?
7. Played his instrument with 2 fingers?
8. Married 4 times?
9. Born and raised in Belgium?
10. Wrote 2 biographies?
1. Duke
2. Duke
3. Satchmo
4.Satchmo
5. Duke
6. Satchmo
7. Django - the guitarist's hands were damaged in a fire.
8. Satchmo.
9. Django
10. Satchmo - he traveled with a typewriter because he loved writing letters. Armstrong wrote 2 autobiographies. The one that survives is My Life in New Orleans (avail in paperback
Jazz and modern art quiz
1. First city of jazz: __ __.
2. Second city of Jazz (and of the US in general): __ .
3. Third city to which the fathers of jazz - such as Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong - relocated: __ __ .
4. Movement of impoverished black Americans from the farms of the Deep South to urban centers of Upper Midwest and Northeast: __ .
5. Approximate date for the birth of jazz: __ .
6. Name given to the place in New Orleans where slaves gathered on Sundays: __ __ .
7. Louisiana term for people of mixed ethnic background, esp. a mixture of French, Spanish, native American and Afro-Caribbean: __ .
8. Gens de couleur libre was a special ethnic category in NO. It indicated a person who was __ yet not a slave.
9. Another name for the French Quarter is Vieux Carre; it means: __ __ .
10. Parade dance practiced by New Orleanians at funerals: __ __ .
11. The founder of a drum manufacturing company (the Beatles used these) is credited with developing the trap drum set. The company? __ .
12. The key mechanical item in a drum set, or trap drum kit, is a foot pedal that enables the percussionist to sock the heck out of the __ __ .
13. The advent of the drum kit at the turn of the century enabled musical groups to reduce the percussion personnel from __ players to one.
14. The banjo originates with the ethnic group known as __ __.
15. Typically the 5-string banjo is used in playing __ music.
16. The 4-string banjo is commonly used in __ music.
17. A radical bend in the direction of his trumpet’s __ became part of the visual signature of Dizzie Gillespie.
18. Dizzie Gillespie was intimately associated with an intellectual type of jazz that emphasized cascades of notes played pell mell. This early modern jazz was called __.
19. "Break it down," "chops," "crib," "daddy-o," "dig" and similar words were jazz __, words that could indicate that you were an insider. Eventually these words went mainstream, such as the recent phrase “wanna give a shout-out to my man, Roscoe.”
20. A plectrum as in plectrum banjo, is a musical device better known as . . . a) mute b) capo c) resonator d) pick.
21. Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and other jazzers offered vocal improvisation with random vocables and syllables or without words at all. This is called __ singing.
22. The Vietnam War Memorial Wall mimics a wound in that it cuts into the turf - the viewer of the wall walks down a sidewalk which goes progressively deeper into the soil of the national mall. The design is based on a chevron, or shape of the letter _ .
23. The Vietnam War Memorial Wall was designed by a female and, in fact, an Asian-American. Her name is Maya __ .
24. Rushing water and island-like concrete blocks in the midst of the torrent are part of the design of the water gardens downtown in the city of __ __.
25. Freud's work with free association, dream analysis and the hidden unconscious was of the utmost importance to the artists known as __ in developing methods to liberate imagination.
26. Trompe l'oeil: A style of painting that presents an illusion of __ __ .
27. The French phrase trompe l'œil means to decieve the __ .
1. New Orleans.
2. Chicago_ .
3. NYC .
4. Black diaspora .
5. 1900
6. Congo Square / Place Congo
7. Creole
8. African / Black
9. Old Section / Old Square
10. Second Line
11. Ludwig
12. bass drum
13. Three
14. African-Americans
15. Jazz
16. folk
17. Horn or bell
18. Bebop Dizzie
19. shibboleths
20. pick.
21. scat singing
22. V
23. Lin
24. Ft Worth
25. Surrealists
26. 3 D reality
27. eye
European Fine Arts
1. This type of art (or literature) includes the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur (“does not follow”): ____ .
2. Clyde Connnell did most of her work in Shreveport and at Lake Bistineau but she was born and raised on a plantation in Texas. T / F
3. Name the distinctive indie / pop group from Iceland in which the guitarist uses a cello bow and sings in an incomprehensible language. a) Radiohead b) Sigur Ros
c) Tetrafusion d) Damien Hirst.
4. American photographer known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and naked men. Robert ___ .
5. In 1924, in collaboration with Man Ray, the French artist
Fernand __ produced and directed the iconic and Futurism-influenced film, Ballet Mécanique (Mechanical Ballet). Neither abstract nor narrative, it is a series of images of a woman's lips and teeth, close-up shots of ordinary objects, and repeated images of human activities and machines in rhythmic movement.
6. René François ____ (1898 - 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. Popular interest in his work rose in the 1960s. His imagery has influenced pop, minimalist and conceptual art.
7. ____ism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features. Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe adopted the motto "Less is more" to describe his aesthetic tactic of arranging the numerous necessary components of a building to create an impression of extreme simplicity.
8. The history of the ownership of an object, especially when documented or authenticated. Used in regards artworks, antiques, and books: a) provenance
b) scrutiny c) faux marbre d) dilettante.
9. The region known as the Cote d’Azur lies alongside the _(geographical feature)_ in southern France.
10. The _____ are members of the upper or merchant class, whose status or power comes from employment, education, and wealth.
1. surrealism 2. F 3. Sigur Ros 4. Mapplethorpe 5. Leger 6. Magritte
7. Minimalism 8. a provenance 9. Mediterranean 10. bourgeois
Dylan and Miles and the East Coast / Trudeau
1. Name the old community within Boston that is home to Harvard University: a) Cambridge b) Oxford c) Newport
d) Lexington.
2. Name the Massachusetts island that is the summer home to America’s wealthy class. __ __
3. Name the Massachusetts peninsula that has provided inspiration to many writers and is dominated by the artistic community called P’town, or Provincetown. __ __
4. Bard U, Colgate U, Cornell U, St John's U, Sarah Lawrence U, SUNY, Syracuse U, US Military Academy (West Point) and Vassar U are all institutions in this state.
Name the state.
5. Berklee School of Music, Brandeis U, Mt Holyoke U, Tufts U, Wellesley U and Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst.: what state?
6. Columbia U, Barnard U, Cooper Union, Fordham U, Hofstra U, Hunter College, Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Marymount U, New School for Social Research, NYU, Pace U, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute and Union Theological Seminary. What state?
7. Midtown Manhattan hotel famous for artistic residents such as Arthur C Clarke, William S Burroughs and Andy Warhol.
8. Harvard U was founded in the a) 1500’s b) 1600’s c) 1700’s d) 1800’s.
9. Harvard’s greatest academic distinction lies in its
a) library b) Medical school c) religious studies
d) Radcliffe College.
10. Dylan was born and raised in a) NYC b) Minnesota c) Texas d) California.
11. Miles Davis was known for relatively flashy playing rather than sparse playing that served the song. T / F
12. Which of the 2 great artists, Miles and Dylan, had major problems with drug abuse?
13. Name the East Coast town famous for both an influential folk fest and a celebrated jazz fest.
14. “Kind of __ “ is the name of the best-selling and classic Miles Davis album from which come tunes such as “So what.”
15. Notable photographic chronicler of the denizens of Storyville, New Orleans: EJ __ .
16. An ideal type of lens for portraiture: __ .
17. Recommended movie on the holocaust based on a novel by Irish writer John Boyne: __ __ .
18. Type of lighting useful for modeling, which is bringing out the contours of the subject’s face: __ .
1. a Cambridge
2. Martha’s Vineyard
3. Cape Cod
4. NY
5. Mass
6. NY
7. Chelsea
8. b 1600’s
9. a library
10. b Minnesota
11. F
12. Miles
13. Newport, RI
14. Blue
15. Belocq
16. telephoto
17. Boy in Striped Pajamas
18. side lighting
Open notes, multiple choice, Scantron, 100-question exam based on past tests.
1. Phoenicia was an ancient civilization centered in the north of Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal regions of modern day Lebanon, Syria and __ .
2. The Levant was an ancient region in the Eastern end of the Mediterranean. T / F
3. In the realm of language and literature, the Phoenicians are credited with development of the __ .
4. Phoenicians must be related to the Jewish peoples. T / F
5. Jabal is Arabic for a) monument b) mountain c) knife wound d) mascara.
6. Spain makes the biggest part of what we refer to as the __ Peninsula.
7. The Muslim Arabs invaded Christian European territory
by ship. T / F
8. S’il vous plait must mean a) thank you b) best regards
c) please d) if you must go . . .
9. Drama, including tragedy and comedy, is one of the arts that was not created by the Romans nor by the Greeks.
T / F
10. The Times review of Abby Singer’s Bistro featured two pieces of grilled, marinated __, which were served on a bed of arugula with tomatoes, olives and prosciutto.
11. The Times reviews notes that “My friend scrapped off the onions — not an onion person myself, I couldn't blame her.” That was a) illiterate in at least 2 ways b) a marvelous moment to share with the reader.
12. The two principal elements of a review, according to your teacher, are __ and __ .
13. Sparta vs Athens: the wars that took place about 400 BCE on the __ Peninsula.
14. To the Greeks, withholding intimate contact from their husbands - to stop the war - seems to be a a) ridiculous idea b) clever idea in a play by Aristophanes called Lysistrata.
15. Characterized by sinuous, asymmetrical lines based on plant forms, this style was used in architecture, interior design, graphic art and design, jewelry, and glass. It was international in scope and was called __ __ .
1. Israel
2. true
3. alphabet
4. true
5. b mountain
6. Iberian
7. true
8. c please
9. false
10. mozzarella / cheese
11. a illiterate
12. description, evaluation
13. Peloponnese
14. a ridiculous
15. art nouveau
Fine Arts / open notes intro to Greece quiz / Robert Trudeau
1. The sea that lies both north and east of Greece is one that Homer called “the wine-dark sea.” It is the __.
2. Sparta, Olympia and Corinth are on the principal peninsula of Greece. This region has four fingers (small peninsulas) and is called the ___ .
3. Across the Adriatic Sea from Greece lies a nation whose southern region was once part of the Greek Empire: __ .
4. Place whose name - when translated from the Latin - implies “middle” and “earth,” or “terrain,” therefore a region in the middle of two great regions of the earth. The place is the __ __.
5. The ancient culture and nation - the name means “purple” - that has, in the modern era, become Lebanon: __ .
6. Israel is both a historic name and the contemporary name of a recently-formed nation. Its ancient name is __ .
7. The great Greek city of Egypt: __ .
8. Give the modern name of an ancient Turkish city that has borne 3 names: __ .
9. What is the mnemonic that allows us to remember the names - in order - of the most famous Greek philosophers?
10. What material object - disallowing sculpture - performed the same role as photography in the Classical Greek era?
11. The dirty little secret of Athenian Democracy: the use of a large number of __ .
12. Who developed the earlier notable civilization?
a) Cretans b) Cretins c) Athenians d) Spartans.
13. The word that denotes an advanced sense of beauty and purity of taste: __ .
14. The building is the Parthenon; the mesa upon which it lies is the __ .
15. Eleuthera is a gorgeous island in the Bahamas. Eleutherae is an inland location in the nation of __ .
16. Aphrodite would be known by the Romans as __ .
17. The Norwegian explorer and author who tested the trekking possibilities of the ancient Mesopotamians, Polynesians and Egyptians. Thor __ .
18. The notable Greek island that suffered an enormous volcanic explosion about 1600 BCE.
19. An example of sagging in ancient Greek statuary:
__ __ .
20. __ is a philosophy of art and life that emphasizes order, balance, and simplicity.
1. Aegean
2. Peloponnesus
3. L' Italia
4. Mediterranean
5. Phoenicia
6. Palestine
7. Alexandria
8. Istanbul (Constantinople, Byzantium)
9. Spa (a hot-springs resort in Belgium)
10. pottery
11.slaves
12. Cretans
13. aesthetics
14. Acropolis
15. Greece
16. Venus
17. Heyerdahl
18. Santorini (aka Thera)
19. the Venus de Milo
20. classicism
1. Democracy and art was enabled partly by the system of slavery.
2. The Greek Empire, which preceded the Roman Empire, included parts of Turkey and Italy. See Greek temples in 3 nations.
3. The Minoan civilization, on the island of Crete, preceded the rise of Athens, the center of art, and Sparta, the center of militarism.
4. The city-states of Sparta and Corinth as well as the temples at Olympia are on a peninsula known as the Peloponnesus.
5. Greek pottery is so finely painted that it is an important source of historic evidence. Their pottery resembles photography.
6. Helmets, shields and ships show that the Greeks had a taste for the fine curve and graceful proportion. They had a high sense of the
aesthetic: artistic beauty and taste.
7. The Spartans pursued the art of war, the Athenians were equally serious about the aesthetics in every other phase of life.
8. The name of the great temple above Athens is the Parthenon, named for Athena Parthenos, "Athena the the virgin." Btw, here we see a connection with Mary, virgin mother of Jesus. The mesa on which the extraordinary temple is built is the Acropolis (acrophobia, fear of heights).
9. The shocking realism achieved by Greek sculptors is perhaps exemplified by the Discus Thrower created by Myron of Eleutherae about 450 BC.
10. Spa, a word denoting a health center, is an acronym for the 3 great Athenian thinkers: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. "Spa" gives us the chronological order.
1. Ellington Great pianist as well as band leader and composer?
2. Ellington Famous as a New Yorker but was a native of Washington, DC?
3. Armstrong Loved smoking reefer?
4. Armstrong Cut some great records in Chicago?
5. Ellington Famous for the tune "Take the A Train"?
6. Armstrong Famous for his performances of the tune "Basin St Blues"?
7. Reinhardt Played his instrument with 2 fingers?
8. Armstrong Married 4 times?
9. Reinhardt Born and raised in Belgium?
10. Armstrong Wrote 2 biographies?
Vocab - sociocultural, hermeneutic, enigmatic, abysmal, cacophony, solace, quantum, squalling, disharmonious, dramatic foil, pouty, semi-coherent, brooding, mopey, ciphers, flouting, libido, rakish, facade, somber, demeanor, suave, cynical, cold war, totalitarian, humorlessness, paladin, pseudoserious,, cosmopolitan, provincial
11. sonically chaotic: cacaphony or disharmonious
12. showing off - bragging: flouting
13. the face of a buidling or a person: facade
14. mysterious: enigmatic
15. rotten terrible: abysmal
16. soberly controls your entire life: totalitarian
17. person with broad educational background and broad point of view: cosmopolitan
18. the psychic and emotional energy associated with instinctual biological drives: libido
19. a paragon of chivalry; a heroic champion: paladin
20. person whose education and outlook are limited and inhibited: provincial, parochial
Back to jazz -
21. Chicago Second city of Jazz (and of the US in general): __ .
22. NYC City in which the fathers of jazz - such as Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong settled.
23. diaspora Movement of impoverished black Americans from the farms of the Deep South to urban centers of Upper Midwest and Northeast: __ .
24. 1890's - 1900 Approximate date for the birth of jazz: __ .
25. Congo Square or Place Congo Name given to the place in New Orleans where slaves gathered on Sundays: __ __ .
26. Creole Louisiana term for people of mixed ethnic background, esp. a mixture of French, Spanish, native American and Afro-Caribbean: __ .
27. African (or mixed) Gens de couleur libre was a special ethnic category in NO. It indicated a person who was __ yet not a slave.
28. Second line Parade dance practiced by New Orleanians in funeral processions: __ __ .
29. Dizzy Gillespie A radical bend in the direction of his trumpet’s bell became part of the visual signature of __ __.
30. shibboleth "Break it down," "chops," "crib," "daddy-o," "dig" and similar words were jazz __, words that could indicate that you were an insider. Eventually these words went mainstream, such as the recent phrase “wanna give a shout-out to Shirley.”
Three of the greatest figures of early jazz:
a) Louis Amrmstrong
b) Duke Ellington
c) Django Rheinhardt
What's the best fellow - of the 3 above - to accompany these cues?
1. Born and raised in Washington, DC?
2. Great pianist as well as band leader and composer?
3. Loved smoking reefer?
4. Cut some great records in Chicago?
5. The tune "Take the A Train"?
6. The tune "Basin St Blues"?
7. Played his instrument with 2 fingers?
8. Married 4 times?
9. Born and raised in Belgium?
10. Wrote 2 biographies?
1. Duke
2. Duke
3. Satchmo
4.Satchmo
5. Duke
6. Satchmo
7. Django - the guitarist's hands were damaged in a fire.
8. Satchmo.
9. Django
10. Satchmo - he traveled with a typewriter because he loved writing letters. Armstrong wrote 2 autobiographies. The one that survives is My Life in New Orleans (avail in paperback
Jazz and modern art quiz
1. First city of jazz: __ __.
2. Second city of Jazz (and of the US in general): __ .
3. Third city to which the fathers of jazz - such as Joe Oliver and Louis Armstrong - relocated: __ __ .
4. Movement of impoverished black Americans from the farms of the Deep South to urban centers of Upper Midwest and Northeast: __ .
5. Approximate date for the birth of jazz: __ .
6. Name given to the place in New Orleans where slaves gathered on Sundays: __ __ .
7. Louisiana term for people of mixed ethnic background, esp. a mixture of French, Spanish, native American and Afro-Caribbean: __ .
8. Gens de couleur libre was a special ethnic category in NO. It indicated a person who was __ yet not a slave.
9. Another name for the French Quarter is Vieux Carre; it means: __ __ .
10. Parade dance practiced by New Orleanians at funerals: __ __ .
11. The founder of a drum manufacturing company (the Beatles used these) is credited with developing the trap drum set. The company? __ .
12. The key mechanical item in a drum set, or trap drum kit, is a foot pedal that enables the percussionist to sock the heck out of the __ __ .
13. The advent of the drum kit at the turn of the century enabled musical groups to reduce the percussion personnel from __ players to one.
14. The banjo originates with the ethnic group known as __ __.
15. Typically the 5-string banjo is used in playing __ music.
16. The 4-string banjo is commonly used in __ music.
17. A radical bend in the direction of his trumpet’s __ became part of the visual signature of Dizzie Gillespie.
18. Dizzie Gillespie was intimately associated with an intellectual type of jazz that emphasized cascades of notes played pell mell. This early modern jazz was called __.
19. "Break it down," "chops," "crib," "daddy-o," "dig" and similar words were jazz __, words that could indicate that you were an insider. Eventually these words went mainstream, such as the recent phrase “wanna give a shout-out to my man, Roscoe.”
20. A plectrum as in plectrum banjo, is a musical device better known as . . . a) mute b) capo c) resonator d) pick.
21. Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and other jazzers offered vocal improvisation with random vocables and syllables or without words at all. This is called __ singing.
22. The Vietnam War Memorial Wall mimics a wound in that it cuts into the turf - the viewer of the wall walks down a sidewalk which goes progressively deeper into the soil of the national mall. The design is based on a chevron, or shape of the letter _ .
23. The Vietnam War Memorial Wall was designed by a female and, in fact, an Asian-American. Her name is Maya __ .
24. Rushing water and island-like concrete blocks in the midst of the torrent are part of the design of the water gardens downtown in the city of __ __.
25. Freud's work with free association, dream analysis and the hidden unconscious was of the utmost importance to the artists known as __ in developing methods to liberate imagination.
26. Trompe l'oeil: A style of painting that presents an illusion of __ __ .
27. The French phrase trompe l'œil means to decieve the __ .
1. New Orleans.
2. Chicago_ .
3. NYC .
4. Black diaspora .
5. 1900
6. Congo Square / Place Congo
7. Creole
8. African / Black
9. Old Section / Old Square
10. Second Line
11. Ludwig
12. bass drum
13. Three
14. African-Americans
15. Jazz
16. folk
17. Horn or bell
18. Bebop Dizzie
19. shibboleths
20. pick.
21. scat singing
22. V
23. Lin
24. Ft Worth
25. Surrealists
26. 3 D reality
27. eye
European Fine Arts
1. This type of art (or literature) includes the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur (“does not follow”): ____ .
2. Clyde Connnell did most of her work in Shreveport and at Lake Bistineau but she was born and raised on a plantation in Texas. T / F
3. Name the distinctive indie / pop group from Iceland in which the guitarist uses a cello bow and sings in an incomprehensible language. a) Radiohead b) Sigur Ros
c) Tetrafusion d) Damien Hirst.
4. American photographer known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and naked men. Robert ___ .
5. In 1924, in collaboration with Man Ray, the French artist
Fernand __ produced and directed the iconic and Futurism-influenced film, Ballet Mécanique (Mechanical Ballet). Neither abstract nor narrative, it is a series of images of a woman's lips and teeth, close-up shots of ordinary objects, and repeated images of human activities and machines in rhythmic movement.
6. René François ____ (1898 - 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. Popular interest in his work rose in the 1960s. His imagery has influenced pop, minimalist and conceptual art.
7. ____ism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is stripped down to its most fundamental features. Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe adopted the motto "Less is more" to describe his aesthetic tactic of arranging the numerous necessary components of a building to create an impression of extreme simplicity.
8. The history of the ownership of an object, especially when documented or authenticated. Used in regards artworks, antiques, and books: a) provenance
b) scrutiny c) faux marbre d) dilettante.
9. The region known as the Cote d’Azur lies alongside the _(geographical feature)_ in southern France.
10. The _____ are members of the upper or merchant class, whose status or power comes from employment, education, and wealth.
1. surrealism 2. F 3. Sigur Ros 4. Mapplethorpe 5. Leger 6. Magritte
7. Minimalism 8. a provenance 9. Mediterranean 10. bourgeois
Dylan and Miles and the East Coast / Trudeau
1. Name the old community within Boston that is home to Harvard University: a) Cambridge b) Oxford c) Newport
d) Lexington.
2. Name the Massachusetts island that is the summer home to America’s wealthy class. __ __
3. Name the Massachusetts peninsula that has provided inspiration to many writers and is dominated by the artistic community called P’town, or Provincetown. __ __
4. Bard U, Colgate U, Cornell U, St John's U, Sarah Lawrence U, SUNY, Syracuse U, US Military Academy (West Point) and Vassar U are all institutions in this state.
Name the state.
5. Berklee School of Music, Brandeis U, Mt Holyoke U, Tufts U, Wellesley U and Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst.: what state?
6. Columbia U, Barnard U, Cooper Union, Fordham U, Hofstra U, Hunter College, Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Marymount U, New School for Social Research, NYU, Pace U, Parsons School of Design, Pratt Institute and Union Theological Seminary. What state?
7. Midtown Manhattan hotel famous for artistic residents such as Arthur C Clarke, William S Burroughs and Andy Warhol.
8. Harvard U was founded in the a) 1500’s b) 1600’s c) 1700’s d) 1800’s.
9. Harvard’s greatest academic distinction lies in its
a) library b) Medical school c) religious studies
d) Radcliffe College.
10. Dylan was born and raised in a) NYC b) Minnesota c) Texas d) California.
11. Miles Davis was known for relatively flashy playing rather than sparse playing that served the song. T / F
12. Which of the 2 great artists, Miles and Dylan, had major problems with drug abuse?
13. Name the East Coast town famous for both an influential folk fest and a celebrated jazz fest.
14. “Kind of __ “ is the name of the best-selling and classic Miles Davis album from which come tunes such as “So what.”
15. Notable photographic chronicler of the denizens of Storyville, New Orleans: EJ __ .
16. An ideal type of lens for portraiture: __ .
17. Recommended movie on the holocaust based on a novel by Irish writer John Boyne: __ __ .
18. Type of lighting useful for modeling, which is bringing out the contours of the subject’s face: __ .
1. a Cambridge
2. Martha’s Vineyard
3. Cape Cod
4. NY
5. Mass
6. NY
7. Chelsea
8. b 1600’s
9. a library
10. b Minnesota
11. F
12. Miles
13. Newport, RI
14. Blue
15. Belocq
16. telephoto
17. Boy in Striped Pajamas
18. side lighting
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Photography has made history much easier to understand and the invention of the portable camera was a great advancement
Photography has made history much easier to understand and the invention of the portable camera was a great advancement
Originally uploaded by Narayan Hearn
The Brownie used the daylight loading system popularized by Eastman, says Wikipedia. More than 100,000 were sold in 1900, its first year.
The Brownie, which had been intended for the children's market, was quickly embraced by all age groups and became an American classic. Brownie box cameras were still made after the Second World War.
In 1884, Eastman patented a photographic medium that replaced fragile glass plates with a photo-emulsion coated on paper rolls. The invention of roll film greatly sped up the process of recording multiple images.[2]
Eastman then received a patent in 1888 for a camera designed to use roll film. He coined the marketing phrase, "You press the button, we do the rest."
On September 4, 1888 Eastman registered the trademark Kodak. The letter "K" had been a favorite of Eastman's. He said, "[I]t seems a strong, incisive sort of letter".[5] Eastman and his mother devised the name Kodak with an anagram set. He used three principal concepts to create the name: it must be short, it could not be mispronounced, and it could not resemble anything else or be associated with anything other than itself.[6]
Philanthropy was a notable part of Eastman's life: He donated to the University of Rochester, establishing the Eastman School of Music and School of Dentistry; to Tuskegee Institute; and to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In all, he gave away some $100 million.
A word that means a "room" in Latin: camera
Photography is the result of combining several technical discoveries, says Wikipedia. Long before the first photographs were made, Chinese philosopher Mo Ti described a pinhole camera in the 5th century B.C.E,[1] Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965–1040) studied the camera obscura and pinhole camera,[1][2]
Albertus Magnus (1139-1238) discovered silver nitrate, and Georges Fabricius (1516-1571) discovered silver chloride. Daniel Barbaro described a diaphragm in 1568.
Wilhelm Homberg described how light darkened some chemicals (photochemical effect) in 1694. The fiction book Giphantie (by the French Tiphaigne de la Roche, 1729-1774) described what can be interpreted as photography.
The camera obscura did not record an image, but projected images from an opening in the wall of a darkened room onto a surface, turning the room into a large pinhole camera. The phrase camera obscura literally means dark chamber.
The first permanent photograph was an image produced in 1825 by the French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce on a polished pewter plate covered with a petroleum derivative called bitumen of Judea. Produced with a camera, the image required an eight-hour exposure in bright sunshine.
In 1839 Louis Daguerre announced that he had invented a process using silver on a copper plate called the daguerreotype.
By 1840, William Henry Fox Talbot had invented the calotype process. He coated paper sheets with silver chloride to create an intermediate negative image. Unlike a daguerreotype, a calotype negative could be used to reproduce positive prints, like most chemical films do today. Talbot patented[7] this process, which greatly limited its adoption.
The daguerreotype proved popular in responding to the demand for portraiture emerging from the middle classes during the Industrial Revolution.[citation needed] This demand, that could not be met in volume and in cost by oil painting, added to the push for the development of photography.
Albertus Magnus (1139-1238) discovered silver nitrate, and Georges Fabricius (1516-1571) discovered silver chloride. Daniel Barbaro described a diaphragm in 1568.
Wilhelm Homberg described how light darkened some chemicals (photochemical effect) in 1694. The fiction book Giphantie (by the French Tiphaigne de la Roche, 1729-1774) described what can be interpreted as photography.
The camera obscura did not record an image, but projected images from an opening in the wall of a darkened room onto a surface, turning the room into a large pinhole camera. The phrase camera obscura literally means dark chamber.
The first permanent photograph was an image produced in 1825 by the French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce on a polished pewter plate covered with a petroleum derivative called bitumen of Judea. Produced with a camera, the image required an eight-hour exposure in bright sunshine.
In 1839 Louis Daguerre announced that he had invented a process using silver on a copper plate called the daguerreotype.
By 1840, William Henry Fox Talbot had invented the calotype process. He coated paper sheets with silver chloride to create an intermediate negative image. Unlike a daguerreotype, a calotype negative could be used to reproduce positive prints, like most chemical films do today. Talbot patented[7] this process, which greatly limited its adoption.
The daguerreotype proved popular in responding to the demand for portraiture emerging from the middle classes during the Industrial Revolution.[citation needed] This demand, that could not be met in volume and in cost by oil painting, added to the push for the development of photography.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Soft side light streams from the glass brick in the lobby of the Pac at Cmhs
Soft side light is what you want for your matted portrait project for Fine Arts. This week we looked at the way photogs use soft side lighting to bring out the contours of the face.
Another trick we discussed is use of the telephoto lens. A lens of 105 mm or greater will produce a degree of compression of features that nearly always is flattering.
"Telephoto lenses allow us to reach out into space to bring our subjects closer to us. While wide-angle lenses can expand our frame to deepen the illusion of space, telephoto lenses can compress our subjects within the frame, creating much flatter images, and layer subject upon subject to help express our ideas.
Telephoto lenses also allow us to move closer to people to create powerful portraits. We do not invade their space, and their responses are often more relaxed as a result." So its says at Highbeam.com.
Another trick we discussed is use of the telephoto lens. A lens of 105 mm or greater will produce a degree of compression of features that nearly always is flattering.
"Telephoto lenses allow us to reach out into space to bring our subjects closer to us. While wide-angle lenses can expand our frame to deepen the illusion of space, telephoto lenses can compress our subjects within the frame, creating much flatter images, and layer subject upon subject to help express our ideas.
Telephoto lenses also allow us to move closer to people to create powerful portraits. We do not invade their space, and their responses are often more relaxed as a result." So its says at Highbeam.com.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas: outstanding movie on the holocaust at RFC Dec 5 - 12
Get indie credit by writing an evaluation of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Check it at RobinsonFilmCenter.org. Highly recommended.
See my review at Shreveport.blogspot.com.
See my review at Shreveport.blogspot.com.
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