TonyWardStudio.com

LouPop Collection

Posted on May 19, 2012

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Editor’s Note: To learn more about the life and times of LouPop and the collection of vernacular photography, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click the green icon.
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Photo: Courtesy of The Estate of Anthony Colagreco.

www.PhiladelphiasDentist.com

Editor’s Note: May 17, 2012 – To contact Dr. Jeff for consultation: 215-592-4747. Sponsored in part by Dental Health Care Group.

LouPop Collection

Posted on May 15, 2012

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LouPop Collection

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LouPop Collection

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LouPop Collection

Editor’s Note: To learn more about the life and times of LouPop and the collection of vernacular photography, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click the green icon.

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Photos: Courtesy of The Estate of Anthony Colagreco

Wedding Dress

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Natalie Franke

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INTRODUCTION

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……….It all began with a question, “If I don’t like the way I look in my images, you can make me skinnier – right?” The bride looked at me questioningly across the table, with an insecure and completely serious stare. She did not hesitate in asking the question, she was not joking nor would she take my response lightly. As a professional wedding photographer, whether or not I am willing to digitally alter the human form has become an issue of increasing concern for my clients. My ability and desire to make these virtual alterations has a direct impact on which weddings, and how many of them, I am able to book each year. Sitting across from this bride to be, I was suddenly I faced an issue much greater than I was ready to understand.

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Wedding Day

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For me the question was not whether I could manipulate her images to make her resemble her bridal magazine covers – airbrushed, nip-tucked, and perfected in Photoshop – but whether I should. A trend that flourished across the magazine and advertising world was now filtering down into the wedding industry and was affecting soon to be brides on a deeply personal level. I couldn’t fathom why a young woman wouldn’t want to be herself in her wedding photographs, let alone where she would find the audacity to ask her wedding photographer to sculpt away her arms, waistline and all of the “imperfections” that make her uniquely beautiful.

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What happened to cause this cultural and societal mentality? At some point in the feminine race for the ideal, natural beauty was no longer enough. Teaching young girls to simply love themselves was traded for an increasingly scrutinized and virtually plastic portrayal of womanhood. Why do women feel the need to deceptively change themselves in the digital darkroom rather than accepting themselves, embracing their unique and natural beauty?

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Photoshop

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Even more perplexing is that the majority of women who inquire about digital manipulation have, in my personal opinion, already met or surpassed conventional notions of beauty. But somehow these women, despite all attempts to make themselves fit into the mold that society deems to be perfect, are still so dissatisfied with their nautical image that they desire to be digitally altered. The drive to reach ‘perfection’ has become magnified across nearly all aspects of our visual culture and women are being affected to a degree that I find extremely concerning.

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As a professional photographer, an image-maker, and a young woman, the ethical rules governing the manipulation of images are so blurry, so undefined and debated that they are arguably nonexistent. Levels of digital manipulation vary from photographer to photographer and the expectations from clients are equally as opaque. And even with stronger ethical guidelines in place or a system of identifying images that have been altered in some way, will it do anything to stop the self-inflicted comparisons being made by impressionable young women?

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Although my brides may or may not be aware that their magazine covers and favorite fashion models undergo drastic digital alterations, this falsified perception of beauty will still have a deeply ingrained impact on body-image and perception of self. The conscious awareness that an image has been manipulated, may not stop their drive to compare, scrutinize, and compete with the societal ideal that lies before them. It doesn’t change the underlying associations between what is naturally possible and what is digitally sculpted in Photoshop.

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Photoshop Pharmacy

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All of these issues and questions initiated my search into the implications of the digital manipulation of photographic images in the media. This exploration is equally motivated by my drive to define the implications of these practices as a photographer as well as my concern over the welfare of young women, like myself. It is both a personal and professional area of importance, which has pushed me to question the very morals of my own artistic practice. Before I step forward into a career in full-time photography, before I begin this new life as a creator of visual culture, I must be aware of the impact of modern photographic manipulations.

About The Author: Natalie Franke is a professional wedding photographer based in Washington D.C. and has recently completed her Visual Studies senior thesis at the University of Pennsylvania. To learn more about Natalie Franke, log on: www.NatalieFranke.com.
Copyright 2012

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To Be Continued……….

Jean Ward

……….On July 9, 2012 my mother will celebrate her 92 birthday. Happy Mother’s Day mom and to all the mother’s in the world!

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Mom's Kitchen Mother's Day

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Editor’s Note: To learn more about Jean Ward, go to search bar at top of the page: enter FAMILY LEGACY PROJECT, and click green icon.

Love

Posted on May 10, 2012 BY A.H. Scott

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……….It’s ironic that some of those who are most vocal against same sex marriage are those who have dinosaur bones in their own closets. Archbishop Timothy Dolan, here in NYC, said that ‘it’s a sad day for the children’. WTF?!!!! Now, I know I’m probably going to feel a little pitchfork in my butt for saying that. But, c’mon, Catholic Church. You above all other institutions want to talk about sin. Look inward instead of outward for what sin truly is. And, then there’s Mitt Romney who says “I believe marriage is between one man and one woman”. And, when I heard him say that, I was waiting for him to add ..”I believe marriage is between one man and one woman….and one woman….and another woman. WTF? That’s the history of Romney’s own ancestors of multiple wives. And, of course, Newt (Mr. Married Again and Again) Gingrich. And, all the other hypocrites down the line speak morality for themselves only. So, those who have all these rights already (and never have to enter a court to validate them) are always bitchin and moanin about the destruction of the institution of marriage, if gay men and lesbian woman get married would live by the words they love to always spout; show some Christian compassion and brotherhood and – LET LOVE RULE..!!”

Copyright 2012

About The Author: Editor’s Note: To read more of A.H. Scott, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click green icon.

Smile: www.PhiladelphiasDentist.com

Editor’s Note: April 26, 2012 – To contact Dr. Jeff for consultation: 215-592-4747. Sponsored in part by Dental Health Care Group.

Photo: Luciano Ruiz

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Luciano Ruiz

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Photography is the medium by which one creates art through visual observation and careful deliberation. Over time it has allowed us to see the world in a different way by recreating images that are often overlooked by the naked eye. Being able to explore this contemporary form of expression over the past months has dramatically changed the way in which I interpret the environment around me. Throughout the course of this semester I have learned to make sense of every situation that surrounds me in order to produce frames that are both innovative and captivating. For this individual project I have decided to explore fashion and its relation to this flexible medium.

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Photo: Luciano Ruiz

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……….Fashion and photography have been evolving side-by-side for decades. Photographers are essential in capturing novel tendencies, while their images at the same time create trends themselves. It is this interplay of novelty and creativity that inspired me to create a fashion project. The subject’s exotic traits were my main inspiration. The subtlety of her skin along with the fine features of her face presented me with a blank slate from which to produce unique photographs.

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I was quickly moved by the subject’s reminiscence of the casual interplay between texture and color that characterize the Incas, native peoples of her home country Peru. For that reason I decided to use opposing colors and fabrics in order to create the perfect contrast between the subject and the setting surrounding her. By layering different clothing pieces and accessories I was also able to create this contrasting effect.

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Photo: Luciano Ruiz

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I soon realized that fashion shoots do not only entail good styling, but also require detailed preparation of the setting in which the subject will be placed. As stated above, the model’s subtle facial features were one of my main inspirations. In order to create that contrast I was trying to achieve throughout the shoot, I decided to place her in a setting with rough lines and strong textures. The presence of concrete walls and stainless steel elements fit perfectly with the subject. This allowed me to manipulate her and draw attention towards the aspects that I found most intriguing. As soon as I took out my camera I began to see with different eyes the environment around me. I set my imagination free and naturally captured what caught my attention. Allowing my creativity to wonder not only yielded results that were amazing, but that were also in tune with own personal beliefs and pleasures.

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Photo: Luciano Ruiz

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As I look back to the progress I’ve made throughout this course, I cannot help but feel proud of what I have achieved. I was able to produce amazing results by positively incorporating feedback into every subsequent project I undertook. The fact that I was able to integrate a setting and adapt it to the needs of this project is a vast improvement from previous assignments. Additionally, I kept true to my interests and desires throughout each project. Individually, they reflect different facets of our daily environment, but as a whole they mirror my own creative, social and political agenda as an aspiring photographer.

About The Author: Luciano Ruiz is a Candidate for Bachelor of Arts, University of Pennsylvania – Class of 2013
Photographs by Luciano Ruiz – Copyright 2012

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Editor’s Note: To access additional articles by Luciano Ruiz, go to the search bar at the top of the page: enter name and click green icon.

Jennifer Cole

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Jennifer Cole

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MOVING ON

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……….Here is something I think everyone ought to know: Sometimes in order to get anything done, or maybe just progress to the next step in life, you need to have your heart broken. The emotional devastation caused by heartbreak – forces us to exist at an emotional bottom so low that there arises only 2 options: 1. We Die, or 2. Climb out of the hellhole we have found ourselves in.

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This dilemma is actually a good thing. It is not only the state of misery that teaches us so much, but it is also important to understand the journey and the reason for the misery (when we thought we were happy), where we must realize, acknowledge, and accept the truth of the situation in it’s entirety. Upon acceptance, there is no turning back. More importantly, opportunity is now so obviously in the forefront, that wallowing simply isn’t an option, nor do I feel the need to even pretend it’s an option anymore (turning back, that is).

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Editor’s Note: To see more pictures of Jennifer Cole, go to the search bar at the top of the page: type in name and click the green icon.

Lorena

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Lorena Nicol

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Illocality.

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Erotica intrudes on the illimitable grotesque. The erotic experience is paradoxical, at once infinitely expansive but also divisive. The notion of privacy establishes borders within the erotic moment, as the subject is isolated by subjective perceptual experience that is pervasive. Genuine passion manifests as all-consuming, and thus illimitable.

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Lorena

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True carnal understanding arises internally and from the expression of grotesque (unre?ned) impulses. The erotic moment does not have an isolated locus, but engages the entire self. This includes what is visible to the intruder and what isbeyond the intruder’s experience. The erotic moment acts previous to super-egorestraints that might modulate its primordial traits.

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Lorena

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To this end I propose an image of self-examination – the activity of analysis, the primary purpose of Philo as a space. My composition will showcase an intrusion on a moment of seeking internal understanding. The viewer should understand herself as having interrupted the subject’s concentrated effort to understand the erotic moment by engaging with it. Within the piece, the principle symbolic element will be the juxtaposition between the insistently polite/sterile setting of the Philomathean meeting hall and the blatant engagement with grotesque/unclean subject matter (in this case, literally mud).

Copyright 2012

To Be Continued……….