The Journey

MORE Pinhole

The Notion of Man

An idea...

Time is but an idea. So is the absolute. This is a photograph I took the other night of Bryce while boarding the 6-story parking garage at school. The rest of the photos from that night can be seen by clicking on the photo.

DSC_0931, originally uploaded by J.P. Ryan Photography.

April 29, 2010 - Earth, Art, & Everything In Between.

Long day. Nothing to say. Red filter for contrast.

April 28, 2010 - A Deep Fried Grave

Today it finally happened. De'Angelo and I have been arguing about the appeal of the KFC Double Down for a couple of weeks now. Tonight he picked one up, brought it over, and took it down to China town. I decided it would make a perfect photo essay. Not only are there some fun images, but it documents the beginning of his early death. Enjoy!

April 27, 2010

Yesterday, I was sitting in class, and there was a mini-discussion about a student's photo that could have/should have been taken with a long exposure to create a desired feeling of motion that this student seemed to be looking for. The student sitting in front of me then asked, "Couldn't you just use a motion blur filter?". The teacher agreed that this would be one possible way to achieve a feeling of motion. The student who took the photo continued to discuss the photo, and explained how she needed to wait until a certain time to achieve the desired color of her subject. The questioning student then asked, "Couldn't you just adjust the color with a hue/saturation adjustment layer?". Before the professor could take that one, I decided to jump in. I had heard enough. Unfortunately due to my frustration I wasn't as eloquent as I would have liked, but I made the point that if you just use your camera to take the desired photo you don't have to rely on PHOTOSHOP to try and achieve the desired effect. I'm sure those of you who are photographers can agree with me. With this in mind, I decided to take some multiple exposure photographs today. With all of the talk about composite images I have heard this semester, I wanted to get back to the original composite: multiple exposures within the same frame. Take a look and tell me what you think. Regards.

One A Day...So Far

Last week I started a fairly common personal photo project that I like to call, "One A Day". It's a technique used by writers and artists alike, and I feel like it has already started to help me expand my mind even further when I am photographing. I originally started showing my peers this project via Facebook, but I now that I have a bit of an audience, I'd like to start posting them to my blog so I can narrate how I see fit a bit more seamlessly. With this first post, I just wanted to bring the blog up to speed with what I have already posted. So here is April 21-26.

My Letter to Photography

So I was recently asked why I loved photography. While I could have given some type of answer, I felt it would just be easier to post my letter to photography here. Hope you enjoy it -

Dear Photography,

As I stare at this screen, I am beginning to comprehend just what you have done

to me. You are a friend, a confidant, and a contemporary. I am envious at your

strength. You have delivered me through the most difficult of times without

question. And yet you have helped me to remember some of the most joyful

times. The combination of my imagination and vision with your precision and

flexibility has literally created moments of history to be shared with all who care to

see. Such moments are not merely subjected to the frozen confines of a pose or a

portrait, but can write a memory of activity to a single frame. And while you are a

kind, understanding mate, you are also a cold, unforgiving foe whose insatiable

appetite for emotion destroys many. Your vast knowledge and infinite vision can

intimidate. What is there that you have not witnessed? You have captured

moments of hope, dismay, courage, revenge, justice, violence, love, and pain as

painfully blunt as you want. And yet you stay unwavering in your impartiality. For

these reasons, many fear you; reject you. I, however, accept you for this. Like a

delusional genius, you should not be scoffed at and dismissed, but accepted into

the fold for the visionary you truly are. For but are we not all somewhat of a

delusion? Whether it has been merely a hapless tryst or a permanent bond, you

have been there for everyone and everything. Mexico City in '68, Kent St. in '70,

Tiananmen Square in '89 and New York in '01, you have captured life-altering

images. For these examples alone cannot convey your prowess. These are but

four moments in history out of the millions upon millions to reflect upon. These

moments are not only to reflect on by an audience, but they are pieces of each

one of us. Pieces, for better or for worse, recorded for the posterity of tomorrow.

And because of these opportunities to partake in the record of society, I embrace

you. I love you. I hate you. I use you selfishly to help me through tears.

Moreover, I use you to selflessly remember the joys of others. You are a

doorway of creativity yearning to be opened, hoping to be locked behind those

who enter. I am proud to tell you that I have thrown away the key. Thus, it is just

you and I alone in the room of time. We better get to work.

Sincerely yours,

Don't Forget About Art

Just because you have a tool in your hands doesn't mean you should stop creating art; abstract or otherwise. Here's an abstract that I took the other day that I fell in love with. What do you think? Does this do anything for you? Do you love it? Hate it? Tell me peeps.

Keeping It Loose

I love doing shoots with people. They're a lot of fun. You're constantly hitting angles and changing gear. It's a little hectic and pretty fast-paced. However, I think it's important to keep a relaxed outlook on photography. Photography can serve many purposes, but catching moments is one of my favorites. Snapping pictures while hanging out with your friends can be just as fun and rewarding as being on shoots. It helps your mind open up to more and more styles and techniques. Here are a few shots I took the other day while with some of my pals. Let me know what you think!

Pushing My Limits

I have really been trying to push myself lately as I have been shooting. I typically have an idea of my so-called "style" when it comes to shooting, but I've been tearing down those walls as of late and it has really been helping me to grow as a photographer. The biggest area that this applies to my work is portraiture. So, I thought I'd post some of my favorite shots that I have recently taken that have helped me open up my mind as a photographer. I hope you enjoy them.

Life Would Be Absolutely Empty Without...

I, originally uploaded by stussyjoker.

...music. I would rather be blind and mute than lose my hearing. I am very serious. Music blows my mind. It honestly does. After my father passed away, I put together a play list of songs that tied him and I together in a myriad of different ways. When I listen to it, no matter the circumstances, I get choked up during almost every track. To me it's as beautiful as any performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. I know this may be a bit of a morbid thought, but after I compiled the aforementioned play list, I started working on a play list of my own life. A play list that, when I'm gone, I will want people to remember me by. Naturally, this will be an ongoing, and very organic process. I will continue to add to it as life goes on and I gain life experience. With that said, I want to leave you with the lyrics to what would be the closing track of my play list if I were to check out today. I'm going to leave the title and artist off so it doesn't bias you, the reader. I find it to be one the most beautiful songs I have ever read or heard. So here you go party people, have a beautiful day.

Fool enough to almost be it
Cool enough to not quite see it, doomed
Pick your pocket full of sorrow
Run away with me tomorrow, June

We'll try and ease the pain
Somehow we'll feel the same
Well, no one knows
Where our secrets go

I send a heart to all my dearies
When your life is so, so dreary, dream
I'm rumored to the straight and narrow
While the harlots of my perils scream

And I fail
But when I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will

Mother, weep the years I'm missing
All our time can't be given back
Shut my mouth and strike the demons
Cursed you and your reasons
Out of hand and out of season
Out of love and out of feeling so bad

When I can, I will
Words defy the plans
When I can, I will

Fool enough to almost be it
And cool enough to not quite see it
And old enough to always feel this
Always old, I'll always feel this

No more promise no more sorrow
No longer will I follow
Can anybody hear me
I just want to be me
When I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will

Unnatural

Unnatural, originally uploaded by stussyjoker.

Ok, so here we go. Another shot from the Sac shoot the other day. This shot is a really interesting shot. As many of you know, we spent some time in State Capitol Park, and during the course of our sojourn, I came across this tree. If you've never been to State Capitol Park, I would highly recommend that you take an afternoon and go down there and just relax. It's sort of an overlooked gem in our area. Anyway, back to the shot. So when I came across this tree, it reminded me quite bluntly of man's imposition on nature. Here I am in the middle of this beautiful park, and I still can't get away from the ignorance of some jerk who has absolutely no appreciation for the Earth we live on. No matter how hard we try as humans to take care of our environment and try and beautify the concrete jungle we all find ourselves apart of every day, there will always be those who just dont seem to get it, just don't seem to care, or just think they are rightfully competing with the Sun for the title of "center of the universe". Come on people, we're all in this together. Let's appreciate what Earth has to offer.

Holy Cross Process

Holy Cross Process, originally uploaded by stussyjoker.

Holy... What else is there to say? A LOT, actually. Today, myself, Bart, and Bryce went downtown to shoot some pictures on this beautiful Wednesday afternoon. You can check out my other decent stuff here. Anyway, back to this shot. We headed over to State Capitol Park to do some nature stuff, portraits, etc., and we came across the statue of Father Junipero Serra. If you're not familiar with Serra you can learn a jaded tidbit about him here. At the base of the statue is a map of California that is marked with all of the missions that Father Serra helped construct up and down the coast line. However, it is my feeling that this statue shouldn't even EXIST. Last time I checked, there aren't statues dedicated to the men that ran the Japanese internment camps in the '40's. Also, I don't think there are any statues dedicated to the auctioneers who sold slaves for hundreds of years in THIS VERY COUNTRY. Ok, so you get it, you're intelligent, I don't need to be telling you that our country has an marred history rife with human injustice. Yet, right at our state capitol there is this statue of Father Junipero Serra. When the Spanish began coming into what is now present day California and began constructing missions, they forced Christianity onto the native American people. These people had their own customs and practices; they did not need Catholicism to "save" them. Which brings me to the commentary I am using in this shot. I shot this at f/1.4 so the actual statue is completely out of focus behind the cross. This is how I feel about what the Spanish did to the natives. All they could see was their cross; their religion. They were so jaded by this that they could not see the men and women that were right in front of them. All they saw were savages that needed to be saved from their own hellacious destiny. I also decided to post the cross processed version of this shot, because I feel that it has just a little more of the feel I was looking for from this image. The original version can be seen with the set I linked in the beginning of this post. So, wonderful people, tell me what you think. About all of it. I'd love to hear from you.

Relativity

DSC_0030, originally uploaded by stussyjoker.

What defines beauty? Surely such a question can garner many varying responses. Today as I was shooting some shots to document this, I noticed this drill laying on top of the scaffolding we had to set up to hang the Pterodactyl. This drill has been used many, many times. It has many gashes in its rugged plastic housing. Dirt and grime stain it's exterior. Yet, I feel that this shot is one of the most beautiful pictures I have ever taken. I personally feel that it is a wonderful commentary on what it is I love so much about photography. With some creative thinking, something as utilitarian as a drill can become a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing piece of art. Maybe I am too head over heels for photography, but I'd have to beg to differ. What does it do for you? Do you love this image as much as I do, or do you hate it's proverbial guts?