Technical Blurs

In society, I have always pictured myself as an observer, whether it be of people around me, nature, social dynamics, or philosophical subjects. I often tend to act in a reserved manner, yet I feel extremely engaged in what is going on around me. By studying others and the society around me, I feel like I have been able to learn a lot and grow my curiosity. I find that it is important to sometimes slow down, and focus on the little things in life. I have noticed that some people in my life, like certain teachers, scold my reserved, quiet nature. They do this because they think I am not fully engaging myself with the given content or experience because I am not speaking. In reality, I am so immersed in these life experiences that I prefer to observe and soak up what I am seeing. Being an observer allows me to live in the moment and really focus on my day-to-day life. By taking a step back and examining my surroundings, I can gain a deeper understanding of the world around me.

While studying many modern and contemporary artists, I chose to examine and gain inspiration from the work of Alexey Titarenko. Born on Vasilievsky Island in Leningrad in 1962, Titarenko began taking pictures at the age of 9. He later served 18 months in the Soviet Army as an infantry soldier. During this time, he began working on a series of collages and images criticizing the communist regime. He documented the struggles of Russian citizens, and in 1988, he opened his first solo exhibit in Paris. Titarenko’s prints are created with extreme precision and care, as can be seen through his work, which I have captured in my visual presentation. The process of bleaching and toning to find the perfect black-and-white colors within his prints is extremely intricate and skillful. He has experimented greatly with taking long exposures that capture large amounts of movement, which creates a fascinating blur effect throughout lots of his work. Additionally, his introduction of intentional camera movements mid-shot has inspired many artists up to this day.

In my work, I gained some initial inspiration from Tiatrenko, as I wanted my images to have a blur effect. I incorporated tactical camera movements and instructed my subject to move midway through the picture being taken. I was observing Titarenko’s work, and I saw how his images with slow shutter speeds emulate my visions of how I see myself as an observer, who takes a step back and focuses on my surroundings. I wanted to work in the studio, as I thought that it would be very interesting to experiment with different strengths and angles of lighting and how they would mix with a long exposure time. I wanted my subject to be wearing minimal flashy clothing, so I directed him to take his shirt off so the viewer of my work would focus directly on the blurs and lighting. In some of my images, I utilized a flower as a prop that would mesh with the light in the back of the image when taking the pictures in the studio. I was jerking the camera back and forth, in an intentional manner, on top of the tripod during ¾ of the final images. At the same time, I instructed Lucas to move his head back and forth during the exposures. 

Photophos was extremely helpful in finalizing and adding a personal flair to my final series of images. I experimented with the color balance feature, brightness, tone, and hue to add a glowing effect to the stage lights in the background of my images. I also cropped my images to focus on the aspects that I wanted the viewer to closely observe. I made my final images each of their own color: purple, green, yellow, and red. By adding vibrant colors to my work, I was able to incorporate my own style or flair.

Throughout the course of this project, I gained expertise in creating compositions with a slow shutter speed, similar to what Titarenko was able to do. I really enjoyed this project, and I am extremely happy with my final images. I look forward to continuing my journey in creating artwork through photographs, film, and digital tools, like Photoshop.