ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Over the past 20 years, the seeds that so many people have been planting have finally blossomed into a bachelor’s degree and a thriving business named Kiwi Sun Photography. So many people have done so much for me over the decades, it is hard to express my gratitude on paper.
I would like to dedicate my thesis to the photographers who are responsible for shaping my life who are no longer with us. Donald Nielsen, Shirley Kropf, and Chase Hedger, you’ve done so much to shape my future from showing me techniques and styles to loaning me equipment and books. The memories that you have etched into my mind will last a lifetime. With ambient joy, your legacy will move onward as my future unfolds. From the bottom of my heart I salute you for all you have done and I bid you adieu.
I would also like to thank the Professional Photographers of America, Royal Photographic Society, Australian Photographic Society, and Alternative Photography. All of you have and continue to contribute so much time to encourage the success of photographers around the world, including myself. You are a great group of people and I would recommend membership to any of my colleagues.
I would like to thank my entourage which includes; Kati Hart, Sally Sanders, Abby Fox, Tom Bratsburg, Lois Bratsburg, Stacie & Sunny Eselekhomen, Albert Yau, Ken Sclute and Don Rutt. You all do an outstanding job as photographers and artists. I find your passion for both crafts irresistible. Thank you for being there for me when I’ve had questions and qualms. This degree and thesis would not have been a possibility without your support.
Finally, I would also like to thank my advisor, Stafford Smith, along with professors David Rathbun, Anthony Thompson, and Victoria Veenstra. I also appreciate the students not only from this semester of the thesis seminar but from all of the classes that led up to this, my final semester. I hope that all of the rest of the students in thesis at Grand Valley thrive in the futures that lay ahead of them.
INTRODUCTION
The world that surrounds us has so much beauty in it. I cannot go through a day without stopping to observe all of the wonderful colors and textures that lay before me like paint on a canvas. As time moves forward, I find that my mind and eyes tune into this visual candy more and more often. Examples of this candy include anything from the long cylindrical repetition of a garden hose whose teal color looks like a rare jewel to the muted tone of the underside of the umbrella, on a toadstool whose gills resemble the pages of a book.
One thing that bothers me is how much we, as human beings, put things into classifications and clusters, which forces people to fail to recognize the simple beauty in life. Everything has its label and use these days. It is as if everything in our lives is a factory with a chain of systematic decisions that lead to a boring life. I feel that creativity wears black and white stripes and has been sentenced to prison by some people.
I would like to strip away most of the meanings and labels we assign to certain things. This would lead people into an arena where the objects they normally see go through a transformation into something that is foreign to them. Through this abstract transformation, I hope people will begin to take a fresh look at the objects. Perhaps this modernistic approach to life will not only cause people to think about the world around them, but cause them to try new things. It might even help people realize that skin color is only that and any deeper categorization is an array of erroneous fallacies and nothing more.
HISTORY
Personal History:
Looking back, I remember my first camera. It was a 110 camera that was blue and had Mickey Mouse on it. Vaguely, I recall my mother complaining about how much film was and that I would have to pay to get it processed. Years later, I became interested in the antique cameras that had bellows. I remember spending my allowance on them and would dream about making them produce images. I cannot forget my uncle Don, who used to use huge medium format cameras that used roll film like the stuff that went into my antiques. He taught me a little and I remember calling him to ask technical questions. My Grandmother played another role; she taught me that things in nature are beautiful just as they are and not to over-pose everything.
I went into photography on a professional level when I helped the American Red Cross with design. My days at the Red Cross involved a lot of volunteerism. I did everything from instruct classes, aid, and photograph at disasters. I also acted as the Chairman of Public Affairs to the Chapter. After long, agonizing revisions and meetings, we wound up with an incredible website with a montage of images involving people helping as the header. I received calls from chapters all over the nation and remember phone conversations with the national headquarters regarding re-design of the national website. After the launch of the website in Allegan, the national website launched a new style with the same color stylization and a similar montage of images on the top. What is impressive is that today, 9 years later, it is still used. I remember my family and friends being so proud of me, and later that year I was honored at the chapters’ annual meeting.
Another way my decision to become a photographer was influenced was after two years into my culinary degree at Grand Rapids Community College, when I decided that photography was for me and being a chef was not creative enough or the lifestyle I wanted. In 2002, I decided to focus on photography and computers and enrolled in classes at Grand Valley State University. Later at GVSU, my dream became a reality when I finally created an image from an antique camera my uncle Don had given me. I learned all about black and white photography, color, and studio lighting, and eventually I did an independent study on albumen. Now here I stand, upon my thesis, the final stage of my degree.
In 2005, independently, I pursued wedding and portrait photography. My first wedding was fueled by the torch of knowledge that my grandmother and uncle passed on to me, both who have passed away. I was honored to photograph that uncle’s only daughter’s wedding and wished that I could have looked at the photos with him. Since then, I’ve done portraits and weddings all over the state of Michigan. My registered business’ name is Kiwi Sun Photography.
To further develop my business, I joined the following professional organizations: the Professional Photographers of America, Royal Photographic Society, Australian Photographic Society and Alternative Photography. Since joining, I’ve grown tremendously both with vision and on a technical level. To this day, I frequently critique photographers around the world on folio panels and in open forums. I have had the pleasure of digitally sharing photographs with photographer friends from nations all over the globe. Soon I will be sending 3 photographs to Stockholm, Sweden, to go into the showcase at Alternative Photography.
Over the years I have learned to develop patience, stand for integrity, and share everything I learn with others. I believe that what goes around comes around. I am so proud that I have outstanding reviews and testimonials from my clients and even guests who attended weddings on my website. I also have high rank on almost every search engine and last summer a writer in San Francisco did an article on my business and marketing strategy and published it on PhotoPreneur.com.
As both a student and in my professional life, I’ve enjoyed working with textures and colors in weddings, portraiture, commercial projects, and prints solely made for art. Applying color theory and concepts of design to my work has proven to be very successful. During portrait sessions I make it a point to photograph in places that are not obvious or cliché. Nothing is more boring than a couple standing in front of a tree with a phony smile. I’d rather kick an unusual color or texture in the background such as a giant John Deere tractor tire or use the Calder to spark a new flavor in my photographs. Since I like to get creative, my clients, at times, give me confused looks because it is something they are not used to.
At the end when my clients view and order the photos, they always love them. I am proud to say since 2005, I’ve never had a dissatisfied customer. Moreover, my clients frequently send friends and family members to look at their photos on my website. After they look, I get a barrage of emails with rave reviews and shining testimonials, not to mention new, happy customers ready to refer others.
Aside from my business, as a hobby, I love producing images that are strictly aesthetic and fall into either a formal or abstract venue or both. I also enjoy toying with light and paper shapes. In a world where color and texture are abundant in every avenue, one can’t help but feel that the world is a beautiful place.
History of Paper:
Almost all the photographs I create as an artist fall into the modernist arena. The abstract still lifes that I’ve produced for this thesis are formalist. Some of the photographers who have paved the roads to modernism in my direction include Aaron Siskind, Edward Weston, and Paul Strand, all of whom came to the decision that they wanted to step away from typical conventions in photography at some point.
Of the images that caught my fancy, Paul Strand’s Wire Wheel, 1917 stands out as an incredibly unique photograph for its time. I have a connection with this image because it has an abstract nature. Strand’s decision to only show a portion of the image to exemplify its formal lines and voluminous curves makes it all the more interesting. Like myself presently, Strand was in his late 20s when he created this photograph. His passion for vehicles and mechanisms led him to create this composition. What I like about the image is that if the entire car were to be shown in the photo it would be about the car; rather, it is about his aesthetic perception of the car.
Edward Weston clearly etched himself into the history books. His name runs rampant on the library shelves. Of his images, one of my favorites lays in the “Still Life” section of the book Edward Weston - a Legacy, by Jennifer A. Watts. When browsing through the book, I came instantly to the realization that he took his time and went to great lengths when setting up all of his compositions. The Shell 1927, Pepper 1929, and Pepper 1930 clearly illustrate immense detail and form packed into simple and mundane objects. Halved Cabbage 1930 is, of course, a photograph of a halved head of cabbage. What makes this image unique is that it has been photographed at close range. The photograph is magnificent because it harnesses every minute detail, tone and has a texture you can almost feel on the paper. When photographing my thesis, capturing detail and texture were both of the utmost importance.
In the early 1940s, Aaron Siskind passionately photographed “graffiti, peeling plaster, sections of signs and billboards, road surfaces, and various organic and found objects” (Encylopedia.com) at close range. After browsing through the photographs on his website, I couldn’t help but notice the amazing detail and great balance in each of his images. What I like most of all is that you can not really tell what things are, due to the fact that they are all in abstract. Of his work, Vermont 166, 1987 and Providence 95, 1986 really emphasize his creativity. Like me, Siskind photographed the asphalt on a road only he brought out the contrast from the beauty in the lines of tar on the street. The reason the series is so interesting isn’t due to the fact that you can not tell what the object is; rather, it is all the swirls, textures, and curves that leave you in breathless fulfillment.
In order to move into the future, one must learn the past. The spirit of the photographers aforementioned thrives within me. Turning the pages in a history book is like traversing through time. I can only hope that one day I will be in one of the history books that students read about.
THE IMAGES
The Images:
Within my thesis, images exist that I’ve fallen in love with over the semester. Of the images, one of the first to be photographed was Abstract #01. For that image I spent time moving the objects around until perfection was reached. As I mentioned earlier, I love how the gills on the mushroom resemble pages of a book. The top of a blue plastic storage bin was laid against green bricks. What I enjoy about this image is its distinctiveness and simplicity.
For the next image, while I was waiting for my girlfriend at her bank I discovered that the paint was fresh on the lines in the parking lot. I felt the urge to get a closer look, and loved how the paint looked as if it was dancing into the black asphalt. Then I went to another location to see if the blue handicapped area had the same effect. I was flabbergasted that the blue paint was doing the tango with the yellow and both were also splattered into the black asphalt. I take pleasure in the fact that this is well balanced, full of color and was literally a parking lot. People see lines like those in Abstract #12 every time they park, but few people take a moment to look closely.
One of the more creative images I created was Abstract #19. While somebody would never know that the red spiral is in fact a hot pad, the ice cubes that rest on the hot pad create an interesting juxtaposition. I find it comical that something that is usually used to hold something that is too hot to handle with your bare hands is, in fact, holding ice.
Not many things are as simple as a kitchen fork and nothing is more annoying than junk mail. In Abstract #20, I decided to arrange 3 forks in a radial pattern over a yellow envelope that I received in the mail. The forks create an interesting pattern that mimics a sculpture. The point where all the prongs end causes an implied triangle. Among artists and other photographers this was one of the most favored images.
The most unique object was used in Abstract #16. My mother received a comical pizza cutter that was made to look like a piranha. You would never know that the orange and red object was a fish-shaped pizza cutter. To create a radial effect I used my hand to move the tiny bristles in the towel. The evenly diffused light created a wonderful pink reflection that added dimension to the piranha-shaped pizza cutter.
The Body of Work:
Overall my body of work emphasizes correlations in color and texture. The array of simple and mundane objects lures the eye into something that is captivating and full of mystique. The stylization of all the images is something unique that I have yet to find in another artists’ work.
Within the complete cluster of images I decided that nothing was too dirty or nasty to use. In Abstract #14, the yellow cylindrical bar is the handle of a toilet plunger. Also, the object in the center of Abstract #15 is nothing more than a discarded cigarette butt. The teal repetitive tubes depicted in Abstract #05 is a dirty garden hose. On the flip side, beautiful flower petals were used in both Abstract #05 and Abstract #06. The basic foundation for the rationale behind each of the objects used was purely for the color and texture.
Of all the images, only three contain only one object. This is due to the fact that I did not want to limit myself to only using a collection of objects. The football used in Abstract #13, and the parking lots used in both Abstract #10 and Abstract #12 are examples of this. The reason I used these images was to connect everything and emphasize that the collection of images is not about stuff; rather, it is about texture and color that we do not commonly notice.
ASSESSMENT
Personal Direction:
By the year 2018, I hope that my business, Kiwi Sun Photography, will grow. I envision having a staff of photographers to help me out with weddings and an array of artistic images that I can sell to sustain me. Since so many foreign visitors have already taken interest in my work, I have no doubt that I will be able to sell my art to people all over the world using both my website and eBay. To obtain new art, I expect that while my team and I will enjoy the perks of traveling by air to faraway lands and beautiful places for weddings, I’ll be able to create new photographs for my Abstract Macro Color project in my off time.
One thing that I really look forward to doing is treating and paying my staff well. So many photographers that I’ve spoken to have noticed a decline in business since digital photography has taken over. We feel this is due to all the overnight photographers and soccer moms that want to pick up a hobby that pays. Some of these people go into it thinking that a good camera is all a person needs to be an outstanding photographer. Presently I book weddings all over the state of Michigan and have commercial clients as far as New Jersey, all of which do work for fair prices. I take pride in the fact that I do not take advantage of my clients in any way, shape, or form. My clients appreciate that and graciously send other clients my way. I’ve introduced a 10% finder’s bonus to people who spread the word of my business and the work I do. So far it’s working out great, and my idea, along with an architectural photograph I created with a large format camera, have even been discussed in the aforementioned article published on PhotoPreneur.com.
In the future I would love to change some things in the industry. I hope to see the dream of fair wages for photographers with skill come to fruition. It seems all too common that people think "anyone can be a photographer," which leads to underpaid and underappreciated photographers who are truly knowledgeable and talented professionals. I dream of the day when society realizes that photography is an art as well as a science. Today, most people believe that their uncle or cousin who dabbles in photography merely as a hobby (and therefore has no clue to the intricate inner workings of the business) can produce photos as high quality and long-lasting as a professional in the industry. I sincerely hope that this mindset changes. I would be willing to rally to make this a cause through magazine articles, posting on websites, and convincing other photographers to refuse to give in to the pressures of consumers who want everything as quick as possible and as cheaply as possible.
As far as having a studio, I prefer doing my business on location, as opposed to limiting myself to one specific city. While most of the photographing portion of my business is currently mobile, I hope to eventually have a studio to toy with in London, England, and Perth, Australia. I would love to do editing and revising in a home in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, or somewhere in the Bordeaux region of France. Now, it is easy for people to reach me by email, though I can also be contacted on my private business cell phone. Having a storefront down the road would also certainly come in handy, especially to sell art.
Far into the future, I would enjoy teaching photography through the Professional Photographers of America and Royal Photographic Society. I would love to share my experiences along with all the experiences others have shared with me, with photographers who envision success and are just as passionate about the work they do as I am.
I would love to allow my imagination to run wild in fascinating cities around the world. At my leisure, in time, if I spot something unique, I would love to take the time to stop and photograph it. I’d enjoy it if the images that cover my walls in the future were of beautiful and vibrant abstractions that could toy with peoples’ imagination. I’d envision that my guests would talk about the creativity and vision in my ongoing Abstract Macro Color project.
When I retire I would love to see the students I will have potentially taught thrive in the businesses they run. Once my finances are in order, which will with any luck be before I die, I would anticipate the day that I can venture into retirement. Perhaps one day in the future I will leave my business to my children, who hopefully will take quite an interest in photography as well.
Contemporary Trends:
Within every culture lurk individuals who want to step out of the bubble that society shrouds them in. Within the photographic realm those people also exist. Within our fabric, we push to differentiate ourselves from other photographers. A few of the contemporaries whose photographs I enjoy include Sandy Skoglund, Jan Groover, and William Eggelston, all of whom, like myself, photograph in color and are meticulous with formal elements.
My interest in William Eggelston spawns from his desire to photograph the mundane and the way the color in his photographs transcends the dullness of his subjects. Eggelston’s dye-transfer print titled American, Greenwood, Mississippi, 1973 illustrates an ugly lamp in a simple room that is entirely red. The interest in the photograph does not come from its subject matter, but is rather indebted in its color.
While Sandy Skoglund is really known for her large installations and the photographs she takes of them, one of her earlier photographs sings to me. That photograph is titled Cookies on a Plate, 1978. The photograph is of a simple subject that was photographed from a bird’s vantage point directly above the plate of cookies. The character of the image is not in the subject matter but is vested in the mismatched retro plaid on the table and plate. Both of these, combined with the chocolate lines on the cookies, leave the image in a state of chaotic order. This is due to the fact that while the colors of the lines do not match, the directions of the lines all coincide.
Another contemporary I enjoy, Jan Groover, has created compositions using forks and other kitchenware. Although the images look thrown together and have a plain nature to them, upon further inspection you notice that this is far from true. All of the objects she used were laid out in a special manner to create a sense of balance. Most of the objects are also only partial which has left them in an abstract form. Like me, to create her compositions, she used objects that may or may not connect and deals with the formalist traits to create a photograph.
Meta Analysis:
For my thesis, Abstract Macro Color, my intent was to photograph mundane objects in an interesting manner. Over the semester, I came up with several strategies but ended up with a common rule. The first rule was simple; none of the objects photographed in the compositions could be fully visible. After that, my intention was to choose and use objects in the images that were generally unrelated. The goal was to spark the viewers’ curiosity and get them to take a closer look. Upon further inspection of the images, my aim was two-fold. My objective was to either have people stay and guess what is in each image, or look beyond the objects and notice the compositions for what they are.
I was the only photographer who elected to not post in the gallery. I did, however, decide to post them on both my website and facebook account. I was amazed at the feedback I received; “I love that teal color. LOVELY” and “wow, I absolutely love this photo”. One of my clients was so inspired that she said she went out and photographed things up close around Grand Rapids.
Since the dawn of photography, image makers have worked relentlessly to put the photographic medium into the artistic realm. With photography, the limits on one’s creativity are endless. I am so thankful that photographers of the past have created a medium that I can harness my creativity in. Within the modernist venue I enjoy working with formalist traits. I love to use lines, shapes, textures, and colors to create compositions that are well-balanced, yet packed with excitement and interest. I’ve never been one to simply follow the crowd and I like the fact that my images are just as distinct as my personality.
It is evident that I’ve achieved my goals and then some. I look at my thesis with pride and am overwhelmed with the responses I’ve had from my family, fellow students, professors, friends, clients, and other photographers. My goal at the beginning of the semester was to create images that would inspire me with their simplistic, aesthetic beauty filled with lines, color, repetition, texture, and form. Now I’ve come to learn that people are looking at ordinary objects through a whole new light because of them.
APPENDIX
Technical Notes:
Over time, I’ve collected enough of my own equipment to handle most of my projects on my own. My Canon 30D camera came in handy, coupled with my Canon 35-70mm L lens. All of my files were captured in CR2 format which is Canon’s raw format. Adobe Lightroom 2.0 and Adobe Photoshop CS3 were both used to fine tune my photographs. My computer system uses Windows XP Professional and has a powerful processor coupled with one terabyte of storage. I also used a LaCie Electron Blue IV monitor calibrated with the LaCie Blue Eye spider.
I experimented with Epson Velvet and Enhanced Matte Papers along with Epson Luster and Gloss. I wasn’t too fond of the finicky nature of the Epson Velvet paper since, when it rubbed against another sheet, the emulsion chipped away, leaving white specks on the photographs. I didn’t like the effect of the gloss or luster. When blowing up the images I used the Mimaki JV3-160S dye based printer with the Arlon Airgress line of premium vinyl. I was not impressed with the low level of saturation that the Mimaki put out. For the reasons above I decided to use the Epson Enhanced Matte paper with my Epson 2200 printer.
While photographing one of the difficulties was getting close enough to get my photos into abstract. To do so, I photographed at 100 ISO and cropped quite a bit in Adobe Lightroom 2.0. I was originally going to use my Sinar F 4x5 view camera and do drum scans but after I spoke with a couple of people I decided that using a digital medium would provide a lot more latitude. I enjoyed having my own equipment; everything was there when I needed it and was set up to my specifications.
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