Conceptual landscape

    The photograph below would be considered conceptual traditional for several reasons. Among these reasons, is the use of Photoshop in a creative and somewhat unconventional way, that is, making the 'landscape' appear to be on a man's head. Also note the distortion of scale-or rather, just how big that head is. On closer inspection, one also notices that the church, tree, castle etc, are in fact not real, but fake, and are tiny plastic models. This perhaps makes only the very background of the photo- which is blurry but appears top be real land- traditional. That in itself is another aspect on this photo's conceptualism- the mesh of a head, toys, and actual landscape.

Unusual Objects in a Still LIfe

The still life above, by Martin Vallen, is an interesting example of a still life, because the objects within the composition are so unusual. Though the focal point is dangerously close to the center, the objects themselves are so unusual- yellow and black Nike sneakers, necklaces, headphones- that it keeps the photo intriguing enough to work. Another aspect to note is how the objects are suspended in the air, and how they interplay with each other, further adding to the originality of the photo and objects.

Portrait conveying emotion

  Compositionally, the photo attached is very lack luster, yet nevertheless, this photograph of the famous American Aborigine Sitting Bull conveys emotion and feeling very well, I believe. The black and white color scheme forces one to focus less on certain aspects of the photo, thus emphasizing and strengthening others whether intentionally or unintentionally. For instance, the color-or lack their of- forces your eye to study the varying contours-shades- of his face and eyes making his solemn expression all the more meaningful. A moonshine color scheme gives the photographer a blunter array of tools to control, perhaps working in their favor because the less told you use, the more chance you have of converting a feeling.
    But that in itself is "icing on the cake", his expression itself is really what makes this portrait so intense. Which goes to show you that a photographer's creation has to come from some reality before that natural, raw thing is strengthened.

A Still Life: Lock and Key

    In a continuation of my previous post on compositionally affective still life's, I would like to share this photograph of- what is basically- a lock and key. What really lends this piece it's superiority is the single beam moving from the fore front to the very back, working almost as a bridge to your eyes- if it wasn't for that beam- if the picture was hypothetically taken with a white background, the lock would be in a very awkward place on the piece. The key also lends a smidge of asymmetry to lock, shifting the focal point slightly from the dead center.

A Still Life: Chairs

    There are a lot of factors that make a good photograph, but one of the most essential components is composition. I felt the still life attached, of chairs, models this well-- this is because the photo users the "Rule of Thirds" without necessarily going with an overused perspective.
Another thing to note with the composition is the clever use of layers and angles, which make certain chairs pop out more than others. For instance, I find the Artist's intentional tipping of chairs at the ends worked very well in drawing the eye to the inside of picture.

     Eyes of the great depression, a series of photos depicting the grim reality of one of Americas darkest eras. One photo in particular struck me as compelling- a single child posed in the forefront, shifting her weight against what appeared to be a wire fence, eyes downcast. The composition of the piece really spoke to me- the picture has a certain mood that can't be reproduced easily with Photoshop and expensive cameras. In the era this photo was taken, certain aspects of photography simply did not exist that we now take for granted. For instance, most pictures were limited to a monochromatic color scale, and cameras were often unpredictable- not too mention film development. This picture speaks of a course, raw underlying meaning to photography we rarely see today- the art of merely capturing the essence of something, an emotion, feeling- one child speaking for an entire era.  

http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/photoshop/3d-printing-from-photoshop/

    The link above presents an intriguing article taking one through the step by step process of 3-D printing using Photoshop. The idea of 3-D printing alone was news to me, and so I expected it to be a rarity and for the extremely wealthy, but the article notes that, the process is getting cheaper and more common- certainly not a household object, but nonetheless approaching that zone steadily. The novelty of the process soon wore off with the article's simple, clear instructions. Overall, informative and captivating.