Time Lapse

This is a time lapse video that I made using a D20 (twenty-sided die) and a dollar bill. It was probably the most challenging thing we've done all semester, mainly just in figuring out how to take the photographs and how to use the video editing software. My camera doesn't actually have a time lapse setting so I had to sort of count everything out myself. In the future I'd like to experiment a little more with time lapse photography and will probably invest in a remote shutter controller with an auto timer. It would have been more interesting in the video below if I could have actually shown my hands folding the paper. That was what I originally planned to do but did not have the means.

Portaits

I'll be honest -- I don't know very many people in the city of Pittsburgh yet, so I decided to photograph the one I know best, my boyfriend Damian. For the series, I wanted to capture his multifaceted personality. By day he works as a biochemist, earning his PhD at Duquesne University. At night he's an amateur sound engineer and producer of EDM and electo-house music. While he has always excelled in the sciences, Damian has recently been progressing in the music industry as well. He's just released his first single under We Spin Records under the name of Midnight Monster. Despite his hard-working, stoic nature, Damian is also very empathetic and caring. He loves all people and animals, even those who are misunderstood by most. His animal companion is not the typical dog or cat but a corn snake named Yismir.

Koyaanisqatsi

Koyaanisqatsi is an interesting film about the destructive tendencies of human beings and their impact on the earth. Prior to watching the film, I learned that the name "Koyaanisqatsi" is Hopi for "unbalanced life." Based on the title, I assumed that the film would have some sort of politically driven environmental message. I was also aware that the film used some form of time-lapse or stop motion and that it was made in 1982. Right before starting the film, I read that it did not contain any dialog or narration, only music -- by Phillip Glass, no less. I had learned about Phillip Glass years ago in a dance class and I knew that he had written obscure avant-garde musical ballets. I figured that the film would be interesting but I still wasn't quite sure what to expect overall.

The film begins with long, slow panoramas of natural landscapes:  canyons, mountains, fields of flowers, a waterfall, a cave. The music is also slower here, matching pace with the imagery. Then, there's a scene that appears almost distorted at first, and it takes a while to see what it is. At first it looks like snow; then ash falling from a volcano. As the camera zooms out, something distinctly man-made and mechanical appears in the bottom left of the frame. Zoom out a little more and a rocket is revealed, mid take-off. This is the transition from calm, tranquil natural earth to the industrial wasteland that we've created.

The shots are slower at first, increasing slightly from the initial sequence, showing oil refineries, the pipe line, a glass building. As the speed of the film and the music increase in tandem, so does the intensity of the images. All of these things culminate with dramatic shots of collapsing buildings, explosions, missiles, and the dropping of an atom bomb. I had expected the industrialization but not the images of war and weapons. This was a slightly different take than the film Manufactured Landscapes that we had watched at the beginning of the semester.

After all of the dramatic explosions and implosions, the film shifts to very rapid time-lapse sequences of people doing various activities:  the line at the subway terminal; workers at an Oscar Meyer factory packaging hotdogs and bologna; customers at a grocery store checkout. Then there are the ceaseless images of cars -- cars in parking lots, cars in production, cars on four-lane highways, cars packed like sardines in rush hour traffic, cars in the city at night. There are also many scenes of people walking about in swarms, as if being herded by some unseen force. I did notice that during this portion of the film, the music in the background almost sounded like bees in a beehive. I found this to be particularly effective as a commentary on the insignificance of the individual.

While the message was clear and the imagery was striking, I felt myself losing interest after the first half hour or so. Perhaps this is because those images have become so ubiquitous that we're now desensitized. Koyaanisqatsi was released over 30 years ago. In the early '80s, perhaps questions of the environment and the impact that humans have on the world was still fairly new. The imagery would have been more shocking and unfamiliar. However, today we're used to seeing stills and video of the changes we've made to the earth. To me, the movies message was dragged out a bit longer than necessary. It might have been more effective had it expanded to more complex concepts through the progression of the film. I felt that the first movie that we watched at the beginning of the semester, Manufactured Landscapes, told a similar message but with superior delivery.

Although I wasn't too keen on the film itself (or the repetitive, arpeggiating Phillip Glass music), I did find the cinematography quite interesting. I thought it was very effective how the image sequences increased in technological complexity as the video itself increased in speed. It helped give a sense of ease to the natural landscapes, while the factories, shopping centers, and city streets appeared more frantic and stressful. However, I think that some dialog or narration may have helped to break up the monotony.

Secret Gardens

For my final photography project, I’m going to take images of secret gardens, hidden green spaces nestled away in the city. I believe that people have an innate need to be around nature. While human beings have lived in industrialized societies for centuries, in the grander scheme of our existence, we were primordial beings living out in nature. If you take that away – if you put people in cities – the surroundings, though familiar, are still unnatural. This can be unnerving and stressful. Plants seem to resonate a sense of calm and peace as well, which may be a result of their contrast to our urban environments. I come from a fairly rural area and this dissonance was something that I feared. I’ve been happy to experience first-hand the relief that comes from seeing so much green space in the bounds of the city.

The other phenomenon that I wanted to bring out in my project is the psychology of the color green. I took a color theory class as an undergraduate where we discussed the physiology of the eye and the psychological perception of color. Green is considered a relaxing and tranquil color, often used in spas to help reinforce the calming atmosphere. A lighter mint green seems to be, more specifically, the color of choice. Interestingly, the plant mint has also been used traditionally as a medicinal herb. Its oils create a soothing effect on nerves and can also help ease an upset stomach. Similarly, aloe is known for its cooling and healing qualities.

In that same class, I learned that green is the most commonly reported favorite color in surveys. Perhaps this is simply because of the relaxing effect that green has on the human psyche, but I have a notion that the cause may be deeper than that alone. I also learned that when the eye perceives light, the iris – a muscle – contracts to adjust the size of the lens, much like adjusting the aperture of a camera. This change in focus not only controls the amount of light entering the eye but it also helps to angle specific wavelengths of light so that they fall upon the fovea, the point on the retina where cones are most concentrated. Green wavelengths naturally fall on the fovea and do not require any contraction of the iris. The color green is literally easy on the eyes.

I believe that there is an evolutionary basis for this phenomenon. Most of the world inhabited by humans was once covered by green plants. Perhaps in the beginning, the location of the fovea varied from person to person. Those whose foveas directly received green wavelengths of light would have improved vision compared to their comrades, and would therefore have a slightly easier time navigating in a predominantly green environment. Perhaps this small difference would somehow impact their ability to survive. Over time, the number of individuals with this characteristic would accumulate as others with less beneficial eyesight began to die off. This could also be a contributing factor to our compulsion to fill our urban landscapes with natural plant life.

The Morning Glory Inn - Southside, Pittsburgh

The Morning Glory Inn - Southside, Pittsburgh

The Morning Glory Inn - Southside, Pittsburgh

The Morning Glory Inn - Southside, Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh People by Jerry Caplan - Downtown Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh People by Jerry Caplan - Downtown Pittsburgh