Final- The Anatomy of Personality (Concept)

When I set out to do this project, this is not how I envisioned it. I shot pictures of body parts in different positions and was planning on stitching them together (via photoshop), to create this inhuman creature that is relatively similar to the Frankenstein monster. But as I was looking over the requirements for the final, as well as the photos that I took. The realization of how long that would take for one image, being that there was a 5-8 image requirement, was just far to difficult to comprehend. So I went through new ideas while searching through image after image. And I saw the variations of expressions and mannerisms that each of three fellows that I photographed displayed. See, I know these guys like the back of my hand, being that I grew up with them and that we all have the same parents. There is so much that binds us brothers together and so much that is different between each of us. I wanted to illustrate that through photographs in the manner that would be appropriate. Like Leonardo Da Vinci's drawing of the anatomy of a man, these don't show the extents of these people's abilities or personalities. But with the quick request "Just Pose!" You are able to see what these individuals are displaying about themselves in the way they compose their body and the expressions that the make on their faces. I use transparency to show the movement that is viewed. Placed this motion on an image of parchment paper (used for drawing) to express the illustrative quality. I also desaturated the image quite excessively, so they sink into the paper like a drawing. Basically this is a sketch of my brothers, using photographs.

When looking at the first image, you see my youngest brother. He does not move his legs a lot, because he has finally grown taller than the rest of my family, so he has to keep that posture high. The movement of his arms and face show that he is uses his confidence to create familiarity with others.

My second youngest brother is very dramatic and shameless as illustrated. He does not care the time or place, he will say and do crazy things. He is an actor, so when I said "Pose," he knew exactly what to do, and that's act. There is also and up and down composition to this that I enjoy, he stood tall and he squatted.

The last image is my older brother, the strong and silent type. He does get wild at times, but his exterior shows that he is respected. The movement that he showed conveys an athletic strength, almost seems geometric. Which perfectly illustrates someone who takes good care of himself.

Though the requirements were for 5-8 images, I felt that with these could not stand with any others. Given, this is a personal series and expresses a differentiation of personalities within three of my best friends and three siblings. This along with any others would seem wrong. I did not include myself because I can't understand my exterior personality, that is a task that only someone close could achieve.

Enjoy and Thank You for looking at my photographs throughout the term. I had a lot of Fun!

-Alex Morton

Final- The Anatomy of Personality (Mapping)

Contact Sheets: Final

[Shot more than this, but they got deleted when I was trying to transfer them onto a university cpu. There is around 130 here.]

Critical Mass: Concept

For the third project, I have chosen the route of Critical Mass. There is a complexity of images throughout our vision at a constant pace. We view a different image almost every time we blink. Within our mind, there is a resemblance that occurs, causing us to view a different image within our head. My concept for this series is the traveling mind. Being someone who's mind wanders constantly, there is a multitude of images that pour into my brain. Most of the time, these images don't make sense, but are a rapid fire of memories responding to the image currently viewed. So while I worked through these images, the movement is made by the thought process causing a new image to appear. I tried to create some consistency throughout the book, to allow the flow to be understood while flipping through the pages. Through looking in the book, you will notice that the relations start to become more vague and confusing. This is not by accident. The thought process begins to slow down and this causes frustration. Sometimes, the images that seem obscene arise. Through this, I tried to keep it experimental. This way it seems more natural, relating to my theme.
While working, I noticed that the differentiation in color seemed inappropriate and irrelevant, when it came to the physical book. I wanted that consistent flow, so the black and white range helped keep a better composition as a whole. I hope you enjoy, comment and criticize, that's what blogs are for right?!

Critical Mass: 5 pages

Critical Mass: Contact Sheets

While shooting for this series of images, I wanted to find movement and activity. I'm not talking sports, just movement that would cause one to turn their head or eyes. In the process of looking for these images, I tried to incorporate images that related to the previous, so that it could offer a flow and consistency. This ended up creating a mess of randomness, which is perfect, for me at least. My mind has trouble even focusing on one thing. This is obviously my own minds interpretation of focus. And the rapid changing of lenses within ones eyes to create a new focus each time you blink.

Project 2: Singular Image

For this image, I tried to capture the movement of individuals while they were waiting for their train or for others. The panoramic photograph is displayed to portray the range in which these people are limited to in this anxious state. While waiting, many people grow tired of staying in the same location, so they venture around occupy time. Though these photographs were only taken within an hours time, it illustrates some specific individuals. The simplicity is portrayed so that one may not lose focus on certain individuals. I found that the sun definitely played a factor in both lighting difficulties and adding to the subject of time passing. As you can see, the left side is brighter than the right, this offers an interesting accident that I feel helps the piece. This image was rendered using photomerge and blending photographs upon the panoramic image in order for the individual's motions to be included.