I'm not sure how to post a .pdf to the blog, but I have an awesome script that I'm bringing to class and I can't wait to get feedback on it.

See you tonight!
Conner Kennedy

Slideshow

Here is my slideshow combining images with last assignment's audio. 

Last week I wanted to create a tension between original sounds made by commonplace things and a tweaked, edited version of the same sound. 

This week I wanted to do the same with my images. I have the original sources of the sound in the slideshow, as well as a futuristic, space-themed take on the everyday items. 

See you in class!
Conner Kennedy

Audio

This assignment was audio-based. I decided to take everyday sounds, and add effects to them until they were unrecognizable and almost surreal.

Here is the result.

Sounds include:
     -Microwave beeps
     -Bicycle coasting
     -Bag of dry pasta being shaken
     -Meat simmering on a stove

Enjoy!
Conner Kennedy

Pictures and 'Peños and P-Shop (Oh my!)

This week's assignment called for the retouching and manipulation of last week's images though Adobe Photoshop. I love using Photoshop. As you will soon discover, I was especially excited at the "hyper-realty" part of the assignment. That's kind of my thing. 


I only did two photo corrections/retouches. First on one of my overhead shots of the jalapeños from the last assignment. I adjusted the colors, then rotated the plate and duplicated a jalapeño to better create my clock-like effect.

Before.

After.

Then I did a correction on one of my "artsier" pictures. For this one I corrected the colors, vibrance, and saturation, and also cut some of the wall out from the background.

Before.

After.

Next, I took one jalapeño from this establishing shot of my last assignment...

...and I put that little guy everywhere. Inspired by a fake example of hyper-reality our professor gave last class, I began with a ferris wheel.

I couldn't resist.

Then I thought it would be fun(ny) to super-impose my 'peños into some of the photos my classmates turned in last assignment. I hope they agree...

"Coming in hot!"

Gushers commercial?

Not the face he'll make once he takes a bite.

Next, I decided to... well... Just take a look. 

Lady Liberty looking spicy.

Capitol-apeño Building.

Jalphin, or Dol-apeño?

Not pictured: Taj Mahalapeño, Jay Leño, and Green 'Peño Carter (topical: yes, clever: no). 


Ok, so I got a little carried away....


See you Monday!
Conner Kennedy

Photo Assignment

Welcome to my point-and-shoot photography assignment! This week's project was a photo essay. One of the parameters of this assignment was to show some sort of progression from image to image. I struggled for a while over how to achieve this; should I use chronological progression, spatial progression, or some other kind that my non-photographic mind hadn't thought of yet?


I decided to use chronological progression. My girlfriend threw an apartment-warming party last weekend, and for her guests she made jalapeños stuffed with hummus and mozzarella cheese (her recipe can be found on her blog). I wanted to document the food's life from creation to consumption, including a clock-like effect with the remaining food on the plate. As you can see, I missed some of the "quarter-plate" times. These things were in high demand!

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

Conner Kennedy

Visual Components and Cézanne

Hello, classmates! First assignment, woohoo!

Visual Components

The most interesting concept for me in this reading was the progression of complexity presented in Chapter 1. The rest of the reading seemed pretty straightforward and common sensical. It was a good review of the fundamental elements of images, and offered some basic insight on how to utilize these elements in my own work.

Cézanne

I found this piece fascinating. I love the idea of sight being a "personal phenomenon." What every person sees is different from what is really in front of them. Cézanne's paintings, which were technically just spots of color on a canvas, become a full image once studied by the mind. The brain processes the plots of color (which are, in essence, dots of light) and creates a complete picture. I don't think I'm doing a great job of conveying how amazing this concept is, but I promise you it's awesome. 

Cézanne, way ahead of his time in understanding this process, was a hipster of sorts ("I was a post-impressionist before even impressionism was cool"). His work was considered "unnecessarily abstract," and was even ridiculed by impressionists. But now, hundreds of years later, we can fully appreciate his work and the crazy things it does to the viewer's mind.

My favorite part of the reading was the comparison of painting and photography. My favorite passage: Painters believed "the camera...was a liar. Its precision was false. Why? Because reality did not consist of static images. Because the camera stops time, which cannot be stopped; because it renders everything in focus, when everything is never in focus. Because the eye is not a lens, and the brain is not a machine."