Simon's World » Photography

Self-portraits

Simon — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 04:29:56 +0000

A couple of experiments:

Mostly done for a chuckle at my own expense. Then again, the black-and-white tonal-reverse drop-out thing has been with me for a while. Kinda goes with these.

Old Flickr flicker

Regenstein Library at the University of Chicago by Walter Netsch

Simon — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 16:04:43 +0000

Not as hard-core as the UIC buildings I’ve covered in the past (also here, here and here), the Regenstein Library’s main architectural moves are the concrete elevation and the two staircases – the main one serving all floors and another serving the second and third floor reading rooms. Unusually for Netsch, the building sports quite a few windows, though considering the depth of the plan, they’re not exactly a dominant feature.

I want to thank the library staff for allowing me to peek in without undue bureaucratic obstacles (it is generally a limited-access facility).

Pritty pitcher

Simon — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:29:45 +0000

Saw this and couldn’t resist it. Enjoy.

No related posts.

Animato

Simon — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:04:03 +0000

Done in GIMP. Bon apetit.

Behind the facade, first distillation

Simon — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 03:14:33 +0000

I started playing around with the images I shot yesterday, in an attempt to reach for the gist of what has been attracting me to these spaces. The first thing that came to mind is to distill them by dropping all color information, including tone. I lost some of them in the process, but I think the ones that survived are starting to reveal forms and relationships that weren’t very apparent in the originals. Here are the results:

Behind the facade, more West Loop

Simon — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:29:57 +0000

As usual, here’s a map of the day’s walk.

Here are the pictures – I’ve been thinking about the categories I mentioned as I shot these, so hopefully this will begin to focus the project somewhat soon.

Project categories

Simon — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 16:46:03 +0000

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m thinking of continuing the alley project by analyzing various aspects of what makes the alleys so fascinating. I’ve been thinking of a number of possibilities. Here’s the initial list:

Platforms (decks, porches, balconies, etc.)
Barriers (fences, warning signs)
Cul de sacs (spaces between buildings, cubby holes of various types)
Materiality
Signs of life (toys, abandoned objects, sports equipment, stuff for outdoor living)

I’m going to continue thinking about these categories as I push the project forward, but for now they seem like a good start to focus my work.

The second issue is how to take this from being a purely photographic project and to start working on the architectural possibilities it suggests. I’m thinking I’ll start by analyzing the graphic relationships in the pictures themselves, then possibly going on to looking at the spaces more objectively (maybe using satellite photos for reference).

Any suggestions would be most helpful.

Just what you wanted – more alleys!

Simon — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:14:02 +0000

As usual, here’s a map of the day’s walk.

Not much to say, really – still trying to find a focus for the project. Right now I’m leaning towards distilling five-six themes and exploring them in depth in five clearly defined locations in the city. But I have a feeling I need to get out more with a completely open attitude first. As always, suggestions and comments welcome.

Alleys, etc.

Simon — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 11:48:21 +0000

One thing has become very apparent to me since I started photographing Chicago alleys: in residential neighborhoods, most of the really interesting stuff takes place in private areas. This means I will have to a more active approach to accessing these spaces than I was hoping to. At first I thought that as long as I have to get access, maybe the thing to do would be to show the alley actually being used – so far the pictures have been about the material makeup of the place, with the social dimension represented only through inanimate objects. However, in the end that would have become a very work-intensive digression from the architectural aspect of the project, which was my ambition for it from the beginning, and still is. So for now I have decided to keep things simple and on track, by concentrating on the built environment of the alley zone, even as I get deeper into it.

Another, which is kind of a ‘duh’ moment for a photographer, is that the light quality matters more than I previously thought. On the one hand, in photographing at dawn and dusk, I got a flatter light quality that allowed me to concentrate on the objects themselves instead of the light play on them. However, the photographs themselves become flat and less engaging than ones shot during the day under typical lighting conditions. I still haven’t resolved this issue, though now I’m leaning towards dealing with the photography on its own merits and then approaching the objective qualities of the environment through analytic drawings.

Behind the facade, pt. 3

Simon — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 02:44:51 +0000

Took another walk in Jefferson Park. Here’s what I got: