Cohort 1
04/04/2023
Creative Influence
David Suh is a young photographer based in Los Angeles who gained lots of popularity during the pandemic on TikTok. His videos feature demonstrations on posing, choosing locations, and overall having more confidence as a photographer and model. I was drawn to his page because of his posing videos. I used to struggle to vocalize to my models how I wanted them to pose to create the vision and his videos helped me a lot when I was first starting out. He has an amazing personality, and his videos are great for beginners or anyone who just loves photos and the art of photography.
04/07/2023
Creative Practice Related
This article focuses on Daniel Oyegade, a young photographer based in Manchester and his recent work which they refer to as a "love letter". I found Oyegade's work truly beautiful and reading a little bit of his background and what pushes him to make the work he makes amazing. I love photography through and through but seeing people ask and answer questions through photography is truly beautiful to me.
04/11/2023
Creative Practice Related
Ibby Njoya is a designer who has completely changed the game with his fun and bright set design most recently featured on Vogue. I have always loved Vogue and the way that their photographers push the boundaries of fashion and photography and Njoya is just another example of this. Njoya uses bold bright colors, exaggerated props, and many other things to create his photos. Njoya says "if you're not having fun then you will hate what you're doing" and by this logic its clear Ibby Njoya loves what he does.
04/11/2023
Professional Resources
One career path that I am currently considering is media management. The linked article gives a general overview of what a social media manager does and some of the steps you should take to become one. This article gave me a good idea of what I will need to prepare for jumping into this field which will help me move forward and choose classes as I make my way through the art program.
04/28/2023
Call to Action
Black Feminist Freedom released a multi-media campaign in response to the recent attacks on abortion rights and it is an amazing example of how media and social media can be a powerful tool to use to spread awareness. As photographer one of my main goals is to use my craft and platform to speak for what I believe in and this is a part of what makes media management so interesting to me. Black Feminist Freedom has created beautiful work while still sending out a powerful message. Go check out Black Feminist Freedom and their "my body, my business, my freedom" message.
05/04/2023
Creative Practice Related
Mischelle Moy is a Chinese American artist who has decided to explore her culture by photographing things that represent both sides of her. Her pop color photographs show elements often found in Chinese cook books as well as the popular American children "I spy" books. Moy says that her work brings a modern spin to tradition and she honors the past while creating new rituals and this is what I think makes her work so beautiful and fun.
05/04/2023
Creative Practice Related
Ashley Markel is an artist who decided to use photography as a way to reconnect with her father. She used her "you don't know how beautiful you are" series to explore the effects her fathers absence had on her life and well as the things that they do together now. The series has allowed them to get closer and has shown her who he is and why she is the way she is. I have always seen art as healing and this is simply another example of that.
05/04/2023
Creative Practice Related
Chuqiao Liu is breaking tradition and inviting the older Chinese people to do the same. Liu says there is a big gap between the older and younger generation and the older generation often does not understand the younger. Through her photographs she shows gender equality and represents herself as a "uncompromising feminist". She says she hopes to open the older generations eyes and stimulates them to think with her photography.
05/04/2023
Creative Practice Related
Challenging the idea of "beauty" and shining a light on underrepresented and disabled people is what Anna Neubauer's work is all about. After working in the fashion industry for a while Annas idea of beauty ecame narrowed and she began to feel stuck. This caused her to leave that industry and use photography as the powerful tool it is. Anna started her series photographing the underrepresented and has shaken up the idea of "beauty" and has opened many peoples eyes as well.
05/04/2023
Creative Practice Related
Ejatu Shaw uses photography to show black love and black joy instead of the usual way black people are shown. Shaw says she uses photography to capture the essence and honesty of the subject and this is something she learned while photographing reference photos for painting. Many people find Shaw's work relatable since she tells the stories of her own life experiences which many can relate to. Shaw also shakes up the way the black community is often shown by showing the joy and love in everyday life which many people seem to enjoy. Capturing black Muslims and their culture is the next this Shaw says she wants to work on. I love her work because she shines a light on communities not often talked about and captures the joy in their everyday life, which I find to be simply beautiful.