Period 4 -- Critical Analysis #5

11/21/2019

© Jaime Erin Johnson

Today you will be writing about this self-portrait image by artist Jaime Erin Johnson. Now that you have made your own self-portraits, think about the great difficulty the artist must have gone through to get this shot. What equipment might she have used? What do you think the lighting scenario was? Where was this photograph made? What kind of light did the artist use to get the shot?

This photograph was made using cyanotype, which is an antiquated photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. The artist used tea to stain the print and make it look brownish blue.

Your analysis must be 5 paragraphs, 5 sentences minimum per paragraph. Remember to post your analysis as a comment to the blog post that corresponds to your class. If you post your analysis to the wrong class's post, it will not be graded.

If you do not complete your analysis in class, you must finish it for homework by midnight.

Refer to your "How to See" handout for analyzing a photograph--

Describe specifics.
Describe form.
Describe the content.
Evaluate the image

Your analyses will be graded on:

meeting minimum length requirements
depth of organization
evaluation of the content
grammar/punctuation

12 Comments

Zac Isaac

11/21/2019 09:29:54 am

In this picture, there is a skull of an alligator. The lady is holding the skull to her chest. The colors used in the photo are black and white mostly. There are dark shadows in the picture. It is an interesting photo.

The alligator directs my eye first because it takes up most of the photo. In the photo, the person's head is not in the photo. The rules of thirds is being used by putting the subject is in the middle of the camera. The photo is captured in a portrait mode. There is a small depth of field.

I think there is a story being told in the image. It looks as if the alligator bit the lady. Another story that could be told in the photo is that the alligator was the lady's pet. The photo is interesting to look at. It really make the person looking at it think.

I like the photo. You make your own story inside of the photo. I think it is a successful picture. The photo interest me. I think that others would agree.

Although the photo is interesting to look at, it is kind of confusing. The people looking at it can be confused. There is no expression that can tell us if the lady is sad, or in pain. Although these complications can confuse the person looking at the photo, it is still a great photo. I like it.

Diego Saucedo

11/21/2019 09:35:21 am

In this image we can see a woman, she’s holding what looks to be the skull of a crocodile, her face is not showing and she seems to be holding the skull as if it was some type of “precious object”. The lighting in this image is pretty dark and grey, it looks good but i would lower the highlights a little more.

The image form is a self portrait of the Jaime Erin Johnson while she’s holding the skull. The tones of the image are pretty dark and intense in a way where the image looks sad, compared to the images we've seen this year, this one is pretty dark, Her dress also seems to be an old dress because of too many people wear that now a days.

Again, this image contains a woman being J.E.J. Holding the skull of a crocodile, she’s wearing an old white dress with flowers in it, the type of image looks like a n old photograph and if you look closely, it's a little wrinkled in the edges, we can’t really see the background but it looks like there are trees behind her.

I like this image because it brings an idea of death or something sad that has happened in someone’s life, the dark parts of the image are great because it kind of gives it a dramatic look of the image and also the parts that are much clearer, are also great because we can see far behind the woman and we can see trees.

I think this artist was able to get this image was with a remote or a timer in her camara, she put the timer and then she got in position, i think this image took a lot of tries to get perfectly, she also used old techniques in making that effect of old picture.

George Welch

11/21/2019 09:35:44 am

The image looks very old at first glance. It uses a lot of darker colors and is stained with tea. The photo uses a lot of dark lighting. It doesn’t look like it was made in a studio and doesn’t look like it was set up like a studio. The photo only has a woman’s body and her holding an animal skull.
The rule of thirds does not seem to be used in this image, she is standing in the middle of the photo. The photo has a very shallow depth of field. The picture also crops off her head. There isn’t really a lot of extra space in the picture apart from 2 small spaces between her. Also, the image does seem to be pretty pleasing to look at.
I think that the picture has a mysterious vibe to it. Even though the picture was made with a digital camera, it looks like it was taken over 100 years ago. I think the artist's intention was to take an old system of taking photographs and recreating it digitally with tea involved. This picture doesn’t really remind me of anyone I know/knew. However, it does kind of remind me of history textbooks when it comes to old photos.
I think that this was a way for the artist to express herself and use and old system of photography. This image looks pretty hard to accomplish. I think she used a tripod and took a picture of herself. Then processed the image to make it a negative. Then print it out and stain it with tea. I like how she used an old method and combining it with a digital method to create this image.
I like this image. I think it does a good job in letting the artist express herself through photography. I like how she dressed up and made the photo look really old. I like how the image has a vintage/mysterious vibe to it. I think this picture was successful in getting the artist’s point across.

Kurt Bliss

11/21/2019 09:36:51 am

The image is off a woman in old timey clothes holding an animal skull. The image has a brown tint to it to display the tone and mood of the image. The lighting is pretty bright but is off put by the way the image was created. This image uses a very interesting composition possibly to display the feebleness of life and carelessness of death. It think the colors and lighting really bring out what the artist is trying to display in this image.

The image is very pleasing to look at and includes an interesting subject that draws the viewer's attention in its direction. It is, however, unclear what the subject is. Is it skull or the human itself? In this composition The rule of thirds is not really being used as it is a self portrait that is shot directly in front of the subject. The image uses a very shallow depth of field and is very balanced and symmetrical. The subject does fill the entire frame. Overall I love how the artist composed her image.
It think the image was composed to display how feeble our life is. She is holding life, or a dead animal to show how death and the feebleness of our biological structures has a grip on the way we live our lives. The artist uses grey and brown colors too display the very gloomy mood she is trying to capture in this image and is holding an animal skull as a metaphor for death and the reminder that we will all die someday. It think this image challenge our fear of death and are hesitation to bring to light the profound effect that the relationship between death and life has on our lives.
I love this image. It is right up my alley as it challenges people's emotions and mental psyche. It think this image is very successful as it gets its point across in a unique and interesting way that makes the viewer think about what is going on in the image. Overall this image is great

MJ Ervin

11/21/2019 09:38:18 am

This image is of a girl who is holding some sort of skeleton head while wearing a dress they wore a long time ago. It looks very old and not so much new. The lighting in the image is kinda dark and brown there aren't any blues or yellows in the image. The image is of a girls neck to hips holding a skeleton head. There is also some trees suggesting she is in the woods or forest. She is gripping the skeleton and holding whille it seems like she is looking up into the sky.

This image is kind of pleasing, it isn't to my taste but its not a bad photograph because the colors seem kinda boring and it seems confusing. This image doesn't use the rule of thirds. The girl is in the center of the frame. The image was shot from a front facing view. Depth of field is being used even though she takes up most of the frame it is being used. This image is symmetrical and not offset. The subject does fill the image and takes up 90% of the frame. The frame is cutting of more trees which in this case don't matter because it would just direct your attention away from the subject. The negative space would be the trees in the background and the positive space would be the girls dress.

I can't tell what the theme is supposed to be it's a very interesting image that makes no sense to me. I could believe there is a story behind this if somebody told me but i'm still not so sure I know what it is. This kinda reminds me of something that would be in a creepy old time scary movie. I don't know if it could challenge beliefs but it could be some sort of religious thing. This image is super interesting and i'm not sure what its about though so im super confused.

I like it but im not a fan of it. This image is really interesting which i like because she is holding a random skeleton head for no reason. Even though this image was made to be this way i would think it would look cool if she had the normal picture she took without the stained marks and old time look to it. This photo seems to be successful but i think if she also had the original photo that would be nice to have too

Well to make this image i believe she needed a tripod and of course a camera. She probably need access to a place to have the pictures printed so she could use the tea to stain the image to give it that look. The lighting probably a normal day outside that she just made look different because of the staining. This photograph was made in the forest or woods judging by the trees in the background. She probably used natural light that the sun provided for her and if not she probably used lights to shine on herself.

Ryan Shields

11/21/2019 09:40:51 am

This image is of a lady holding what looks like an alligator skull. The image is tinted brown and the lighting is relatively dark. There are some shadows in the image and some objects in the image are a gator skull, a lady in a dress, and what looks like trees in the background. In the image a lady wearing a dress is holding a gator skull with some trees in the background.

The image is pleasing to look at because it has a gator skull in it, and that’s pretty cool. The rule of thirds is being used and the picture was taken straight on. The image was also taken a little low so that you can’t see the person's head. A very shallow depth of field is being used and the focal point is up close. The image is not framed and there doesn’t appear to be any lines to guide your eyes throughout the image. The image is balanced and it’s mostly symmetrical, except that her right hand is in a different position than her left. The subject mostly fills the frame and there isn't a whole lot of extra space. There’s mostly just the background at the edges of the image, but image does cut off her head. Almost all the positive space is in the center of the picture and all the negative space is in the background.

A theme in the image is sharp contrast between the negative and positive space. I don’t think there is a story being told in the image, it's a person holding an alligator skull. I think the artist made this image to show off the unique style used to create it. The image reminds me of when I went to Florida and saw tons of alligators. The image doesn't challenge any of my beliefs. I think the image is interesting to look at because it’s got an alligator skull in it.

I like the image because it’s cool to look at, but there's not a whole lot going on in the picture. I think the photograph is successful because it shows off the unique way it was made and it looks good.

The image was made by using cyanotype and I’m pretty sure that it means it was made using some sort of light sensitive blue paper. So I’m guessing that she took the picture and then had to let it sit out in the sun for a while. And apparently you need to put it in water to work, so she would’ve had to have done that. And since the picture is brown not blue she would’ve had to have stained it brown.

Nathan Bond

11/21/2019 09:42:06 am

There is a lady holding a skull. The skull looks like it could be a crocodile’s because of the shape and teeth. She is wearing an old type of outfit that has little flowers scattered around it. We can’t see her face but we can see up to her chin and hair. She’s also wearing a skirt so maybe this outfit is a dress.

We can’t see anything around her really. The background is blurred, but it looks like she is standing in front of a pond or river. This image is in black and white so we can’t see any other colors really. They dress is probably white and the skull is grey. The lady also looks white.

The subject fills the frame and there is barely any extra space. The positive space is basically just her and the negative space everything around her and her hands. The rule of thirds isn’t being used. There aren’t any lines or anything that directs the eye in an orderly fashion. The first thing that the viewer sees is probably just the crocodile and then the woman holding it.

There is no story being told in this image. It’s somewhat interesting but the only question I’m asking is why is she holding a skull. There is not really a story you can make up in your mind wondering why she’s holding it. The last photo of the girl levitating was a great photo because I was thinking of so many reasons why she made it. This image is just boring and I don’t care for it.

The frame of this photo crops off this woman’s head so we can’t see her face. This image doesn’t remind me of any memories. I don’t know the intention of the artist maybe she hunted the animal and decided to take a photo with its skull or maybe she found it. This photo doesn’t challenge any beliefs. I believe this photo is unsuccessful.

Elise Miles

11/21/2019 09:42:39 am

The image is of a girl with a huge alligator skull in her hands. The colors are a really dark bluish brown with whites to emphasis the girl. The lighting in the image is bright but not too bright. The objects in the image are the girl, the dress she’s wearing, and the alligator skull she’s holding. In the image the girl’s head seems to be pointed upwards because all you can see is a long neck. She also seems to be holding the alligator skull really tight.

The rule of thirds is not being used because the subject is in the middle of the image. The point of view that the photographer used is right in front of the subject, right under head. The depth of field is really shallow because everything around the girl is blurry. The focal point is the alligator skull and the image is not framed. The lines in the image are the girl’s arms/hands holding the alligator skull. The subject fills most of the image except for the space on either side of the girl. At the edge of the image is the girl’s head and the bottom half of her body.

The themes of this image are haunted, scary, and creepy themes. The story behind the image is the girl is a probably creepy girl who is obessed with reptiles. The artist made this image to make a cool self portrait photo. The image reminds me of a movie about these weird kids with weird abilities who stay at this special orphanage for weird kids. It does not question any beliefs for me. The image is noteworthy because the artist did make a scary photograph.

I hate the image because it reminds me of dark thoughts. One of my thoughts are about a really dark horror movie. In the movie it showed all these people who were dead in photographs. This image reminds me of the girl thinking bad thoughts because you can tell her head is pointed upwards. Overall the image makes me think really bad thoughts.

The photograph is really successful in that it gives the viewer a clear message about what it’s about. This image would be really good in a fake haunted house or a scary mueseum. This image also looks really old which makes people even scared. The image is successful but in a creepy way.

Garrett Greiner

11/21/2019 09:43:37 am

This is an image of what appears to be a woman in a dress. The person’s face is not revealed in this image. The person is holding a skull of an animal. The shape of the skull resembles that of an alligator or crocodile, but I am not sure if this is the case. She appears to be standing near a river/body of water, as you can see reflections in the bottom half of the screen, which leads me to believe that this is the case. There are most likely trees behind her, as in the top half of the screen you can see little dots of light, which are probably the spots where the sunlight found its way past the leaves. It is hard to tell what exactly is going on, as there isn’t too much information present in this photo.

In terms of composition, I think it is pleasing to look at. The rule of thirds is not being used in this photo, as the subject is centered in the frame of the photo. The photographer took the picture at a certain height such that the subject’s legs and head are not captured in the photo. This photo uses shallow depth of field, as only the subject is in focus and the background is blurry. The jaw-line of this animal skull draws the viewer’s attention from the top of the screen to the bottom. You follow the jaw and run into the hands, and follow the arms back up to the top. The image is pretty symmetrical, as the skull is positioned in the middle, and since the top and bottom jaw are pretty similar in structure, it is symmetrical. Also, having the subject centered in the image allows for the image to be symmetrical. The frame crops out the subject’s head and everything slightly below their waist.

I think one theme of this image is death. This is exemplified by the animal skull that the subject is holding. Given that it is the only other object that is clearly depicted in this photo, I would say that it is quite reasonable to think that the author intended for death to be a theme. I can’t really tell if a story is being told. There is so little information about the surroundings and who the person is, what is happening around them, that you could make up many different scenarios for this image. This image doesn’t really remind me of anything. I mean I guess it reminds me of times that I have found animal bones or skulls, but I haven’t found one as large as the skull pictured in the image before. So in a way it reminds me of something. I mean it is interesting to try and figure out the context, but once you look at all of the information you have you kinda come to a halt. It gets to the point where anything goes really, and I think it would be very hard to find the truth to this scene unless you had a little more information about the person or if there was more information in the image.

I have mixed feelings for this image. I like what is in the frame, but I don’t like the coloring that they did to it. It makes the image more dull and it makes it a little boring to look at for me. I wish I could have seen what the image looked like before it got processed. I think I would have liked it more if this coloring wasn’t done to it. Coloring this image also made the image have less clues. I find it very annoying that nothing is really explained and I want to find more clues so I can make better theories. If I choose any two ideas for the story behind the image that I came up with, each appears equally valid, and the fact that I can’t narrow the possibilities down annoys me. That is another reason why I don’t like this image. Also, I don’t even really get a sense of what they are trying to convey in this image. Maybe I was too focused on trying to figure out the context, and I missed out on the purpose. But I went back and thought about it and I still didn’t really figure anything out. I don’t think this image is successful.

I think the artist had to use a tripod to rest the camera on, as this seems to be a self-portrait. They would have had to already have this skull in their possession, or maybe they found it as they went out to shoot the photos. After the image was taken, they most likely edited it, printed it out, and soaked it in some substance. I’m assuming they used the technique used to make the images blue, like the ones you showed us earlier this year. But instead of blue, they dyed it this dull brown. Then they would have to remove it from this substance, let it dry and then scan it to get this digital file we have in front of us.

dana salinas

11/21/2019 09:43:42 am

This image by Jamie E. Johnson shows a self portrait of a woman holding a crocodile’s cranium and is surrounded by what look like trees or one assumes that she at least is outside. The woman is dressed in a very traditional and old-fashioned dressed because of the pattern and material that is being used. There are flowers and ruffles on her sleeves which indicate that the style she was going for is not modern. There aren’t many different types of colors, just different shades. All of the shades are dark and mellow with dark shadows in the background. It almost looks like she’s in the middle of nowhere because the tree-looking shadows seem so abundant.
This image is pleasing to look at because of the contrasting colors and the way that the artist chose the frame of the photograph. It is symmetrical because the main objects are right in the middle and the free spaces next to her are equal in distance. At first, the image does not draw you in because of the skeleton, however, it drags you in because of the time it takes you to notice it. The cranium is almost hard to see at first glance because the colors are so contrasting to each other. There are no colors that just grab your attention but it’s an image where you slowly notice more and more details.
I believe that the artist purposely cuts off her head so that not only herself but the crocodile can both be the center of attention. Even the image itself is ironic and contrasting at the same time because the artist does not have a head in the photograph however, she’s holding on to someone else’s and that animal does not have a body. It’s almost as if she were holding her own head or as if it had been cut off. The way she’s holding the cranium also makes you question why she would take such picture. She’s taken the photograph very serious and the cranium is being held very delicately, discarding the idea of her posing next to a trophy or hunting victory. I believe that the image is very beautiful because in a sense, I believe that she is trying to say that humans are actually animals and we have some of their instincts within us. Besides that, I also feel like she is mourning. There is no right or wrong way to do so but the way that her head is back and the way she’s holding the skeleton makes me believe that it has some sort of sentimental value for her.
To make this image successful, I believe that the author went through a lot of trial and error to try to align the frame and center herself perfectly. She probably used a tripod to get it to stay in place and maybe even a remote or self timer. I can imagine how hard the image was to create and how many hours she must’ve spent trying to get the perfect shot. After doing my self portraits, I now understand that they’re not as easy as they seem and that they actually take some time to think about and get right. Trial and error is the biggest thing that she must’ve practiced in order to get that perfect shot. She also obviously looked into the lighting and that too must have been a hard component to manipulate by herself.
This image is extremely pleasing to look at and I think that the artist was very successful in what she was trying to portray due to her creativity and final result. I really like the irony with her cutting off her own head in the image but she’s also holding someone else’s as she takes the photograph. She really wanted the image to look old or have that rustic look because of her outfit choice, the patterns and even the fabric. The colors and even the hair add on to the old look that she was trying to go for. Overall, I really like this image and praise her creativity.

Anaya Zachery

11/21/2019 09:47:31 am

In this self portrait by Jaime Johnson, we see the torso of a woman wearing a flowered dress and holding an animal skull of some sort. Her face is not visible. The focus in this photo is most likely placed on the gigantic skull she is holding in her arms. We see quite a lot of shadows in the image, and can imagine that it was taken outdoors. Because of the unique printing process used, there isn’t much color variation that we can see, but I think that the original scene probably had a lot of colors going on.

This photo doesn’t really use the rule of thirds, as the subject is placed in the center of the frame. There isn’t a whole lot of negative space; we can tell the photographer was intentional about filling the frame. One thing I did notice is that the photographer chose not to include her head in the frame of the image. With the knowledge that this is a self portrait, I can infer that Johnson wanted to show a different aspect of herself rather than just her face or physical appearance. Perhaps she has an interest in collecting or finding animal bones?

We know from the fact that this is a self portrait that the artist wanted to capture a personal side of herself to share with her audience. Upon reading more about the photographer, I found that she places a lot of focus on trying different forms of photography, whether that be with a digital camera,or her vintage film camera. This may be part of the reason she chose to print this photo using the method she did. The clothing that she is wearing, as well as the color scheme, reminds me of older photos that I have seen from the 20th century. I think that it is an interesting image and while it is quite simple overall, is interesting to look at.

I like this image, and think it was successfully taken. Overall, it is visually appealing and I enjoy looking at it. I think that though it is pretty simple, with not a whole lot happening, we can clearly see that there is more than what meets the eye. While I’m not completely sure what Johnson was trying to convey, I would love to look at more of her work to learn more about her. I also think that the printing technique used is unique, which makes the photo even more interesting.

I imagine that creating this image would have taken a lot of effort. First, she had to take it, which I have learned from my experience with self portraits isn’t always easy. Then she had to print it using the cyanotype method we discussed. She also went through the process of dying the image to create the colors we see. I imagine she would have shot outside, and somewhere with quite a bit of light, because as we see, this type of printing causes the image to look darker, so she most likely would have wanted to make sure the image didn’t look too dark.

Max Sherburne

11/21/2019 06:28:27 pm

This image is of the photographer taking the photo. She seems to have a lot of animal skulls and stuff like that, based off of the other images I’ve seen. The details are really nice, she did a good job of making the photo seem old, probably using tea bags. According to inside sources, this was originally a digital negative turned paper negative, then transferred onto light sensitive paper, and dyed brownish blue with tea (Thanks Ms. McCauley.)

The image is pleasing to look at. The tones are soft, with small hints of blue, which really give it character. The point of view lies in the alligator skull, which is what really gives it a sort of creepy feel about it. The photo is framed actually by itself, it has a nice background border thing that frames the subject, and gives it a little pop of darker color. The subject also most definitely fills the frame, as she is filling almost all the space given. I love how the frame crops off her head, it gives it a feeling of anonymity.

I believe the theme here is animal rights. Or possibly symbolizing the declining population of some species of animals. The image actually reminds me of a nightmare I had once, where everyone had alligator/crocodile heads, and I was the only normal human. It also kind of reminds me of my Aunt Susie, who collects weird things. It’s interesting really, the image is very dark and foreboding, I kind of like it.

Despite all the good things I usually say about the images, this one just didn’t do it for me, I love the composition, and the colors, but it’s a bit too… weird? For my taste. The image however is really successful in the sense that it draws your eye to the photo itself. It also forces you to look closer, because at first, when you look at it, the skull kind of looks like lace on her shirt. I thought that was interesting, but it really didn’t hit home for me this time.

Period 4 -- Critical Analysis #5

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