Ducky and Ellie take on film

The photo book, candidly queer is a journey through the lives of queer people in southern Alberta. This book shows the different faces of queer individuals. Almost every page in the book is a different format, this is to highlight the differences within the queer community and highlight the nuances of being a queer person and how it strays away from society.  Ellie Saunders (she/they) Candidly queer  A collection of 2SLGBTQ+ portraits Candidly queer is a photo book built to show the diversity of queer faces and the different identities that can be shown within the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The way this photo book is put together is meant to highlight those points exactly. Pages are all different and are that way to show that no two individuals are the same. For this project I have tried my best to capture individuals in the way that they are most comfortable.    I have many people to thank for being part of this project, My friends, partners, family and...

In this project I embrace the messiness that is every day life. The monologue that we had to read for this project talked about the complexity and fluidity of identity. That is why I chose my partner who is non binary and uses they them pronouns as the subject for this piece. It incorporates the idea that there is binary thinking in the world. There is binary thinking but that does not mean we should be thinking as everyone else does. The monologue challenges the notion of fixed categories, this piece embraces the spectrum between chaos. Hugo also speaks to the past, present and future. In these pictures you can depict what happened in the past to make the space the way that it is you can anticipate what is going to happen in the future either a messier room or cleaning of the room and you see what is going on at the moment with the subject doing different activities in the space.  I asked my partner for an interpretation of the monologue because they were the subject and I wanted ...

 Here are my contact sheets for my photo book project. Not all of them could be uploaded but they can be emailed upon request. 

 Here I have my work prints out for the photo book. I printed about 50 colour prints and 50 black and white in the dark room. I have begun to lay them out and figure out what I want my photo book to look like. 

This projection project is in a box, the reason it is in a box is because like many other people in the 2SLGBTQ+ community trans people often have to hide who they are our of fear of discrimination or in the case that this project outlines; death.  Trigger warning: death, suicide, hate crimes against the 2SLGBTQ+ community.  The project was completed around November 20th which is transgender day of remembrance. On November 20th every year we remember the lives of trans people who were lost in the past year. Still in 2023 there were over 300 individuals lost world wide and around 7 in Canada due to hate crimes or suicide.  The box that I have created has the words "trans rights" being projected onto articles from the anti sexual orientation and gender identity protests going on across Canada. These hateful protests send messages to trans and gender diverse individuals that they are not welcome to be who they are in spaces that are meant to be safe for them such as schools....

 I chose to do my projection presentation on Krzysztof Wodiczko. He is a projection artist and his work revolves around activism and advocacy.  Here is the link to his website:  https://www.krzysztofwodiczko.com Here is the information from the project. I also did a small in class activity where my classmates had to do a short worksheet about the artist and do some of their own research. 

 This movie honestly made me quite angry just based on the fact that in true 1966 fashion they did not portray mental health very well. It was quite frustrating and I had many negative feelings throughout the movie. Sometimes I find that we romanticize the idea of a film due to its claim to being very artistic and people aren't critical enough about the content and the portrayal of vulnerable populations. Because the movie did a horrible job at depicting mental illness I decided to take it upon myself to do some of the work in depicting mental illness in a way that was more realistic.  I decided to write my own disclaimer for the project: "Persona" (1966) contains representations rooted in misogyny and misinformation, which may now be seen as outdated or insensitive. Be aware of: 1.    Mental Health : Depictions may not reflect current understanding or compassion. 2.    Hysterical Woman Trope : An oversimplified dramatization of women's emotions. 3.  ...

Candidly queer: portraits of identity   This book seeks to dive into the multifaceted lives of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Putting a spotlight on the rich diversity inherent within the 2SLGBTQ+ comm unity. At the focal point of this project is the idea of representation this is an invaluable facet of identity that resonates profoundly with members of the queer community. The focus of this collection of photos is not just to chronicle the spectrum of quee r identities but to serve as a place where folks can see themselves in the community, enabling members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community to recognize, affirm and celebrate their own identities and na rratives.    This photobook will be a collection of photos predominantly with analog black and white film photography occasionally supplemented with digital colour photographs. The colour photographs wil l be incorporated to bring to light the multitude of colours that the 2SLGBTQ+ community exhibits.   One of the most import...

 This article is talks a lot about how and what makes a photograph interesting. Talks about how now we are taking a 3D experience and making it 2D how can we maintain that same immersive experience for viewers. He talks about how photographers have to bring order to a scene but I would argue that in this class with my photo montage I brought disorder to the images that I was using for the purpose of confusing the viewer so it doesn't always have to be just one way. Photography doesn't have to bring order. What about photos that were not planned, what if you accidentally hit the button before you were ready these photos can still be very useful and can still be art while not being planned in such a way as being described.  I like the idea that photographers don't create the image they select the image but I would say that you can still create different pieces with photos in regards to photo arts. 

 So I realized that I have a ton of test strips and I need to figure out what to do with them all. I need to figure out if I want to do another art project with them or something. Here is a picture of them all:  I also just wanted to do a but of reflection from the semester. I have really enjoyed working with black and white film this semester, there are lots of things that I really liked about this class. One of the things that was challenging is that the supplies is so expensive but I don't think there is a way around that. I did a lot of my own printing for friends and family for Christmas gifts and I am really excited to see what everyone thinks.  One of the things I found interesting was the idea of fixing the pinhole photos or the 35mm photos in photo shop to take out some of the dust or other things that may have gotten on the film when really when you are thinking about film and committing to taking film photos I feel like you are committing to those blemishes and...

 For my typology I sort of have been taking pictures since the beginning of the semester and I didn't have my license until pretty recently so I found myself taking pictures of my friends who were driving me around. The last picture is of me because I finally got my license and can now drive all of my friends around which is really exciting. Some of the photos came out a little bit dark but it was hard because the lighting was always different for each photo and things were moving in the background as well so it was a little bit challenging but I do like how they all turned out and it is a bunch of my lovely friends which is very exciting. 

 Here is my photo montage for assignment 5. It is titled mind games because looking at it it plays with your mind a little bit. What is fun about this image is that I used two very light images so I didn't even know what was in one of the pictures because I could not really see it on the contact sheet. 

 I did two sequences because one of them was reliant on the weather, the first one is of three trees, one with its leaves, one without leaves and one with snow on it.  The second sequence is of my cat, she is inside then outside roaming around in the other photos.  I really enjoyed working on this project, I found waiting for the perfect weather to get the tree photos was a lot of fun. 

  Depth of field and 18% grey