CHROMA magazine
undefined JANUARY 2016
CHROMA
magazine
A publication celebrating young & talented creatives from the VSAA photography community & beyond. January 2016 Volume 1 Issue 5 Based in Vancouver, Washington Editor: Ruby Becker Advisor: Abby Harris Staff: 24 issuu.com/chromamagazine chromamag2015@gmail.com All photographs belong to the artist and have been published with their permission. DO NOT copy or share any images without explicit permission from Chroma Magazine. Thank you for respecting the photographers featured and the integrity of their work.
editor’s
letter
As 2016 begins, our aim to create art without boundaries renews. This month, Chroma went themeless & prompted our staff and content contributors to shoot what they wanted to shoot. The possibilities limitless, we found that artists compose their work best when expectations are irrelevant & undefined. Ruby Becker Editor
undefined
contents
P. 128
staff gallery
anna cornwell // 116
sabrina pruett // 008
tara umesh // 122
madeleine newton // 016
betsy hanrahan // 128
makena wilcox // 022
abby harris // 136
kastine cook // 028 keston kuechel // 034
featured artists
ellie josephson // 040
bailey bray // 142
audrey maddux // 046
rylee griffith // 148
kayla sousa // 054
tutorial
olivia madrid // 058 kaylee kepple // 066 kallie hutchinson // 072 jane greene // 080 paisley hobbs // 086 louise hewitt // 094 colby bishop // 102 devon macgregor // 110
P. 022
ON THE COVER: kaylee kepple - P. 066
reverse freelensing // 154
banderas bay sabrina pruett
chroma // 009
chroma // 013
10:52
madeleine newton MODEL: KAYLEE KEPPLE
chroma // 019
hidden movements makena wilcox
photographer’s notes Materials used: • Milk (2%) • Multiple colors of food dye • Dish soap • Container(s) How it works: Milk is mostly water but it also contains vitamins, minerals, proteins, and tiny droplets of fat. Fat and proteins are sensitive to changes in the surrounding milk. Dish soap has bipolar characteristics. One side is hydrophilic (water-loving), and the other end is hydrophobic (water-fearing). The hydrophobic ends are attracted to the fat in the milk and attaches to the fat molecules. The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules race around to join up with the fat molecules. During all of this the food dye is shoved around showing the hidden movement.
chroma // 025
overlay kastine cook
WHAT DID YOU DO? I created a series focused on certain skills I felt I could improve on within the photography world. When shooting, I used a paper lantern with Christmas lights and took the photos with my Nikon D3100 and a prime lens. In Photoshop, I turned some of the photos black and white and played around with layers, to create a collage-like look. WHY DID YOU DO IT? I am always looking to self-improve with my photography, and given that this month there was no theme I felt that it was a perfect opportunity to try and experiment with studio lighting, using a prime lens, and editing. I collected a group of designs and patterns to use in the collages, which were done by artists Paul Juno and Lourdes Sanchez. I was inspired by a discussion we had in Photo earlier in the month about Richard Prince, an “artist” who has built a career on copying other artist’s work. I looked at all the reasons he was criticized for the work he’s done and how other artists have appropriated art and not been criticized for it. I found that it came down to two things, transforming the original art piece and crediting the artist. I made sure that when creating my final images that I did both of those things in an attempt to experience creating original art while using a precomposed image.
chroma // 029
keston kuechel
chroma // 035
chroma // 039
people inellienature josephson
chroma // 043
light show audrey maddux trouble // cage the elephant wolves (you got me) // dreamers 10,000 emerald pools // bĂ˜rns you’re the one that i want // angus & julia stone cold cold man // saint motel yellow flicker beat // lorde
chroma // 047
chroma // 051
bloom kayla sousa drive // halsey back again // flor flawless // the neighbourhood head.cars.bending // the 1975 i’ve told you now // sam smith the emotion // BĂ˜RNS unsaid // flor
arizona olivia madrid
chroma // 065
spectrum kaylee kepple
chroma // 067
across an ocean kallie hutchinson
chroma // 075
chroma // 077
blue milk jane greene
chroma // 081
photographer’s notes WHAT DID YOU DO? I curated some of my old portraits, turned them black and white, and printed them out. I gathered some “ingredients” from my fridge, ketchup, mustard, eggs and onions. Finally, I used them as props and paints! I ended up not loving most of the photos I took, but I think this was a good experience for me. I learned that I need to plan my shots better, so I can get better results.
chroma // 083
paisley hobbs
chroma // 087
study in color louise hewitt
there is power in red colby bishop
chroma // 107
i can’t breathe devon macgregor
chroma // 113
chroma // 115
pointillism anna cornwell
photographer’s notes WHAT DID YOU DO? I was initially inspired by an ad I saw at the beginning of a YouTube video. The video was of Kat Von D doing pointillism makeup with 16 different foundation shades. I loved how the makeup look and wanted to try it out myself. I chose to use contour, highlight and blush shades to make mine look unique.
night tara umesh
chroma // 123
femme:
growing & alive betsy hanrahan
photographer’s notes WHAT DID YOU DO? For my project, I created a photo series of nine photos. The photos are black and white self portraits. They are taken on a Canon T3i with a 50mm lens. I used a tripod, self timer, and a remote in order to get the desired shots. The pictures are edited in Photoshop CS6. The pictures have been hand painted on with gouache paint. On the photos, the designs are of flowers or abstract images of flowers. The designs are painted in warm colors. This project is inspired by a censorship photo series that I did last year for my photography class. WHY DID YOU DO IT? This project was created as a redux of a project created last year. Last year, I made a photo series about censorship. I used a similar theme for these photos. But, when I created the last series, I was just angry. I was full of angst. What have I learned since then? I learned that you can’t get a message across if you’re angry. You can’t be mad and just expect something to happen. I made an art piece about some thing, but I didn’t present any solution. Since this art piece, I realized that I won’t be in public school for ever. I won’t have to deal with being shamed in school for being sexualized by my peers. And I won’t be further sexualized by the shaming of girl’s and women’s bodies in school. Keeping this in mind, I started this project. I didn’t want to make another angsty art piece, however tempting that may be. Instead, I want to embrace my status as a female. I am strong. I am living. I am more than a body. I am more than an object, that might evoke a man by wearing shorts too short or a shirt too low. I am sick of living in a society that perpetuates rape culture. I am sick of men being able to do anything they want with their bodies and women being shamed for having them. This series is about is about reclaiming my body. I wanted to put a twist in my old series, instead of censoring my body, I’m using my body, along with the designs to show my pride in my feminine qualities. I used the floral designs because I felt that they were iconic symbols for the female form. For the designs, I wanted to use stoic, strong imagery. In some photos, I used the flowers shooting out from parts of my body. I wanted to do this to show the strength, the energy, that women symbolize and exert. I also used images such as the crown to show the potential power that women have. The image of the halo is an homage to religious icons. I wanted to use this because of the surface level, people think saints are only an image of purity and lack substance. I feel that often this is how women are viewed. But, both women and saints are more than images of purity, they have substance, and just like saints, they bring meaning to the world and to life. I’m reclaiming my body and I hope girls and women around me can too.
chroma // 131
swoon abby harris After working with guest artist and lighting specialist Seth Kirby, I challenged myself to capture the drama and glamour of film noir. My model, Odie Harris, whose style was inspired by highly flamboyant silent film actress Alla Nazimova, served as my subject for this shoot. Using rim lighting to illuminate the model from behind and soft globe lighting to brighten the face, I captured the essence of silent noir. The over exaggerated poses of my model are as important to the overall look as the lighting and styling. Silent film stars relied on magnified facial expressions to help tell a story on screen. From 19151930, actresses like Alla Nazimova extravagantly performed fear, rage, despair, joy, and love without the use of spoken word.
featured artist:
bailey bray INSTAGRAM: xframes.photography TUMBLR: Xframes.tumblr.com
where are you from?
Vancouver, Washington.
what kind of cameras do you shoot with?
Nikon D3200 and Olympus Film.
how did you get started in photography?
I joined photo at VSAA mostly because I wanted to go into the darkroom and not get in trouble, but after I actually shot an developed my own images, I fell in love with the whole process.
how would you describe your style of photography?
Capricious: my style and aesthetic change at a whim - it can be based on what the weather is like that day, or what kind of music I’ve been listening to. I suppose for the most part, my style simply reflects whatever inspired me to take those images! Lately I’ve been drawn to darker, more minimalistic pieces (as you can see), but I’m sure that’ll change soon, haha.
what’s the most challenging part about being a photographer?
Focusing on one idea! I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve been in the middle of one shoot, and I get an idea for a whole other shoot.
where do you gather inspiration from? I’m inspired by literally everything, but most often I find my ideas to be sparked by different senses. I’ve found music to be a foolproof source of inspiration! But my most recent series was inspired a lot by the visual fluidity in the movement of chiffon fabric I found while shopping at a fabric store.
what advice would you give someone just starting out in photography? Take. Your. Camera. Everywhere. Also, don’t get discouraged by a lack of resources. If you want to shoot a certain series, reach out to people and make it happen! You’d be surprised by who has a studio for you to shoot in, or will give you a press pass to cover their show.
what are your next steps? Well, I’m planning on spending more time gaining publicity by publishing my work, and setting up gallery shows. So keep ya eye out for me ;^)
chroma // 145
featured artist:
rylee griffith
photographer’s notes My name is Rylee (Pickle) Griffith. I’m from the wet and wonderful state of Washington. I’ve been interested in photography since I was in middle school (I am now in my second year of highschool). I collect all kinds of film cameras and old digital cameras, which ignited my passion for the art. Most of my inspiration is gathered from famous photographers or just ordinary photos from Pinterest. Rosanna Jones was my inspiration for my ‘Milk Bath’ pieces. I am a very spontaneous artist - I don’t like to plan because my mind changes every few minutes. Growing as an artist takes time, dedication, hard work, and an open mind, which is why I love what I do.
chroma // 153
tutorial:
reverse freelensing TOPIC: Keston Kuechel TUTORIAL COMPOSED BY: Ruby Becker PHOTOS: Ruby Becker & Betsy Hanrahan 1. EXPOSURE: In manual mode with your lens still attached, set a ballpark exposure. 2. DETACH: Power the camera off then detach the lens. Turn the camera on and hold the lens backwards against the camera body. Nikon users must manually hold the apeture open, this feature is automatic on Canon cameras. 3. SHOOT: Move so that you are only a few inches away from your subject, adjusting the lens and camera body until it becomes clear. Shoot & check exposure. NOTE: Your camera’s sensor is exposed when freelensing. Use extreme caution when photographing in windy/rainy/sandy conditions. See more examples of reverse freelensing: Keston Kuechel - P. 034 Kayla Sousa - P. 054
SUBMIT YOUR WORK
Email chromamag2015@gmail.com with a sample of your photography & to learn more.
CHROMA magazine
issuu.com/chromamagazine