westsidestory iowa city west high school
2901 melrose ave.
iowa city, IA 52246
wsspaper.com
FEBRuARY 2014
urbani t y photos by Stefan schmidt
2 FEBRUARY 2014
Pages 4-5: Lines Pages 6-7: Perspective Pages 8-9: Framing Pages 10-11: Light Pages 12-13: Portraiture Pages 14-15: Shutter Speed Pages 16-17: Aperture Pages 18-21: Strange Selfies (Free Form) for more coverage go to wsspaper.com
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Lines Left: I found this construction vehicle on the lot of an incomplete house. I included it for the boldly repeated black curves. Above: The pattern in the sand was created by a convergence of wheels and emphasized by a slightly setting sun. The inversed snow footsteps were created by namuhs, a race of humanoids that lives immediately below of the surface of the earth and walks with their feet facing upward.
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Upper Left: In this photo I used a fast shutter speed to capture Soren Schmidt ‘18 mid jump as he leapt toward a ceiling lamp. This was an intentional merger, but I could never have guessed the terror this unstoppable Frankenstein lamp monster abomination would bring to the world. Lower Left: I included this photo, taken in a construction site, for its geometric simplicity and bright paint contrasting with grey rockis and mud. Right: This photo is a close up of a mail transportation truck. I enjoyed this photo for the white and black contrast and pattern the salt created on the wheels.
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perspective FEBRUARY 2014 7
framing Above: This photo was taken six feet underground in the foundation of a construction site. I included it for the bold red, the repetition of the clamps, and the personality the weathered clamps bring to the photo. Left: I took this picture from inside an under construction building. I included it for the two sets of three (three houses and three layers - field, house, sky) that are framed so clearly by the window construction.
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light Above: I took this picture inside an under construction house. I included this picture because the afternoon sun created interesting shadows through the incomplete rafters. I also liked that the shape of the plywood in the corner imitates the jagged shadows. Left: This is simply a dirty tarp in a construction site. I included it because of the play between both white and black and shiny and shadowed and the way it mimicked a way sea surface.
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portraiture Upper Right: Christian Zirbes ‘16 props his arm and tilts his head toward his camera. Whether he is reviewing his photos or lamenting the tragedy that is his inability to converse with the painted stranger we may never know. Lower Right: Mistake not; this is no expression of youthful intrigue, but rather the formation stage of a face of livid frustration over the insistence of some unnamed fool to take relentless portraits. However, I like that the photo appears to display an honest and curious character which was partly achieved by taking the photo only some few minutes after Schmidt woke.
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Upper Left: In this photo I used a low shutter speed to create the illusion that Schmidt was floating limply through the air rather than leaping. I chose the book shelf as the background because the similarity of the beige wooden panels to his arms and legs provides repetition. Lower left: Here I positioned a lamp outside the room to put Schmidt in shadow. I hoped that this, combined with the illusory ghost floating effect would give the photo a unique and creepy feel. Right: This scene in the lunchroom interested me because of the repetition of the seat shape, the upright rectangle shape, and the colors green, white, and black. I increased the shutter speed to blur Christian Zirbes’ ‘18 walking.
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shutter speed FEBRUARY 2014 15
Upper Left: I used a high aperture to decrease the field of focus and emphasize the rust, scratches, and weathering on this spout outside the band room. I hoped that the blurred sky and blurred bricks would echo the colors on the spout. Lower Left: I found this mysterious wet and folded note outside the band room. I never opened it, but I like to imagine it held something saucy and romantic. How could I pass up such an artsy hipster photo anyway? Rigtht: I found this orange along with many of its reddish-yellow compatriots sorry and frozen outside the band room. I used a high aperture to decrease the field of focus and pull out the ice crystal pattern on the orange.
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aperture FEBRUARY 2014 17
strange selfies Above: In this age of selfies I reasoned we could use some refreshment. In this and the next photos I aimed not to take the most flattering or pleasant pictures of myself but rather to make them as hideous, bizarre, and unnerving as possible. This hideous protrusion happens to be my nose. Left: This photo was taken from a series in which I simply pulled at my hair. I chose it for its repeated curves, contrast of light and dark, and its reduction of soft hair to wiry chemical fibers.
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Above: This photo was taken from a series of random contortions of my face. Although not pleasant to look at, I chose this photo because I thought the the repeated crescent curve in the cheeks, tongue, nose, and lips brought continuity to the photo. Left: Believe it or not, there’s no intended symbolism here; I simply noticed the auxiliary cable on my desk and a disgusting idea popped into my head.
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