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Beyond the photograph

2011-04-19T22:11:00.004-04:00

Portfolio

2011-03-28T11:05:00.008-04:00

Family.

Portfolio

2011-03-28T10:55:00.006-04:00

Family.

Digital Manipulation

2011-02-28T16:18:00.006-05:00

These three images are for my digital manipulation assignment and are conceptually related to one other. The photographs below are all self portraits that represent a deeper meaning in understand an individual from a single photograph. I wanted this images to be composites that would help relate the deeper meaning I was searching for. I also wanted the viewer to make up their mind on what the meaning was without myself influencing my audience.

To myself these images represent a dark period within my life where I believe many young individuals are searching for self discovery. The snake represents renewal, the gasping for air represents containment, and the photograph by the window represents a search for peace. All the photographs contain two photographs or more.

The first photograph I decided to make the hair lead into the head of a snake. I wanted the snake to not overwhelm the photograph but to make the view's eye catch the very end of it. The second photograph is a composite of three photographs put together. Each hand is a photograph and then the lips are another one. I wanted the positioning to be just right for what I was trying to accomplish. I also wanted the lips to seem bigger and out of place to give a trying to gasp for air feel. The third photograph is a composite of two photographs. The background of the window was photographed by itself and then my silhouette was created in a different window. This photograph was the hardest to combine together because of the precision of the fiber hairs and the detail of the window alignment.

COPYCAT Assignment

2011-02-07T12:30:00.009-05:00

Last week during class we were shown a film about Hiroshi Sugimoto's work and I was really inspired by his architecture and seascapes series. I decided to recreate his architecture series because I think the architecture in Pittsburgh is really beautiful. Here are a few that I created for this copycat assignment.

Hiroshi Sugimoto's work below:

I decided to make another copycat image of the photographer David Hilliard. I've been inspired by David Hilliard since the beginning of my love of photography. I especially love the photograph window, 2005. Here is my take on that photography (this isn't as accurate but my artist vision of my version.)

David Hilliard's photography window, 2005:

Third copy cat I found on flickr and decided to try recreating a snowy night street scene.

Photo by: Vinay Deep

My Version:

Sally Mann

2011-01-31T11:28:00.003-05:00

This photograph was one of the very first images that really caught my eye in dealing with the art of photography. I was introduced to Sally Mann's work (the artist of the photograph) in high school. Throughout my photographic journey I often look at her work for inspiration and to remind myself what my instant bond with photography was. This image represents the beginning of my love for the art.

Personal Project

2010-09-14T12:53:00.013-04:00

A description of one personal project I'll be working on this year.

Proposal

I would like to make a documentary series of how Plum Borough, PA is being overrun with housing plans and industrial age of overpowering nature. I think it is important to document this change taking place. It is a very personal project because this is my home town, and most of the areas have changed dramatically while I've grown up. My personal project is directed towards magazines that represent emerging photographs. I would like to shoot this project on 120 Kodak NC color film using a Mamiya m645j. The style of photography will be a mixture of landscape, fine art, and documentary.

Sincerely,

Brittany Harrington

Image below is of a church home in Plum Borough many years ago.

Killarney/Limerick Day Twelve (Last Night)

2010-05-20T18:05:00.017-04:00

Today was our last day in Ireland! Overall I think this trip has been a great learning experience. I would love to travel back to Ireland someday, and also expand my traveling to other countries. This morning I finally ordered a full Irish breakfast. It was amazing and I was very happy I decided to try it. I actually liked the black pudding surprisingly.

After breakfast we headed out to the cliffs and it was such an amazing day. The weather was perfect and I even got sunburned a little. The cliffs were simply breathtaking and such a surreal sight. It's very hard to explain but the experience will stay with me forever. After getting a few hours to photograph the cliffs we were back on the bus to drive to Limerick.

Our hotel in Limerick has a wonderful view, and I went outside for a few minutes just to take everything in. To celebrate our last night the whole group went out to a Medieval dinner. The music and food was wonderful, but being with everyone for the last time was the most memorable. I enjoyed seeing Ireland has been one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited. Shown below is one of a photograph from the cliffs.

Killarney Day Eleven

2010-05-19T19:26:00.009-04:00

Today was our free day in Killarney. I finally finished all my shopping for souvenirs. There were so many cute, personal, and traditional shops in Killarney. I am very excited to bring back the little treasures I picked out for everyone.

Finishing up all of my shopping a bunch of people from our group decided to go to the park. The park was very beautiful and we had a great time taking photographs together. Shown below is one of the photographs we took around the park.

After having a wonderful day walking around the town, we had to make it back to the hotel for our last lecture. The lecture was by Decoln Malone for the Kerryman newspaper. Mr. Malone was the editor for the newspaper and gave us a very good insight to an Irish newspaper. The only thing that I found really upsetting was the way photographers are looked at here. It seems like they are not a treated as a valuable aspect to newspapers. I totally disagree with this concept. I wish newspapers still noticed the true value of a photographer to the creative insight a newspaper needs.

Once the lecture was over a little group of us went out to dinner. It was a great night of good food and conversation. The trip is coming to an end but I've been taking in every second of it.

Day Ten of Traveling

2010-05-18T19:02:00.001-04:00

Today was a very long day of traveling. We left Cobh and started to make our way towards Killarney. The weather has been wonderful since we've gotten to Ireland but today we finally received Irish weather. It rained for the majority of the day. Unfortunately it was on the same day as the sheep herding demonstration, Ring of Kerry, and replica 18th century village.

The sheepdog demonstration was very impressive. I thought it was a lot of fun even with the rainy weather. I couldn't believe how well behaved the dogs were and how great they were at following commands. Overall I was very happy to see sheep up close for the first time in Ireland. The only disappointment I had was that we didn't get a chance to pet the sheep.

Ring of Kerry would have been a beautiful site but the fog (from the rain) had made it very difficult to even see let alone photograph. Although we did stop at a few places that were very beautiful despite the rain.

Below are photographs from the sheepdog demonstration and the Ring of Kerry:

Overall I thought today was very productive in visiting a lot of sights. Once we arrived in Killarney I thought the town was very warm and lovely. Our group went out to an Irish dinner at a local pub and listened to a live band. The band was wonderful and I even knew at least five songs they played.

Tomorrow is our free day in Killarney and I can't wait to explore the town.

Cobh Day Nine

2010-05-17T17:51:00.023-04:00

Today was our ninth day of Ireland and our second day in Cobh. Cobh is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I woke up to church bells ringing and seagulls. The view leaving my room here was a view of a blue sky and even bluer water. Today was a very busy day full of sightseeing and one of our last lectures.

Our last lecture was at Red FM the number 1 radio station in Cork. There target audience isunder 35 years old and it was defiantly reflected in there work atmosphere. Red FM work place seemed very creative and trendy for talking with some of the staff members. The first speaker was Grainne Murnane who is the Sales and Advertising Manager. She was very interesting to listen to speaking about the way sales works within the radio station. My favorite part was when she told us about a promotional piece they just completed, people would compete to finish tasks in this local animal park.

The second speaker was named Eilish Berry who is an Irish speaker and makes the voices for the Irish programming requirement. I loved when she spoke Irish and explained to us how she feels very passionate about the language. The final speaker was Colm O'Sullivan the Program Director and Assistant CEO. He mentioned that Red FM was similar to KISS Fm which I thought was awesome he knew about (or reached). Overall I thought the radio station was very interesting and seemed like a great work environment.

After going to the radio station we were off to Blarney Castle. The castle was very impressive and I had no idea what to expect. I was surprised to see that the rock of Blarney was at the top of the castle. I thought it would be next to the castle or somewhere on the castle grounds. I was very shocked to find out what we had to do in order to kiss it.

The staircase was narrow and everyone in my group was nervous to fall or break their cameras. Luckily no one did either of those things. Once climbing up the castle we got to see a beautiful view of the castle grounds. Then came the time to kiss the Blarney Stone. Everyone did it successfully and we all are now granted witheloquence.

Here are some photographs from today's adventures:

Cobh Day Eight

2010-05-16T17:17:00.009-04:00

This morning my group got ready and packed to set off to see the rest of Ireland! We had about a two hour drive to Wicklow Park. Wicklow Park was amazing and was filled with huge mountains and old artifacts.

I feel like I've taken a million photographs once we were allowed to walk around. We also visited Glendalough and St. Kevin's Monastery which was really amazing. The weather has been wonderful so far on the trip. Very little rain surprisingly (knock on wood), and the sky here in Cobh is wonderfully blue and clear.

Once getting to Cobh it really felt like Ireland. It's so beautiful that I would pick up and move my whole family here if I could. It is absolutely breathtaking here. Soon after arriving in Cobh we went on a walking tour of the town. The tour was very interesting and learning about the Titanic was my favorite part. We were able to see where the Titanic shipped off from and the monuments they have here for it.

Here are some pictures from Wicklow Park and Cobh:

Tomorrow were going to Cork to spend the day.

Dublin Day Seven

2010-05-15T19:00:00.001-04:00

Today was our last full day in Dublin. We were allowed to have the whole day to explore and see what ever we wanted. I got up pretty early to see early morning lighting and take photographs. I went down to the bridges and all the way up to Grafton street. Once I felt satisfied that I took enough photographs I made my way over to Saint Patrick's Cathedral.

The church was amazing inside and out. Once entering it was very dim light, and the first thing I noticed was the stain glass windows. The ceilings were so high that it was simply breathtaking. After a few minutes of standing in awe I walked over to the alter. The alter was so impressive. It had helmets from knights all along the sides of the alter. Also there were flags hanging from all provinces in Ireland above the helmets.

I was a little surprised at how commercialized they had the church set up in the back. There was a giant gift shop and even an entrance fee to go inside the cathedral. I'm sure it's a great way for them to make money to maintain the large rounds the cathedral is located on. After walking around the cathedral I headed off to locate a street in Dublin. The street was called Harrington street, and I felt like I couldn't leave Dublin without seeing it. It was a pretty good walk from where we were staying, but I was happy that I got to see it. Once I completed everything I wanted to photograph and see in Dublin I felt relieved. I feel like I could leave and feel happy about everything that I managed to see.

Here are some photographs of Dublin:

Tomorrow is off to Cobh!

Belfast Day Six

2010-05-14T23:00:00.004-04:00

Today started with taking a high speed train from Dublin to Belfast. The train ride took around two hours but the view of the country side was really amazing. I was very tired but excited to see another city in Ireland. Once we got off the train It felt like an entirely different place compared to Dublin.

There were fences with bared wires and tall walls surrounding certain parts of the city. After arriving in Belfast we meet up with our tour guide named Michael. Michael was very enthusiastic and knew just about everything about Belfast.

Our first stop on the tour was Stormont, which is the home to the Irish Assembly. The building was beautiful and breathtaking when everyone first saw it. The inside was just as beautiful and breathtaking. I was happy to have a little amount of time to walk around and take photographs.

-Here are images from Stormont

The next stop on our tour was Belfast Castle. The view from the castle gardens was really wonderful. It allowed the viewer to over look all of Belfast. I was really impressed with how big the castle was and how pretty the gardens were maintained. I only wish we would have had more than five minutes to visit. I thought that wasn't enough time.

After leaving a quick visit of the castle, we headed off to the shipyard where the Titanic was built. Everything in this area was really beautiful and the weather was just right for photographs. The size of the shipyard was very impressive. I wasn't expecting it as big. That area was preparing for the 100th anniversary event. I took a lot of medium format images of the area and can't wait to see how they turned out.

Once we finished up at the Titanic shipyard we got back on the tour bus. Driving around Belfast we were able to see huge murals that were painted on the side of buildings. This murals were around the area of "The Troubles". My reaction to the mural paintings was sadness. It just overwhelms you when really looking at the area. There is a Peace Wall located in the area that they still lock up at night and have police heavily around that area.

After getting the complete tour of Belfast my group was able to get a look inside one of the churches. The church was called Christ Church which was unbelievably beautiful, and even had a painting of a Madonna (worth millions of pounds).

Our next stop was a lecture at the newspaper Belfast Telegraph. The speakers name was Gerry Patterson who is the Director of Digital Development for the newspaper. I thought the lecture was very interesting, because comparing it to Dublin's newspapers it was very different. For example in Belfast they have home delivery for newspaper and Dublin does not. Another interesting fact I learned was that 40% of the page views is because of there picture galleries.

Overall I thought the trip to Belfast was very interesting and hard to pact all in one day.

I would like to travel to Belfast again in the future.

Tomorrow is our last free day in Dublin, and I can't wait for the Guinness factory tour.

Dublin Day Five

2010-05-13T17:29:00.004-04:00

Today was my favorite day of lectures by far because we got to meet a photographer named Paul Kelly. Meeting him was on of the most inspirational moments since I've really began photography. The work he produces was very similar to what I would like to achieve personally.

I was really amazed by his documentary photographs, and all the stories he had to tell with each single photograph. I plan to keep in touch with him, and really follow what work he produces from now on. Overall I just felt like it was really such an honor to meet him and really listen to his advice.

Earlier today we had another lecture with Professor Flynn at Dublin City University on web media in Ireland. It was very interesting to see differences and similarities between Ireland and the states. Soon after that finished up we had another lecture at a company called Photo Call.

Photo Call is one of the largest photography agency in Ireland. There are six photographers working for the company right now. They publish photographs in major newspapers here such as the Irish Times. We meet the owner of the company and two other photographs. It was really interesting to see how the company worked.

Here is a link to see Paul Kelly's work

http://paulkellyphotographer.com/

Off to Belfast tomorrow

Dublin Day Four

2010-05-12T12:00:00.012-04:00

This morning we had the opportunity to meet with Rosita Boland, she is a feature writer for the Irish Times. Rosita's career path was much different than a normal journalist's career path in the United States and Ireland. She started her career as an actress. She explained to us that her acting experience gave her a better understanding of human nature. It was a pleasure to get the chance to ask questions and listen to a professional journalist.

After meeting Rosita our group received a once in a lifetime opportunity of going to the American Embassy. Meeting Ambassador Dan Rooney was such an great experience. He was so nice and even told the group that we made him feel like home. Being the Ambassador he had a very packed schedule and was only able to speak with us for a little bit but I loved every second. We even got Irish and American pins from him which will be a keepsake of mine forever. This experience has been one of the most memorable to me throughout the entire trip.

Once we left the Embassy we were on our way to another lecture at Dublin City University. They allowed us to have some free time to walk around campus and check everything out. Frankie, Kristen, Zach and myself went to look at there sports complex. Which was really impressive and massive compared to anything I've ever seen. My favorite rooms they had was the rock climbing wall and the weight lifting. I defiantly want Point Park University to design something similar to what they had to offer.

Soon after we were finished checking out the university we meet with professor Helena Sheehan. Professor Sheehan discussed the history of Irish TV Drama and also the soap operas (series) that are popular today. I really enjoyed her lecture because she seemed very passionate about her career and the field she was in.

When the lecture was over and we returned to our apartments we had the rest of the day to ourselves. I took a short nap to catch up on some much needed sleep. Then a small group of us went out to eat and had a great night.

Tomorrow will be a busy day but I am excited to meet photographer Paul Kelly.

Dublin Day Three

2010-05-11T14:17:00.019-04:00

Last night my college had the opportunity to go and be a part of a live audience on a debate television program named The Frontline. Once arriving at The Frontline I instantly noticed how many lights they had setup. I thought it was pretty impressive. The show talked to the audience about how bad Ireland was in a recession, and what might be some ways to help restore the economy. After the show had ended I felt I had a better grasp of what was happening in Ireland. What surprised me was that Ireland has an unemployment currently of 13%. Shown below are photographs from the set of The Frontline.

Today was my third day in Dublin! We started the day walking to another lecture that was on public relations. The walk to the lecture was very useful to getting familiar with Dublin. The lecture was given by Gerry Davis from The Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII). He was a wonderful speaker and really gave a great overview to the public relation jobs in Ireland compared to several other areas. It was very interesting to here that most of the public relations experts are located in Dublin. Show below are photographs from the lecture.

After hearing from The Public Relations Institute of Ireland we were invited to see the company Ogilvy. Ogilvy is another public relations and advertising company located in Dublin. The building the company was in was very beautiful and seemed like a wonderful work environment. Ogilvy provided us with two speakers that let us watch advertising campaigns they produced and hear about how the company works. The first speaker was Jo Woods who is currently the strategic planner for Ogilvy. Show below are photographs of Jo Woods.

The second speaker was Claire Carroll, who is the head of the new digital area. Shown below are photographs of Claire Carroll.

After the lectures we were allowed to have the rest of the day off. I walked around the area of Dublin we were at and worked on my media project.

The weather here has been pretty cold today and I got caught in a big rain storm. Lucky I had a garbage bag to keep my camera bag dry!

Tune in for tomorrow.

Here are some photographs to enjoy.

Heinz ketchup in Ireland!

Frankie and Abby at The Frontline!

Dublin Day Two

2010-05-10T13:36:00.009-04:00

Today is my second day of being in Dublin! We went to Dublin City University this morning to meet Dr. Roderick Flynn and listen to his lecture on Irish media. Dublin City University was very similar to other university's we have back home such as Clarion University. It was interesting to be able to see what the class rooms looked like, and there were a few interesting pieces of artwork hanging in the halls.

Dr. Roderick Flynn lectured about Irish newspapers, radio, and TV. I thought it was very interesting that most of Ireland still reads newspapers weekly or daily. In Pittsburgh most of the newspapers are struggling to keep people reading them. Newspapers are the main source that people receive their news (by choice). Another interesting fact was that in Ireland there isn't home delivery for newspapers. Shown below are photographs from the lecture.

A little bit after the lecture we went on a tour of Dublin by motor coach. You can see a bus that looked similar to ours below.

The tour was really great because we were able to get to know Dublin. I now feel a little bit more comfortable on where the different sections of Dublin are located. After the tour we were able to go grab dinner. I went with a few friends to a restaurant and finally got to drink my first glass of Guinness in Ireland.

Tonight we are going to be a studio audience of "The Frontline" which features Irish current affairs by debates. Stay tuned for what happens tomorrow.

Dublin Day One

2010-05-09T17:08:00.011-04:00

I will be in Ireland from May 9 - 21st for a college class in Irish media. Today is my very first day in Ireland. What a trip getting here though. Our overnight flight from Philadelphia to Dublin was very smooth for the majority of the time. I was able to fall asleep most of the flight. I woke up to a young boy yelling the word volcano and then realized we were flying over Iceland. I however was unable to see the volcano, but I personally think it was pretty cool we were near it. The most memorable experience happened for me while we were flying over Ireland. It was completely green and breathtaking like everyone says when seeing Ireland.

Once landing in Dublin we found our tour guide and our coach bus to go sight seeing. Our first visit was to Grafton Street which is a wide shopping center. I really enjoyed seeing all of the street performers. Here are a few of my favorite shown below.

At the end of Grafton Street there was an amazing park named St. Stephen's Green. Today was such a beautiful day that it made walking around the park even more enjoyable. After exploring Grafton Street we then visited Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. I thought seeing these spectacular pieces of art and history was very enlightening. Also the library at the last floor of the building was really breathtaking. I loved the architecture of this library and all the old books smelled of wisdom.

Soon after looking at the Book of Kells we traveled to the Dublin castle, which was very similar to a mansion. The courtyard had two sculpture that were really impressive, and the architecture of the original Dublin castle and once they rebuilt. This was very interesting as well. The prison tower was one of the only pieces from the original castle still standing. Overall I really enjoyed being able to see all the wonderful pieces of art and learn more about Ireland's history. Last but not least my college class went to eat at a pub named Brazen Head. Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Dublin. Once we walked into the entrance way there were people singing loud in a circle and that's when I really felt like I was in Ireland. The food was very good but everyone is very tired from traveling plus having a full day. Another interesting day tomorrow in Dublin.

2010-04-27T17:26:00.001-04:00

Get Yourself In Gear

3D Anaglyph Image

2010-04-24T19:33:00.004-04:00

Put your 3D glasses on and check this photograph out!

66/365 - 3D Anaglyph Image
Originally uploaded by bmhgallery

Finals Week

2010-04-22T10:27:00.013-04:00

51 Ways To Cope With Stress

I've tried numbers 7, 9, 22, and 27. Helped a little.

Photography DIY?

2010-03-24T08:38:00.004-04:00

I've been researching how to create new photographs and lighting within a small budget. Personally I have a few websites which I check regularly to give me great tips.

Here are just a few links to some projects I'll be trying soon.

Floating Fruit

Light Tent

Time Lapse

Lighting On Small Budget

Love For Medium Format

2010-03-23T10:49:00.015-04:00

I recently bought a medium format camera. This was one of the best decisions I've ever made. The model I bought was a Mamiya m645 J and it is one of my favorite cameras.

Currently I am on my fifth roll of film. I mainly shoot digitally, but I swear there is something magical that happens when I get to use film. Personally I think people who shoot medium format have to slow down oppose to digital. I only have 15 shots to work with a roll.

This makes me slow down and really think about composition, lighting, and the overall look to each photograph. Not saying I don't think about those items while I'm shooting digitally, but there are no easy corrections when using film. Another magical aspect I think film creates for myself is processing. Making a photograph from start to finish gives me a great sense of accomplishment. Developing film can be sometimes annoying, but the feeling a photographer gets at the end is amazing. I literally can't wait to open my tank and see if the negatives turned out.

I love digital photography but I think no matter what I will still shoot film.

I really hope film never becomes obsolete.

Here are some of my newer images shot with a Mamiya m645 J

Scruffy
Originally uploaded by bmhgallery

Mommy's Hero
Originally uploaded by bmhgallery

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T12:16:00.003-04:00

Hello,

This is my second attempted at keeping a blog up and running. Since this is my first posting I will give some background information about myself. My name is Brittany Harrington and I am a sophomore at Point Park University. My major is photography and I plan to continue schooling after I receive my bachelor's degree. This blog documents my photographic experiments, adventures, and thoughts.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great day. This is a perfect day for my to kick off my blog, because I will be going to Ireland very soon. I am currently taking a class in Irish media at Point Park University. In May the whole class will be flying to Ireland for two weeks. This will be my first time going outside the United States. Lets just say I am very excited and cannot wait till May arrives.

Throughout this blog I will be talking about several photography projects I have going on. My more recent one is called the 365 project. This is where you take an image of yourself every day for an entire year. Sounds easy right? If you answer yes... your very wrong. Taking an image every day for an entire year could be easy, but when you try to make the image tasteful, creative, and interesting it becomes difficult. Currently I am on day thirty-nine.

View the beginning of my project here: flickr

38/365 - Ghost
Originally uploaded by bmhgallery