PECKER
I had never seen this movie before and after having sat through it, decided I loved it. Pecker experiences what i see as a dream come true. To have someone stumble upon your work, love it, give it a gallery showing and then to have people talking about it and buying it is a photographers dream or at least my dream. I noticed that he used a mixture of lighting, indoor and natural and he admitted that his exposures weren't always right. One of the quotes i loved from the movie was “you always got that broken down camera that mamma found at the gift shop”. I don't carry my camera around with me every where and no matter how many times i kick myself for not bringing it when i go out to enjoy myself with friends or just for a walk, i never bring it along. I think in Peckers case he had a nice small film camera, my camera is large and i cant carry it around with me every where not to mention having to carry the lenses, a flash batteries and cards. I know there are point and shoots but until i can get a small point and shoot that does RAW and has a view finder i don't want one and buying the G11 is a waste i might as well take my 50D with me. Also Pecker says “man everything looks good through here” and isn't that the truth. I find myself getting lost in the lens sometimes. I love the excitement of capturing that perfect position where the person looks their best, getting the best angle utilizing great light. Peckers grandma says “pecker its your pictures see what they've done they've ruined my miracle.” which i think is amazing, the idea that one persons picture can change a persons life. This makes me think of the picture titled “The Migrant Wife” by Arbus. Years after Arbus died the migrant wife came forward and complained she didn't get any compensation and when she got sick a fund was started for her to pay for her hospital bills. In her case Arbus was her miracle. On a side note i think that the director should have paid closer attention to details in the movie for example in Pecker's darkroom, his images were only put in the solutions for about 2 seconds each and there was no wash bath. Also he gallery showing many of the portraits that he showed were portrait style however he shot everything expect one or two pictures in the landscape orientation. The last thing i want to comment on is that fact that for his first show he got paid $72,300.00 wow...... when do i get a pay cheque like that.
One Hour Photo
“I just took pictures”. This is my favourite quote from the movie. I loved the way Sy was almost always shown with stark white surroundings and light tones. He's got light hair, skin, eyes, all his clothes were light tones (expect his smock) and the store was very stark white, this made me feel like Sy was a good guy, the hero in a sense, even though everything he did contradicted that. The movie made me think... “that is why i don't shoot film”...lol. When Sy was outside the store, like the special effects commentary said the color was off, often casting a green and purple tint to the scene which just felt uncomfortable which i am guessing is how the character felt. One of my favourite scenes in the move was the one that had Sy in the hotel room, it was great. The dark shadows that they used on his face was the first time in the movie that i didn't feel sorry for him you feel his anger hurt and frustration and lose the sympathy that for me was building for the character. When Sy gets caught and the the police lights shine on him, the harsh lighting takes away all the shadows, the lighting almost makes him look innocent which messed with my mind as he had just traumatized the couple. The first few moments of the movie when he talks about the happy moments in our lives, and the fact that our photo albums see a happy existence free of tragedy. It is so true, our albums seem to be littered with moments when we were happy or putting on a fake smile, we almost never see the moments that make us truly grow as people, those moments that force us to make decisions and face the reality of life. Sure there are photographers that shoot things that people dont want to see and put that on display but i bet if you opened there family albums you would see the happy side of lie. Lastly the teachers have been driving into us to get to know your Lab and this movie makes that point. When Mrs Yorkin comes in and wants her pictures 40 minutes before the store closes the lab does it because she was a good customer... okay or maybe it was because she had a creepy stalker but the point is the same.
Oh Brother Where Art Thou
This is one of my all time favourite movies and i will have to admit that i never paid much attention to the colour. After watching a few minutes of the special effects and them talking about the saturated colours and moving from black and white to colour I was amazed. Someone said that the colour is like a character and how true that really is. Watching the movie made me really appreciate all the work that must of went into it. The hours of perfecting the colours and tons trying to get the right look i cant imagine the love, sweat and tears that went into it. For me it was amazing to watch the movie with a different eye, a more critical eye. The other thing that i noticed was that everything was really evenly lite throughout the whole movie. Making it feel like all the characters were on the same page for me, the good, bad and the ugly all bunched into one. For me the other thing that i liked that had nothing to do with photography was the music.
