Artist Statement

    My name is Ruth Olive and this year i have been experimenting with all sorts of new photography skills. I’ve learned new editing skills on Adobe photoshop such as lighinting effects, lens flares, de saturation, typography and photoshopping in outside images. It has been a lot of fun and i have learned tons. I feel that I have broadened my horizon and become an all around better photographer.
    In my photos I’ve tried to incorporate styles from famous photographers such as William Eggleston, Eugene Atget, and Annie Liebovitz.  There work inspired me in many different ways. William Eggleston has a very unique style full of color. To pay homage to his work I used high contrast in my photos and tried to capture more of a retro scene.  Eugene Atget was a famous French photography he mostly took pictures of architecture. I was intrigued by his artistic eye and ability to look at building and capture their allure. I went out in the streets of downtown St.Paul and Minneapolis to try and mimic his work in my own way. It was probably the style that came the most naturally to me and I enjoyed doing. Annie Libovitz’s photos were my favorite. Her work was beautiful and mind blowing. All her photos really pop out. She worked mostly with people this was a challenge for me but it was a new skill I enjoyed trying out. Her work used a lot of different lighting techniques so I used lamps and different flash settings. I also edited them slightly on Adobe photoshop with their lighting effect and lens flares tools.
    I hope that my work speaks to people. I want it to stand out and show them what life in my shoes is like. I want my work to capture this era in its best and show off all the glamour and fascinations there are in the smallest things. My photos should make people look and think. I want them to demonstrate not just a picture but i thought and idea that will inspire people to think differently and really open there mind and eyes to the world around them.

Annie Liebovitz

Annie was born October 2, 1949 in Westbury Connecticut. She grew up in a big family of six other children her mother was a modern dance instructor and her father a lieutenant in U.S. Air force. Through out her childhood they moved around a lot. The first pictures she took were in Vietnam when her father was stationed there. She continued taking pictures as she grew up and dabbled in other creative activities such as painting, writing and playing music. She attended San Fransisco Art Institute and in 1970 began work as photographer for Rolling Stones Magazine. She grew as a artist and began to gain popularity as she photographer. She photographed famous rock stars such as John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and bob Marley. They all appreciated Liebovitz for her skill in being able to capture the feel of the rock and roll life style, the way she fit right in with their crazy lifestyles, and catching all the normally undocumented moments. People fell in love with her work because it was so real and out there, she was not afraid to go to the extreme. In 1974 the magazine began to print in color. Annie had never learned how to work with lighting she only ever worked in black and whites but she taught herself quickly. She later published a book called Annie Leibovitz: Photographs, the photographer’s first book, in 1983. She joined vanity fair that same year and was the magazines first contributing photographer. The rock and roll world loved her and she is now known as one of the greatest American photographers of our time.