Da qui a li

My final project was transportation through Europe. I titled it, "Da Qui a Li" (From Here to There). I studied the movement and vibrancy of travelling.

Sunrise

My favorite pictures from the Sunrise shoot! So grateful for this photo class!

Ain't nuthin' but a Gita

Earlier in the semester we took a little gita to Lucca! On the way, we stopped off on the top of a mountain to make photographs of a sunrise. This is the first project where I have broken my own rules and done something different. They are grainy, blurry, and imperfect.
Luciano has taught us to go beyond what is to be expected from us and experience the unfamiliar. This project is unlike anything I have done before and that is what I like about it.

My Final Project

      I chose to base my project around Chefs in Siena.  I have a passion for food and I figured this would be a good way to try and catch a free meal (which I did).  I wanted to photograph chefs because they are always inside the kitchen, and are never able to go out into the restaurant.  I wanted to bring the work of the chef outside of the kitchen for all to see.  In doing so I brought my fellow "eaters" inside the kitchen to see how much work is put into the art that is Italian Food.
     Here are just a few of the 25 photos I used for my project, entitled "Cuochi Senesi."

Here we are lucky enough to have Luciano as our professor who loves to do out of class activities! We have worked with flash in and outdoors, continuous light in studio, day trips to different cities, creeping on people in the piazza del campo, worked with a model and a prop, and had numerous lessons on photoshop from Emilio.  We are all weird in our own way which makes photo lessons that much more fun, here is a  just a taste of what a studio lesson looks like with us!

Class Activities with Luciano

     As I continue to work on my final project, I thought I would share some photos from our class activities.  Luciano has taken us to do many different things, for example the below photos from the Fortezza in Siena.
     I am so glad that we do class excursions, because it pushes me to take photos that I am not necessarily comfortable taking.  We went to shoot sunrises one morning in the sprawling hills outside of Siena.  Normally, I do not like shooting landscapes.  I enjoy more shooting people in action.  Also, Luciano brought us 1 beautiful model, and one simple chair and told us "Fai un foto."  The model spoke no English.  So my direction to her was showing her what to do.  I was so nervous, because I had never done this sort of thing before, let alone with a gorgeous model.  In the middle of the shoot I was sweating, dripping wet, because of running around taking photos and being so nervous.  The model asked me "Hai caldo?  Vuoi qualcosa da bere?"  From that moment on, I was fine.  I settled in to my comfort zone and took some decent photos.
     So here are just a couple of the many photos that I took in class.

Model Choosing a Bottle for Us Tonight

Counting the Day's Tips in Piazza del Campo

Little Public Flashing

This week the photo class went up on the fortress, here in Siena, to make a few photographs using speed lights.  Check out the photos below.

MoFoto: Frames from Papua New Guinea

Check out these photos from former student Max Otwell!  Doing some pretty impressive things!

http://maxotwell.blogspot.it/2012/10/frames-from-papua-new-guinea.html

Con amore da Italia

Coming to Italy I didn't know what to expect other than jet leg. But here I am eight weeks down and having the time of my life! Having experienced and learned so much I can say I have fallen in love with this place. Photo class has a very different approach than those at msu but has been an eye opening experience and a plus, our professor is awesome. My project while here is on Decay which has proven more difficult than I thought but a good challenge non the less. So here is a taste of what I have so far!

Postin' from Via Dante

I had no idea that being here for only a few months would change so much about me and the way I see the world. In the photo class we are taught to break the rules. Slight panic attack? Yes. Rude awakening? Undoubtedly. But it has been the best and most unexpected transformation for me.

In the mean time, I have become so incredibly close with my host family that I decided to focus my final project on them.

La Mia Vita Italiana

Welcome to Italy!  Through my eyes at least.

This country is absolutely beautiful and I am loving it.  It was slow at first, but I feel like I am finally able to speak Italian (brokenly of course) and I am able to understand more of it every day.  

This is an image that will most likely end up in my final project for photography.  Luciano is definitely changing the way I look at my work and its difficult and exciting at the same time.

A Quiet Tea Room,  Photo by Maggie Yahvah 

Siamo a Metà Strada Fatta (We are Halfway Done)

       Non posso credere che io sono già più di metà del semestre in Italia.  Ho fatto tante cose che queste prime 8 settimane sono passati così velocemente.  Sono contento che ho portato la mia macchina fotografica di catturare tutte le cose che ho fatto.
      Oltre a tutte le cose belle che ho visto qui in Italia, ho anche imparato molto.  Insieme con la mia classe italiana, la mia classe la fotografia ha veramente mi ha permesso di esprimermi con più "italiano semplice." Ho imparato l'italiano, ho imparato la storia italiana, e ho favorito la mia comprensione della fotografia.  Sono molto orgoglioso di poter difendere il mio lavoro artistico in italiano!  
     Detto questo, ci sono alcune delle immagini che ho fatto da me qui.  I miei prossimi post saranno includere foto da attività di classe, così come alcune foto del mio progetto finale, qui chiamati "Cuochi a Siena."


    I cannot believe that I am already more than halfway through the semester here in Italy.  I have done so many things, that these first 8 weeks have gone by so quickly.  I am so glad that I brought my camera to capture all the things I am doing.
     Besides all of the beautiful things I have seen here in Italy, I have also learned a lot.  Along with my italian class, my photography class has really allowed me to express myself with more than "simple Italian."  I have grasped conversational Italian, I have learned Italian history, and I have furthered my understanding of photography.  I am most proud that I can defend my artistic work in Italian!
        Saying that, there are some of the images I have done by myself here.  My upcoming posts will include photos from class activities, as well as some photos from my final project here, called "Chefs in Siena."

Mio amico a Monaco, Germania
My friend in Munich, Germany

Una Modella e un'Amica a Fontebranda
A Model and a Friend at Fontebranda

 

Mio Zio Sotto la Pioggia A Firenze
My Uncle under the Rain in Florence

Basta per questa settimana.  (That's all for this week.)

Welcome

Welcome to the MSU TAC photo blog.  This blog will feature works by the students currently studying in Siena, Italy with the Arts & Humanities Semester in Tuscany, also known as the Tuscany Arts Consortium (TAC).  These students are currently enrolled in an advanced photo class taught by local Italian photographer Luciano Valentini, in collaboration with Montana State.  The class offers students the chance to learn photography from a different point of view, both culturally and artistically.  It is my hope that this blog will be a place for feedback from peers at MSU and other universities.  It is also my hope that the stories and photos featured here will encourage other students to study abroad, in Italy or in other parts of the world.

Photo Class at Sunrise Shoot
Photo: Joe Commisso

More to come soon!