mash up

green shoot

Response to Landscape artists Metzker, Pfahl, Minniken

I am particularly drawn to Pfahl and Minniken's work. In both of their images I found the same theme of human vs. environment. Minniken manifests this concept more overtly than Pfahl by placing body parts directly in the landscape. Pfahl juxtaposes natural shapes and forms with rigid seemingly anthropogenic lines. It is an interesting play between natural and forced, rigid and free. By adding human aspects into the landscape genre both artists play with the traditional concept of the untainted, virgin landscape seemingly devoid of human life.

Alex MacLean is an artist I came across recently who takes an unusual perspective (literally!) on landscape photography. He pilots his own plane and snaps shots of the scenes laid out below him. Here's his website http://www.alexmaclean.com/ I would describe his work as like a really pretty google earth. It's worth a look.

make take reflection

I have to say that I really enjoyed working with an SLR again. It had been a while since I had last used one. I was using a borrowed camera and was unfamiliar with it at first. Fortunately, I was able to get at least a few usable slides out of my roll. I really enjoyed shooting color slide film, which was a first. The film really makes color pop, adding another dimension to the picture taking process.

The actual diptychs were a great framework to work with. It would have been interesting to see what the results would have been if I had done my scanograms first. It would have created some more focused slides since I would have had my scans in mind while shooting. Either way though the diptych format really challenged me to create dialogue on one or more levels between my images. I would consider these pieces successful if I forced the viewer to at least instantaneously consider the relationship between the images.

just making it or taking it

texture

totally wired

Bell's quest to document his life is a bit frightening for me. I think what Bell is actually doing is interesting, but the implications of his project are a bit unnerving. The real reason I find his project unsettling is because of the accurate predictions he previously made about the future. I'm not sure I like the idea of living in a future where all the mundane details of my life are shot off into the blogosphere for the world to see. Already the internet allows us a view into the lives of others through blogs, twitter, and social networking sites. For me, these sites offer way more information than I would ever really like to know, so it's hard to conceptualize these outlets pumping out even more information. At what point do we become oversaturated with information?

Along the same lines, at what point do we outsource too much of our brain? When I use my GPS in my car I'm outsourcing the energy I would normally use to navigate the asphault streets to a little box that gives directions in a pleasant Brittish accent. This frees up my brain to concentrate on more important tasks (usually finding a decent song on the radio or my ipod). But can we reach a certain point when we outsource too much of our brain? If Bell's project is a model of the future we would be totally dependent on our computers-what's the point of remembering anything if we can just store it in a computer?

For me, being this totally wired is more like totally weird.

shadow shootin

End of summer

"When you photograph people in color, you are photographing their clothes. When you photograph them in B&W, you photograph their souls." -Ted Grant


I would have to agree with Grant in that there is a certain soulfulness associated with B&W photography. But the key for this post will be to identify what soulfulness means. Grant insinuates what color does to a photograph: it distracts. While I imagine you could photograph someone's soul in color, I think it would not come as easily as with B&W. In black and white photography, the photographer tones down the visual noise by omitting color. Instead of relying upon color, a black and white photographer manipulates shape, form and shadows to achieve their vision. By removing colorful visual clutter, the photographer leaves the viewer with the essential, or essence, of the photographic subject. The connections between essential, essence and soul are the key to understanding Grant's quote: the soul is the essential part of a being, it is one's esence, what's leftover after the superfluous is removed.

Shoes on Feet Shoot

What makes a good photo?

What makes a good photo?

In my humble opinion, a good photo is a medium for narrative. The photo expresses a message, theme, thought or emotion. A good photo engages the viewer, which can stem from, but is not restricted to, the message embedded in the photo. Narrative is not the only criterion for a good photo; visually compelling photos can also create "good" photos. Composition plays a prominent role in creating visually compelling "good" photos. For example, the rule of thirds is a traditional means for creating good photographic composition.

It is difficult for me to layout exactly what constitutes a good photo. The easiest way for me to identify good photos would be to pick them out of a line up. I often find myself picking out good photos from the line up of the everyday: I am constantly bombarded by a plethora of images on any given day, the good photos, in my mind, are the ones that actually hold my attention for more than a fleeting moment.