WORK IN PROGRESS #2

For my final project, I’m seeking to expand my thoughts on the natural environment.  In my day-to-day life, I always question the viability of our constantly shrinking native ecosystems.  Humans and our desire for further expansion has caused us to spread across the landscape in sloppy development patterns.  As the native flora and fauna die out, the interconnectedness of these diverse ecosystems will continue suffer.  While we surround ourselves with shopping malls, business centers, and fast food chains, we still yearn for the natural world in our own lives. 

Homeowners fill their front yards with realistic animal lawn ornaments and plants to mimic this natural world that we have paved over. I feel that the images that are more like up-close portraits of the lawn ornaments get my point across in a more direct way.

For this second work in progress critique, I have tried to take more portrait-like photos of the lawn ornaments.  As I continue shooting, I want to explore the idea of the shrinking environment and sloppy development.

 

GOOGLE READER POST #4

This week I stumbled upon Lucas Foglia's work from Flak photo. The title of this series is "Natural Order"

Before I even read about this series, it just was very striking to me.  The images seem to all have a very intriguing narrative content.  After reading what this project is about, the more interested I became in the photos.  Foglia says Natural Order "focuses on Americans who responded to environmental concerns and predictions of economic collapse by leaving cities and suburbs to live off the grid." The situations of these photos become so much more real after you realize the story behind the images.

The interview preceding the images was very informative as well, it described his time in Graduate school studying photography, and his struggles with critiques.  I feel I could relate to the artist since we're currently going through critiques as well.  As Foglia continues to talk about his views on photography and his work, I enjoy how he intends to make a point with his photographs emphasizing a particular issue yet still gets an intimate and meaningful shot.  He says this is because he spends a lot of time in the places and with the people he photographs.

New York City

GOOGLE READER RESPONSE #3

This week I'm really interested in the work by Aline Smithson.  Her series entitled "Converging Conversations" is a fantastic combination of portrait, landscape, and still life photography. I feel that the photographer is taking particular interest in colors when pairing these photos together. It is obvious that the colors are very similar even though the environments in the pictures are very different, providing a great dichotomy between the images.

Aline Smithson

The LENSCRATCH blog post about Aline Smithson is a great post, I feel I gain more from the photos when artists statements and ideas are presented with the images. I felt I really understood the point she was trying to get across with her quote saying, " I tend to make work that tells stories, but I have been also shooting images that are non-specific, more about color or gesture or emotion--I have been thinking about those moments when you are lost in thought, yet not really thinking about anything...". These pictures are interesting because they do invoke a feeling of gazing off and I feel she has successfully represented this tendency through her capture of color and use of framing.

WORK IN PROGRESS CRITIQUE

For my final project, I’m seeking to expand my thoughts on the natural environment.  In my day to day life, I always question the viability of our constantly shrinking native ecosystems.  Humans and our desire for further expansion has caused us to spread across the landscape in sloppy development patterns.  As the native flora and fauna die out, the interconnectedness of these diverse ecosystems will continue suffer.  

While we surround ourselves with shopping malls, business centers, and fast food chains, we still yearn for the natural world in our own lives. 

Homeowners fill their front yards with realistic animal lawn ornaments and plants to mimic this natural world that we have paved over.  I’m interested in a variety of different photos this project, from medium format to Polaroid and standard digital.  I feel that with the different film styles I can express our perplexed relationship to nature.

My initial idea is evolving as I take these photos of front yards, this gets my point across regarding the human desire to fill their lives with items that are reminiscent of nature and the environment.  I feel that the images that are more like up-close portraits of the lawn ornaments get my point across in a more direct way.
I'm really looking to expand my project and try to capture the idea of a fleeting landscape.  I hope to take photos that depict our sprawling development and how it encroaches on the natural world. (More like the photo below)

READING DISCUSSION CHAPTER 2

I love that this chapter explores a number of different ideas that I previously had never associated Documentary photography with.  It's interesting to read the author's standpoint on how the definition of this genre is always changing, and how there are many definitions to this one category of photography.  From newspapers and magazines to street photography and war or history, this genre of photography spans across many different contexts.

One particular point that the author makes in this chapter that struck me was the Karin Becker Ohrn quote that says, "The photographer's goal was to bring the attention of an audience to the subject of his or her work and, in many cases, to pave the way for social change" (Wells, 69).  These photographers have an intentional and real-world argument to make within their photos. Whenever I view Documentary style photographs, I always look for the underlying message of social change and I was curious if many other people seek this out in this style of photographs as well.

The introduction of technology to this discussion about Documentary photography caught my attention as well.  It's so contradictory to think that these photos are authentic and real when they now have the potential to be altered in so many ways. Not only do we have to worry about the photographer manipulating the scene at hand, but how they can change these photos in the digital darkroom. This concept makes me wonder, is it really "un-authentic" if it's what the photographer intended to shoot to get their point of social change across?

GOOGLE READER RESPONSE #2

Looking at my google reader this week, I found some great photos.

My favorite of the week is this absolutely stunning photo by Wendy Given called "I Am That Merry Wanderer of the Night"

Wendy Given  FLAKPHOTO.COM

 I think this photo catches my eye because of how the snow is illuminated and glowing in the dark, shaded trees. Looking furthermore into this collection of photos titled "How to Explain Magic to a Dead Rabbit"  you can see that she is exploring the role of story-tale fantasy and magic in her photographs.  Her use of natural settings in this series is very interesting.

Moving on from there, I found some work by Meike Nixdorf. These photos are of landscapes with an  atmospheric haze that is quite interesting.  The colors are very different in these photos, they seem vintage and have a warm tone,  the photos also appear to be manipulated and/or pieced together (especially with the mountains in the background.)

Meike Nixdorf  HEYHOTSHOT.COM

The only complaint I have about this artist is the statement for the series.  To me, it doesn't really say much about the artwork, it just wanders around this idea of the work resembling pieces of a puzzle.

Neither of these blogs had an interview with the artist.  I feel information about the artists and the collection should be on the blogs with these photos.  I really do enjoy getting to know the artists more personally with interviews as well.