"I like to photograph people who have strength and dignity in their faces; whatever life has done to them, it hasn't destroyed them. I gravitate towards people like that." Paul Strand Let me start at the end of our Saturday morning discussion...then we'll move on to the work and discussion of our f8'ers. We finished our sojourn into the art and aesthetics of photography by re-visiting the work and importance of Paul Strand. Looking at just a few of his pictures from the journal Aperture and their retrospective: "Paul Strand-The World army Doorstep" (#135-Spring 1994)...we delved into the work from the perspective of modern photography and abstraction. We also watched a You Tube segment (#1 of 6) entitled "Paul Strand: Under the Dark Cloth." Finally we discussed the symbolism of one of his iconic pieces "Wall Street." In searching for images of just that picture, I came across a "Google-Like" image of this famous work in itself a modern day abstraction...all the various images stacked together....see below Let me not digress from the important work and other discussion we had today... Jim Staub brought in two sets of pictures. The first was his follow-up pictures using different papers and the visual and tactile differences in the prints. Obviously, it's difficult to have the experience of look and feel on the blog site...but here is the image...from a composition and color standpoint Jim brought in another set of pictures demonstrating the various looks and colors that can be applied to your pictures using Photoshop Gradient Filters. Sorry, can't show all...there were many...and showing just one doesn't cut it either. So, go and experiment with this tool on Photoshop. Mark pointed out an article and video in the New York Times about the demise of Kodak and especially the Kodak plant transformation into a food processing facility. Also mentioned was the transformation of their business in both products, services and number of employees. For example the film making portion of their business employeed 30,000 at its peak...now 300. Go to NYT website (March 22, 2015) and search for "Kodak" to find the video. Howard talked about his volunteer experience at a National Geographic show and what he saw photographically...unfortunately nothing to show at the meeting. He also got the chance to meet Eddie Soloway...a photographer Kathy and I have met and traveled with on several occasions...Ghost Ranch, Cuba and Mexico. Rene showed more of his "graphic design" prowess with his newest publication converting the ordinary street scene into the extra-ordinary. Below is just one example... Kevin recently polished up his darkroom…refreshed his chemicals and started to print again after a long hiatus. The results are what we’ve come to expect from Kevin…great shots and great prints. As usual, his visual focus and aesthetic was on the railroad and this set was focused on the bathrooms in old Pullmans…or as he puts it, his “Toilet Series.” These images were shot using a Hasselblad X-Pan hence the unusual aspect ratio. Below is an example from this series….keep printing Kevin! Steve showed a print…a “real” print (rather than electronic)…of a wall shot in Genoa, Italy. Great composition and color…suitable for framing…and that’s exacting what Steve will do…hopefully he will find a temporary resting place for the framed print on our Jones walls sometime soon. That’s a hint, Steve!
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