The hardest thing to see is what is in front of your eyes Johann Wolfgang Goethe Scott presented some of recent pictures taken from his home in Blaine Washington...just across from the Canadian Border. Richard showed his analogue pictures taken with his RolleiFlex Camera. The pictures, portraits, were of his friends at Jones Bill talked about his recent photography trip to NYC and his excursion to a famous wall art mecca... "5 Pointz" in Long Island City, Queens...a block square of warehouses covered inside and out with wall art. Unfortunately, it is no more. Gone by virtue of gentrification of the area...and the wrecking ball.
Bill was faced with virtually nothing to shoot...at least of the buildings...but became intrigued with the pillars supporting the elevated train running beside 5 Pointz and poles along the street. That shoot produced two abstract series...several examples below....one of the pillars (with the bolts) the other one of the poles.
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You can observe a lot by just looking around Yogi Berra Today was an open session with lots of show and tell... The first picture we saw was of our guest, Jonathan Green, with his f8 cap. Courtesy of Jim The next picture we saw was of Bryce National Park. Taken by Howard on his recent cross country trip with his daughter. The next picture sent in absentia was a recent "moon scape" Taken by Angelo The next discussion followed Bill & Kathy's recent trip to NYC for a "wall photo shoot" but included a day of sight seeing to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the 911 Memorial Museum. The narrative for the trip will not be reviewed in the blog today. Two of Bill's composite pictures from the Museum are hanging in Jones The title for both pictures : "Engine Company (Red & Blue)" The following pictures were taken by Kathy on the Lady Liberty and Ellis Island trip. Finally, Bill discussed one stop on his quest for walls in Brooklyn / Bowery.
Specifically, his encounter with the "190 Bowery Building" previously called the Germania Bank Building...now an historic site and its relationship to a well known photographer...Jay Maisel. Besides Jay's claim to fame in photography, he turned out to be an astute real estate investor buying the property for $100K in the 60's thats now worth $50Million. In his 80's, Jay is still active in photography running workshops in the 190 Building, publishing a recent book as well as producing his own portfolio of new pictures. Below is a link to his newest book project: http://potd.pdnonline.com/2014/10/28757 and to his website http://www.jaymaisel.com I
attempt to become as totally responsible to the subject as I possibly
can. The act of being an outsider aiming a camera can be a violation of humanity. The only way I can justify my role is to have respect for the other person’s predicament. The extent to which I do that is the extent to which I become accepted by the other, and to that extent I can accept myself." James Nachtwey / Conflict Photographer Our guest today Jonathan Green Professor and Executive Director of the UCR/ARTSblock “Photojournalism in the Palestinian Israeli Conflict,” After fighting off the demons of our freeways, Jonathan made his way to our f8 Pasadena meeting last Saturday. Below is a summary by Jonathan based on what he presented. I also have a copy of his PowerPoint presentation if anybody would like to see… “Photographs need a context and at times a narration to be understood. Single photographs are extracted from time and space. We cannot see around the edges. We do not necessarily understand the fullness of the situation from which an image was extracted. As human beings we read photographs of other human beings with a great deal of subtly and intuition. We are capable of empathy even though the photographer may have felt none. In documentary photographs, the camera almost always provides a more accurate account of reality than the conscious intension of the photographer. But the way a photo is framed and presented does indeed help reinforce its meaning. We read photographs through visual clues that harken back to historical human visual iconography. While this iconography may vary from culture to culture, the most significant gestures embodied in such emotions as grief and compassion are universal. Humans are the only living creatures who are aware of their eventual death. This knowledge of mortality makes us fascinated, indeed at times obsessed, with narratives, and images of death, disease, decay, and violence. A quick look at the world’s popular press will show that the preponderance of articles feature these themes and realities. So it is not mere voyeuristic tendencies that force us to look, but a primal concern with our own impermanence that makes photographs of political violence so bracing, unsettling, and impossible to ignore. While as photographers we may hope that a photograph can help right a wrong or change social or political conditions, very few photographs actually accomplish these aims. Human beings are certainly more prone to violence, self-interest, testosterone anger, and tribal mentality than a commitment to social good, truth and justice. The facts that Riis' and Hines's photographs helped change laws and social values and a few photographs from Vietnam helped swell anti-war opinion are actually rare phenomena. Of course photojournalists should continue to strive for images that are powerful enough to influence positive change. But the reality is that photojournalism/documentary photography essentially describes reality, providing a record of what exists. A photograph’s political meaning is constructed by the viewer's beliefs, not the photographer’s intensions. You read the Israel/Gaza portfolio based on your political stance about these issues. They are merely accurate descriptions of moments in time. The ones that seem more stunning and powerful utilize more visual, iconographic, and psychological allusions. In and of themselves these photographs are neither pro nor con.” Here is the book I referenced: The Cruel Radiance: Photography and Political Violence Susie Linfield (2010) In The Cruel Radiance, Susie Linfield challenges the idea that photographs of political violence exploit their subjects and pander to the voyeuristic tendencies of their viewers. Instead she argues passionately that looking at such images—and learning to see the people in them—is an ethically and politically necessary act that connects us to our modern history of violence and probes the human capacity for cruelty. The hour went by all too quickly and all present engaged in discussion of the issues If time permitted many additional questions could have been explored…if we had a few more hours. Listed below are some issues we can discuss at a later date: Impact of culture on current photojournalism Quantity of pictures blunting the societal impact Power of the State to adapt and respond to controversial pictures The new paradigm of financially driven photojournalism The moral burden of institutions sending photojournalists into conflict The post conflict issues suffered by those in field Embedding and censorship Hyper-Speed that media gets to public eye…even before fully understood Direct to public publishing from conflict areas Sometimes you can tell a large story with a tiny subject Eliot Porter Angelo led this week's meeting discussing aspects of Nature Photography illustrating collectively “Nature Photography in Your Backyard”
Nature photography has developed a strong aesthetic as compared with other photographic genres. Nature photography can be macro and micro…with many of the micro bordering on abstract. Use of a macro lens will produce reproduction ratios of > 1:1 Landscape nature photography seeks to show “nature” devoid of human influence. The most celebrated nature photographers seek the preservation of our natural environment as well as documenting its beauty and demise at times Wildlife photography is devoted to capturing animals in their natural environment…showing both static and action moments in the wild and in captivity. Ethical issues arise when photographers disturb the natural environment. Wildlife photography requires technical skill and equipment expertise. The largest photographic organizations have defined both nature and wildlife photography including: The Photographic Society of America, Federation Internatinale de lArt Photographique and the Royal Photographic Society. (Angelo had previously sent links to these organizations) |
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