Yes!

So, this morning at 9:30 am I was in painting class doing a collage project (which I will then paint), when I ran across this photograph in a magazine and jumped out of my seat in excitement. Immediately I ripped it out, studied it a bit, and stashed it in my backpack. Then I searched for eeevver to find it online so I could post it. THIS is exactly what I mean when I'm talking about photographing people emerging out of a murky, kind of chiaroscuro darkness. This is the type of light I want to master. Soft, delicate, revealing the little finite details of the face, but not too harsh. This is an absolutely stunning photograph by Michael Nichols of National Geographic, of Babenzele pygmies living isolated in the deep forest of Ndoki (Northern Congo -Africa). You can sense the uncertainty of the children as they hide from the photographer. The content is different than what I plan on focusing on, but I want to try and capture a similar vulnerability in the portraits I take. I think incorporating the hands into this is another important part of this.

Civil light

This posting kind of goes along with the prior posting ("lights out"). For my studio project I'm still trying to hash out some ideas for a concentration. My problem is that I'm ADD when it comes to photography. I want to be able to capture everything, and I hate the idea of having to pick one thing to focus on for months (such is life) because I'm interested in little details, and broad concepts, and maybe I'm too much of a visionary. At the same time its good that I have to concentrate on one idea because instead of being okay at a bunch of things, I can master one. I know that I want to focus on people, and I know that I want to selectively use light to create a more dramatic, shadowed effect on the face, however I don't know exactly where I am going with it. I'm interested in taking cross generational portraits that broadcast vulnerability, that extract the bare nature of ourselves stripped from all our public facades. These photos are playing with this idea a little, but my project will look entirely different. I think I am going to start photographing people (of all different ages) surfacing out of darkness. For me this represents transition. We are constantly emerging into different phases of our lives: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, "self realization," old age. And with each step comes a totally different set of ideas, and change is where we become most vulnerable because it isn't comfortable anymore.

Lights Out

I went to Washington D.C. last weekend for a ONE conference. While everyone else was hanging out, I took a break to appreciate...lights? Nothing spectacular or anything...just a little experimentation. I think I'm fascinated by a few bizarre things...one of which being lamp light. I tend to always find a way to take a picture of someone lit by lamps....I'm not really sure what it is about them to be honest. I guess I enjoy a more dramatic shadow and effect. Or, more likely, I love the way different types of light evoke completely different atmospheres; Natural soft light versus fluorescent, versus direct harsh sunlight, versus a low 4:00 sun, cascading light, the more generic (what I would call "homey") yellow light (usually in lamps...). Artificial light brightens the darkest of places in any space when there is no sun, and the sun (well, self explanatory), lights the whole sky. I pay close attention to light (as any photographer should), but it never fails to amaze me. A beautiful, streaking soft light through the window, a mid morning sun coming through fog on a crisp morning...breathtaking. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that I associate light with life. The day begins when the sun rises.

A closer look

Lots of pets....

Boston

Revisting home (Fall 09)

Beautiful Grace

Matteo



Kids are wonderful