From CERN to Selfies and Beyond

We have been taking photographs for about 200 years, and in the first hundred years of the technology we produced about a billion photos world-wide.  That may sound like a lot, but by the time I began taking photos in the mid-70's we had ten times that many.

The first image transmitted
over the internet (1992)

Astoundingly, for every single photograph that existed when I picked up a camera in 1970, we now have about 35 thousand images, and a recent estimate I read stated that we have taken around 3.5 trillion pics.  Reading these numbers got me thinking about what we're doing with that explosion in imaging power.

Currently, most of the world’s photos are on Facebook.  If all the images in the US Library of Congress covered a postage stamp, the images on Facebook would cover your living room floor.  And every month Facebook uploads another six billion! 

To return to my question, one thing we're doing with this imaging power is posting “selfies,” or photographic self portraits.  Made popular by MySpace and Facebook, you might have the impression that selfies are a recent phenomenon, but they date back as far as photography itself. 

Typical current selfie.
(Wikipedia)

 

Edwardian woman using
a mirror for a selfie in 1890

Today, typical selfies are poorly-lit self portraits of girls and young women (females seem more smitten with this activity than males) taken in a bathroom mirror.   Ironically, this year a study showed that posting too many Facebook selfies can hurt your real-world relationships: it is NOT an activity that leads to popularity.  

It is apparent, however, that selfies are a permanent and growing feature of the photographic landscape.  What is your opinion of selfies?  Why do people post them?

The Breathing Earth uses graphics to present information powerfully.

To be less cynical, here is a more uplifting way that we are using the power of imaging:  The Breathing Earth is a simulation web site that will show you in real time as people are born and die around the world.  It is one thing to read that many are born in Africa every minute -- it is a much more striking thing to see the sparks of their births on a map.   Even if you just watch it for one minute, you will be fascinated. 

Dean West

Finally, to end on an aesthetically more satisfying note, let me introduce you to the fun and engaging work of Dean West.  A small-town boy who grew up in an Australian mining village, he went on to take a university degree in photography, and at 30 years of age has earned many international awards and is considered one of the most important emerging photographers today.

"20 Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" required hundreds of
images, including many of both live and dead octopuses.

Many of West's works seem to evoke mythology.

His images have been called "hyper-photographic realism," but to me they simply look surreal the way Salvador Dali's work does.  He takes hundreds of photos as raw material and reassembles it in images that have the resonance of mythology.   

His work flow begins with a 60 MegaPixel camera and moves to Photoshop.  Though he has a soft spot for film he says, "Digital photography has made the impossible possible."  

Check out his web site.

Photography Bears Witness

“Photography is a weapon against what’s wrong out
there.  It’s bearing witness to the truth.”   Brent Stirton

In a recent blog I talked about photography as a tool for social justice.

I introduced the work of Lisa Kristine and her efforts to publicize the blossoming of human slavery in the 21^st century.

I’d like to hit this theme again, as it is possibly the most important role of photography in our culture.

Nothing brings home the truth of this more than the work of those brave individuals who bear witness through their photography

For instance, the October 2013 issue of National Geographic points out that the minerals in our electronic devices have bankrolled unspeakable violence in the Congo. 

But it was the black and white photography of Marcus Bleasdale that brought alive the horror of a society torn apart by greed and violence, and gave the term “child soldier” a chilling resonance.  

Take a moment to look at those two images; ponder the faces.

Steve McCurry

Most famous for his “Afghan Girl” cover on the June 1985 National Geographic, Steve McCurry has been responsible for creating many of the most iconic human images in our culture.

You’ll often hear the phrase “the human condition.”  No one chronicles the breadth of that notion better than Steve McCurry.

Intrigued by disappearing cultures, by conflict, and by ancient traditions as well as contemporary culture, McCurry creates images that expand our sense that we participate in a broader world -- one in which there is much room for compassion.  His photography can elevate your spirit.  It can also coax tears.

The tears in this little boy's eyes, the size of the handgun against his little pre-schooler's head, his general look of sorrow and neglect: it would be a stoney-hearted individual who did not feel compassion.  

But do images such as this engage us so deeply they motivate us to act, or are we inured to them, numbed by the simulated violence that saturates television?  

Keeping in mind our theme of social justice, this week’s question is:  If you were offered the opportunity to travel on assignment as a National Geographic photographer where would you choose to go, and why? 

In the Abstract

Welcome back to another school year.  I hope some of these blog entries can inspire some thought -- and perhaps add an element of visual pleasure to your studies.

In this entry, I'd like to look at the notion of Abstraction

Munch says the red sunset inspired him

When Norwegian painter Edvard Munch picked up a box of pastels and a piece of cardboard, he probably did not know the resulting image would fetch almost $120 MILLION dollars at auction about 100 years later.  This is the highest price ever paid for art at auction – higher, even, than for any of Picasso’s work.

The Scream is one of the most recognizable paintings in modern art and has even been stolen from museums (and recovered) twice.  Kind of reminds a guy of The Thomas Crown Affair.

Clearly, this is an image of huge power to communicate.  Yet it is barely representational at all – nothing in it looks realistic: not the shapes, the colours, the face.  My question to you is two part:  where does the power come from, and is there any way to use a camera to produce images with such power?

ABSTRACTION

You doubtlessly remember the first assignment in this course – to analyze your own images in terms of line, colour, form, pattern, etc.  Abstract photography concerns itself entirely with these dimensions.  It’s a nice discipline to focus on these elements entirely – creating an image of shape, for instance, rather than a snapshot of a building.

Here are some ways in which a few photographers have taken such common subjects as smoke and water and found in them all the elements of art.  Can you identify which elements of style dominate these images?

Paul Bonnichsen has made good use of those long dreary days of winter with poor light outside to stay inside and make fascinating images of smoke curling from incense sticks.  He has had to put a lot of effort into rear lighting, yet the results capture our eye.

Chaval Brasil (who you can find in flickr) uses design elements in all of his work -- but his water splash images are perhaps his most abstract.

Which elements of design dominate these images?  Can you find and focus on them them in your own images?

Finally – just for fun – here is a photographer who has combined images of water and dogs.  It demonstrates wonderful technological skill while communicating a real sense of play.  Seth Casteel is a “lifestyle” photographer with enough fame to appear on Duck Dynasty, but he began his career volunteering to photograph homeless pets.  Who knows what your own future might hold!

For now, just take a moment, look back up at The Scream, ponder it and see if you can put into words the source of power in that image. 

Add  your insights as a comment -- and we'll see if we can better understand why some images have such enduring power to engage the viewer.

The Noble Uses of a Camera

Most of us use our cameras to record the things of our own lives: important events, people who matter to us. 

Others of us seem to enjoy finding and sharing the beauty of life: nature, architecture, performance arts.

But there is another kind of photographer who tries to use the camera as a tool to effect social change.  I wanted to highlight a few of these people in the next few posts.

Lisa Kristine and Slavery

Lisa Kristine is an exceptionally talented photographer who had spent years traveling around the world making stunningly beautiful images, mostly of indigenous cultures far from North America. (These next two images are hers).

These men work 72-hour shifts in a mine poisoned by mercury.

But once she learned about the extraordinary extent of today’s commercial slave trade she began using her artistic eye and technical ability to expose the ugly face of modern-day slavery.

She is also a powerful public speaker and you can enjoy her TED talk by following this link.

Her comment about making these portraits probably applies to any situation in which you are making a photograph of an individual, but the advice resonates strongly when you know she is talking of such abused human beings:

These slaves work in the brickyards of Nepal for 16 to 17 hours
a day in heat up to 50 degrees without breaks for rest or food.

"Each image is made with reverence for the subject.  I want a person to feel at ease with me so that they remain themselves and are unchanged by a new or foreign element such as a stranger (myself) or a camera.

In order for me to photograph a person in the unaffected environment of self there must be a trust between us.  Without this, a stirring image cannot be created."

I will be following up on this theme in the next post.

Kick-Starting Creativity 

Sometimes it is hard to get going in creating fresh new photographs, images that will catch your viewer’s eye and communicate a thought or feeling.  Sometimes it just seems like you HAVE to do it to get credit for a course!

Here are a few ideas that might help to provoke the creative impulse!

Out-Of-Border post-processing (OOB)
can add a fun element to your images.

• join a photography club and meet others
• find a mentor or coach who will work with you
• buy some new equipment to play with
• go someplace new and see it through your camera
• browse the internet looking for photos you would like to re-create
• take time to learn a new post-processing trick and find places to apply it
• join an on-line forum and talk about photography
• go to an art exhibit
• go out with a photo buddy and explore images together
• pick one element of design (i.e. texture) and go looking for it with your camera.

Those are just a few ideas.  If you have found something that works for you, please take a moment to share.