IN PRACTICE: Scenes of Fall

IN STUDY: Edward Weston

[EDWARD WESTON/"PEPPER NO. 30"]

[EDWARD WESTON/"CABBAGE LEAF"]

Susan Sontag cites Edward Weston as a remarkable manipulator of the visual world, a "visual hero" if you will. He captures the surreal and exaggerates reality...with the form of vegetables. Not exactly the easiest of feats, but perhaps this is what makes photography so enthralling; you can transform a pepper into a suggestive and sensual manifestation of curves and shadows, much like a woman's body. Suddenly the valleys and hills of a cabbage leaf look like carved marble or a crashing wave.
This manipulation glorifies the ordinary still life in a way that painting never could. Sure, you might have more opportunities to distort of color and form, but I think the black and white tonal range does more for this set of images than any shade/combination of red, yellow, or blue ever could.

IN PRACTICE: Candids

IN STUDY: Lydia Panas

[LYDIA PANAS/ PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN]

From her collection titled "Private Spaces," Panas focuses on the intimate gatherings of family members in an ambiguous field. What is particularly striking about this photograph is the relation between its title and its subject matter. This "Portrait of a Young Man" seems to be about everything but the young man; he is the only one of the group who does not have his eyes set on the camera. Despite this oddity, sometimes you can gather much more from the subject that turns away than the one that shows you everything.
He has a forlorn and resentful look about him, much like my little brother when he was forced to pose for pictures. Although you cannot guess the relationship between the members in the frame, intimacy and dejection is sensed from their separation and defensive countenances. However, the young man pops from the scene about him as if he truly does have a story that the photographer wishes to capture.

IN STUDY: Microscopic photography

[LLOYD DONALDSON/ STAINED COTTON FIBERS]

I don't even know where to start. After viewing Nikon's annual Small World Photomicrography Competition winners, I will never think of photography in the same way again. In a New York Times slide show, the wonders of that tiny hidden world that surrounds us are brought to light from a rather artistic angle and with the vibrance of an underwater coral reef. Although I'm sure Sontag would disapprove of obscuring the true nature of the study of the biological world, this body of work is definitely worth exploring.

[GERD A. GUENTHER/ SPINY SOWTHISTLE STEM SECTION]

IN STUDY: Chema Madoz

Despite the language barrier of his website, Chema Madoz's photographs are an extraordinary example of how versatile and interesting photography can be.



Take for example the picture in the lower left corner, the match-thermometer. Even though this may not make the most profound of statements, the arrangement of a scale of numbers and a burnt match is just witty. They are just common objects that have been manipulated to make an impossible reality. I also love the contrast posed by the once hot center of the match representing the below freezing region on the thermomter.
I also must praise Madoz for his succesful use of black and white. With the absence of color, the subject of each photograph stands alone, highlighted not by vibrance but shadows and hidden meanings. Genuis.

IN THEORY: Surrealism

[BRAGAGLIA]

I find that Bragaglias' use of time is really interesting, especially in the medium of photography. Considering they were shooting in the early 1900s, their choice to focus on typing, which is still a very common activity, makes a statement that is way beyond their time.

[MAN RAY]

Man Ray's surrealist/dadaist influences make his brand of photography very admirable. I love his use of the face with the contrast of harsh, hard materials. They make very strong statements within the context of the photographs. The first seems to be mocking the possibility of sorrow, emotion, and the therapeutic value of crying. The subjects heavy mascara and perfect tear drops makes this photograph particularly shocking.
Similarly, the subject of the second picture makes a strong impact on the viewer with the high contrast between skin color, lip color, and mask color, highlighted by the shadows and lighting. Besides all the technical details, there is a certain expression in this girls face. Her closed eyes and pursed lips so closely resemble the mask she is holding that it all seems unreal.

IN PRACTICE: Celebration...and a couch potato