“How you see the world will be different from how others see the world.
It’s only partly a matter of the things you see and more a matter of the way you see them”.
~David DuChemin
New year, new challenge! Each year brings new and exciting things (and new projects!). I am thrilled to a part of a community of photographers that are taking part in a weekly photography assignment. Each week we are given a theme and we then photograph how we interpret it. Each photographer is linked to each other at the end of everyone’s blog post. I encourage you to check out everyone’s links! It is really neat to see each person’s vision.
This weeks theme is “Consider Your Vision” – We were asked to go through our favorite photographs and determine what we are trying to express with our photographs. Looking for common elements in each image. So basically narrowing down our “style”. After picking our favorites from our past images, we then create a new photograph representing our style.
The image below was from the very first session I photographed when I was in the process of building my portfolio. It still remains one of my favorites. The images that follow are ones that I have taken over the past 8 years.
The New Image ~
After reviewing the images and letting it sit with me for a while I was able to express the following words: Natural, Beauty, Connection, Texture, Meaning.
Natural ~ Each of the images were taken with the animals being themselves in their natural environment.
Beauty ~ I optimistically see beauty in all things and places.
Connection ~ Each image gives me a sense of connection, either between the subjects in the image or to something in the environment or the locked in gaze of the eyes.
Texture ~ Everything in my world must have texture! I love texture in all forms. The flowing grass, long scruffy fur, the dappled snow, the old weathered blue door.
Meaning ~ I feel that photography is an intuitive process. I must feel something before I press the shutter. (well…action shots are maybe a little different! At that moment it’s all about timing!) But for the most part I have a split second of feeling a flutter in my chest when I see what I am looking for.
I decided to look at this concept more abstractly. While the following image will, at first glance look drastically different from the rest, I am hoping you will see the deeper meaning. If not then I am definitely floating around in my own head! So a little explanation…this is an image of my dog Juno captured using a double exposure method outdoor in the snow. The second photograph that was applied over top is of a painting of my daughter’s. These two are best friends. Juno was there when Isla was born, she was the first to meet her (other than us of course!). Isla calls her ‘Woof Woof’. They share many quiet moments together on Juno’s dog bed. Merging the two photographs represents their connection, her artwork adds the texture and to me this has beauty and meaning.
So while the “style” or look of the image is different from the rest, it is more about the process of how I see and what I see. The new image was created to reflect the feeling and emotion that I feel when I photograph and my vision for my work. I see things in layers; the colors, the textures, the connection and I try to combine them into one moment. This image represents the abstract vision in my head of what I am looking to create.
“Photography is the world frozen in a single moment, and when that moment is passed, it fades away like a forgotten thought. Those photographs, those fractions of a second, capture the emotion and equivalence of the photographer. From the beginnings of photography, Alfred Stieglitz was the first to apply the notion of equivalence, i.e., where a photographer or artist draws an emotional connection and meaning to their photographs. Equivalence, a theory from a painter named Kandinsky, was the philosophical belief that colors, shapes, geometric lines, and composition, mirror the intention and emotion of the artist. To Stieglitz, his photography symbolically represented and corresponded with his emotions, thoughts, experience, and ideas; and also mirrored his spiritual and emotional feeling.”
~Adam Crawford
Full Article Here: http://blog.wppionline.com/2016/01/how-photographers-find-meaning/
Wow, that made me dig deep but so far this is fun! Please join the complete blog circle to view other amazing photographers work who continue to inspire me. You will end up right back here!
Next in the circle is Sharon Stokes – Central Coast Pet Photography.
