water no get enemy
Big thanks to Shutter Photo Magazine and D. Travis North for the article on my photo, Swag, and for awarding Back From The Future one of their 10 most interesting photos of 2010!
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As for this image:
A boy tries to catch raindrops in an empty bottle. Taken in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico; not a composite.
I've been thinking about the notion of sharing photography artistically as being a lot like initiating a conversation. We "say" something, hoping to spark a thought or emotion, to ask a question, to convince others of an idea, or at least to invoke some sort of raw response - hopefully in a constructive, progressive fashion. With that thought in mind, the idea of catching and sharing an authentic, fleeting candid moment like this is the reason why I have largely given up pursuing composite imagery.
I'm not talking about whether it's right to edit your images beyond whatever the camera captured. I'm not referring to work that is clearly conceptual or abstract in nature, nor am I knocking surrealism as a genre; in fact, I love to (try to) shoot concepts as well as study the complexity of dreamy, artfully conceived images. I also understand that properly executing a surrealistic concept requires substantial artistic intelligence, and is WAY easier said than done.
Still, and I could be wrong of course, it seems to me that trying to convincingly capture and present both surrealist composites and slices of life, without sufficient context, would cause the viewer to question the moments I had hoped to articulate as the real thing - to possibly cause the audience to even question the nature or motive of the conversation.
On the other hand, in some cases I suppose that "misdirection" could be an artist/photographers' intention. Perhaps the key word here is context. Hmmm... I do indeed have a lot to learn...
I'm sure I will revisit and challenge that thought at some point, because, you know... I must. This is just the way I feel about it today, and I was in the mood to write. :)
Anyway, title inspired by Fela Kuti's "Water No Get Enemy".
water no get enemy
Big thanks to Shutter Photo Magazine and D. Travis North for the article on my photo, Swag, and for awarding Back From The Future one of their 10 most interesting photos of 2010!
-------------------------------------------------
As for this image:
A boy tries to catch raindrops in an empty bottle. Taken in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico; not a composite.
I've been thinking about the notion of sharing photography artistically as being a lot like initiating a conversation. We "say" something, hoping to spark a thought or emotion, to ask a question, to convince others of an idea, or at least to invoke some sort of raw response - hopefully in a constructive, progressive fashion. With that thought in mind, the idea of catching and sharing an authentic, fleeting candid moment like this is the reason why I have largely given up pursuing composite imagery.
I'm not talking about whether it's right to edit your images beyond whatever the camera captured. I'm not referring to work that is clearly conceptual or abstract in nature, nor am I knocking surrealism as a genre; in fact, I love to (try to) shoot concepts as well as study the complexity of dreamy, artfully conceived images. I also understand that properly executing a surrealistic concept requires substantial artistic intelligence, and is WAY easier said than done.
Still, and I could be wrong of course, it seems to me that trying to convincingly capture and present both surrealist composites and slices of life, without sufficient context, would cause the viewer to question the moments I had hoped to articulate as the real thing - to possibly cause the audience to even question the nature or motive of the conversation.
On the other hand, in some cases I suppose that "misdirection" could be an artist/photographers' intention. Perhaps the key word here is context. Hmmm... I do indeed have a lot to learn...
I'm sure I will revisit and challenge that thought at some point, because, you know... I must. This is just the way I feel about it today, and I was in the mood to write. :)
Anyway, title inspired by Fela Kuti's "Water No Get Enemy".