It’s always fun to be selected to be in a juried show. Means somebody liked my work and are willing to make it possible for others to see it.
This entire show is also on-line. Check it out!!! http://www.cultural-center.org/black-white/
I like the other photos. That’s also a plus. Like being invited to a party and discovering that you like the other guests!
Doesn’t get any better!!!
My photo Suspended Swimmer just took second place at the Providence Center for Photographic Arts juried show in Providence Road Island. Came with congrats and a nice check. Made my day rain ponies.
Photo was shot in swimming pool with shade and sunlight providing the atmosphere. Good model as well.
I’ve been doing a series of these Janus images based on the Janus myth.
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. He is usually a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past. The Romans dedicated the month of January to Janus.
Here’s an example from the Vatican Museum.
In my case, I’m using a reflection in water as the second image. Reflections only work if they seem to interact with the original image. That means, both images are somehow greater because of the reflection. In this case the interaction is enhanced by the arm–underwater–seemingly touching the reflection. Because the arm is underwater, it’s a bit ethereal. That makes it appear to be halfway between reality and reflection. I think it really adds to the overall composition. This is an image I’m particularly proud of.
Normally it’s all about the figure. The figure in this photograph is good but the composition is all about the shadow. It’s a shadow that has been made complicated by the sun and water. Adds considerable interest. And because the photograph is mostly about that interesting shadow, black and white is my choice for presentation. Black and white emphasizes light and shadow. Perfect combination. BTW, this was shot at noon, not a photographer’s favorite time, but that high angle of light contributed to the shadow. Hope you agree.
There are some images that are best as hard, finely focused photographs. Some are better soft. In this case, both of these images were deliberately blurred. I like them this way. But I’m not sure I know how to explain it. I simply find them more pleasing somehow. Maybe you have the words to explain it. Leave a comment.
It’s not easy to be a model. Not only do photographers sometimes ask them to take off their clothes, sometimes we also ask them to get into water. I’ve had models work with me sitting in cold streams and ponds. I’ve had them work without complaint under hot lights and in cold drafty buildings. Here’s an example where the water wasn’t warm and wasn’t gentle. I was happy to be the photographer that day, not that I would ever try to reverse roles. I know my limits. Here’s the point: Besides writing a check–I always pay my models–I also appreciate my models. I never assume that the job is easy. I have the easy part.
Took a class last summer from Connie Imboden www.connieimboden.com She believes that you need to “push in” and find the photograph that is part of the body. She likes the kind of photograph that is mostly line and light without being immediately apparent what part of the body you are looking at. The results for me (I tend toward photographs full-body) were interesting. Satisfying. Pushed my limits. Good. See what you think.
While taking a class from Karin Rosenthal ( www.krosenthal.com) I was challenged by her to create a Janus image.
According to the ancient Roman religion, Janus was the god of beginnings and endings. He marked transitions. He was often placed in doorways and always shown as having two faces–one looking backward and one looking forward. We were working with water, so the challenge was to use the water to create that kind of image. I came up with three that I like.
Note that some are more peaceful than others. How would a god of transitions appear to you?
BTW Janus is the god of January.
This one has been invited to a photography show at the Peter Miller Fine Art Photography Gallery in Providence, Rhode Island. Show was juried by Rob Van Petten. Photo was taken in Vermont so an east coast outing seems appropriate. Show runs from May 21 to June 12, 2015 if you happen to be in the area.
Taken in the shade with light filtering through the trees, the play of light on the pond and body was what appealed to me. Works best in b&w because of that filtered light.
Hope you like it, too.
A friend, who also does fine art nude photography, hates props. He thinks the human form unadorned is cheapened by the addition of mirrors, machines or almost anything else. Hard enough to make the skin tone right, capture the muscle tone and movement. I nod my head. He’s right, of course. And he’s wrong. When the prop gives contrast and interest to the composition, it’s hard to say it’s not important to the picture. I like these two photographs because, in both cases, the prop is central and minimal giving the human form lots of room to be the point of the photograph.
Both were done in a machine shop with lots of grease and everything else. That can become an even bigger issue. You begin to include too much of the environment. Then the photographs begin to look like: “Oh, we have an undressed person in the machine shop.” The trick, I’ve always believed, is to use the environment, make it part of the photo, but not lose the focus which is the human form.
