project progress

Over my last few rolls, I have been attempting to hone in on my photographic strengths thereby enhancing the quality of my output and extending my own creativity. I am really excited with the amount and quality of my printable negatives. I was able to take 10 scans off two rolls that fulfill my aesthetic needs and my conceptual focus.  I am really happy with them and feel they incorporate a very unique aesthetic that is more distinct than my last batch of successful photos.

Unfortunately a big section of the door was cut off this one, but I am trying to see if I like it better cropped this way.  I think the photo is still strong and shows well a fluid concept.  The stark symmetry and angularity help draw the eye to the center of the photograph, where it pans out and explores information in the belly of the photo.  Or maybe we scan the perimeter of the entrance first, learn that it is a greenhouse, perhaps a very old or abandoned one.  The contrast of the geometrical shape of the cinder blocks and the stacked matter on the sides creates such an array of shapes.  The slight tonal differences make all the information pop in a subtle way.  I pulled this roll, too.

On a conceptual level, I think this photo draws upon the absence of people, life, and the presence of matter made by man.  There's an unnerving presentation of artificial and natural life inside this greenhouse, stripped of life itself and only seeing its skeleton.  The plastic bag in the center on the ground sort of resembles a lifeless body.  The way it is situated and sprawled out hold the quality of a body, despite its inanimateness.

I talked to Phil about this photo in class today and he said he wishes there was a body lying beneath the plastic.  I thought about what he said and I decided that I wouldn't make a decision like that because I want to give the viewer freedom.  By showing them what they should look at, I am depriving them of an imagination. I love that Phil inscribed his own vision onto my photograph.  Why put a body there if I got him to think about a body without one truly being there? Photography can be so deceitful in the best way.

I think I need to do a bit of burning in the center of the photograph, but I haven't learned how to do that yet.  There's something super geometric about this photo--the sporadic shape of the leaves, the angular shape of the buildings, and the figures running.  You wonder what they're running from. Their faces are kind of blurred from the motion and the scale, but the barrenness of the background induces some anxiety.  And then the trees start looking kind of eerie and the sun becomes blinding and burning.  There's definitely something inherently creepy about this photo.  I like that I used people to make it, which i usually stray away from.  i didn't pose them, I photographed a moment, but it nearly looks like a really well posed photograph that looks unstaged. I don't know, I'd like to hear what other people say about this photograph.

All in all, I'm really excited to keep this going. I've already pushed my boundaries and I'm looking forward to seeing what else I can create.