Photo Theme

PHOTO THEME
Well my break was a little longer than two weeks if you are referring to winter break. Instead I had about a year and a half away from the photo class of Mrs. Town. In fact the progress I made in the form of art was immense. Over that time period, not in the subject of photography but in pencil drawings; the sole reason for my discovery of this hidden talent came to me over a time period where I was “given” numerous hours to waste and deliberate life. I stress “given” because it was more of a forced time. Either way I learned that I had an uncanny talent for reproducing anything that was shown to me. However I am still unable to draw any thing that is a memory’s of past drawings or of anything created in my head.
My greatest accomplishments were within 3 months of each other. The first was a recreation of part of a piece created as a propaganda poster promoting the reasons to fight in World War ll “Ours to fight for” is in big bold lettering above the four drawings depicting “Freedom of Speech” “Freedom from Want” “Freedom from Fear: and then the one I duplicated “Freedom of Worship” This was a Norman Rockwell Original from that time era and I did it as a tribute to my deceased Grandmother who resembles the semi-center woman of my drawing. This is by far my best pencil drawing to date!

Next was a 10’ by 7’ recreation of a 10” by 7” picture of the Virgin Mary, given as a gift from my sister, when she was visiting me in Duluth. I drew this picture mainly because of the numerous amounts of hours I was given to reflect on my past. Thinking that this would be a quick drawing I came to realize that the hours I was taking to work on it turned into weeks, days and then finally when I had actually completed it, at the end of close to two months of working at it I had realized not only was I finished with it, but I was also finished with the stupid adolescent behaviors I had exhibited at the start of my project. So it is now a personal reminder to myself of what I once was and what I have become. The picture shown above is of me actually lying next to my drawing in my living room from about one story high.

The artists that I admire most are in this case both photographers. The first artist that I will talk about is Jim Brandenburg. He is a friend of my fathers and through him I have had many opportunities to speak with him and get tips and advice on my own photos. This is helpful because I admire him and his work and can actually understand the meaning behind some of his work. Chased by the light is probably the book that captures me most. This book was originally a personal project of his because he was disappointed in the fact that he takes so many rolls of film in his job that he decided he would only take one picture a day for 90 days, in his back yard of Raven Wood in Ely Minnesota.
The picture titled “Day 57-Poacher-Killed Deer”, depicts an eye of a dead deer on which he had come across after hearing a gun shot in the distance. When he had finally found the animal it had already lost most of its life and the only life that could still be seen within it was part of the eye that had not yet frozen over from the bitter cold.
My next artist is Aldo Brando he is another friend of mine who is most well know through his collaboration with Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is a children’s book in which Marquez provides the words and Aldo provides the visual pertaining to the words. This picture ,out of a Natural Geographic article, was taken in the
Caqueta moist forests next to the Apaporis River in Colombia.Although some might not think this to be the most significant picture in the world many of Aldo’s works are just like this; simple and beautiful.
They are also both from Colombia the country I was born in which is one of the reason I was introduced to the both of them. (Aldo was the only one I have actually had the priveladge of meeting in person.)

Since I am an individual who lives in the setting of an urban landscape I thought it would be interesting to create my portfolio theme strictly geared to the life energy and experiences that city life constantly provides. A human subject will appear in everyone of my pictures to give it life, night and day will add the energy, and the urban settings of downtown the city transit and the metro places and buildings will give the experiences of people just living day to day. I plan on taking as many pictures as I can through out the rest of the semester allowing for a broader choice of images being picked to add to my portfolio. Experimental techniques is a median I am not yet knowledgeable in but the opportunities given to me throughout the semester will most likely make there way in to the final stages of my photos giving a unnatural look to them. Dogging and Burning will be used along with print coloring and possibly distortion. I am one who feels however that a picture to be great and true to its viewer is one that in itself bring out the aw. Not the cool alien like photos you know have been tampered with. To let the viewer see or be at the exact place and time and to understand what is being shown at the moment you took it is truly a picture of value and power. The idea for my theme is not new in the since that I have already taken pictures to the thought of this result in the back of my head but solely the fact that this is where I live and like your back yard is easy to get out and experience the city is just that for me. I am not to certain to what I want this project to express to others or for what meaning it will bring to others but more what is it going to do for me am I going to come to the realization that this is simply a hobby I enjoy or if it is an art that others are willing to become a part of and support me in. In a place where life and death pain and happiness, good and the bad, are seen every day I just want to let others see it for what it truly is because the real art in a picture is not how I or any other photographer sees it but just opening a door to that place they are in because all around us is art you just have to get yourself to look around and see that its there. And in doing so finding out what you didn’t know or was to ignorant to see before and that is something new for everyone to discover at their own time and place, I just want to help a few people get there sooner than later.