Untitled

This photo really goes to show that almost anything can have photographic value, so long as care is given to taking the photo. A good use of framing can be seen here, in which the photographer shot an image of a building corner and some stairs. But the picture is framed well in the fact that the creases of the building and the stairs themselves compliment each other by adding an element of abstractness, such that the image is filled with right angles and straight lines.

Artist: Chris Wiley

Source: iheartphotography.com

Praying Mantis, Virginia

Insects have a lot of photographic value. Often we cannot see this with the naked eye, but advances in photographic technology has allowed us to do otherwise. What this picture grants us access to is a incredible view of a praying mantis in its hidden magnificence. The details, color, and anatomy of it all come together, and serve to deliver a remarkable picture.

Artist: Medford Taylor

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/praying-mantis-virginia/

Rockhopper Penguins, Argentina

More penguins! Well, they have their own photographic value that is unique. One such example is here: two Rockhopper penguins staring into the camera. A photo like this is simple in the fact it serves the purpose of showing how impressive these birds are. But it goes to show the power that photography has: to document and deliver to people around the world what exotic animals look like. I don't think I would know what most animals look like if it wasn't for photography. Even broader, it serves to document everything that one would normally not get to experience, and that is power!

Artist: Tomas Kotouc.

Source:http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/?source=NavPhoPOD

Elephant Seals and King Penguins

Humans in tropical areas aren't the only beachgoers. We see here a massive congregation of penguins and elephant seals gathered together at the shoreline of an Arctic coast. The detail in this photo is what really makes it great: just the sheer number of animals all throughout the photo create a very interesting image. Another example of nature photography at its finest.

Artist:Paul Nicklen

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/king-penguins-and-elephant-seals/

Ultraviolet Bath, Russia

Well, this is another bizarre photo, but not as much as the last. The scene is a medical professional, three children, all wearing goggles, in a room full of blue light. It's a very odd scene, but this photo is documenting a feat of modern medicine. The blue light is actually UV radiation, and it's being used to simulate for the children the effects of the sun itself. This is because these children live in Lovosero, Russia, where the get no sun. Without it, they might not develop properly, since vitamin D is a large component of bone development. I think the combination of the bizarreness, the rich blue light, and the documentation make this photo quite unique and successful.

Artist: Joe McNally

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/ultraviolet-bath-mcnally-pod/

Untitiled

Well, this was an unusual find. This photo is from a series of photos called "Heart" taken by Kristopher Helton. The entirety of the series are very creepy, chilling photos of lone people walking through cemeteries and doing what appears to be performing Satanic rituals. The effect is particularly powerful by what appears to be a long exposure with movement of the camera to distort the pictures, which gives the pictures a haunted look, as if half of these are tabloid pictures of ghosts. I think this effect goes with the subject material of the mysterious cult rituals quite well. In the picture above, we see what looks to be someone performing a prayer ritual, but were not quite sure due to the fact the picture is quite blurry and the subject is blacked out. This ambiguousness makes it quite chilling, leading one to think it's a ghost or the Devil itself.

Artist: Kristopher Helton

Source: http://kristopherhelton.com/

Mark Cohan

In a world where virtually everyone can be a photographer, due to the ease and cheapness of it, it is not easy for one to distinguish themselves. However, photographers like Mark Cohan do otherwise. His style is like no other: 1 part documentary, 1 part conceptual and 2 parts abstract. It is due to his subject matter and unorthodox photography technique that we get a fusion of photography like no other.
A predominantly black and white photographer, Cohan photographs the city-town areas of Pennsylvania; areas that are half rural town and half developed city. While he does achieve in documenting the area and its inhabitance, he also is able to do something else. He takes his photos in a weird way: by choosing a target and making quick passes while taking photos on the run, all without using the viewfinder. What is the result?
Well, the result of all this is currently displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a gallery of Mark Cohan photos called "Strange Evidence". Here, we see a select collection of black and white and some color photos from his works in Pennsylvania areas, with subject matter ranging from locations, buildings, and people.
But often time the cropping on the photos is unusual. Often, many of the photos are not even of people's heads, or at least not completely. The walls in the gallery are scattered with some photos of random body parts and items. But in doing this Cohan shows the details and artistic value of things we commonly don't see: the red lipstick of a woman smoking, or a pair of legs and nothing more, and even just a fence that has plants growing around it. It definitely goes to show that almost anything can have artistic value if put under the right light, and in the case of Cohan get the right framing by chance.
But other photos of his show people carrying out their everyday routiens. Many are aware of the presence of the camera, and in some photos we catch peoples reactions to this. One in particular shows a whole bus of people as they simultaneously look and react to Cohan's presence. Many photos are of children playing as well, possibly alluding to Cohan's stressing of the importance and appreciation for childhood. Also by taking photos of people all from one area, we really get an idea of what the people and the area looks like.
So what we get from Cohan's photography is a blend of abstract, documentative, and conceptual art. His unusual photographic style, along with his subject matter, is able to achieve all three. His photos truly stand as a representative of his photographic skill, and his exhibit "Stange Evidence" displays this.

Polar Obsession

Photography allows us to catch moments in nature that we would probably never see in our everyday life, giving it remarkable power. In this photo, we are watching a still shot of a polar bear leaping between ice patches. The photo gives a very good sense of time by catching the bear right as it's about to go airborne, and it causes one to play out the rest of the jump in ones head. And it's not every day you see a polar bear jumping on ice, so this photo adds some perspective on what polar bears do, which I think is pretty successful in making this a photo of its own.

Artist: Paul Nicklen

Source: http://www.pdnphotooftheday.com/2009/11/2673

Crackling with Solar Flares

Photography is not just an art form. For NASA, it ours eyes into the cosmos. And nothing is a better testament to that than a photo like this, which catches the beauty of the sun's violent reactions that both keep Earth full of life and threaten to destroy it. Similar to the Budapest photo, this stands as another visual representation of what technology is capable of.

Source: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1786.html

70 Billion Pixels Budapest

(look at the link source for photo)

This has to be one of the most awesome feats of technology. Using the absolute best in panoramic photography, this team of photographers and technology experts have created a fully 360 degree photo in Budapest, in which you can zoom in to an unbelievable extent. It allows the viewer to see fine enough detail to make out words on a sign, or construction on a roof. Its something that cannot be put into words, and the only way to truly experience it is to play with the photo and see how incredible it is:

http://70gigapixel.cloudapp.net/index_en.html

Pink Bird

Smoking is quite the filthy habit. However, in this photo it indicates what this location we're looking at is used for. We see an ash tray filled with water and surrounded by cigarette butts. A glass also lays to the side. It seems like this location is used by someone as a place to smoke often, to the point they keep an ash tray outside and a glass. However, once you are drawn away from that, you notice a pink glass bird sitting in front of this mess. It makes on think, "Why it is there?" Maybe it was placed there by the frequent smoker to lighten the scene of the location, that is otherwise littered with cigarette butts. Or maybe it was staged to contrast the ugliness of the scene with something of more aesthetic value. Either way, the photo is too ambiguous for one to definitively say anything, so it is up to the viewer to decide what this all means.

Artist: Allison Sexton

Source: http://allisonsexton.com/artwork/1226140_Pink_Bird_2007.html

Local Industry

As part of a multi-image series, photographer Wilson Baker took images documenting what local waterfront industry is like. Many of his photos place one right there on the boat, or in the gutting house. This photo in particular really puts one with the workers. In this image, we see a man hauling crabs over the side, or at least that's what it looks. The slightly prolonged exposure is what really puts one in the image: the mans hands are blurred as well as some of the crabs waiting to meet their fate. Because of this blurring, it gives the viewer the feeling of motion, and that if this were a video it would suddenly play into actual work and motion in real time action. And photos that can take one and place them directly into the scene are photos to be considered worthy of praise.

Artist: Wilson Baker

Source: http://www.popphoto.com/content/my-project-water-works?pnid=69109

Tarpon and Silversides, Grand Cayman

Nature can really have some beauty to it, especially underwater. Technology now allows us to take pictures virtually everywhere, and now we can see aquatic life in its prime underwater. The point of view of the photographer is really what makes this picture impressive: the one large fish out for a meal is surrounded on both sides by walls of prey. It gives the center fish the essence of strength and dominance over the many little fish who are helpless against it. And through this, one is able to take away the Platonism of nature, where every being fits its own role.

Artist: Mike Sutton Brown

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/best-pod-september-2010/

In an Archaic Manner, With Modern Overtones by Andy Grundberg

In this review, Andy Grundberg reviews an art exhibit that focuses on bringing artistic techniques back from the late 19th to early 20th century. The exhibit by David McDermott and Peter McGough shows the use of photographic and other artistic techniques to bring some "lost art" into the late 20th century. Mr. Gundberg acknowledging at first that these works first appear to only add to the idea that contemporary art has "lost its way" and that these works are just some of many contemporary works that cause some to wonder just where contemporary art is going.

David McDermott and Peter McGough are two artist that work together to bring back 19th century photographic techniques. They also do paintings in the style of the time. He says through the combination of old style photography and erotic subject matter, they are able to convey the idea that morals and identity crises of the Victorian era still exist today. But Grundberg warns us the works are not about rejecting modernism for these earlier ways, but to acknowledge that such ideas and styles have survived and entered the modernism of today. The review then overviews some of their work show, many of which go along with what Grundberg eluded to before: pointing out how the past has survived into the present. Grundberg also seems to indicate that the duo is also trying to convey some humor in this, by mentioning that they dress the part of earlier time periods and sign everything with years that predate this century, even though the actual works were made within 5 years of the the due working together, with both men being only in their 30's. Grundberg concluded, that while at first their art is able to take one back to the time, the anachronistic element of it tends to undermine the immersiveness of bringing one back to 1850, and the photos begin to lack their original substance.

My response:
While I was not able to find images from the exhibition, I was able to find current photography from David McDermott and Peter McGough. Their work, however, is very similar to what Grundberg said: old style photos that deal with the identities and style of the past. Their more recent photographic works deal with the 1950s, in which they photography what people looked and dressed like, as well as how they interacted. Initially, in contrast to how Grundberg felt about their exhibit, I found these photos very compelling, as if they have sucked me back to 1950. The subject matter of the photos themselves are very convincing in depicting what people from 1950 were like. However, if I were to not know when these photos are taken, I'd say they truly were from 1950. But in realizing the photos are not, they do serve to show how things from the 1950s pop up in our everyday culture. At the same time, however, it takes away from the realism and immersion the photos once had. It seems their photos here, much like the ones Grundberg looked at, have the same problem: they can't convey the ideas locked within without taking the viewer out of the scene. The is no happy medium between immersion and convention; it seems you either can only appreciate the photo or appreciate the idea. My opinion is that this is due to the fact that the photos mimic the actual photographs of the past so well, they look just like any other photo from the time, and without prior knowledge that takes us out of the photos we cannot obtain the ideas conveyed in these pictures. This seems to be an example of how perfection is not obtained by taking the perfect photo.

Images by David McDermott and Peter McGough

Source of review: http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/30/arts/review-art-in-an-archaic-manner-with-modern-overtones.html?ref=andy_grundberg

Lightning, Chicago

Nothing shows off the true power of nature better than lightning. The combination of heat and energy becoming too unstable to exist results in a static charge that is an impressive display of light. This natural array of power is contrasted by the display of power that mankind puts forth, that of civilization and innovation. While nature shows off in the background, the city of Chicago below stands as a tribute of what humans are capable of: large metallic skyscrapers that rise to the limits of technology to touch the sky, all while showing off their own light. The Sears Tower rises higher then any other, and the light at the top itself looks as if it is lightning too. What this picture portrays with this, is an element of "ying and yang" in which the power of nature is contrasted and balanced out by the power of humans. The photograph itself conveys the idea that we, as humans, are powerful, but our power is counterbalanced by that of the natural world.

Artist: A. Rodriguez

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/lightning-sears-tower-chicago/

Pere Ubu

The perspective of an image can make all the difference. One such example is seen in this photo: an armadillo looks as if it is a visitor from another planet. Good use of vantage point is clearly seen here, and the result is "out of this world" (pun intended). This photo really shows off the ability to completely change our perspectives on something through nothing more then changes the location of the camera. I find that the use of vantage point in general is what separates photography from other arts: the ability to show how the real world can look so much different if we just change our perspective of the subject.

Artist: Dora Maar

Source: http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/maar1.html

Buzz Off

To be honest, I hate bugs. A lot. But they're important in pollinating plants. It helps to keep plant species around by moving on their reproductive cycles. Without them, crops would quickly turn to nothing and we would all starve. So, whether we like them or not bees and other arthropods are vital to our lives being what they are. This picture catches such a pivotal process in a remarkable way: a single bee is shown up close, shrouded in pollen. Not only is it a remarkable process, but in this photo it is shown off in a way one could never imagine. This photo pays tribute to something thats not only important to, but often overlooked, in everyday life.

Artist: Boris Godfroid

Source: http://www.life.com/image/ugc1131231/in-carousel/13771

Oblivion

I think a hard thing to do in photography is to utilize a long exposure well. Here though, is a perfect example where something as simple as a boardwalk ride can become art through the use of photographic skill. The long exposure in combination with the neon lights and the movement of the ride creates a wondrous effect. However, it doesn't convey much or hold much symbolism. Regardless, it still a very beautiful picture that is only possible by a very skilled photographer.

Artist: Andrew Dunn

Source: http://www.andrewdunnphoto.com/

Cows, Netherlands

Well, they're cows, that's for sure. But it seems the photographer came at the right time, when they all lined up on the side of a river. The water is perfectly still, allowing for a mirror reflection. Enhanced by the beautiful weather and the vibrant colors of the Netherlands' country side, it's just a very beautiful picture. Even the cows themselves have a certain beauty to them, as strange as it sounds, but it's as if they came together to bring about a true Kodak moment. According to the photographer this shot was not staged, but rather the elements came together at the right time, as if nature itself created the scene to be recorded on film.

Artist: Jorinde van Ringen

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/

Sunlight and Fog, Spain

On the rooftop of a mausoleums, the sun shines dimly through a sheet of haze. The shadow on the back of the crosses give them a ethereal and superior stature. These are words we commonly do not associate with a all-powerful and merciful figure such as the Christian God, however, the idea conveyed in this photo implies otherwise. God itself, despite what we claim to know about it, is not a well known entity, and it is up to us to interpret what the word "God" really means. The interpretation given through the symbolism of this photo is one of God having both status and otherworldly properties. I doubt this is an idea held by most Christians, but I think it is definitely one not given enough consideration. What also adds to the effect of the photo is that repetition plays a key role: such an idea doesn't come on the first viewing of it, but instead through constant and repeated analysis.

Artist: Jim Richardson

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/sunlight-fog-spain/

Smoke Stacks, Iowa

In my experience, many people find industial structures revolting; a fungus that has taken over what was once nature. However, I think there are aesthetic qualities to industial sites, although they are much different, that we often do not see. However, in this photo featured by National Geographic, we are taken to a river, which has a large industrial complex on the other side that is breathtaking. We see that it is night, and the lights that lines the complex are being reflected off the water's edge. But what really makes the picture so beautiful are the streams of smoke that fill the night. It seems the photographer took a long exposure of the scene, making each steam stack meld into itself to form a string of arcane masses. I think the effect is really cool, and goes to show how industry has its own special beauty, especially when it is seen at the right time.

Artist: Kyle Jeffery

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/smoke-stacks-iowa/#caption

Indiana Slate Quarry Workers

Not exactly the miners you would see today, but this photo does justice to depict what life underground was like. Two miners stand, dressed in tattered clothing, and look off into the distance with nothing but a torch lamp. The one with the lamp is fixated on some object not within our view, while the other with a pipe looks towards the camera itself. Both have little emotion in their faces. Combined with the black and white color scheme, it comes together to form a representation of what a miner's life would have been like towards the beginning of the 20th century. The wear-and-tear of a miner's life has turned these men into emotionless zombies, set on exploring the man-built caves. The gaze of the one miner not looking at the camera gives the feeling that he may have found something important, but his emotionless face hints towards the fact that an underground life brings a jaded, indifferent attitude towards anything. I think this photo really speaks of the hardships and psychological effects of living a miner's life.

Source: http://iheartphotograph.com/

Artist: Erin Jane Nelson

Explosion C

Well I just like explosions, which is what first drew me to choosing this photo to post on. I think between the destructiveness and high energy combustion, there's a certain feeling of awe that comes with watching explosions. Maybe I'm a closet pyromaniac, but there's just something fascinating about them. The photo itself catches such an event in its prime: smoke rising from a tower of flames, with a base of sheer energy spitting fire and rock in all directions. While it may not do it the ultimate justice of seeing an explosion take place in front of you, it still stands as an testament to a beautiful, yet violent phenomena.

Artist: Christian Weber

Source: http://www.christianweber.net/image.php?thePage=work&id=266

The candle's reflection.

This photo has some really cool effects going on, which is what caught my eye. The candle to the right is burnt out and smoke rises from it. Next to it, there is a mirror, which holds the ghostly image of the reflection of the candle when it was once lit. The dark and deep atmosphere set by the black and white scheme, in combination with the "dead" candle letting off a stream of smoke and the phantasmal reflection of how it once burned brightly gives the feeling of depression and remembrance. It is as if the candle itself had a life to it, in which it was once alive burning brilliantly, but now no more. The candle lives on as a sad apparition of its formal glory. All the candle can do now is look on into the past and look at what it once was. I believe what makes this picture successful is that it conveys an idea we can all relate to: reflecting onto our former glories when our own light tends to burn out. When we reflect upon our lives and what has happened, at some point we look on into our reflections as burnt out candles, seeing in ourselves what we used to be, and remember how we used to be on fire in our own way.

Source: http://iheartphotograph.com/

Artist: Caleb Charland