My friend and I are doing an art-cooperative of sorts.
We both love photography, and actually own the exact same camera body. We also have been wanting both motivation and feedback about our photography.
So, we developed a Plan.
Over the course of each month, we create a collection of 5-10 photographs that are thematically linked in some way. Then, at the end of the month, we email them to each other. Then, we look at each other's pictures and send back a helpful, thoughtful critique email.
Due to the power outages at the beginning of the month, we've already ran into some snags. However, I have high hopes for this exchange. I long for thoughtful, in-depth critique of photography. Outside of art-school, it's kind of a foreign concept.
Eventually, we hope to turn our photo exchanges into a blog with picture and critique posts.
So here's my artist's statement for my June collection:
"I decided to explore a certain kind of still life that I've been setting up for some time. They've always been interesting, but not quite interesting enough. I think of them as "isolations."
The
"isolation" tends to be one or two objects against a textured
background, usually a chunk of sidewalk. They also frequently involve
something translucent, like a plastic bag or a glass. As I explored and
examined the photos, both past ones, and new ones, I found that the
background textured object is at least as important as the subject, if
not more so. I hadn't consciously realized this before. Also, the
photos that most clearly fit (into the category and with each other) were
all earth
tones.
As I kept photographing, I found that there was a group of photos that
almost fit the profile, but somehow defied it. They had more color and
more energy, while still isolating an object against a background and
examining the textures of the objects. Perhaps the shift from
winter/spring to summer just makes the pictures naturally more juicy.
I'm not sure. On the whole, these pictures were more interesting. So I
shifted my concentration, and shot for this series instead, to complete
it most successfully."So, that's what I set out to do. I would love to know your thoughts about the collection. Leave a comment or shoot me an email!
