Solitude

Loneliness is something everyone feels at some point in their lives and I consider it a very beautiful and complex emotion. It can be expressed in many ways and can take on disguises. My images explore the different aspects of solitude, some obvious, some not so obvious. Solitude can be expressed through a fiery sunset, refection in a cemetery, a lone ride on the swing, a lone bird flying through a blue see of sky. I think solitude can be found in each of my images, but it may be buried under the more obvious emotional responses.

Lone Bird

Lost Boy

Forgotten Car

Cemetery Girl

Untitled 

Spirited Ocean

Uncertain Vision

Pipe Dreams

Lost Rope

Fading Sun

Soul Swinger

Nowhere Tracks

Wavering Tree

Rain Blades

Ponderous Man

Get Closer

Leon Bonnat Roman Girl at a Fountain

Leon Bonnat’s, Roman Girl at a Fountain, is the first detailed image I shot. I took a couple shots of the girl’s head looking toward the water and a few close up of her hands on the fountain. I ended up using the photograph focusing on the girl’s head because it captures the mood and energy of the image much better. What originally drew me to this image was it’s immense detail. It is a very large painting and every part of it possesses immense detail as can be best seen from the girl’s face and the flow of the water.

Anish Kapoor Untitled

The second piece I chose to photograph is an untitled work by Anish Kapoor. It is a big concave lens covered in thousands of tiny mirrors that create a profound effect on images reflected in it. As I as taking pictures of the reflections, a fascinated little boy started looking at it and was amazed by how many eyes he had. I snapped a photograph of him studying it and this was the result. I thought it captured the essence of the piece really well.

Andy Warhol Still Life

My third photograph is of Andy Warhol’s work called Still Life. The bright reds and contrasting white background mixed with stunning social commentary is what drew me to this image. The full painting is a still life of two tools from a hardware store washed out with bright red. The tools are a hammer and sickle, the symbol of communism. The red also adds to the communistic feel of the painting. I found it interesting that it is a still life and I wanted to focus on the fact that they are real tools.

Philip Guston Stationary Figure

My forth photograph is of a painting by Philip Guston called Stationary Figure. Th whole painting is a man laying down smoking a cigarette. I liked the cartoonish look of the whole thing as well as the melancholy feel of the painting. I chose to photograph the smoke rising from the cigarette as my focus because it gives the feel of the painting but also leaves mystery to what it is about.

Auguste Rodin Cupid and Psyche

My fifth and favorite photograph is of the sculpture Cupid and Psych by Auguste Rodin. I chose to photograph the close up faces of the smaller figures in the sculpture because they show the tenderness and passion that is common throughout the sculpture. It also shows the beauty and detail of the sculpture as a whole.

Something to look at...

Narrative

For my photography class we were instructed to take pictures inspired by narrative painters. This was a tough assignment for me. I didn't know any narrative painters and I never really take narrative or staged pictures so the whole experience was a bit new to me. After browsing the web for a bit, I discovered that certain portraits are considered narrative. Using this new information I found two Picasso paintings that fit as a narrative, but could also relate to me. The original paintings and the photograph depicting the painting are shown below. The one I am most pleased with is the second one, "The Drinker". I feel like i captured the mood of the painting much better than in the first one, "The Guitar Player".

"The Guitar Player's Brother" Brian Tragno

"The Guitar Player" Pablo Picasso

"The Drinker" Pablo Picasso

"The Wino" Brian Tragno

We also had to create our own narrative photographs. This added even more to the challenge of this assignment. What I came up with are three different stories and the photographs to go along with them. This first picture has a rather elaborate story about a killer who seems cold blooded to the police who are chasing him, but in reality, he is tortured by the murders he has been forced to commit. In this photograph he has just committed another murder and sits devastated on the bathroom floor trying to cope with the horror of killing the woman he loved.

This second photograph deals with what we see of a person when you first meet them. It can be compared to an iceberg where you see what's above the surface but that is only a small percentage of how deep it actually goes. I is the same when you meet someone. You only know the smallest percentage about them and many times that is how people are judged even though their personalities run much deeper.

Tattoos are a way for people to express their likes and passions. They also tell a story. If you meet someone with a lot of tattoos you can probably get their life story simply by asking about their tattoos. They are bookmarks in our lives. They also are a great source of mystery. That's why this picture tells a story, it leaves you wondering why she has these tattoos and what the story is behind them.

People and Places

 Photographs have the amazing ability to capture expressions. There are subtle and often unnoticeable nuances that can only be seen in freeze frame. This can most notably be seen in candid portraits such as this one of Steve on the right and Jamie below. I captured this image of Steve as he was concentrating on his computer. He is biting his lower lip and pinching his eyebrows slightly, two things I have never noticed before. After examining this image, I realize that Steve actually makes this pose quite a bit and I just never realized it until it was captured in my camera. The image of Jamie below shows the same type of subtle expression you normally don't think to notice because it's such a common occurrence.

Taking pictures of spaces in winter is no easy task, especially when the weather is bad and the lighting is poor. I was along for a ride with my camera and was taking pictures out the window. The sun was going down and a snow storm was moving in. I took the picture below as we drove and I thought it captured how hectic it can be before a big snow storm. Everyone is always rushing to get food and supplies in anticipation of being snowed in for a day or two. The image below was taken the day after the snowstorm when the sun was up but it was bitterly cold. I thought the image captured the warmth and comfort of being inside after being out shoveling or sledding all day.

Point of View

Photography is a lot about different point of views. An object, person, or place can take on a completely different personality when the way you look at it is changed. Changing point of view can also show the full meaning behind and object and its relation of other object that are around it or interact with it. To demonstrate this I took an object that I used quite often, but also take for granted, the controller for my Wii. I enjoy a game of Goldeneye every now and again and I think the gold controller that came with the game is a very interesting looking object that deserved some attention that doesn't involved my sweaty palms.

Photographic Inspiration

The early morning sun in Hampi, a town in central India filled with
ancient Hindu temples and a rock strewn landscape.

What originally inspired me to capture photographs was a study abroad program I went on to India and the journey I took to Nepal. Some of the people and places I saw are just so incredibly beautiful, it would be a shame not to photograph them. Even though photographs can't possibly capture the full beauty of these places, they give a glimpse into this amazing area of the world and hopefully inspire others to discover it themselves. I realized this amazing power of photography when I was there and aimed to capture every possible scene that I could with my little point and shoot Canon. These few photographs are only a very small percentage of what I shot while abroad, but they are some of my favorites.

View of the Himalayas from Annapurna Base Camp in Nepal.

Trains are the best way to travel in India. This was shot while traveling in the early dawn on the way to the seaside town of Colva.

An old man begging at a tourist attraction in Mysore. Scenes like this make you painfully aware of India's widespread poverty.