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| Longmont, Colorado 1973 |
The power of the viewing eye is a
significant one. When it comes to the ability to understand what can make a
good photograph and the exact way to go about the taking of the image requires a
certain set of skills within the viewing eye. Every photographer has this
ability. In Robert Adams’ piece, Why
People Photograph, his breakdown of what the capacity and skill that makes
up a photographer and the photographs that they take are crucial when
understanding not only the power that each individual photographer has, but
also what a photographer isn’t fully aware of these existing traits that can be see through there work.
When
we look at the distinguished art of photography, Adams' acknowledges that art
builds off photography because photography is an “alive” art form. This is the
most distinctive feature of photography. It is the ability to capture a moment.
A real life moment that will fade an instant later. I believe that is one of
the most powerful attributes that a photograph can have. In a well-composed,
beautiful image, a period of time is instantly preserved. Time is an element
that will never remain the same. By viewing a collection of photographs that
are from a certain era, the viewer can almost instantly be transported back to
a point in history that only a limited audience experienced, the photographer
and the subject. When examining a photograph, you are placing yourself behind
the lens. This is an additional characteristic that a photographer should
cherish, by displaying their work, they are the allowing the viewer to look
through the eyes of another.
Adams’
continues in his piece to discuss that the whole being depicted may never be
understood. When I view my work and the photographs I take, the idea that
Adams’ is emphasizing of the misunderstood whole is pivotal to my photographic expression.
As a photographer, my drive is to produce images that I not only see in my
head, but also through my viewfinder, and that are being successfully captured
for the very purpose of not only the ability of a photograph to represent a
time and a feeling, but also to take those two elements and create a whole within
them. When one views a photograph, as a whole, before the break down of the
separate entities that make up the photo and it’s specific elements that are
forming the expression and purpose, the first glance has such a strong impact. A
misunderstood photograph can provide depth, but to perceive the whole of the
image in an accurate and viable way, I believe allows and even more concrete understanding
of the representation and then an expansion on the theory can occur.
Another element
that Adam’s emphasizes, is the diminished respect for the monograph. I believe
the monograph in the artist and photographer world is incredibly important. When
I view my photographic work, as Adam’s
states in the beginning of this piece, the influence of other
photographer’s works is incredibly influential and essential to knowing and
understanding what makes a good photograph and what distinctive characteristics
can add to it. When I view pieces by Adam’s I can understand them, see them for
what they are, be transported to the time period, and attempt to take his
distinguished attributes and transform them into my work. A very powerful ability
that all photographers have and can develop from examining the works of others.
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| Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1968 |
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| Pines Peak, Colorado Springs, Colorado 1969 |
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| Longmont, Colorado, ca. 1982 |
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