Quotes: Mahatma Gandhi

 Added to June 29, 2017
Jun 292017
 

Sunset Quotes: Mahatma Gandhi

“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” – This line came to mind today for a great reason. Yesterday afternoon Governor Tom Wolf had signed “Libre’s Law” which creates higher standards for the well being of our pets. The law will increase penalties for animal abusers, restricts unhealthy tethering, and grant immunity to many reporting abuse and neglect. It is surely a step in the right direction. Tom Wolf spoke about the law saying: “No one should be allowed to get away with cruel animal treatment. No one should be allowed to get away with the neglect of animals. Now thanks to this statute, they won’t be able to get away with it.”

Inspire: William Henry Fox Talbot

 Added to June 20, 2017
Jun 202017
 

William Henry Fox Talbot, “The Open Door”, 1844

Talbot was the “second” inventor of photography, an early pioneer who invented the Calotype process. The method before him (Daguerreotype) created only one single image, whereas Talbot’s Calotype used a paper negative which could be used to create multiple copies – much like today’s film… Since the process was now reproducible, Talbot came up with the idea to create the first ever photography book he titled “The Pencil Of Nature”, which included 22 handmade prints alongside writings about the medium and its possibilities. In his book, next to this image, he wrote:

“We have sufficient authority in the Dutch school of art, for taking as subjects of representation scenes of daily and familiar occurrence. A painter’s eye will often be arrested where ordinary people see nothing remarkable.”

Fire Escape

 Added to June 11, 2017
Jun 112017
 

A group of fellow photographers came up with the theme “Fire Escape” for this week’s photo. I figured everyone would take the phrase literally and take a walk through the city, however I think it is more interesting to break down the meaning of individual words and redefine what “Fire” and “Escape” could mean together.

Somehow an idea quickly came to me. A body – bent, balanced, and arched – in attempt to escape the burning hot flame of a candle. Visual poetry. Last night (or should I say this morning at 3am) I ended up finally getting the exact pose I was looking for. It’s almost Chakrasana, the yoga pose, but I am not quite flexible enough to get my arms straight out!

Before & After

 Added to June 4, 2017
Jun 042017
 

Photography is generally thought of as a medium that simply copies a moment in time, capturing what the eyes see, however the abilities of the camera greatly surpass this. A long exposure, for example, can record a length of time but compress it down into one single image. This visual compression of time becomes a fascinating form of surrealism.

My goal was to capture the energy and movement of dance, but within one exposure. I put on music and began dancing while taking long exposures of myself (movements were highly inspired by the 2011 music video “Lotus Flower” by Radiohead). One speedlight is randomly flashing a few times on low in order to “freeze” parts of my pose within the blur… Moments of “before” and “after” are happening within a single image that transcends our view of time, the body, and perception.

Inspire: Abelardo Morell

 Added to June 1, 2017
Jun 012017
 

Abelardo Morell, “View Of Central Park Looking North, Fall”, 2008

Morell is a Cuban born Boston based photographer working with the earliest fundamentals of photography: The Camera Obscura. What you see here is not a double exposure or digital trickery, but rather a simple projection of light onto an interior room. When a room is sealed off and a hole is made in the window, the light from outside is projected inside the room… Morell explored the idea of turning spaces all around the world into camera obscuras, and then documented the space. Sometimes he would use a lens to get a sharper image, sometimes a prism to flip the projection right-side-up… I did this to a room of mine back in college and watched upside down people walk across my ceiling. It is quite amusing. See more at http://www.abelardomorell.net/

The Dreaming State