Gallery Photographers Image City Feature Articles
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All images copyright by the individual photographers The Grand by Dick Beery This is a truly impressive print that evokes the power and majesty of a mountain edifice cloaked in autumn’s early snowfall, a veritable giant, surveying the distant meadows and trees, whilst assessing its own strength and resolve in preparation for the mighty winter forces that are yet to come. What really excites me about this print is the viewpoint from which the artist has framed the picture. With such scenic splendor that one would rationalize is surely evident in this picturesque western landscape, the majority of photographers would use a wide-angle approach to incorporate perhaps a lake, river, autumnal foliage, etc, as the foreground to the impressive mountain range. The end result is almost inevitably a pretty, picture postcard. Shifts in viewpoint can dramatically alter the feel of a photograph and can contribute emotional and aesthetic characteristics. In this image, Dick probably used a telephoto lens to highlight the impressive magnificence of the mountain, whilst also including the line of trees in the foreground to give a sense of scale and three dimensionality. A great asset was that the trees were in full autumnal splendor, providing the viewer with a lustrous colorscape of yellows and oranges in particular, beautifully complementing the deep blue sky that peeks through the somewhat menacing clouds. The detail on the mountain slopes of groups of evergreens, snow trails, jagged rock outcrops and dislocations is exceptional, detail which would be completely lost in wide-angle shots. The Grand exemplifies mountain grandeur and scenic splendor, together with a reverence and awe that only nature can provide, and only a talented artist could capture. Bright Light I have long been an ardent admirer of Nancy’s poignant images taken inside derelict mental asylums, and Bright Light is another sublime example from this talented artist, of her devotion and passion for capturing such moving settings. The photographer Jeff Berner, describes conscious camerawork as an unobstructed communion between self and the environment, and this very moving print is a great example of this philosophy. The starkness and abandonment are ardently documented, from the decaying windows, walls and ceiling all the way to the crumbling floor, littered with dirt and debris. Into these ravaged surroundings our attention is drawn to a solitary rusted bed frame, together with a corroded doctor’s weight scale, complete with balance weights and a device for recording a patient’s height. This scale frighteningly stands like a tall sentinel, ominously surveying its surroundings, a silent witness no doubt to countless years of sadness and depression. Although the power of this photograph is from memory and emotion, we are happily awakened from our disillusionment by the bright shafts of light coming through the large windows, casting distinctive patterns on the floor and far wall. Through the timeworn window panes, one can vaguely make out some forms of vegetation, which must have been a welcomed sight to the patients who visited this room, however infrequently. The strong lighting invigorates and awakens this neglected and forsaken room, giving temporary respite for a part of a building which surely will be demolished in the near future. I am left after admiring this impressive image, so creatively photographed by the author, with the memory that although the patients who resided here experienced much suffering and traumatic episodes in their lives, that each time they came to this room, when the sun was shining as we see it here, the glorious, warming rays did give some comfort, hope and peace to many of them. Forest Fire by Angela Possemato It is well known that viewers reconstruct photographs in ways that are individually meaningful to themselves, and that they project their own imagination to see what they want to see. In Angela’s excellent print, there is a reawakening of a sense of wonder as to what one would see and experience if they were in close proximity to a real forest fire. You can almost feel the heat, smell the acrid odors, and imagine the terror and sadness as some of nature’s beautiful achievements are rapidly consumed and destroyed by nature itself. Although some fires are the result of human interference, invariably they are part of nature’s renewal process, and hopefully, from the conflagration we are witnessing here, a new forest will eventually emerge. In this impressive print, the color palette is resplendent with a glorious range of hues that truly represent the striking colors experienced in real woodland infernos. Probably invoking some digital artistry, the author has done a superb job in rendering the undergrowth, grasses and background trees in a dramatic way, that gives a marvelous representation of flames and burning debris twisting and dancing in the updrafts in a very believable forest fire. The tree trunks appear as strong and resilient sentinels, whilst the flames dance around them, forever hopeful that they will survive, and not end up as blackened hulks after the fire moves on. This is a delightful and imaginative forest-scape, imposingly captured and creatively printed. Table for Two by John Solberg This is a striking B/W image, superbly seen, captured and printed, that is one of the most outstanding examples that I have ever seen that is illustrative of photography being creative art. I am reminded of a thought-provoking statement from Dizzy Gillespie, who when asked where his jazz came from, replied, “It’s out there, man, don’t you hear it?” Meaningful art is mind changing, and Table for Two reawakens our sense of wonder with photography. The artist has imaginatively divided the print in half by using a powerful diagonal feature; where the top portion is an intense black, allowing the dynamic lighting to solely illuminate the lower half. Into a dramatic foreground of the intersecting diagonals of floor tiles, there are two elegant chairs positioned around a small circular table. These three modern metallic elements have design and form that is truly especial , revealing an infinite variety of curved features that contrast so elegantly with the straight geometrical lines of the tiles. The interplay of all the creative curves and lines would alone be fascinating, but into this stellar arena, the powerful directional lighting reveals detail and splendor that is unsurpassed. Onto the floor tiles whose lustrous grey tones shimmer and glow revealing beautiful textured detail, the resplendent lighting creates powerful, mesmerizing shadow patterns of the table and chairs, artistic mirror images in dark relief. The end-result is an imposing and compelling print that is simply outstanding. The one corollary that I would personally add, is that the finished product should not be disturbed in any way. By that, I mean no human intervention should be allowed to disturb the balance and harmony of this dynamic scene, for even in the most fertile imagination, no one should be allowed to sit at this table. by Ed Welch | ||||||||||||
Image City Photography Gallery ♦ 722 University Avenue ♦ Rochester, NY 14607 ♦ 585.271.2540 In the heart of ARTWalk in the Neighborhood of the Arts |