This creative project explores the unique characteristic of the photographic medium, along with what it means to cultivate a “photographer’s eye.” This project is a challenge: make a photograph of something no one has ever photographed before.
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To be honest I never really gave photography of any kind the credit it deserves until this creative project. I have always used photography in my work, either original photo's or stock images, but it was only a starting point. After seeing some of the pieces in the Artforms it became more clear that photography as a medium has merit. I especially like Louis Jacques Daguerre's LeBoulevard du Temple. I can't really explain why it grabs my attention so much, it just does.
I don’t believe photos to be a factual capture of any event. While they say a photo is worth a thousand words it's imposable to see a photo as fact without the words to accompany it. A photo is only part of the story. What about the context of the photo, why was it taken, who took the photo, what happened right before and after the photo...I think you see my point. While photographs are a great way to capture events and subjects in great detail, that doesn't make them fact, just very detailed images.
I have always had a hard time looking at photos in a subjective manner, not to say that all photos are objective. When I see a stunning image of nature I find it hard to see more than just a photo. I see the beauty that exists in the nature itself regardless of what the artist has done to get that particular image. While I can admit that it is art I just don’t "see" it the way that would give the artist credit for being there.
Seeing photography subjectively becomes easier when images are used to make larger pieces like Zoe Leonard's You see I am here after all. The way the postcards were used to make a larger piece grabs the viewers attention in a way that a single photo couldn't do. When looking at Andreas Gursky's Stateville Illinois I again find it very hard to see more than a photo, but I do find myself giving it more than an occasional glance. Something about it requires more attention, but I still just can't see it as art.
For my creative project challenge I decided to try to photograph a passing day. After 3 days of shooting and a few hours with Photoshop the results turned out okay. I would not call this my best work, but I am pretty happy with the results. All photo's were captured from right outside my home in Red Bluff, CA. I did use one stock image of space clouds to emphasize the upper right corner.
