Grab Bag

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via Flickr

Another piece by Ellen Kooi.

Wayne Levin underwater images.

Ellen Kooi

A photographer I've been looking at a lot for inspiration is Ellen Kooi. Her work is very surreal and maintains a very dreamy look. She works with mostly set-up situations, which is not what I like to do, but I think that through looking at this work I've been gaining a better understanding of elements I want to include in my own work. For my final, I want to really focus on making real situations and tangible elements more dreamlike; using something you could ordinarily see, but in a way you ordinarily wouldn't see it. I think Kooi's work is very successful in creating this new reality; the colors and light diffusion are really beautiful and add a lot to the images.

Tierney Gearon

I found Tierney Gearon's book Daddy, Where are You? in the library and was instantly in love with her work. Documenting her mother's battle with mental illness, Gearon captured some really beautiful images. The portraits in particular were really fascinating to me, they all have this really interesting take on human relationships, especially within a family. The images are so wonderfully composed and have a really great use of color and light.

Kipp Wettstein

Kipp Wettstein is a photographer who's work doesn't necessarily pertain to this class, but has a hobby that absolutely does. Growing frustrated with the weight of his view camera, Wettstein desired something more portable, so he designed a lightweight large format camera made of carbon fiber and aluminum. Wettstein on his cameras, from his website:


These camera are really beautiful and portable, with the bodies alone weighing around 4 pounds. He uses quality parts and designed the camera himself. It's really great that someone is doing this, making large formats for a more portable and fast-moving world. With at least six months to wait and (I am assuming) a couple thousand dollars, everyone can easily shoot in large format without any permanent spinal damage!

Brad Carlile

Brad Carlile is a photographer a lot of people have been referring to lately. I've looked at his work before, but this weekend I walked by Hearst Tower, which is heavily advertising the competitors in the Hearst 8x10 Photography Biennial. Carlile's work definitely stands out among others. His use of mixed light as a subject is phenomenal. It's really interesting to me that he photographs such mundane spaces like living rooms and hotel rooms. Carlile's work is not so much about the physical subject, but rather using the colors of light to create a beautiful image. His work is really fascinating, almost unreal, and he is the first to ensure that his viewers are aware of the lack of digital manipulation in these images.

MOMA and related thoughts

Yesterday, I went to MoMA to see the Tim Burton exhibit that's currently showing. It's a really cool and pretty interactive experience, although it was annoyingly crowded, which was expected. There was a lot of really cool stuff, ranging from Burton's childhood journals to sketchbooks to costumes and models from his films. It really is a magical experience and insane to be able to see how much really goes on in that man's head. If you haven't seen it, I strongly urge you go. It's a little pricey unless you're a member, but definitely worth it.
Anyway, after the Burton exhibit, I stopped into the Edward Steichen gallery at MoMa and was really impressed. The work was so widely ranged and really inspiring. They have a lot of early work, from Nadar, Negre, etc. which was really fascinating to see in person, especially after learning about the artists so much in Lenticular Vision. There was a ton of work, mostly older stuff, but there was some newer work and some really cool photo/mixed media pieces.
I'm a really big fan of museums, especially when I get the opportunity to wander around by myself to take notes and think about what it takes to get to that point. This visit was my first to Moma, but definitely won't be the last. There's a Henri Cartier Bresson exhibit opening this spring, which I am most definitely going to check out. Field trip maybe? ;)