My work and where its going...

I would love advice...any ideas to mix things up and see where things go?

Good ol' Goethe

If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse. However, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that. - Goethe, German author

All of us need to remind each other of this and push towards our goal! Let's kick some a&$!!

http://www.featureshoot.com/

http://www.featureshoot.com/

check out Oliver Schwarzwald

All of you should really check out the link Shane posted I have found so many stimulating artists (like Oliver and Evi)!!!

Congrats...

I just wanted to say congratulations to all of the seniors who have had their senior art shows out of our Intermediate and Advanced classes so far! Matt, Monica, Jacki, Chris, Sam and Andrea, you guys have done fantastic and have represented your artwork and your processes so well!!

Naho Kubota

What is meditative photography? What does it do for the viewer? Does it act as simply a calming agent, or does it draw more emotion than that?

I have recently been drawn to more meditative work than I would normally enjoy. Maybe this has to do with the hectic-ness of my art right now. But I think it is important to recognize and appreciate all ways that photos are shot. So I am currently appreciating more meditative work. By meditative I mean no object in clear description, more work with light and especially color rathre than a clear concept. I would consider some landscape work categorized as such also. But I question if work such as this can be consistent and strong for a large series, or does the effect sort of fade after a few?

Work such as this, that is more concentrated in color and light makes me think of Chris' work that he recently put into his show. The ones of simple color (sorry I can't remember the name- don't hate me). But his work is an example of not literal or conceptual, in the form of recogition of space or shape. But work such as this for me sometimes makes me feel so emotional just from the interaction of colors that it becomes mezmerising and wonderful.

Can work such as this be paired with clearly staged photos? I do think that specific colors draw certain emotions, so could this impact how we see these in a series, etc? I cannot explain quite why I am drawn to this imagery, but I would like to know what others think.

I know that was more than one quesiton but I'm just trying to figure it out for myself. Is the process of creating this work, as opposed to more staged photos different? How?

For Now...

yesssss

I have been waiting for this for a long time. The Impossible Project is finally revealing their new polaroid film this week, and making it available on their online store!

http://shop.the-impossible-project.com/shop/film/sx70/fi_sx70_1_px100_ff

Hell. Yes.

That being said. I would like to reiterate what I keep saying: Pick the right format for what you are trying to accomplish... Better yet, always be ready - and carry SOMETHING on you that you are able to snap photos with. You never know when a situation may present itself to you. Even if it is for the mere purpose of documentation or "journaling" your ideas. Just always be taking notes in any form.

David Guttenfelder is an Associated Press photographer currently stationed in Afganistan. Guttenfelder shoots with his normal gear, but he has taken up a personal project - documenting "normalcy" during his downtime. The catch is - he is using his iPhone. I find this fascinating because I have been doing the same type of thing lately. Not so much for professional photography, but mostly for ideas. I have found my photographs to be more natural and dramatic in this form. There are different things that you can do to manipulate your photography with a nice camera, but if you are trying to shoot something that is a little lo-fi why not just use something a little more "lo-fi". Just a thought, but one to seriously consider. Of course it is important to know how to use an SLR and understand how they work, but you should be aware that there are always different ways to arrive at a good photograph or body of photographs.

check out his slideshow HERE