If you don’t know much about me by now, you should know that I am a photography major with a second concentration in art history (and maybe history if time permits). Photography is my passion and what I want to base my career around. When I was in high school i took a couple of photography classes and I got hooked. While in one of these photography classes I had to do a project on a famous photographer. I had to do a report and take photos that are like their style. I was given the artist Ansel Adams. At first I was like “oh great, here is another stupid report I have to do”, but then the more research I did the quicker I realized how much I admired Ansel Adams and how I wished I could possess even an ounce of his talent. If you don’t know much about Ansel Adams I will give a quick summary. Ansel Adams was a photographer from the late 20’s until his death in the 80’s. He traveled to different national parks in the US and captured the nature in such a way that very few could. Many of his photographs are from the National Parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite. Now, I got to say, I went to both those parks and tried to capture the nature as he did…it was not easy. Anyways, he is my hero and my inspiration. After reading his biographies and analyzing his photographs I have come to the conclusion that I too want to travel, see the world, and record it the way I see it. I came across this quote by Ansel Adams and it is very true to not only photography, but all art, whether being a visual, literary, or theatrical art.
There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.
This quote will be the foundation of my work. There is no point in me traveling and seeing the world and just snapping photos at what I think is “pretty”. This quote makes me think of when you read a book, and all it contains is word after word of fluff and no meaning. It’s like when you find one of those authors and all they do is substitute any small word with a larger word because they think it makes them sound more intelligent, when in reality they are just a poor writer. I don’t want to be like this shitty writer. When someone looks at my photography, or any art for that matter, I want them to experience it as if they were there. When I travel, I don’t want my photographs just to look like they belong in a text book and just get looked over as being another ruin or mountain or river. I don’t want to throw in a cute kid in the composition just because it’s a cute kid, and lets face it, people like what is cute or pretty. I got to say, I think it’s going to be tough not just taking a photo for the sake of how it looks, its going to be a challenge…but I am determined to do so. Like Ansel Adams I will travel and capture what I think beauty truly is. Whether it is nature or graffiti in a ghetto, pretty or ugly, light hearted or sad, my photographs will all share one thing. They will share that one thing that makes them strong and stand out and what Ansel Adams considers most important. They will contain a strong concept behind a sharp image.
Challenge: #1 July 8 3:59 pm
