The Ordover Gallery: The San Diego Natural History Museum

The exhibit "Photography at the Poles" was my favorite one of the three that we were to go see. My favorite pictures to take are of the outdoors, in secluded territories, and when you are able to photograph such interesting animal life, it really adds to the images. My favorite pictures in the gallery did not include wildlife within the image, they were more architectural creations in nature. The pieces were by Bill Atkinson and were titled "Blue Wall" and "Ice Floe." Like the image I chose at the Museum of Photographic Arts, I felt these pieces created a certain mood that was not as apparent in the other photographs. I would love to be able to take a trip to such a secluded area, especially one like the poles where the colors are so unique to that type of climate. Polar photography seems to be able to capture a certain color of blue that you can not see anywhere else.

The Museum of Photographic Arts

I was able to go down to Balboa park this past Sunday, and explored The Museum of Photographic Arts, a museum that I have not previously visited. I saw a lot of great images, but the one that caught my attention the most was called "Ariel view: Downed trees - 8 miles NW of Mt. St. Helens, Washington," by Frank Gohlke; 1981. I really liked the mood of the piece, it was absent of people, and just showed this entire mountainside that had been obliterated by the eruption. I liked looking at many of the other pieces but this was the only one that created the feeling that I like in a picture.

Cannon Art Gallery

I just got back from the Cannon Art Gallery in Carlsbad. I have been there several times before, but it is a very nice gallery to see again. I missed the photography exhibit, but the paintings/mixed media that were on display were very impressive. My favorite pieces were those done by Sandra Sallin, which were graphite on strathmore. The were simple, but very clean images of white roses against a black background. The roses were drawn to a larger scale than they would normally grow, and this created a very interesting composition. Her pieces seemed to be the closest to the type of pictures that I like to take.

Digital Arts Competition

Below are the images I submitted to the digital arts competition at the school. All three were printed to a 9x18 inch size. The one in the middle won one of the three first prizes.

Diane Willow

I enjoyed the presentation by the visiting artist Diane Willow. I really liked how she was using very advanced technology to create her pieces. She would use motion sensors to follow the visitors in her installations, touch sensitive technology to activate certain machinery in others, and she even raised her own bio-luminescent plankton and set it's schedule to the opposite of normal; this way visitors in the day could see the plankton illuminate on their natural clock which is typically at night. I also liked the metal rocking chair type sculpture, in which it was a large metal spiral, with two seats that sat next to each other, but with the person's heads sitting on opposite ends, so they could carry a conversation if they so chose. Her work wasn't primarily of a sort that was easily relatable to what we do in our class, but she did go over some of her process that I think we were all able to relate to in some way. Sometimes she had an idea that was thought up before construction, and sometimes she had the material she wanted to use, and the project was born out of that. Overall it was an enjoyable presentation.

Jim Brandenburg

After last week I thought I enjoyed Richard Misratch's photography the most out of the artists we have viewed; and then we watched the biography on Jim Brandenburg. I really enjoyed the video on his book and hearing his process of taking several of the photos in his 90 day endeavor. The discipline that he showed in limiting himself to one photograph a day is unbelievable. I can't imagine trying to take an interesting photograph everyday, but only allowing yourself one exposure. As far as content goes, the type of photographs he took are the kind that I enjoy looking at the most, and also the kind that I strive to take when I am out taking pictures. I love to go out to the desert or the mountains and take pictures of the environment with no people around. I've always wanted to be able to take photographs of wildlife, but it is hard to encounter them on your schedule; It took Jim Brandenburg living in the wilderness for a number of years before the wolf population in the area started to trust him enough to come close so he could photograph them. I would really like to see more on this artist and hope to be able to get his book.

Richard Misrach

Up to this point in the class, this is the photographer whose pictures I like the most, and whose work I feel I can relate to the most. My favorites were of the nighttime images with unusual lighting on the subject. I like the dreamlike qualities that were apparent in his images. They were simple, but beautiful. All of his images seemed to communicate a kind of solitude that I seem to identify with. It seems like he is going to these places and spending a couple days there alone taking pictures. Most of his work seemed to be in the outdoors which is what I prefer to photograph, and with the exception of a few images, they were absent of people. I have never been one to photograph people, I'd rather interact with nature in my photographs. Overall I like the fact that he was taking images of real-life places, and through his photographic process, giving them a fantasy/dreamlike quality.