On Things That Are Not Humans

I'm probably so keen on the human element in photos because I'm so much of an extrovert when it comes to interacting with people. Sometimes when I look at photos whose focus isn't on people, or photos where people are entirely absent, and I feel a sense of loneliness from them.

The photographs that I shoot of landscapes or objects do feel lonely to me, but I don't think that it takes away from the composition at all. It certainly feels less hectic than when I'm photographing people; there's little sense of movement or urgency. Sometimes it's a good thing to have this sense of peacefulness that you don't sometimes get from people. 

Small Kids

Kids are great, man. They make for photos that are wholly different than adults; they have a (usually) very honest expression and posture, even when I ask them to pose/smile for a picture.

Something I've been having trouble with is trying to get on their level to take a photograph; sometimes' I'd have to crouch down to angle up the shot a little better. When I'm on the street, it draws more attention to me, and it can take the subject out of the moment to notice me. But even then, those can make for interesting photographs.

Small Things

Taken with my zoom lens

Taken with 50mm lens

I wanna try experimenting with macro photography for a critique sometime.There's so much we can miss out on if we aren't looking for it.

The zoom lens that I use seems more suited for macro, with the variable zoom, so i don't have to be so close as to disturb whatever I'm taking a picture of.

Experimenting

Lately I've been finding myself messing around with Photoshop, experimenting with different ways to adjust my photos.

Seeing the multiple exposure photo series in our class really got me thinking of ways that I can manipulate my photos. Looking through tutorials online, I was surprised at how in-depth some of them are, going through many, many steps. The end results of these pictures prompted me to rethink my definition of what "photography" means to me.

These were portrait photographs. But how far can you edit, and mess around with the picture, until it wasn't photography anymore? I used to think that any post-editing at all would violate what a photograph is entirely, becoming just an image instead; it was a very elitist view, really. 

Thinking about it reminded me of the photographer Man Ray, and his nude portrait Le Violon d'Ingres where he painted marks onto his photographic prints, and then photographing the image itself. His was a process different from conventional photography and of editing. But there wasn't a doubt in my mind that his photograph was indeed a photograph. 

I have since, thankfully, reversed my view, and often post-edit my phot

Le Violon d'Ingres, 1924