Who Cares About Books?

I do!

As for my response:

In the essay, ‘Who Cares About Books?’, author Darius Himes sets out to pinpoint why photobooks are still important in contemporary (digital) culture. For the first few pages, he explains our sentimental, historical, and tactile bonds with books, and why the materiality of a book seems to be of such importance in an age of e-readers. He also traces the impact of books on history, and how they shaped the development of civilization (suffice to say they were integral).  He writes about several “books about books”, the recent publications that select key tomes of importance and investigate the history of the photo book.

In the latter half of the essay he talks about two specific photo books (Bye Bye Photography and A Shimmer of Possibility), comparing and contrasting their qualities and the impact they have on the reader. Following these, he finally explains why we are in the “Golden Age” of the photo book. His theorizes that due to the accessibility of cameras, ease of digital workflow, and presence of many ‘print-on-demand’ companies emerging online, the amount of photo books available on the market will skyrocket, allowing readers greater diversity and artists more options. The ability of the artist to bypass editors, designers, and booksellers allows publication with far more ease, but I must admit, I’m slightly wary. While I think the ability to publish through an online printer such as Blurb is phenomenal, it’s worth noting that the book options of such businesses may lead to a certain homogeneity in photo books- photographers will have to work hard to make sure that their content can work strongly in their limited format options!

Project 1

Custom Camera Profiles Exercise

Uncorrected indoor image

Profile-corrected and edited

Uncorrected outdoor image

Profile-corrected and edited

Old Work/New Inspirations Assignment

In my work, I frequently explore the physical nature of the materials and phenomena we depended (and still depend) upon in photography. I explore via experimentation, applying my accumulated knowledge of chemistry and physics to procedures that I think can produce interesting effects. The project I am the most involved with right now depends upon the deliberate misuse of canned air. By spraying it upside-down, I freeze a variety of light sensitive media and create exposures as the ice recedes, creating a record of both the ice and the mechanical changes that may have been precipitated by the massive temperature fluctuation. I’ve used film and paper extensively, and am currently branching into manipulating wet collodion plates with this technique (which I affectionately refer to as ‘cryogramming’) on both tin and glass. I am pursuing this most rigorously on glass, due to the capability for enlargement; I don’t know yet what a print using a cryographic negative will look like, though I can speculate based on test images I’ve taken of spraying the frost onto a variety of materials to study the patterns. I am trying to better understand the fundamental mechanics of the tools I utilize with so that I can more deeply engage with my darkroom and alternative process work.

I present Alison Rossiter as an artist that I admire, as her work with expired film is similar in it’s exploration of the physical medium. While she simply allows the decay of these materials to speak for themselves and I deliberately abuse the tools I work with, I believe there are congruencies; moreover, I find her work beautiful in it’s simplicity and concept. As the silver in the paper or film she used aged (some being almost a hundred years old!) it lost sensitivity to light, was exposed through leaks, or was damaged via a myriad of other accidents. She also utilizes dipping, painting, and experimentation in the development process which create incredible artifacts and what she describes as “finding” images.

Katherine Carlson, 2014. Cryographic Tintype

Alison Rossiter, 2010. Silver Gelatin Print on expired paper

Project proposal

Project Proposal: Hands

1.       What:

The concept for this work is the use of hands throughout life- not only human life, but other organisms as well. Though a dog might not have “hands” per se, it might use its paws to hold a bone, scratch an itch, or dig a hole. Though a plant doesn’t have hands, it does use roots, to grasp its nutrient-rich soil, and some have tendrils, that hold on tight to whatever they might find. I hope to create an abstract idea of hands and their function in life as we know it. I hope to show the full range of what we can use them for, and create images that are strange, impractical, and unconventional. However, in each image, I wish to limit myself by having a human hand, or an image of a human hand; the only exception to this rule is if the image is a diptych, but one of the images must have human hands. I also want to explore the things we create, both to use with our hands, and to use as our hands.

2.       Why:

I use my hands for everything, and as a biology major, I have been taught since childhood that one of the unique things humans have is their hands, and the dexterity that comes with them. I wish to dehumanize and demodernize them, in order to provide proof to myself that they aren’t as unique and special as we begin to think. I think this idea is relevant to the course in a very basic form, as hands are used for expression, much as photography lends itself to expression.

3.       How:

I will be heavily relying on the use of a tripod, and (hopefully) a remote trigger. I will also likely be using my friends as “hand models”, in images where I “need a hand” (so to speak). I will carefully compose my images, since I will have to use human-form hands in every image. I will also probably be utilizing the stitching/photomerge function of Photoshop to weave two to three individual images together, to help create bizarre and abstract situations.  

4.       References/Inspirations:

Nick Veasey is one photographer that is inspiring my work. He breaks down everyday machines, people, objects, and life forms to their most basic components, using x-ray photography. His images of man-made machines show exactly how we interact with the mechanisms, structural similarities between our own appendages and machines, and how we interact in everyday life. (http://www.nickveasey.com/) I am also strongly influenced by the graceful sketches of Da Vinci, especially in his studies of human architecture (skeletal and otherwise), and his comparative sketches of bird wings.

5.       Accomplishment:

I think having to use hands in every photograph, and also challenge the concept of “hands” will help me expand my methods of photography. I hope that it will also help me see photography from a different perspective, and promote more abstract thinking. It will be a true accomplishment if I can achieve beautiful but contrived images, because in the past I have relied solely on chance for finding well-composed photographs.

Extra Credit Ringaround

From top left to right, then from bottom left to right:
Original, Blue, Green
Yellow, Magenta, Red

Project 4 Additional Contact Sheets