My interest in photography began with my mother’s National Geographic Magazine collection. Consequently, the bulk of my early photographic exposure consisted of beautiful examples of landscape, macro and other nature- and culture-based subject matter. I have always been fascinated by the rhythm and beauty inherent in the natural world, especially when it is captured by photography, as if the photographer, in the act of crafting and capturing an exposure, becomes co-creator of that rhythm and beauty. As I grew older I learned more about nature-photography masters, the works of Ansel Adams being among my favorites. Since the time I first held a camera, I have sought out and tried to replicate the awesome effect had by his great, inspirational works. The photograph shown here, for example, draws on an aesthetic similar to that of many of Adams’ images. Most obviously, the image was captured through black and white film exposure, but more importantly, the subject stands as a testament to the humble regality and unquestionable beauty found in the natural world.
This particular image was taken in response to an assignment I was given in a black and white film photography class I took last spring. The assignment was to explore our world and reveal its aesthetic treasures through the manipulation of our cameras’ exposure tools. As is ever the case, I was eager to be out among the flora and fauna, attempting to capture the choice moments when nature revealed the full extent of her aesthetic prowess. The temporal suspension of such moments is easily the aspect of nature photography that I find most riveting, inspiring and truly intoxicating. In particular, I love to see a photograph that defies the laws of time, making available to the eye a sight that naturally would be subject to change and eventually fade away. Though this image is much more static than some, it too plays with the concept of instance and temporality in nature.
More recently, I have become interested in achieving this effect in constructed images. One such image, the brainchild of the recently deceased master photographer and graphic designer Storm Thorgerson, is shown here. As soon as I became exposed to this man’s work, images such as this one became instant favorites. There are several aspects of Thorgerson’s pieces that draw me in and inspire me to make similar work. Most significantly, I love to see the tension he creates between natural phenomena and deliberate constructions. Because he maintains a healthy respect for the visual power supplemented by a natural scene in the design of his images, Thorgerson succeeds in pointing a finger to the theatricality present in such a scene by juxtaposing and off-setting it with a markedly theatrical subject: in this image, the dancers. Inversely, the phenomenological, temporally-suspended nature of the sunset chosen as the dancers’ backdrop puts the dancers in a similar state of suspension, a visual sensation reinforced by the literal tethers used to lock their motion in place. Due to this relationship, it seems just as likely that one might hap
pen upon the unusual pair as one might happen upon a captivating sunset. This visual pattern is a hallmark of Thorgerson’s work. I find this piece mesmerizing because of the mental torque the two opposing and yet oddly synergetic concepts of nature and construction cause. I hope to make work that accomplishes a similar effect.
I think the key to incorporating Thorgerson’s influence into my own practice without merely imitating his work is to recognize and build upon these basic conceptual principles, rather than rely on the specific subjects and layout designs that are unique to his work. That way my exploration will grow from an underlying conceptual framework rather than established visual references.