Boogie. Inspirational Photographer

Boogie is a really talented photographer born in Belgrade and based out of Brooklyn. I came across his work a few years back and was a fan the first day that I saw his great photography. One reason being that I love black and white photography and his photographs look like still frames from moments that would be taking place in the world. He draws his inspiration from major political issues that arose in his country bringing the documentation back, you can pick out any of his photos and you will get the hint of why it was taken and the story behind it. His photographs are so gruesome and it is so interesting because i’m not sure if that is because of the appreciation of his skills as a photographer or the the subjects he decides to shoots.

Photographers that Inspire

Recently for the series of photographs that I have been shooting have been inspired by such great photographers from different time periods. A photographer that has been an inspiration to me has been Thomas Annan (1829-1887). Using the cities landscape I pay close attention to my natural surroundings while choosing what photographs to take. He has inspired me through his body of work. My photos start with trespassing to an unknown place that I feel like not many people have gone to before. Keeping that in mind, Thomas has taught me to pay attention to the vantage points of this certain landscape while incorporating the natural surroundings of the architecture. These photographs display a unique depth of field and a level of detail which my focus is to astonish. The subtle changes of light levels and the amount of visual information available in the darkest areas is one of the hardest challenges a photographer can experience.

Cindy Sherman & I

At first when seeing Cindy Sherman's photographs you come to realize that all of her work explores a certain contemporary identity with the main focus on representation. While creating new bodies of work she is often influenced by images from magazines, television, movies and the internet; almost every source of media. To create her images Cindy has worked as her own model for nearly 30 years working herself in different personas then the previous. With a variety of props including makeup, wigs, costumes and props, Cindy has definitely transformed her surroundings along with herself to construct herself as many different characters often representing clown like figures that one may think came straight out of an acid trip. 

Larry Clark & I

When first seeing Larry Clark's photographs, you notice that he is greatly involved with his subject material in which he calls being involved with the outlaw life during the 60s. The early career of Larry Clark consisted of shooting photographs that captured "a record of his secret teenage life" thoughout his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. While stating this his main subjects were raw images of drug use and adolescent sex as well as portraits of young hustlers of that generation. During his early years as a photographer there was really no judgement or moral point of view conveyed through his photographs but simply just because this was the normal behavior of his subjects. While photographing, Clark would always capture a series that would convey a nightmarish, rogue side of the American youth with a style similar to documentary photography that would later be recognized today as Clark's signature style.

In comparison, the work Larry Clark produces is very similar to the work that I have been making. 

When shooting photographs I try to capture the beauty in subjects that are often looked down upon.
While the subjects are often people doing graffiti or roaming around where you aren't supposed to go, I always strive to create something other than what the average person knows. This is very similar to how Larry Clark shoots his subjects because it takes the viewer behind closed doors showing something so shocking. The collection of images we end up with over time is who we are and what our work is about.

Steven Shore Excerpt Interview

 



At first, when first seeing Steven Shores work, the photographs look like they were shot by just a tourist on the move traveling throughout the great lands of the USA. But after reading about how Shore comprises his photographs it is easy to come to realization that he might be the best American landscape photographer to ever live. While Steven Shore shoots a photograph he narrows his approach into three broad sections.  The first he describes the photograph as object (the Physical Level), the second he considers the illusion that exists upon that object (the Depictive Level), and the third examines the quality of how the viewer processes and focuses on space within an image (the Mental Level).  Understanding this workflow helps the viewer along with Shore himself see what actually goes in behind making a photograph.        

During his Interview with writer Luc Sante, Shore explains the whole process behind making and framing a good photograph before being shot. What I found interesting about what he explains is that while going out to shoot a photograph it is best to notice that you are photographing your subject as a collage made up of different layers so that you can only pay attention to one part of the "composition" almost like some sort of telepathy. Steven Shore surprised me when he stated that he never goes out to shoot a photograph with originality in mind. This made me understand that the originality behind making a photograph just comes normally over time with the problems and solutions you have to explore. It is important to understand how to properly frame and shoot a photograph. Shore best described this process as  that while shooting a photograph you should be the idea of an arrow getting shot, the arrow itself, and also the target. By saying this you are at every end of the photograph such as the receiving end and the sending end, making the concentration of photo making a spiritual discipline. 

Robert Adams' essays

Robert Adams

The more thought I put in about it, the more I realized "Why do People Photograph? is a difficult question to answer. Why do I make photographs? I suppose the simplest answer that does apply to a large group of photographers is the desire to create a historical record of their lives, in which they can revisit the past through a series of pictures. It’s a form of time travel, or a way to secure one’s memories as the years pass.

For many photographers, myself included, I see photography as a means to create a piece of art. What is art? To me, art is in the vision of the observer. My opinion of a photograph is something that grabs the eye's attention when being looked at, something that will cause an emotional response, usually one of being impressed. A photograph is beauty. This allows me to draw the line around photography, and that a photograph will always provoke an emotional response.

When I photograph to make and capture beauty, whether it’s an old building that hasn't been explored for years, or a figure study or an urban landscape, I always want to create something more than if you were just to simply look at it in real life. Each photograph taken is a window into a certain moment, and the collection of images taken over time is who we are and what our values were. A collection of photographs taken by one documents our travels, experiences, relationships and much more. If, as artists, we don’t reinforce what we photograph to some point, we’re just capturing images, which anybody can do in the right place at the right time. For me thats what making a photograph is all about; the drive to capture something that will one day not be there.

When Robert Adams asked the iffy subject of “why do people photograph" it is believable that he had no idea how complicated the subject really is. Everyone has their own ‘why’ and there really isn't a single answer that can cover all possible questions. The most important step is to grab your camera, go out and shoot some photos and go where you have never been taking risks.

1st Lecture. Ted Partin

When first seeing the work by Ted Partin I told myself it is very much like something I've seen many times before; he captures what appears to be the youth of today what seems to be a brainwashed portraiture of each individual and staring into the camera. The individuals he captures do not always seem to be special nor do they ever have anything in common. The photographs of Partin seem to almost be so easy with not much effort and thought behind them: a woman stares in a camera, another posses nude by the natural light entering through a window, a couple together in bed, and a woman looking into the window of a car. But it is something more than what the photograph captures but how Ted made these pictures create a unique character. 


While Partin travels throughout the country photographing, his choice is always a 8x10 inch camera, photographing people he happens to see on the street that catch his eye. When using a 8x10 camera Ted always has to install it on a tripod while draping a black cloth over his head to prevent any light from entering. This is usually a time consuming process for a photographer resulting in the model posing for a while while the photograph is being made.