what is a photograph? # 10-16 ~ on with the show

# 10 • click to embiggen
# 11 • click to embiggen
# 12 • click to embiggen
# 13 • click to embiggen
# 14 • click to embiggen
# 15 • click to embiggen
# 16 • click to embiggen

As mentioned in the last entry, that voice in my head is urging me to make constructed / staged pictures. Also mentioned was to do so by continuing with an existing body of constructed / staged work such as my what is a photograph? series. So, here are a few in additions to that series.

That written, I haven't decided whether to work on an existing theme or to start something new. I just figured that by adding a few new pictures to this series, which is relatively easy to do, I could ease my head back into a made c/s picture frame of mind. To this point, the exercise has worked inasmuch as I have started to think, made c/s picture wise.

Part of that thinking has led me to wrestle with the idea of whether or not the what is a photograph? series is a work in progress, execution wise, or whether it is essentially good to go as is. A significant driver of that contemplation has to do with how, as mentioned, easy it is to make more of these images - I currently have 30 images. Of course, the ease with which I can make these images is the result of lot of time, effort and visual experimentation I invested at the start of this series so, once formatted, the ongoing effort is considerably easier, even though it does feel a bit like "cheating".

Thinging wise, one approach in the making of these images is that I decided that, unlike my earlier images wherein I limited myself to urban and non-urban landscape scenes as the primary pictures in these images (dictated by the fact that the construction site barrier was an urban landscape itself), I came to the conclusion that if I am to pose the what is a photograph? question in a more inclusive sense, I needed to include as many genres of picture making (at least of my picture making) as possible in the images. Hence, the appearance of still life and people pictures.

ASIDE: With these images, I am only posing a question - not suggesting an answer - and providing fodder for the inquisitive mind to ponder. END OF ASIDE

My made c/s thinking has also led me to a few vague-ish ideas for made c/s image making. Interesting enough, as an image making concept comes into my head, it is immediately accompanied by a few phrases, ala artist statement wise. Like the idea of picturing a normally considered "ugly" thing in a golden light environment in order to address the concept of referent + illumination = perception, or something like that.

And so it goes. It's on with the show whole hoping I don't break a leg.