Tabitha Soren: in-between narratives capturing stories in flux
"Sometimes it's simply looking at a particular behavior in a new way that evokes a range of emotions. Photographer Tabitha Soren has created a series of photographs, Running, that stir up feelings of panic, tension, curiosity, and concern. Tabitha's photographs have power in their simplicity, and it's as if one edge of her photograph is the past and one is the future, creating an in-between narrative that captures a story in flux. As viewers, we are caught in a pivotal moment of cinematic tension, requiring us to imagine what came before and what comes after each image. The photographs become a series of short stories that seem to shout 'get me the hell out of here.'"
(Aline Smithson, 23 May 2012, Lenscratch)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Joyce Campbell's Garden of Ambrotype Peculiarities
"L.A. Botanical is, specifically, a series of ambrotypes, an early form of photography, invented in 1850, the same year that the City of Los Angeles was incorporated as a municipality. At the time, the population comprised a mere 1,610 hardy souls. The population explosion of the following 150 years into the Los Angeles we know today resembles (from an imaginary aerial vantage point) an algal bloom, or bacterial inflorescence[ii] – the visible record of a natural imbalance
Ambrotypes are negative images on glass plates which, when shown against a black backdrop, appear to be positive. The name comes from the Greek ambrotos, 'immortal', a rather poetic way of evoking the power of photography to fix forever the fragile moment. Plants, particularly flowers, have long been the favorite metaphor of poets, painters, and now photographers for the passage of time – they are our most consistent reminder of mortality, and yet our most frequent solace at times of bereavement.
Though the ambrotype predates early moving pictures, Campbell's use of antique photography can't help but remind viewers of its sister medium, film, and the attendant connection with Los Angeles as a national and global 'dream factory' (or, indeed, that these technologies played their part in swelling the population of the fledgling city). Campbell's humble backyard blooms become, in L.A. Botanical, stars. The silver nitrate of the photographic process is linked, chemically and etymologically, to the silver screens onto which early films were projected. Campbell's botanical 'immortals' have been bequeathed eternal 'limelight' (another chemical process which, due to its use in theatrical lighting, is forever associated with fame)."
(Tessa Laird, 2006-2007)
Fig.1 "Black Walnut, Antifungal, anti-parasitic, antiseptic, herbicide and hair dye. To treat thrush, candida, ringworm and internal parasites. Ellagic acid and Juglone are being investigated as cancer treatments."
Fig.2 "Turpentine, From Ponderosa Pine, Paint thinner, solvent, liniment, antiseptic and treatment for lice and tapeworm."
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Flickr: Anatomy of a Long Photograph
"Earlier this month flickr announced that short video clips could now be uploaded to the popular photo site. Some photo purists were skeptical, even spawning a huge 'No Video on Flickr' group. After all, the sanctity of the best still images, rich in implied meaning, could be diluted by zillions 90 second video clips of someone's keg party (and we already have other sites, like YouTube for that). Flickr said the ninety-second limit was to encourage 'long photos.' There are contemporary videographers and filmmakers who have used video or film to create sublime still images: the best long photos. And one of my favorites is Godfrey Reggio.
I will never forget the first time I saw Koyaanisqatsi, Reggio's 1983 film about contemporary 'life out of balance.' I was mesmerized by his long drawn out shots. It gave me time to study the scene and, in part, that was the point: to stop moving and consider the consequences of going through life at an increasing interstellar speed. Sometimes there was lots of activity in the frame. But there were times when he pointed his camera at a scene that, on first glance, appeared to be a photograph. It was a still image with all the implications connected with still photography: observations of a slice of frozen time and a consideration of the photographer's framing and associations within that frame.
Yet given the chance to observe closely there was movement. The characters in this 'still' were breathing and blicking and moving. When I saw his scene of Las Vegas waitresses standing still but not still, I was blown away (the vernacular I used in the early 80s when I first saw the film). To this day it is my most favorite scene of any movie I have ever watched. I literally held my breath for its entire duration wondering how long it would go on. The intensity of that shot was immense. It forced me to really look. And that has always been my goal as a photographer: to make people observe what's going on inside my images for as long as I can. That is the mark of a successful photograph. Not so easy in a culture heavy with daily sound and sight bites always vying for our attention and beckoning us to move quickly from one to another."
(Jeff Gates, 21April 2008, Life Outtacontext)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
