"War is Personal"

I just finished doing a presentation on some of Eugene Richards' photography for my class. I have found myself still very interested in viewing more and more of his images.  He has immersed himself in a subject matter and style of photography which greatly interests me as a phtographer and the kind of images I would like to capture and share with the world in order to bring about a new way of thinking and focusing on our environment.  His documentary style of photography brings an emotional connection with the scene that other images cannot.  I admire the steps I know Richards had to have taken in order to capture the images as he did. In this particular photo, Richards has taken a scene from a protest against war in which a young man has a blown-up image of his dead father after fighting in the military.

The Most Intense & Beautiful Thing I've Ever Witnessed!

I literally cannot find the words to express the emotions I felt while watching the birth of my godson, Max Cooper Mitchell, on September 9, 2010.  It was incredibly beautiful, yet at the same time I felt sad for the trauma both mother and infant have to go through in order to bring life into this world.  Needless to say, I am extremely thankful that as we grow up we no longer remember the moment in time we left the warm comfort of the womb and entered the cold, bright, sterile, and unfamiliar hospital with dotors and nurses poking and probing us constantly as if we are not uncomfortable enough.  I took this unique opportunity of being in the labor and delivery room to photograph all aspects of this experience, especially what Baby Max was going through.  One great aspect of documenting an experience such as this is how fast everything happens and the drastic changes in mood and the message given off by each photograph, yet they are all part of the same moment.  Along with Max's intense ride of emotions, his mother had quite the journey as well.  Her face and body language made such a complete change from the beginning of her labor to the moment when she was able to finally hold her baby boy in her protective arms.  I could not be more impressed with the power of the female mind and body.  The doctor however was not invested whatsoever in the moment as she obviously views and participates in this activity multiple times a day.  It honestly made me wonder if she could capture the moment better than myself as it was difficult for me to seperate myself from the immense rush of varying emotions in such a short time period which I do believe limits a photographer.  I hope to one day witness it again and even experience it for myself!

One of my favorite photographers is Sally Mann. I like pretty much everything about her photography from the subject matter, compositions, tone, mood, etc. I have recently read some controversial articles on Mann's works about how her images are perceived by some as a form of child pornography and labeled "inappropriate material". I however could not disagree more.  I think Mann captures the essence and beauty of childhood in a way I have personally never seen before.  I am impressed by her use of black and white tones that still portray a child's world.  I typically focus on bright colors when attempting to convey the world a child lives in, yet she uses the grayscale and acheives it in a much better way than I had ever thought possible.   I also like the fact that she uses her own children in much of her photographs. I believe all art is a reflection of what is going on in the artist's life and by using subjet matter directly related to the artist only further bonds the work with the creator.  Children can be rather difficult to photograph as they are restless and easily distracted subjects, yet so genuine at the same time. A child's face cannot help but be direct with you as the viewer.