back scratcher (click to embiggen)
Montreal cafe (click to embiggen)
night swim (click to embiggen)
the photographer (click to embiggen)
pool drama (click to embiggen)
the glance (click to embiggen)
Andy Warhol's couch (click to embiggen)
red coat (click to embiggen)
As juror for this exhibit, what am I looking for in an image? In a word: everything. I want to see well designed photographs that have depth, strong structure, good light—and within them a spark of life .... What don’t I want to see? Images that are contrived, forced, synthetic or derivative. Images where software or hardware have made the picture .... The aspiration of this exhibit is high: To place on the walls of the gallery a collection of images that cannot be easily memorized. A set of photographs so strong and subtle in their compositions that they irresistibly stay in the mind of the viewer.
The pictures presented in this entry are my response to Abell's criteria. In choosing these pictures, I have focused on Abell's request for pictures that; 1. are not "contived", 2. are not dependent upon software / hardware to "make" the picture and 3. exhibit a "spark of life". A proscription for straight photography if ever there was one.
The pictures chosen are as straight as pictures com. Nothing was posed or staged. The pictures were processed for only such things as minor color balance, tonal balance and the like. Nothing has been added or subtracted retouching wise. And, to my eye and sensibilities, they all seem to have a spark of life.
I'll discover what Abell thinks - in or out. In either eventuality, I'll let you know.