what the camera sees (overexposure) # 1-3 ~ having fun, fun, fun (till my daddy takes my cameras away)

open door  

bush shadow

storm window reflection

My basic picture making MO has always been that of straight photography - straight photography refers to photography that attempts to depict a scene or subject in sharp focus and detail, commensurate with the qualities that distinguish photography from other visual media, particularly painting. Or, as I like to say / write, use the one characteristic of photography and its apparatus which defines its difference fro the other visual arts, its inherent characteristic as a cohort of and its relationship to the real.

That written, I have, on ocassion, made side trips (MO wise) into the realm / genre of Polaroid and pinhole picture making. Exploring what, given the limitations and proclivities of such hardware, might be descibed as making pictures which depict what the camera sees as opposed to what the eye sees.

iMo, one could argue that straight pictures depict what the camera sees but I would argue that straight pictures are an attempt to make pictures (within the constraints of a picture's framing) which depict what the eye sees.

All of that written, I have embarked upon another side trip to explore the premise of what the camera sees. Although, this trip employs no special hardware in pursuit of such ends. These pictures are being made with my normal digital gear albeit with a complete disregard for the rules of proper exposure techniques.

One of the challenges of making what I would consider successful picture making results with this MO is that of absolute attention to framing and the organization of color, shapes and lines, and tonal relationships across the 2D plane of the pciture's surface. That demanding consideration is due to the picture's tenuous relationship with the real - if one of these picturse is to have visual merit, it depends almost entirely upon the diligent attention to the forementioned visual characteristics. Because, for the most part, that is what these picture are about.

In any event, I'm having fun.