Feature Monday - Fine Art Photography

The days fly by, the months fly by, our lives fly by if we're not careful. We need to remember to stop and enjoy the views around us and take in the sights and sounds that make up our every day. This week, there's a bit of a mix to my Feature Monday. The first image is by Dana DiPasquale, and maybe because I'm gripped with cold and can dream of nothing nicer than dipping my toes in that glorious golden water she has captured, it certainly holds an attraction to me - and it's surely warmer than where I am at the moment!





Another image that makes me dream of holidays spent in the sun, relaxing and catching up with family and friends - surely a most deliciously exotic location and captured beautifully by lallymac.

And while I'm daydreaming of warmer climes, why not daydream about other times - in this case, the '70's. With retro being all the rage at the moment, how fitting to capture the craze and shoot some simply '70's styled bowls, add some edgey cropping and you have a very hip-an-happening piece of wall art to impress your friends when next they visit! Very cleverly done by Nikki Trexel.

And finally, this image brings me crashing back to earth and what is reality in today's society. You can live in the most modern of societies, but that doesn't prevent parts of society from struggling to function in the way that society would like us to. This image by Rose Atkinson shows just where we as a society have succumbed, that we can simply walk by and carry on as though the crumpled lives sitting or lying propped against the city streets are simply ragged clothes and not fellow human beings.

A Symbol of Hope - Fine Art Photography examples

What does the term "Symbol of Hope" mean to you?  Wikipedia defines hope as being the belief of a positive outcome, especially in relation to an amount of depair or wanting or wishing or suffering.  We can hope for such basic, trivial and mundane things such as "I hope my washing dries before it gets dark", "I hope there's chocolate in the cupboard for me to snack on" to a deeper, more urgent need to hope - "I hope she'll be alright", "I hope I can make it to the hospital in time", " I hope a cure for cancer can soon be found".

It's always interesting when asking artists to depict an abstract emotion such as hope.  It can be more challenging than it first seems - how do you show hope in an image?  And what does hope sybolise to you?  As august is Cancer awareness month here in Australia, it was timely to ask artists from "A Photographer's Craft" to submit images to this challenge.   These artists have also donated works through "The Gift of Art" where all the artists' proceeds are being donating to the National Cancer Insitute. The disease that is cancer affects each and everyone of us.  I don't think I've come across a person for a long while, who hasn't in some way been affected by this disease.  I am hopeful of a cure, I am hopeful that as a society we are doing all we can to assist those researchers in finding a cure, and to help those who are living with the disease.

The following images were submitted by those artists who wanted to show their "Symbol of Hope".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whether it's the early morning rays of light, a dove in full flight, the fresh face of youth, a guardian angel watching over you, the strength that is nature or your faith in your God, it's important that we hold that sense of hope.  Thanks goes to Adrian Rachele, Mark German, Dana DiPasquale, Sue Wickham, lallymac, Redtempa, Tom Vaughan and Karri Klawiter for taking part in the challenge and allowing this images to be shown on this blog.

In Photographic Art - What moves you?

They say artists are a sensitive lot and there's no more obvious a place to display their emotions than in their art.  It's interesting how different factors will draw out that emotion.  The skill in a great photographer is to connect with their audience so that some of that emotion us also felt by the viewer.  The subject portrayed can be a person, an onject, a location - basically anything than can convey an emotion from familiarity right through to taking your breath away. 

Below are some images that resonated with both the photographer and their audience in a recent Emotional Attachment challenge over in "A Photographer's Craft".  There's no right or wrong way in how you should feel when viewing a photographic piece - the ideal would be to feel.

 

"Sisters Two" by Adrian Rachele

The look of despair and sense of helplessness is apparent in this photograph taken after visiting Auschwitz.  The heavy shadows, the play on light, the expression and the Black & White treatment all convey that deep sense of sadness.

 

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"On Her Way" by Sue Wickham

Quite a contrast with the first image - this glorious bride has that look of expectation and excitement in her face. I can remember my own wedding day when I look at this beautiful bride - and I remember all the emotions that go with such an exciting day.  Sue Wickham has captured the moment and beautifully edited this image that will resonate with other brides and their parents.  It's the moment the bride begins her new life with great expectation!

 

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"Waiting to say goodbye" by Dana DiPasquale

A photograph of an inanimate object is sometimes all that's needed  to open the floodgates of memories from another time. Dana DiPasquale while visiting family for a funeral captured this image - anything to keep busy while trying to forget the sadness surrounding the family gathering.  The lone chair, the warmth exuding from this image and the way it has been portrayed shows the richness of family life.

 

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"Alone in paradise" by Debbie Black

The image of paradise can take many forms, afterall we're all different, so what is paradise to one, may not be to another.  This image taken on Michaelmas Cay on the Great Barrier Reef holds great signifance to Debbie Black, the photographer.  Firstly, taken whilst on honeymoon - paradise in itself! And secondly the location is truly spectacular.  You can feel the warmth of the sand, the coolness of the salt water, the gentle sea breeze, and the lone figure on the beach really does make you feel as though you are alone in that paradise.

 

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"Beautiful Creation" by lallymac

"Home is where the heart is" and for lallymac, this dawn image will always remind her of  happy times and new beginnings.  New beginnings as a photographer in capturing such an image with sharp silhouettes and gorgeous warm tones of morning.

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There would be no greater compliment to a photographer than to let them know "you get their image" - their purpose of recoding that image, that moment - has been achieved.  Go and view these artists' on-line galleries, and tell them you "get their images"!