Photo Class: Landscapes

This week in photo class the topic was "landscapes" which I mistakenly thought meant taking pictures of hills and trees - nope, it was more about paying attention to the landscape or environment you move through (both internal and external) and looking for themes that come up, repeated shapes or objects, things that remind you of your past, how light shifts, etc. As usual we were to create 20 photographs getting at different ideas we noticed, and were given a few categories to fill such as one image depicting or representing "home", one image referring to our past, and one image that is visually abstract.  There was also an alternate assignment given if we'd rather - to create a series of photos that went together (like a car collection, water towers, industrial buildings, etc.) instead of filling in the random categories.

(simple lines and form)

We studied the work of 9 photographers who are known for their specific series, ranging from cultural iconography (old signs, retro buildings) to abstract or all blurry, simple lines and colors, and abandoned places (buildings or objects). I decided to combine the assignments and took photos that inspired me from each of the 9 photographers work - so they didn't all go together other than that they represented all of the artists we studied. 

(abstract/meditation)

What was really fun about that was I got to take pictures of many different styles and objects - which I normally wouldn't do. We just shoot what we are interested in, right? So even though I'm not big on blurry impressions it was interesting to figure out how to make a cool blurry photo, and I've never thought about taking pictures of industrial buildings but I did and it turned out great. 

(power plant)

Because I was searching for different things than I would normally take photos of I ended up walking down many back alleys, the back side of buildings, out of the way places where I wouldn't normally go - Sarge loved it! He got to receive and leave "messages" in all kinds of fun new places.

(cultural iconography)

(abandoned places)

So this week maybe challenge yourself to move through your environment with intention. Pay attention to interesting things around you that you might not have noticed before - buildings, cool doors and stairways, things that remind you of your past...and explore the back sides of stores or buildings just to see some different things - it was a fun week!  

creativephotoacadamy.com for info on classes at Pauls Photo, Torrance, CA