What is it that makes a photograph fine art?
Like any other art form, photography is an attempt to express to the viewer an experience, a concept, or a belief that supersedes the physical elements that make it up. In my philosophy of interpreting visual art, there are 3 primary components:
The subject. The ‘what’ of the image, be it a cute cat, a garbage can, or a sunset.
The form: This is the ‘how’ of the image, the way that the artist uses their craft to create a powerful, compelling visual statement.
The content: Finally, the ‘why’ of the image. What is the intent of the image? Why did the artist choose this particular viewpoint, what are they trying to say about their experience, their observation of life, their concept of what is, what should be.
To me, the best photography, like the best visual art, uses all of the above components to create a new experience for the viewer, that asks them to see the world around them in a new way, guided by the skill of the craft.
Cold Abstraction, 2017
The nadir aerial, pointed straight down, has an effect of flattening the subject, rendering it as purely geometric shape, as if it were in a cubist painting. This image was taken from 200 feet above a very cold plant nursery, just after a light snowfall. It was quite early in the morning, hence the long foreboding shadows
The eyes of Grace
Upon my return from Uganda, this was the first image I began working with. Suffering from jet lag at 3 AM, I pulled up this portrait of Grace, an orphan at the Aids Orphan Educational Trust model village. I remembered the intensity of her gaze, and as I was editing, I suddenly found my reflection in her eyeball. I teared up as I remembered the non-verbal challenge in her gaze, as if to say “I am giving you a gift, mr photographer, what are you going to do with it?”