Day#1 of Workshop: Meeting my Client

I was told that my client, M., was quite the character. Referred to as “the biker guy”, I had no idea what to expect walking into class that Wednesday afternoon. See, I didn’t know much else about him; M. was invited to join our workshop on short notice given that there are 12 students in our class rather than the expected 10 which would have evenly partnered every two students to one client.
When M. first walked into the room, I was struck by his nonchalant attitude and the way he proudly wore his sleeveless Hooters shirt on a day that could hardly be described as sunny. I listened intently during our introductions, trying pick up any sign of communication difficulty. However, he presented himself with a calm ease and at first I thought that there must have been some sort of a mistake when he was admitted. However, as Day#1 of the workshop unraveled so did the conundrum that was M.’s speech.
My client is fairly fluent, which explains my initial confusion, with moderate anomia. During lengthy conversation he finds himself grappling to find the right words. In one instance he was trying to explain to my partner and I that his daughter was in college and that she was studying to be a psychologist. Simple enough, right? Well, not quite. He had forgotten the word “psychologist”, so he proceeded to explain that she wanted to “work with crazy people like me”. M. knows what it is that he wants to say, his main difficulty is connecting his thoughts with the appropriate word.
There was one instance when we attempted to prompt M. to distinguish what colors he saw in a photo. He did not make any acknowledgement to what we were asking of him and it took several attempts to get his attention. He was lost in his thoughts and continued mumbling about some other aspect of the photo that seemed to fascinate him. We solved this problem by writing down the words green, red, etc. on a piece of paper and asking him to point to the color that he perceived as being most prominent in the photo. Based on this example, I assume that his capacity for auditory comprehension is mildly affected. However, if I was to see this person at Publix, for instance, I would think he were a competent individual.
I think that my UCF student is relatively new to working with a PWA. She began speaking far too quickly for my client to understand, to which one of the professors had made comment. By listening to the professors I was able to gauge the speed of my own voice.
I feel fortunate that I will get to work with M. over the course of this semester because his stroke occurred a few months ago, therefore my partner and I will get to witness his recovery take place in real time. I look forward to seeing what interesting photos he will produce for his first assignment.

Discussion - "The Photographer's Eye" by John Szarkowski

Not that I want to play favorites, but I really enjoyed this book even more so than Shore's "The Nature of Photography" discussed in an earlier post. I felt like the photos in Szarkowski's publication connected with me on an emotional level, whereas Shore's compilation of works are in large part a tribute to style.

This image to my left was taken from "The Photographer's Eye". It was captured by Richard Avedon in 1958 for Harper's Bazaar; the subject of the photo is Ezra Pound. Before I discuss what it is about this photo that so compelled me to choose it for my discussion rather than any of the other more elaborate shots, I would like to provide a concise history on just who this man was.

"American poet and critic, often called "the poet's poet" because his profound influence on 20th century writing in English. Pound believed that poetry is the highest of arts. A rebel par excellence, he challenged many of the common views of his time and spent 12 years in an American mental hospital" (http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/epound.htm).

This portrait is beautiful in its simplicity. Avedon’s white backdrop and the extreme frontality of the subject creates an intimate connection between subject and photographer if only for that brief moment. What impressed me the most were the details, down to the finest wrinkle and last gray hair, which epitomize the very character of this man. The expression that he wears on his face tells a story of his life's struggles, yet there still remains something humble in his countenance. Though people have tried for centuries to unlock the secrets to a longer life, this photograph has made this man immortal.

I could lie by saying that I have such and so number of years of experience with photography, but that would be a far stretch considering the reality that this is my first experience with photography beyond its recreational use. When I hear mention of photography, I instantly envision a hoard of relatives blinding me with camera flashes as they undertake the grueling task of recording every fleeting moment into visual evidence; it's as if they are saying, "We were here!" I never quite understood the concept when I was little and I dreaded posing for frame after frame, but as I grew older and worldlier, I came to realize that the idea was not at all far fetched. Think about how much we miss in a single day: we fail to acknowledge the beauty of a cloud as it metamorphoses in the sky, carried by the wind, or the way that with every passing second our world is changing just as surely as we are and before we know it we look back at the years and realize just how much we have missed out on...

Lake Virginia was pristine, shining under the midday sun as I meandered along her banks. It was then when I took notice of the unusual patterns in the sand underneath her translucent façade. I was really pleased with the way that I captured texture in this shot. The ripples in the sand are contrasted by the sleek surface of the water, which is accentuated by the reflection of the sky and trees from overhead. The tree branch at the bottom of the shot disrupts the photo by adding a different kind of movement and simultaneously bringing the onlookers attention to the details in the lower left corner. I could have chosen to not include said details, but I feel like they add strength to the overall composition.

What I really liked about this shot was the color contrast between the bleek inner reality and that which exists beyond the thin glass, where it is green and teeming with life. So many feelings come to mind when I view this shot: entrapment, disconnect and, in some ways, hope. I think that these associations will be what connect with my audience. It's a question of "is the glass half empty or half full?"

This final photo was a product of yet another of my meandering walks (I tend to go on many of those). I decided to be risky by experimenting with perspective in this shot. Due to an unintentional hand slip, the details on the right are blurry, however what struck me about this photo was the clarity and focus of the window in the upper left hand corner.

As I look back over these three photos I feel like all of them are in someways interconnected. Without realizing it, each of the photos that I chose play around with the idea of a surface and reflection. They challenge us to look deeper in order to read into their multiple layers; for only a keen eye would have noticed the faint silhouettes on the surface of the water or the light fog at the bottom of the window pane. There is a simple, yet eloquent beauty to these little "trivialities". We live in a fast paced world such that we never seem to find the time to stop and take in these day by day wonders. Photography allows us to reinvent the world by giving us what was already there in the first place.

Discussion - "The Nature of Photographs" by Stephen Shore

His reputation proceeds him; Shore is regarded as an influential figure in the field of photography and after finishing this text (basically a crash course in photography), I was please to find that it was ridden with photographs which assisted an amateur photographers such as myself to understand such concepts such as focus, perspective and frame. The piece to your left, entitled "Gas Station, Reedsville, West Virginia, 1936" by Walker Evans, was one which left a lasting impression. On the surface it is such a simple, almost unimpressive shot, yet there are so many elements at work in his photograph. The black and white color tone washes over the shot, unifying the foreground with the mid and background creating a collage-like effect. If you focus on the wooden pole slightly left of center, running your eyes up and down the column and then sharply shift your gaze to the gas station (motor co.) the illusion of depth materializes (I learned this nifty trick from this very book). There is also something soft and delicate about the sky in this photograph; it looks as if it exists somewhere far off in the distance unperturbed by what is going on in the scene, yet its gentle hue unifies the objects within the frame. This photograph challenges our perspective and I believe that the true intent inherent in the study of photography is providing others with the means by which to view the world a little differently and opening their eyes to help them see things that are not always readily perceived.

First Impressions

The first thing that comes to mind when one sees a four hour long class on their schedule for an upcoming semester is something along the lines of " *Explicit*, What did I get myself into." In my situation, I was "lucky" enough to score two such classes for Spring of '10. The class descriptions were interesting enough, Green Art and Photography as Language, so I figured that the coursework would come easily if the interests were there.
Last Wednesday was my first day of "PhotoLang"; equipped with a PowerBar and notepad I preceded into the small, sterile room that was to be our classroom. Surprisingly enough, four hours passed by faster than I had anticipated. We were constantly being engaged and I listened keenly as Professor Roe conducted an exercise that challenged us to read into a few selected photographs and Professor Queen taught us about the mysterious and life altering illness known as Aphasia.
See, I’m one of those individuals that get a kick out of challenging my own preconceptions. I feel like my life experiences have helped me prepare for working with individuals with a language handicap. However, all kinds of questions float around in my head: “How will they react to me?” or “Will I be able to accomplish anything with my work this semester?” I am wrapped up in anticipation. I guess I’ll see with time what this semester has in store, but the forecast looks good.
More from me later…