Nature Photography - Art - Building Connections

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Nature Photography - Art - Building Connections

Postby Ganesh H Shankar » Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:42 pm

During recent days I have had a few conversations with fellow CNP members either in person or as critique on their posted images related to the challenges of portraying relatable expressions, mostly in abstractions. Let me open this up for a larger discussion if any of you are interested in sharing your perspectives.


While on our journey towards creative expressions (beyond the mere documentation of nature) we have kind of crossed the chasm of "just some creations" more so using uncontrolled techniques to see "what we got" - imitating 'brush strokes', random camera movements etc all belonged to that 'genre'. They (most of them) simply fail to *communicate* since our heart and mind was not involved during the creation process. Of late we have been trying to search for other avenues to give a shape to our feelings and attempting to express such feelings using subjects in nature. The biggest challenge I see in such attempts is the **subjectivity** of such creations.

Let me quote couple of my own images posted here earlier -

image_id: 7178

image_id: 6613

While images like these are not *after thoughts* I think there is a good amount of subjectivity in such abstractions. Everyone may not relate to what I have in mind. It for sure to some will appear meaningless.

I think our main challenge in pursuing nature photography as an art form is dealing with subjects in nature and relating that to human value systems, human culture, human relations and human emotions. While it is true that in this urbanized mechanical world we have lost some of our natural connection with the subjects in nature we also simply can't understand all expressions in nature. A smile on a child's face is unmistakable while happy mood of a snake just can't be deciphered. I am not sure, if we have to pursue nature photography as an art form is there any other alternative other than translating our compositions of nature into a relatable form which makes sense in the context of human value system (of course I am not talking about natural history/unique awesome moment etc).

To strengthen what I am saying, look at this great image by Robb Johnson - Chair by Her Bed (click on the 7th thumbnail there). Though an abstract image your interpretation of this image can't be far away from mine because this is the language we speak, we have/had such beds and moments in most of our homes. It is so powerful and can spawn lots of philosophical thoughts. The image instantly grows in our minds.

Similarly, In this image below -

Image

we probably can relate to those wrinkles on his face better than the trace left by the leaf on the sand in the above image.

Isn't the challenge of communication using subjects in nature clear ? We struggle with the language (nature photography) for relatable expressions here. The question of subjectivity in our expressions of nature as art has been haunting me a lot.

Friends, think how we can solve this challenge as nature photographers who want to pursue it as an art form. I don't pretend to have an answer. If you have other related thoughts please do share.

Thanks !
Ganesh H. Shankar
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Re: Nature Photography - Art - Building Connections

Postby Prashanth Sampagar » Sun Jul 22, 2012 10:35 pm

Dear Ganesh,
Thank you for bringing up this topic, to be honest, since morning I was thinking about your image "Missed Monsoon". I felt this image is more effective than your recent creations from corbett (my personal view). Probably this image has portrayed the drought scare better than anything else. I could relate to this image well because I had experienced similar situation when I visited western ghats last weekend. Which means we like the images that we can relate ourselves to. Unless we experience or have experienced the similar situation it will not reach our hearts. Wish there was a formula to achieve this :)
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Re: Nature Photography - Art - Building Connections

Postby Adithya Biloor » Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:15 pm

I agree with you Ganesh on difficulties of portraying relatable expressions in nature photography. As you said it is very difficult for us to connect with the happiness of a snake where as we can easily relate ourself with a smiling child or with the chair by bed.

I think we can over come this issue to a little extent in the images where the meaning is independent of the subject used to make the image. Colours, forms, lines etc combine to make an abstract.
this of John Alfano is one such example. But then again effect of the photograph depends on the life experience of the viewer also.
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Re: Nature Photography - Art - Building Connections

Postby Pramod Viswanath » Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:07 pm

Lots of things to say here for me Ganesh. You had raked up the topic on abstracts. For now let me keep it all to myself,
I just want to share this :

http://vimeo.com/42372767

Let's all make good art :)

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Re: Nature Photography - Art - Building Connections

Postby Ganesh H Shankar » Wed Jul 25, 2012 7:15 am

Interesting video there Pramod.

Prashanth, thanks for your frank views on the Corbett series. Hard critiques are the only ones that will help us improve. Sincerely appreciate it.

Adithya,

in the images where the meaning is independent of the subject used to make the image

In my mind that is the source of subjectivity. The variance of the 'meaning' among different viewers about "Chair by Her Bed" is very less while in the image I mentioned above (mine) it is very wide, often to the extent of being an ineffective portrayal. I think we as nature photographers need to think of a uniting language in our expressions. Nothing wrong in images which makes sense only to us as creators but then we need to be aware that its influence as an image is only on us and it does not move the rest an inch. If we can't live with that hard truth that is when the problem becomes interesting !
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Re: Nature Photography - Art - Building Connections

Postby Adithya Biloor » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:04 pm

I am not talking only about the images which makes sense only to us as creators. There are some images which make strong impact on the viewer not because of the subject, but because of the way creator sees and presents them. By using colors, lines creator is capable of generating human emotions in the images.
I think Nevil Zaveri's some of abstracts like screeeem!, rorschach's mindscape, sun n sand are such images. I think Nevil would have made rorschach's mindscape image even if he had seen that structure on the bark of a tree. They are as he says "true abstracts where the identity of forms (in an image) are almost unrecognisable ) and artist’s sole concern is to enjoy aesthetics in terms of regular/irregular forms, lines, colours & balance."
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Re: Nature Photography - Art - Building Connections

Postby dinesh.ramarao » Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:18 pm

At CNP we have graduated to (can i say that ?) two kinds of image making.

1. A visually appealing, very graphic and different view of natural history - sometimes we call them and make comments as 'very artistic '. Some examples
Successor , Spotted Deer , Deer in River

(i have assumed that the above images are visually appealing :) just to pat my back! )
To my understanding, in this thread we are not discussing such images. They are past of CNP, according to me, though we make such images every now and then.

2. An image or set of images which may not follow any of the so called 'photography' guidelines, but are expressions of emotions from the creator. The creator makes the image based on emotions, his thinking on what to show, to communicate to the viewer, to make viewer see what the creator wants to see. At times, we call them abstracts, we (creators) think we can connect to all the viewers. If art is a medium of expression, we fall in this category of making some art pieces to express ourselves.

It is interesting to know that such works where in as creators (can i say artists?) we assume every viewer can connect to our emotions depicted in the image. In my case such images take at lot of brewing time in our minds than on the field. The idea of expression could be a spark, but the image making is not.

Another point is that image titles and some description associated. I am not sure how we would have connected to the image "Chair by her bed" had there be no title? Each one of us would have titled in our minds like 'bed next to a chair' if one does not associate any emotions, 'a companion', 'an old man and his grandson' and so on ...
Had Ganesh not associated any title for Missed Monsoon what would have been in our mind ?
If i had not titled Moments of Joy : Art of Clutter : how many would relate each 'bela' fruit to joyful moments of our complex life ?

Most of the times i have failed to connect to viewers of my images, images i have kept as expressions of me, my life, my society and nature around me - be it titled or not. To evaluate if i am connecting to my viewers, i had not titled Random Thoughts : Art of Clutter : initially just to findout if the image can influence the viewers. It did influence most who commented, just because there were 20 or more images from me on "Art of Clutter". But most related to the 'clutter' part of the visual, but very few related to the meaining i wanted to convey, the emotions i have been thru, "Random Toughts" - some are clear in life some are not, but they do appear in out minds everyday.

I have started to belive
we should be expressing with our art, NATURE photography is a our art medium. Whether or not we connect to viewers, the journey should go on, one day you will have fellow passengers who would have "seen" our images.


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