This photo series struck me as interesting as it documents one woman’s unique choice of home. Tinja lives alone with her sledge dogs in the Arctic regions of Lapland. The photographer captures the beauty and yet remoteness especially in this first photo with the wide angle and during the time of the day where the distinction between snow/land and sky is fairly blurred. Further, the colour palette transcribes the cold of the place yet the softness of the light allows for a feeling of safety rather than harshness of the landscape.

 

 

Source: https://www.lensculture.com/search/projects?fallback=not-found&q=arctic%2Blove&modal=project-208328-arctic-love

With her project “Diptych“, Nikita Pirogov tries to create symbolic unity between two different environments. She uses light, colour palettes and composition in her pictures to establish a connection of two images that are in themselves very different:  “Diptych is something, that is born from two different sides, something that is born in between.”

Pirogov tries to “show the extension and juxtaposition of the inner (psychological) and outer (cultural) landscapes”. Question what it is that makes people and places different from each other and what unifies us all. Diptychs examines the relationship we have to a cultural home and what would happen if we are to move to a new place. Do we adapt?

It is an interesting approach to identity and place. It searches for common visual ground in photographs from unique or opposing contexts.

Source: https://www.lensculture.com/explore/most-viewed?modal=project-15543-diptychs 

After reading Susan Sontag’s “In Plato’s Cave” from her book “On Photography” the following points have resonated with me the most. According to Sontag, photography is a versatile tool of communication as well as an art form. It “democratises all experiences by translating them into images” (Sontag, 1979: 7) while also “appropriating” the subject in front of the lens (Sontag: 1979: 4). This means photography  can be used to bring a sense of power and control to the person taking the image.

Another aspect of the reading which I found interesting is the way photography can be seen as a “social rite” (Sontag, 1979: 8) and thus the act of photography is an event in and around itself.  Sontag goes to to describe the change photography has undergone since its beginning stages. Different from other art forms such as drawing or painting photography has long been and is still today regarded as portraying the “truth”. Sontag criticises this by stating that although taking pictures can depict the exact reality the photographer sees, he or she will always just be able to show “their” view of “their” reality.

When we take pictures we freeze the moment yet what is also important to note is that although it can be used to shine light of certain issues and capture beautiful and tragic instances, photography itself remains “an act of non-intervention” (Sontag, 1979:11).

Today, photography is everywhere around us and especially with the increase of people travelling to places far and close every year “photography develops in tandem with (…) tourism” (Sontag, 1979:9). This struck me as poignant as much of my personal experience with photography developed while travelling and wanting to conserve the memories I made along the way. This leads to another point Sontag discussed: that of photography being a way of both creating and conveying memories. In relation to my project I find this very appropriate as part of the reason I chose to photograph the sea is the memories I have attached to it which influence the way I look and perceive the sea.

Lastly Sontag picks up upon the similarity of terms between photography and guns. In both disciplines there are “shots”, “aiming”, “pointing”. Yet Sontag formulates the following: “When we are afraid, we shoot. But when we are nostalgic, we take pictures” (Sontag, 1979:15).

Works Cited:

Sontag, S. (1979), “In Plato’s Cave”. In On Photography. Harmondsworth: Penguin

I came across two photographers who’s work immediately resonated with me. The first is Lucas Bori who works and lives in Brazil. His project “Leviathan”  is a collection of photographs of the ocean but what struck me in particular is the the way Bori captured the texture of the water, the feeling it evokes in me. The water is moving yet the light and the composition of the frames bring calm and peace to the viewer. Bori stated he took the photos to “serve in different frames to whoever may look for it” (https://www.lensculture.com/explore?category_id=14&modal=project-184949-leviathan).

The second artist I want to mention is Anuar Patjane Floriuk. His work “Underwater Realm” beautifully captures the vast beauty of the underwater world, the ocean as a home to life, the playground and stage of so many species. What I find exceptionally inspiring is the way the photos showcase the relationship between man and the ocean, man and nature. A relationship I’m very fascinated about.