Tonight I’m watching Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes, and there was a one liner that jumped out: “Different but not less.”  It’s meant to be a description of Temple Grandin, a woman who suffers from some form of social disorder, but I think it’s true for each of us.  For all the visual thinkers out there the film is worth a look.  Click here to view the trailer.

A kid with a cigarette in his mouth alongside one big chicken.  Photographic genius if you ask me.

So.  I decided to take a digital portrait class at SVA.  Assignment #1 is to show 3-5 images which I find inspiring, and assignment #2 is to share 3-5 of my images.  I am going to make this blog post a two-fer.  Not sure why wordpress is spreading out the images so much, but I will figure that out another night.

Inspiration:

Immaculately styled; an honest, dead on composition with some chiarascuro action going on; and a pastoral theme make this image a winner in my book.  I’m not just saying that because it’s by Irving Penn.

So many great August Sander photos to choose from…so little time.  One has to marvel at how Sander was able to get the dog, baby, and bicycle to cooperate.  Don’t want to know what the other shots looked like.  It looks like a farm child so a few falls will just build character.

Proof that Steve McCurry was not a one hit wonder with his National Geographic cover, Afghan Girl.  This photo was taken in Tibet.  Can’t say I am a big fan of the Chinese occupation, but composition-wise, McCurry let’s the jet tell the broader story of a people subjected and a culture destroyed.  At least that’s how I’m reading it.

And now for a few of my own…