S'all about the Subtext...

As I have expressed, I strive to capture emotion in photos, I think it gives more depth and intrigue. I took these shots of a friend one day and as a group I feel they have quite strong subtext.

As we Sit and Gaze...

Whilst on certain explorations with a certain group of Photographers we came across many chairs, some of them in places they wouldn't normally be found - a carpark for instance. I think a chair is a seriously interesting item to photograph because it almost looks as though something is missing (most probably a person to sit on the chair..) and so a photo of just a chair appears quite empty and somewhat lost. I felt these photos worked better in a group than standing alone and they seem to come in 3 pairs; the chairs being taken over by nature around them, the chairs spaced neatly in places they really shouldn't be and the lone wooden chairs left to gather dust.

A friend of a friend is a keen photographer and as I was browsing through his website I came across this photo which caught my eye because it reminded me of these shots. His photo is simply entitled 'Nothing.'
http://samrizzo.daportfolio.com/gallery/184264#8

How some Roll...

A skate park, I have discovered, is a very interesting place to take photos and somewhere which also links to my theme of Identity. People go there and leave their marks for others, almost instigating their territory. A skate park with no graffiti just wouldn't seem right, it creates a sort of subtextual power.

A photographer who isn't very well known is Christopher Kern. A friend of mine came across his work and showed it to me. His portraits of skateboarders really appealled to me because the style and subject is what I've been trying to aim for. Eyes are engaging with the camera intensely, hints about their identities from the art on boards along with the simplicity of the images I think make some great photos.

Dan, a guy who was blading whilst we were photographing seemed so at ease and happy for us to snap away. I like the simplicity of the top half of the right hand photo contrasting with the bottom half and also the way his 'pose' and the graffiti lines break up the solid lines of the railings.

Here the slopes of the ramps lead your eye up and over then up again to meet with the figure skating, this capture of movement I think sits well with how still the three boys on the left look and the symmetry of the two photos together and positioning of people.

Those with 'Steeze'..

Studio Portraits of students found to have special talents or hobbies some may be aware of, some may not. Finding ways of incorporating what they do in the photos I feel inhances their identities and makes them somewhat more interesting than if they stood alone with just a title.

Some welcomed the opportunity whilst others looked akward and expressionless similar to photos from James Pogson. These I am not keen on: I like the eyes of the subject to speak to the viewer and not just stare blankly.