Monday, March 06, 2006

Doncha sometimes fancy a nice cup of Java?

I like to take this kind of photo lately, just because for the first time I have a camera which allows me to. I love the way photos can show you things the so-called naked eye cannot. Here we can see the clear detail of the bean; it is larger than life.

Java

Other pictures allow us to take in a broad scene, without turning our head. Camera lenses can do stuff normal eyes cannot. It was only when I went to see an exhibition which included the work of Gursky and Sternfeld which made me fully appreciate this point.

And these days I also turn my head to look at things which I would otherwise not even be aware of, or would not believe were even 'to do with' me when I went past. Such as street art (a term I now use) or graffiti, or even palimpsest. I would have missed this before:
line-  as in 'doing a'.

And I certainly would not have got up early to get a shot of this before the traffic got busy.

Eject and Survive

I would say that I have been interested in photography for years, but never as much as now, where I take photos and look at them addictively. Aware of the world more, as well as being aware of the affordances of a photograph. I have become aware of how a photograph can have a smaller or greater relationship with the subject it took and can be cropped or processed in ways that make it look different, convey something different.

Kris Cohen in his article on photoblogging writes that the photobloggers he interviewed, all now take more pictures than they ever have before. And that they take pictures of 'the everyday', 'the banal', 'the boring'. (Their words).

I think this is interesting, as this is what we see so much of on Flickr. (Not exclusively.) It is as if with digital photography, (for that is the cause of all this visual proliferation) people are also trying to capture what is apparently not usually under our gaze. It is as if we are trying to reveal the world anew all the time. So photo-technology allows us to bring into view, the peripheral; and the web allows us to share with others.

And we digikids always carry our cameras everywhere we go - just in case we need to catch a moment that we want everyone else to see. And we go to daft, off the wall, out of the way places to catch something no one else will!

Are we all turning into journalists?

Anyway, before I go, wanna sweetie?
Magic Mushrooms

6 comments:

Anya said...

I just loooooove your close-ups DrJoolz!! Those coffee beans are incredible.

Digigran said...

Full of envy for your photographic skills (and obvious supply of goodies. Coconut mushrooms are a childhood favourite- more treats for the common room on your return
XXX

Joolz said...

Thank you Anya and digigran; don't be impressed though as I am a bit of a sad person who spent half am hour putting sweets and beans on white plates and photgraphing them under the light of an angle poise lamb.
This is pitiful behaviour - as you will agree!

Kate said...

No it is sensible as you are not sitting in Sheffield in the pouring rain like me.

Joolz said...

Ha ha 'angle poise lamb'!! Did anyone see that???

Digigran said...

I did - thought it was lovely
Just seen little lambs sheltering from the sleet in Chatsworth- Scene.

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Sheffield, South Yorks, United Kingdom
I am an academic interested in New Literacies, Digital Lifestyles, Informal Online Learning.