21st Century American Views

In order to provide some inspiration for creating some more blog entries on other people's work my tutor gave me a list of links to some good photography blogs. The first one I followed was to www.flakphoto.com .

I soon found an interesting entry on an exhibition on 21st Century American landscape photography -  http://flakphoto.com/content/looking-at-the-land-21st-century-american-views . The exhibition includes work from a wide variety of photographers chosen from 5500 submissions. I tried to pick the ones which both interested me and had an interesting use of light.

 
GRAHAM MILLER
NICOLE
MONUMENT VALLEY, UTAH
2009

The dawn landscape scene provides a backlight to the foreground scene, which sidelights the woman in the centre in the photo. Theres clearly some light come from the front and right too as this is lighting the the woman's face.


AARON ROTHMAN
BIG BOX
ARIZONA
2006

The overexposure of the above photo emphasises the brightness of the sun in what looks like analmost desert scene. The light is pretty much direct from the front and so despite the heavily angular building there is no real shadow.


BRIAN ULRICH
PEP BOYS 3
COLUMBUS, OHIO
2009

Another very angular building, this time with the light emanating from within it. My guess is that this is overexposed in order to achieve the burnt out effect of the windows of the building. Importantly though, the sky is still jet black.


BRAD MOORE
ROSE ROOM
ORANGE COUNTY, TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA
2008

Again, the light is fully frontal so the flatness of the trees is emphasised and the geometrical symmetry maintained.


COREY ARNOLD
SLACK WATER
GULF OF ALASKA
2010

Here the sea is backlit which is producing some very dynamic and dramatic shadowsi n the water - this emphasises the choppyness of the water.


CAITLIN TEAL PRICE
T
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
2010

In the above photo the scene is quite lit from the upper right - at about 90 degrees. This emphasises the many angles in the scene, the shadows adding to and varying them. However, I think the light, smooth surface of the road and bridge surface is causing enough reflection to bounce light back into the scene and stop the shadows being too contrasty.


DALTON ROONEY
FIRE ISLAND
NEW YORK
2009

The light here is very diffused. I'm guessing that it's a night photograph. Or judging by the pink light, pre-dawn or post-sunset.


HYERS + MEBANE
HOUSE - 88440019
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK
2008

The artificial light in this photograph is clearly coming slightly from the right and is probably just above head height. The neutrally coloured light looks like it might be coming from a single, powerful flash. The shadows are extremely crisp at the edges.


KATE PETERS
PLANE
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
2007

As with the first photo the scene here consists of a foreground which is backlit by a naturally lit landscape. Here though, there is no other light,so the foreground is darker.


CHRISTINE CARR
221.05.1.250
ROANOKE, VIRGINIA
2005

This photo is mainly of shadows. The edges are somewhat diffused by what is a fairly low sun.


RYAN BOATRIGHT
UNTITLED #5
LAKE FOREST, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
2005

The buildings here are heavily side lit to the extent that all we're left with is shapes in 2 tones, light and dark and a subtly graduated background.