Micha Bar Am
was my inspiration for this shoot. He’s an awesome Israeli photographer who
makes good use of repetition, contrast and a mix of similar and dissimilar
elements to make mostly black and white photographs. Considering he worked with
the New York Times for a while, has published several photography books and
made the Magnum list, I think he's a decent person to look up to.
I went to
Lagoon over the weekend with my husband and family. Since I didn't have a lot
of time, I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone - finish an assignment and
make it through a day at the world’s worst amusement park. (I have a bad
attitude, I know).
Now.
“He says that he has adopted Robert Capa's saying, "If your photographs aren't good
enough, you weren't close enough," but has added a caveat: "If
you're too close you lose perspective. It is not easy to be fair with the facts
and keep your own convictions out of the picture. It is almost impossible to be
both a participant in the events and their observer, witness, interpreter. The
effort brings great frustration, and equally great reward."” (Wikipedia)
In all of these photos I tried to be close enough to isolate the scene,
but not too close so that I was recording only a very specific object that I
picked out. I tried to emulate Micha Bar Am's sense of light and dark, and
looked for repetitions that I could photograph. Even though Bar Am is a
documentary photographer specializing in historical and war photography, of
which I don't have a particular interest, I like his style. He knows how to
combine the human tendency towards order and repetition with impulse and
emotion. I hope I can convey that in my own work!
