No man's land

I loved the black and white images in the show, at university hall. It was an interesting take on landscapes, alot of images were things that were not the standard of beauty, for example the image" Kluza Fortress, Soca Valley, Slovenia". The wide sense of space gave an allusion of true loneliness. It is nice to see images that are not of a city in the city. The perception is some of these image is spectacular such as the image "Gettysburg, Pennsylvania". These images as a whole creates surreal imagery with a sense of beauty within emptiness.

-Amanda Murley

No Man's Land

Since I missed class last week, I went to the No Man's Land exhibit at the porter square AIB gallery. The images were beautifully printed, especially the black and white pieces. Many of the images conveyed a great sense of loneliness and abandonment. In this series of photographs it stays true to its title "No Man's Land", as there is not one portrait in the series. My Favorite photographs from the exhibit were the one of the moss and lush landscape, its colors were beautiful and the textures were very interesting. the "Abandoned Farm Near Elizabeth City" pictured farm equipment on another beautiful landscape. The photograph titled "Gettysburg Adams County, Pennsylvania" was almost dream-like. The colors of the grasses and brush are dark in the foreground and fade to lighter green in the background. The sun is a baby-blue with fluffy clouds, and it seems like something that could not exist in this country. I liked that many of these pieces are places I may never see because of their random locations in rural countrysides.

PRC Color Awards

I think all the pieces in the show fit well together. It seems like they all have some sort of surreal/fantasy quality to them which is caused by the setting in some and how vivid the color is in others. I didn't completely understand Claudia Angelmaier's pieces though. I'm not exactly sure how they're considered photography enough to be getting awards as photographs. Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick's photographs were the most interesting to me. They make a lot more sense with the titles and description, but they were captivating images without them too. Alejandro Chaskielberg's images were also really captivating and surreal with the setting and colors, but became more grounded with their description. The people almost looked like set up miniatures because the grasses are so tall. I'm not really sure if I like the really saturated colors though. Curtis Mann's pieces were interesting but I wasn't really sure about them until reading the description and finding out what he did to the photographs. I think all of the sets of photos fit together into a show pretty well, but Claudia Angelmaier's pieces were the least fitting with the rest.

Shutterbabe response.

I thought this reading was really good, once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. The part about the orphanage was really shocking and graphic and I don't think I would have had the stomach to be able to stand there and shoot pictures. Just looking at those kids in person would have been hard to deal with, and then seeing their horrible living conditions would have been too much for me. I have a lot of respect for her going to Jim and telling him about the orphanage, because she knows he can get the pictures published and out there more then she ever could. It wasn't about who got their pictures published or money, it was about getting these horrible images out there for people to see, so maybe something would change.

Shutterbabe Response

I really liked this reading, but I haven't really been sure how to go about responding to it. When I looked up Deborah Kogan, I was surprised to see she mostly writes and shoots authors now. It seemed a little lackluster compared to the trips she described in the reading. I do see how someone could burn out on photojournalism and want to do something else though. I definitely have respect for the photojournalists who go out and shoot things like the orphanage they were shooting to get publicity and aid for them (though I have a feeling that a lot of shoots like that never get published in well read publications).

Shutterbabe Response

Hannah Johnson

I really enjoyed this reading, although it was long. It held my interest much more than the other readings, especially the longer ones, because of its story-telling style. It is a completely enjoyable piece of literature, well written, and full of really interesting information. The story she tells about the orphanage in Romania was brutal. The graphic descriptions of the way these children were mistreated and their living situations were very unsettling. You didn't want to believe that a place like that actually exists. However at the same time, I felt myself being extremely curious as to what her photos were. I wanted to see some examples of the environment, of the children. I think it's sobering to hear what other countries are like, and how utterly different America is from them. Photojournalists are important to this enlightenment and I was glad to hear that the little orphanage got some press. All in all, I did enjoy this part of the book and it intrigues me to see what else the rest of the book might be like.

Shutterbabe Response

This article was interesting to me because it was more of a story-based reading. I liked that it gave a lot of insight to what the life of a photojournalist covering a story is. The story of the “unrecoverables” made me feel sick to my stomach. As Americans we often forget that other countries do not have the same healthcare standards as our country. Deborah’s decision to hand her story over to her friend Jim is a decision I would have a hard time making as a professional photographer. She had to decide between money or morality, and possibly changing the lives of these orphans. I think that would be a hard call to make, especially when photography is your career, or more importantly, your way of making money. I liked when the author wrote her thought processes out in the reading, when it seemed to be just a free flow of her thoughts towards Doru. I think in this case, Deborah made the right choice in giving up her story. The karma repayment she received after only confirms her decision. I don’t think I could be a photojournalist, because covering a story as intense as the “unrecoverables” would be a truly complex job, however it would be extremely rewarding if the work generated a newfound understanding or urgency to fix the situation of these orphans.