"Photography, alone of the arts, seems perfected to serve the desire humans have for a moment - this very moment - to stay."
Sam Abell is an documentary American photographer; a
native of Ohio. He was a staff photographer with National
Geographic for thirty-three years. He left National Geographic
in 2005. He currently spends his time teaching, lecturing,
writing and photographing. He has multiple photography
books that I would strongly recommend; especially his
photography book 'The Photographic Life'.
I have been a fan of Sam Abell's work since I
first came across one of his photography books
over five years ago. I am drawn to the overall
context to his captured moments. When looking
at his photos, the viewer can jump into that
moment with him and his camera.
Sam Abell is a documentary photographer.
He uses negative space to build most of his images.
Although most of the image will have negative space,
he treats that space with as much respect as the rest of the image.
His images also have a lot of contrast throughout them.
He plays off of the natural highlights and shadowing given by his surroundings.
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Presentation Review: My presentation helped me gain perspective on what I should expect this semester. There were some series of my past work I originally wanted to work on. After reviewing an assortment of my work as a whole, I began to feel differently. I found myself being attracted to past work that doesn't blend with the style of work I'm currently doing.
These are fascinating photographs, especially in their diversity. I see what you mean about feeling like you can jump into the scene, although I really only feel that way about the second, fourth, and fifth images. The first and third, to me, create more distance between me, the viewer, and the subject of the photo - I feel that I am meant to stand back and contemplate the image rather than participate in the moment.
ReplyDeleteI am especially drawn to the fourth image, with the juxtaposition of the strong horizontals created by the "accidental" tape marks on what I assume is a window or some kind and the diagonals of the train tracks. The image feels (to me) both serendipitous and carefully constructed - a feeling I really enjoy!