Ansel Adams Quote

"To photograph truthfully and effectively is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature and humanity which live or are latent in all things."

-Ansel Adams

Rhythm in Photography

Rhythm permeates our world. Music tempts us to move with the flow of notes and the pacing of words on a page encourages us to stay up late to finish a favorite book. Our bodies pulse with the constant rhythmic beating of our hearts, a comforting reminder that we live. Rhythm is alive in the visual arts as well.

Rhythm is “a strong, regular, repeated pattern of movement and sound”, according to the Oxford American Dictionary. In his book, Photography & the Art of Seeing, Freeman Patterson says: “Rhythm is a way to use pattern. A pattern may be repeated at random, but if it is repeated at regular intervals, we speak of rhythm.”
If rhythm is movement within repeated patterns, then photography is fertile ground in which to harness that flow. The patterns can be lines, shapes or color, and the positioning of the repetitions can lead the eye in the direction of the photographer’s choosing and influence the tone or feel of the image. In the examples shown here, black lines bending into progressively smaller and smaller triangles sweep us up the stairwell, and repeated colors and shapes of boats march the viewer diagonally across the page in rows. Notice how each rhythm may have a different pace, sometimes dynamic, sometimes plodding.

We can break it down to the step-by-step technique and use it consciously or we can let it flow without thought from that place deep inside us where inspiration is born. You know you have succeeded when you look at it and it feels right in your gut.

-Janet Worne

Henri Cartier-Bresson Quote

“Photography implies the recognition of a rhythm in the world of real things.”

-Henri Cartier-Bresson

How Does it Make You Feel?

When you create a photograph, what is it that urges you to click the shutter at that moment? When purchasing a photograph in your favorite gallery, what is it about that image that called out to you and stopped you in your tracks?

Many people simply don’t know. It is that indefinable something that whispers in your ear so softly that only your subconscious can hear. Is it the composition or colors? Perhaps you felt a special connection to the subject of the photo. Whatever reason you come up with, it can probably be drilled down to the very core of what makes a great photograph. How it makes you feel. And because we all look at art through a different cultural and experiential lens, a single image can elicit a different visceral response from everyone who views it.

Take this photo, “Shaker Dreams”, as an example. What feelings does it evoke in you when you look at it?

Does it make you feel nostalgic? Scared? Hopeful?

I’ve had a variety of responses to this photograph. Some people find it a bit scary. They don’t want to know what’s behind the door and the last thing they would want to do is climb those stairs to find out. Others are filled with hope and anticipation. They are bursting to know what is behind a door with such glorious light spilling through its window.

How does it make you feel?


--Janet Worne

“In The Mind’s Eye” Opens On Friday

When the Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery sent out the call for entries for their first juried show, “In the Mind’s Eye”, they asked for photographers to answer the question: “What is your vision of the world?” The instructions elaborated, saying that “it could be surreal or authentic, fantasy or truth—or it may include elements of both”.

The response was fantastic with over 100 photos entered from artists who have created a collection of highly imaginative images, and in some cases, surreal enough to be a backdrop for the most stylized of science fiction films.

Images were evaluated independently by three award-winning professional photographers and scored based on three criteria: Creativity, Technique, and Impact. The judges were Leroy Perea, founder of ANMPAS (Annual New Mexico Photographic Art Show), Urey Lemen, a founding member of APG, and Kent Winchester, also a member of APG.

The top 30 scoring images will be on display at the Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery in Plaza Don Luis, Old Town Albuquerque, from February 3rd through the 29th. The opening reception will be on February 3rd, 5:00 to 8:00 PM.

For more information visit the APG website, www.abqphotographersgallery.com or call (505) 244-9195.

We hope to see you there!

Georgia O'Keefe Quote

"To create one's own world in any of the arts takes courage."

--Georgia O'Keefe

The Dawning of a New Year

It begins with a gentle lightening of the horizon. No more than a hint of what is to come. So subtle and gradual is the beginning that it is not always recognized for what it is. It could be the lights of a nearby town or the harsh beacons of a highway. It couldn’t be the dawn. Could it?

There is something magical about the moment when night changes to day. That precise moment is calculated and published in newspapers. The longest and shortest days are celebrated as solstices. Even birds become silent in reverence for that moment.

Then it pounces. Minute by minute the sky evolves and suddenly a new day is born. Each one begins in a different way. Sometimes it’s a symphony of light and shadow blending brush strokes of crimson and pink over a dark, dusky blue. Always changing, never waiting until the camera is in the right place, never hesitating for “just one more picture”.

And sometimes the dawning is cold and dreary. Black drains from the sky to reveal a gray, monochromatic world, as if it were veiled to the eye. Trees float into focus as the minutes silently pass.

When enough of the new light filters through, the day begins in earnest. The wind picks up, birds begin to sing, and people move about. Suddenly, it’s another day.

The dawning of the New Year has always been a time of hope, a new beginning. There is the feeling that no matter how dark and dismal the past has been this day is the first day of the rest of your life. It is a chance to start fresh. Past mistakes don’t count.

But why this day? Why do we not celebrate it on the first day of spring? Or on the day of the first new moon? The fact that different countries and religions celebrate it on different days tells us that it’s not the particular day that is important. It’s the feelings we associate with it. So wouldn’t it be nice if we made a fresh start every morning as the sun slips past the horizon to banish the dark corners of our lives?

Happy New Year. Happy new day.

--Janet Worne