Extreme Exposure

My business phrase in photography has always been "Bringing the World to You." While there are many different types of photography out there, each with their own unique nuances and cliques, my personal favorite has always been the types of photographs that inspire people to view parts of the planet that they may not normally know of or hear about. For me, photography is a way to bring far away locations and cultures to people who may not have thousands of dollars sitting around to spend on a luxury expedition. Whether you're in the Midwest or sitting on the steps of Angkor Wat, the Earth contains of a wide variety of atmosphere that are, surely, unique to someone else. I suppose this is why I am so enthralled National Geographic, as their photography has been bringing locations both near and far to readers around the world for over a decade.

This past Saturday, as Abrah and I were sitting around trying to figure out some way to pass the weekend by, we realized that the Annenberg Space for Photography was opening their newest exhibit, Extreme Exposure. Without much hesitation, we drove down to Century City to take a look. By far, it has been one of my favorites of the three exhibits I've managed to check out. The display featured five photographers and prints that, while not necessarily officially showcased by National Geographic, were no strangers to their mission. Everything I love about travel and exotic photography was on display, with each photographer focusing on a certain area from the extremes of the Earth. Two of the photographers, Michael Nichols and Paul Nicklen, I had heard and seen quite a bit from before from reading NGM. I was pleasantly surprised by the others that I was not familiar with, however: Clyde Butcher and the married team of Donna and Stephen O'Meara.

Upon first entering and being greeted by the always-friendly staff, you are met with an introduction to each of the photographers and what their display was focused on. As we would walk around, the photographers also had displays of items used on their respective journeys, giving the Space even more depth and detail than normal. I knew I would fall in love with this current round of photos because the first photo a visitor comes across in the entrance hallway is that of the famous redwood tree that graced National Geographic only a short while back. It was a picture that made my trip to Muir Woods an absolute necessity earlier this year. Composed by stitching together 84 images, the final image is positively lovely in print with a great deal of color and detail popping out that is hard to recreate via the internet or limited magazine spreads. Even more impressive, Michael Nichols later says in his video that they can easily print out the image life-size; it's a final image that rests over 300 feet tall. I pray that one day the side of the Annenberg and CAA buildings have this tapered on their sides like so many other billboards in Hollywood.

After you notice the redwood print, the first photographer to be highlighted is Paul Nicklen with his prints of the coldest places on Earth, complete with personal drysuit on display. Out of all the photos, I think I loved Paul Nicklen's the most. I had first heard of his work not through his photos but by a story from my Iris Nights lecture with David Griffin. Paul's story was the same "sea lion story" I had mentioned previously. Sure enough, several of the same images I saw from Mr. Griffin's lecture were there in canvas form for display. Apparently, Paul had run across a female leopard seal while doing a story. Feeling testy, it began to snap at the camera's underwater housing. After it realized Paul was not a threat, it actually began to try feeding him by capturing penguins and bringing them back to the photographer. It was a cute story, and the pictures are extremely vivid to see brought to live. His photos of the arctic are colorful and sharp in a world most normally associate with being devoid of much life. Whether it's a lone polar bear or narrowly avoiding a walrus's headbutt, Paul Nicklen's photos are great at conveying a story and atmosphere.

Next down the line were Donna and Stephen O'Meara, a husband and wife team specializing in volcano photography. Their gifts to the display were a giant block of pahoehoe lava and their trekking boots. I found their exhibit fairly interesting, if partially because of the timing. Several of their photos feature Eyjafjallajokull, the notorious Icelandic volcano that shut off travel throughout Europe earlier this Summer (also famous for having Top Gear host James May drive up to its crater in a Toyota Hilux). for myself, the volcano pictures were largely reminiscent of my short time living Hawaii when I was younger. They definitely Kilauea in their displays, with plenty of hot lava flowing from every still.

Clyde Butcher's displays were on the open area next to the center screening room of the Annenberg, and I felt he was the most surprising of the photographers. His work is mostly Large Format and focuses on the Florida Everglades. His prints are definitely to be seen in person to be appreciated. They are composed in black and white and feature a stunning detail I have never seen in print before. He says in his video that he wants "people to feel like they can walk into a photo." The essence is certainly there. His gift to the exhibit of course was one of his large format view cameras, an 8x10 I believe. His statements do seem markedly anti-digital, but his story is certainly inspiring and the format he chooses works wonders. Even though the Everglades seem somewhat less exotic than the other areas featured, he captures them in a way that seems extremely foreign.

Michael Nichols can be found on the exit hallway and the restroom area. It's amazing what this man has accomplished with 25 stories shot for National Geographic, let alone other publications. His exhibit placed an emphasis on more forests, especially the Congo and the redwood range of the Western US. I found Michael's work to be interesting, if anything, because several of the extremely fun photos were taken via remote camera traps, including one with a very slimy and imposing crocodile tail. His were also some of the view to feature people in this exhibit, and to no surprise, captured to most sense of urgency. Much like the Water exhibit, some (but certainly not all) of his photography highlighted issues facing environments today, especially to Congolese prints. This was both a positive and negative to some, as both Abrah and a few others stated this and the Water exhibit similarly focused too much on trying to make a statement. I did not mind, but it was a stark contrast to the other photographers who focused on letting beautiful and foreign lands speak for their own nature.

Overall, Extreme Exposure is a highly recommended showcase if you can make it down to the Los Angeles area between now and April 17th. I believe it has been my favorite and most well-measured display so far with Water close behind. With any luck, these images will help inspire even more to view our world from different angles.

Finding My Niche

So, as I try to gear up and prep to take this photography thing into the "professional" realm, one theme I keep running into in most forums, books, and blogs is finding your photographic specialty. There seems to be a running sentiment that a photographer needs to focus on one genre or area and keep everything else as nothing more than playthings to mess around with in our spare time. I've had a hard time dealing with this on several fronts.

I've always been keen to the idea that you should do what makes you happy and cut out things that only bring stress or drama. This is a philosophy that applies not just to photography, but to all aspects of my life, from relationships to work to simple hang-outs with friends. I'm not on that likes being told that an area I like being in won't be applicable due to economics, competition, or what-have-you. So, as you can guess, trying to narrow down only a few focuses out of the wide world of photography has been a bit of a challenge.

I guess in a business world, everything will click, and artists become much more willing to sacrifice things they enjoy once paychecks are rolling in. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be writing about trying to break into the art world if I had, well, all ready broken into the art world. So, those sacrifices don't mean much to me yet, and I continue searching. I have narrowed down a few key items, though.

1) I don't do weddings. They don't interest me creatively.
2) As such, I also don't do general "portrait studio" work ala Olan Mills.

There's a whole two items! Which isn't a lot to work with. Even number two is rather vague, since I still do portrait and headshot work, so long as it isn't repetitive. and then there are other factors, like being able to objectively look at my work and notice that, at the moment, I probably couldn't handle doing a lot of food photography on a commercial level due to inexperience. Or sports due to a lack of long lenses. Etc.

So where is my niche? What do I enjoy? And, most importantly, how can I make money out of doing what I love?

To start, my tagline for photography is "Bringing the World to You." I've been a reader of National Geographic since 2004, and it has quickly become less of a casual read and more of an obsession. I love the magazine, the Society, and all that it stands for in bringing readers aspects of our world that we may not be able to see otherwise. Whether it was the special report issue on China for May 2008 or an article in January this year on Scotland's Hebrides, I'm enthralled by learning all I can about this world. So, in point, I like taking pretty pictures of culture, landscape, and wildlife that breaks outside the realm of "normal." I love adventure.

Naturally, this is an area loved by many photographers and, to make matters more complicated, it's largely an area dominated by those that can afford the travel in the first place. Hello, Money, Crusher of Dreams. Now, I come from a family that has struggled pretty frequently on finances. I have an awesome job at Warner Bros., but it's also only slightly above minimum wage, which is immediately drained by that thing called "Rent." Travel is certainly a luxury, not a career. My future will have to involve finding a way to flip that around. Somehow.

A least I have my niche. Sort of. It's a start, a goal to work towards. I can't imagine that will be the only area I find some interest in as I journey through the optical world, but there's now some emphasis above everything else.

Anyone know of a research expedition that needs a photographer?


Gone Fishin' by =serphius on deviantART