It's 1:04am. I'm on flickr. Boyghost has left like three really cool and helpful comments on some of my pics and I am both honored and embarrassed to be honored. I'm also deliriously tired. But I can't seem to turn in just yet. The thing is he notices stuff in my pictures that I don't even notice, like the identical water towers in the picture above that I took earlier today. That's why I need his feedback! Because of stuff like that. And at the same time I worry occasionally that I might be getting to influenced, or even developing a censor when I shoot. I don't think it's a real concern yet though. I still love looking at other people's stuff. I have to look at other people's stuff. My pictures are no different than my writing. Sometimes I'm just to close to them and I get crazy and need to step back or I get bored or stuck. But when I see the amazing stuff people do on Flickr I'm reanimated! I just get so inspired.
I was at ICP on Friday after work. They had a fashion photography exhibit and Fridays are pay what you wish day for museums in NYC. I wasn't really into it though. The pictures were way too high concept, bursting with color and harsh digital effects. I liked some of the older stuff but mostly I liked the black and white stuff in the ICP collections room, pictures from what seemed like the 20s and 30s. After about an hour I wandered out and into the gift shop. I walked over to photo essays and reached for a Richard Avedon book but decided to go for an interesting looking book just one spine to the right. It had no title and was covered in this wierd plastic lace pattern. It was called "Jesus and the Cherries" by Jessica Backhaus. They were a collection of very plain very quietly profound color photographs of families, their homes and neighborhoods in Germany. She has an amazing eyes for the natural composition and beauty of everyday things. Her color detail is amazing, really makes you rethink the whole idea of photography and what makes an interesting photograph.
