Category: Photography

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A Statue at Fair Park and the Ever Changing Light

The statues along the Esplanade are some of my favorite photo subjects at Fair Park in Dallas. I went to the State Fair of Texas yesterday and took the picture below. I usually go when the weather is nice and sunny, but it was overcast yesterday and the first time I have taken a picture of the statues in the flat natural light that a cloudy day provides. It is much different than all my past photos of the statues I have taken in high contrast sunlight. These statues have stood in the virtually the same place since the Fair Grounds opened in 1936, but the natural and artificial light sources that illuminate their surfaces have been changing ever since and with that how they are perceived visually. I first saw these statues as a child, and see them differently today as an older adult than I did then. All this reminds me of the quote below from the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus. It is a quote that increasingly comes to mind as the years pass for me.

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”

This statue is the work of Lawrence Tenney Stevens and was created for the first State Fair of Texas when it opened in 1936.

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Statue at Fair Park

I always enjoy seeing the statues out of all the attractions at Fair Park and watching how the light and shadows change throughout the day on those statues facing south, toward the sun. They are artistically lit with artificial light at night in very colorful and creative patterns. I have yet to get a good picture of them at night but plan to on my next visit. This statue is the work of Lawrence Tenney Stevens.

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History in the Moment

Often when taking a picture, it is merely to capture the image of a subject I find interesting. The image visually captures that moment, often in a fraction of a second. What I don’t know exactly at the time, and only discover later is how I captured a piece of history as it was and will never be seen again. The level of importance of that image and it’s historical significance varies and is subjective, but what I find fascinating is how the visual image of that moment in time stays exactly the same, and yet how it is perceived can change greatly as the history surrounding it evolves.

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Photography – The Creative and Technical

Photography combines the creative with the technical. That was true with film and now with digital. This is one reason I enjoy photography and how it can blend both together so well when creating an image. While it may seem that one prevails over the other more in some photographs, I find that upon deeper examination that it becomes apparent both are always present, one could not exist alone without the other although the weight of each can shift and predominate depending on how an image is examined. This goes beyond photography and into some age-old art vs. science dichotomous type of discussions. One of the favorite books I read in my youth and again more recently, decades later is “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An inquiry into Values” by Robert M. Pirsig. Any discussion about the creative and technical brings thoughts of that book to mind without fail. When I shoot and during post-processing images, it comes to mind when I seem to get bogged down and lose focus. It is when that divide between the creative and technical disappears that I seem to come forth with some of my best images.

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Photography as Universal Communication

The reasons I love photography are many, but one in particular is how a great photograph can be a form of universal communication with the ability to transcend the spoken word. It is one that requires no narrative and translation. It stimulates emotions and resonates deeply without verbalization. The subject matter of the image may have been tediously crafted or spontaneous and unplanned. Regardless of what came before and after the image was captured, what makes it great for me is that it moves us in an essential, human way and leaves something eternal behind that cannot be forgotten.

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Visual Communications and Lifelong Learning

In 2011, I returned to college after many years away to resume my education, this time in the area of photography. What followed was an education through a number of courses in a Visual Communications program at Brookhaven College that expanded my current level of knowledge beyond photography and digital imaging into Web Design, WordPress and Illustration as well as other areas of learning. Since completing those college courses, I continued my Visual Communication education through various courses offered through Lynda.com and CreativeLive, both of which provide excellent and well structured online courses in Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and WordPress, just to name a few. Lifelong learning is vital to my well being and is something I enjoy immensely.