Great photography brings out emotions that pulls on the heart strings. It doesn’t just mean those taken from professionals – there’s plenty of emotional stuff that people post on Facebook, Instagram, etc. It really comes down to how images connect with people, cultures, context, and state of mind. For example, bread and butter seem to be a staple combination, but the French like to add jam or other sweets to the mix (see Breakfast Tartines). When I first learned (and tasted) this combination, it was a bit “gross”, but as I got to understand the culture, not only did I get use to the image of jam being applied over butter onto a piece of bread, but that it just made “sense” – although the taste still gets a bit of getting use to. Visuals and images can pull at the heart strings depending on the situation – and that’s what makes good photography great, capturing those moments that resonate with us.
The Photography Annual 53 from Communication Arts for July/August featured some amazing photographs. I found the ones about animals and people particularly touching. In addition to the one above by Randal Ford, here are a few of my favorites.
An interesting project by Theron Humphrey of taking images of his dog on standing (or sitting) on different objects across the US.
One in a unpublished series of photos by Barry Shepard entitled “Vanishing Act: Species on the Brink” on the study of patterns, textures, and character of animals facing extinction.
One in a series of photos by Howard Schatz published for “At the Fights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing”.
A photo by John Huet for a Playtex advertisement campaign “Play On”.
This photo by RJ Muna was used as part of advertising campaign to promote the Alonzo King Links Ballet 2011 season.
A pretty standard photo by Spencer Lowell, but I love the concept of Google’s Director of Research Peter Norvig and his camo-t-shirt which illustrates his take on artificial intelligence and how it is already very much integrated into our lives.