Third Thursday

I ended up going to see the photography show by Randy Duchaine at the Erie Canal Museum. http://www.randyduchaine.com/photos/NY%20Waters%20/ This is the link for his website and some of the images from his show are here. The event was just his photographs set up in a separate exhibit. The room had several of his photographs that were all black and white. I love the fact that none of them were in color because I think it forces the viewer to really focus on the subject matter within the image. All of the photographs had to do with people who interact with water. For example, there was a photograph of surfers standing in the environment that they are constantly a part of, the ocean. There were images of captains of boats standing on their ships and sail makers. The images were so different, yet they all had one linking theme. The way that they were all hung in a single room with white walls made the series work well together because they were all in a grouped along a curved wall. The images were all very clear, but all seemed very staged and planned, almost like a photo shoot. I did like this in some instances, for example there was one image of an older woman sitting with a violin or some sort of small instrument, and she was in charge of something that was overlooking the ocean that had to do with music. The image appears to be taken at night and the city lights are seen from the glass panels that overlook the ocean. I think the asymmetrical composition is very dynamic. Although she is looking to the left, her instrument is angled toward the center of the photograph which draws your eye to the cityscape in the background. Her pale skin contrasting with the dark background and her black outfit make a high contrast image that looks much more crisp and rich in person. It almost seems a little busy on his website, but because the image is about 12X9 (estimate) it is seems less overwhelming. I love photography and really enjoyed going to see this exhibit. Each image, although they were staged, had a presence in the room and portrayed these people in a light that showed how much pride they had in whatever they were doing, whether it was eel fishing, swimming, surfing, or anything that involved water.