The first exhibit we visited was in Aperture Foundation titled The New York Times Magazine Photograph, which feature images from various photographers. The purpose of the photographs in the exhibition was to provide images that depicted current event. Some stories covered were the Kuwaiti Inferno and the act of terror on World Trade Center. A common trend in these photographs involve humans and their reactions during tragedies. One photographer stepped away from this trend and instead photographed the bedrooms of dead soldiers, which I found interesting. Ashley Gilbertson took his photographs in monotone with the complete room in focus. He had a tendency to use the daylight that would come in from the window for his lighting. Along with the photograph was a caption that explained the death of the soldier, some died from enemy explosives and there was even on who committed suicide. The black and white really made these ordinary bedrooms appear grim and depressing.
The following exhibit was displaying Ansel Adams Classic Images. Adams focused on capturing the beauty of the environment because he wanted to preserve wild space. All of his photos appeared to use daylight with an extensive depth of field. The use of daylight also helped him create high contras in many of his image especially in “Winter Sunrise,” where it is greatly noticeable from the different lighting on the mountains. His photographs help the viewer appreciate the beauty of nature and it does invoke a feeling that this is something we should protect.
The final gallery we visited was for Stephen Shore in 303 Gallery, a photographer well known for his use of color photography. His photographs exhibited are the ones he took in Israel and Ukraine. Similarly, to the previous two, he also relied on front lit daylight and kept a sharp focus. He seemed to be interested in using bright and vivid colors to contrast against duller colors easily noticeable in photograph of the homes in Israel. His exhibit would exert a calm atmosphere, but not relaxing. The photograph of survivors of Ukraine captures strong emotions of the elderly who seem they only want to forget about the past. If Shore were not photographing a person, he would focus on the texture of walls, objects and other objects that provided great contrast.
The work by Ashley Gilbertson was really interesting primarily because he came up with a unique way for us to understand the death of these young people. You correctly note that he uses the available light. I think that underscores the feeling of authenticity as opposite to a set up with added lighting which would feel fake. I think Gilbertson chose to use black and white to make the series feel serious. The grim and depressing cast to it I believe come from what we know-that the former occupants of these rooms are dead.