All in the Past

Here are some photos I took of the same lovely girl back in college. They're the most popular photographs on my flickr page. Ahh.. I miss film. And college.. and having access to a good scanner. As I troll through flickr, it occurs to me that so much of the beautiful imagery is created in either the country or the suburbs. I guess there's only so much one can do in an apartment. Hmmm. Nature.

During my ICP class today, I asked the class why it seems like so much fine photography is about people being unhappy. I guess I'm trying to explore that in my own work as well - the idea that being wealthy, beautiful and having material things is just an appearance and doesn't necessarily indicate happiness. I'm sure this goes back to my childhood history of being an "outsider" from the "popular group" and my interest in exploring their lives. Wow. Hello photography = therapy and catharsis. Anyway, do serious photos mean serious work? I don't think anyone was really able to answer that question in my class. First, my teacher said that smiling and laughing is something we do in response to someone else and not something we'd do alone- thus the implication that it wouldn't be a "portrait" of someone. The very well spoken recent Yale grad pointed out photography often takes its cues from painting early portrait photography and due to the nature of these mediums, one cannot smile for an extended period of time. My teacher also said something to the effect that artists over think things and when you over think things, you realize all the pain in the world that exists. Or at least I think that's what he said. Hmm. I usually prefer the glass is half full thinking, but lately, my patience and positive outlook has waned and yet, I'm healthy, have a wonderful boyfriend, great friends, family, etc. But there are certain truths about life that you'll always go through some sort of struggle and that nothing is ever perfect. That slightly bugs me. Can you have it all? I guess for my next project, I should photograph people who are poor and unattractive but genuinely happy. Hmm.