Tuesday, April 7, 2009

On Reflection


Scarlett Johansson by Annie Leibovitz. Shot in my booth at AIPAD.

There have been a few comments recently talking about the reflections in my art fair pictures. One helpful suggestion about polarizing filters, one comment saying they liked the reflections. But I have to say I also like the reflections. I hope it gives you a sense that you are there and differentiates the art fair or gallery round-up pictures from getting j-pegs from an artist or website. Not only that but they're not quite as random as they may seem. I try to make sure the key part of the picture is reflection free, check that there are no distracting figures reflected, and work on the jpegs to make them as clear as possible. They're my own little creative act.

11 comments:

makescoffeenervous said...

i love the reflections on your art fair pictures! you're right, it puts the viewer there with you.

Linda S. Socha said...

I am going to confess..I love the reflections...they are a bit magical...I am truly ok about things a bit magical......Love this shot by the way....glad also to see you are still blogging after the scare I received last fall!
Linda

cog said...

I'll forgive you since you included a shot of Scarlett in her underwear.

Alice Olive said...

Yep, totally appreciated. A little bit of atmosphere.

Pat Morrissey said...

Agreed - makes it real. Otherwise you could just post scans!

gphoto said...

can we have more pics of ScarJo

melange muse said...

Fantastic!

Carla said...

I love reflections, they tell a second story. Carla

Anonymous said...

Olga Chernysheva made a good video of spectators reflected in the glass over paintings in a Russian art gallery. She would frame it so the reflected people seemed to become part of the painting.
Michael W

Anonymous said...

I would reference Charlotte Cotton's book, "The Photograph as Contemporary Art", Chapter 4, Something and Nothing, especially pages 117-123.
Quote: "These elements register both as three-dimensional space and as series of two-dimensional picture planes that hinge on the vantage point of the photographer and there fore the viewer."
My apologies to Ms. Cotton if I have taken excessive liberties with her observations. Regardless, I love them, thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

so funny ...as part of my job at the gallery I aim to eliminate all reflections on images if frames cannot be removed.

The photo in this post is beautiful. ...but Scarlett J rarely takes a bad photo ...it's like taking a picture of a flower. Easy :)