{"id":5155,"date":"2016-08-14T12:47:03","date_gmt":"2016-08-14T17:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/?p=5155"},"modified":"2022-05-29T08:14:33","modified_gmt":"2022-05-29T13:14:33","slug":"1126-perceived-and-natural-perfection-and-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/2016\/08\/14\/1126-perceived-and-natural-perfection-and-beauty\/","title":{"rendered":"#1126 Imperfection – Manufactured or Natural Beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n

The words “perfection” and “beauty” evoke high expectations and standards that many spend lifetimes pursuing…<\/p>\n

Manipulated Perfection<\/strong>
\nActors, models and news anchors are expected to appear in perfect form but, as this\u00a0Dove video<\/a> shows, it is often after much manipulation including make-up. The beauty of the\u00a0Dove video is that\u00a0natural beauty occurs everywhere – it’s our expectation of manufactured perfection that should be questioned.<\/p>\n

Photography has followed the same path in the last few decades. Initial photo captures are manipulated, massaged, changed, and doctored to take a natural element and transform it into an ideal that aligns with one’s beliefs. Often the end result has little resemblance to the initial element being photographed.<\/p>\n

\"4x5<\/a>

Watershed – Chelsea Creek; near Old Chelsea Village – In the capture, above, I juxtaposed the light levels of the silhouetted underside of the bridge, the bright forest and the strip of well-exposed shade directly under the bridge.<\/p><\/div>\n

Natural Perfection<\/strong>
\nAbout five years ago I started exploring with old, low-tech photography in the pursuit of a more authentic approach to capturing the perfection that surrounds us everyday.<\/p>\n

I started searching for processes that were simple and pushed my core photo skills rather than my processing and editing skills.<\/p>\n

Low Tech Photo Process<\/strong>
\nI came across a process that allows me to put the final paper of the artwork into the camera resulting in a (photographically) positive final piece. My only tools to capture the beauty before my camera are shutter speed and aperture. In the dark room there is little room for manipulation and processing except for some contrast and minor tinting possibilities.<\/p>\n

\"8x10

Low-tech, plywood, large format camera<\/p><\/div>\n

The results are original artworks that record the bare beauty of the subject before me. I need to select the exposures for the most valuable part of the scene \u2013 I can only capture what lies before me. There are imperfections but, for me, that adds to the beauty of the piece.<\/p>\n

In the black & white capture, above, I \u00a0juxtaposed the light levels of the silhouetted underside of the bridge, the bright forest and the small strip of well-exposed shade directly under the far end of the bridge.<\/p>\n

I was also clear as this project developed that I wanted the artworks to stand alone – they come straight from the camera. Each capture is unique.<\/p>\n

Photos include my personal representation of the watershed<\/a> I have been following for 15 years.<\/p>\n

New Works and Hand Crafted Frames<\/strong>
\nAs I prepare for the upcoming show with\u00a0Emily Rose Michaud<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0InterconnectedWatershed<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 I have chosen to frame the new works with the help of a seasoned cabinetmaker who has been crafting and installing premium furniture and cabinets for 15 years. He has built the frames with the same care that he builds his exquisite furniture. While the frames are all the same and benefit from Mark\u2019s experience, they are all unique pieces that mirror the one-of\u2013a-kind artworks that they protect.<\/p>\n

\"Custom,<\/a>

Custom, hand-built frames<\/p><\/div>\n

Vernissage Details
\n<\/strong>Come to the vernissage as part of Wakefest<\/a> – Friday, August 19th<\/sup>, 2016 from 6-8pm \u2013 Rutherfords; 753 ch Riverside, Wakefield.
\nThe show runs until September 23rd, 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tweet The words “perfection” and “beauty” evoke high expectations and standards that many spend lifetimes pursuing… Manipulated Perfection Actors, models and news anchors are expected to appear in perfect form but, as this\u00a0Dove video shows, it is often after much Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[115,102,8,279,9,104],"tags":[298,103,27,90,108,91,87,6,297],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5155"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5155"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5799,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5155\/revisions\/5799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}