Blog Number 4

I believe that our speaker that we had on Tuesday, Dan Powell, was a much different lecturer then our previous guests. He said something along the lines of, "I don't consider myself an artist, rather a photographer or manipulator." (I actually didn't hear exactly what he said word for word.. I was sitting towards the back and had a rather difficult time hearing him sometimes). His art was unique, and much different from what we have previously seen with the other guest speakers. I found his art to be more engaging then the other artists, besides Colin Ives whose art was strictly engaging with his viewers. I enjoyed how Dan would manipulate his photographs with different types of writing and materials that he had found lying around his old studio. I found this to be creative, different, unique, and engaging. His Flow Chart series is what I really enjoyed. I liked how dynamic each image was but at the same time pretty similar. I liked how he would take computer codes and place them on his pictures, allowing the viewer to decipher and create whatever he or she wanted to create. I took photography classes extensively in high school and some art classes as well. So I especially enjoyed Dan's work and creative genius in combining his art with photographs, or vice versus. His landscape photographs were truly spectacular. In high school, when I had the time and a car, I would go on hiking and camping trips with a few buddies of mine up to the gorge and up on Mt. Hood. Every time I went I would bring both of my cameras, one film and one digital. I would take tons of pictures of the landscapes up there because of the breathtaking views and scenic panoramas. So seeing his landscape photographs from Washington, I had almost a sense of euphoria, taking me back to the times when I was able to leave school early to go shoot and hike. One of my favorite quotes in our reading this week and one that I thought went side by side with Dan's and my landscape photography was "Beauty is absolutely fundamental to life; it is not a cultural accessory, or something that belongs to the exclusive province of the arts." (179)

I'm bummed because I left all my pictures on my external hard-drive which I left at my house... I wanted to share and post it but don't have any with me! I got this off the internet and its a picture of the Columbia River Gorge, much like the one's I have taken. Enjoy = )   

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