Oh, please help!

[jadefirefly]

So here is my problem:

I have started taking a photography class at my local community college. The first night, we were told that we had to bring in, for the next class, a "powerful image".

I have **no freakin' clue** what to bring in. I tend to go all mental-blank when things like this are thrown at me.

So... can anyone make any suggestions, or link any sites/images, or anything?

Said images need not be sexual in nature... in fact, they'd be a lot easier to show to the class on Monday night if they weren't. All that's required is that they be some sort of visual media, and "powerful".

Please help. Or I'll wind up doing something trite and cliche, and being trite and cliche tends to make my teeth itch, and is very embarrassing for me, and that's not good.

Can anyone help poor lost me?

 

[Vixandra]

Are we going for shock value power full?

Or "make you think later" powerful? Like the pictures of the devestation of Hurricane Katrina?

Or images of the tsunami roaring closer?

The towers falling?

A deer giving birth, despite knowing that the foal may live no longer then she but doing as her instincts tell her?

What kind of powerful do you seek?

 

[jadefirefly]

I seek -anything-.

I browsed through images from NYC, both pre- and post-WTC. I actually found a very nice WTC shot, just taken from right between and straight up. I'm afraid that's awfully cliche, though.

I searched for several hours for shots from the middle east. They may not mean a helluva lot to anyone else, but like it or not it's my PYL's home for the next year, year and a half, and -that- means something to me, but I couldn't find anything good there, either.

I'm thinking I'm not looking for anything nature-ish. The class itself is black and white, for a start, and second, I find myself leaning towards more "urban" images.

Otherwise, though, I'm not really sure. I'm looking for things other people may consider powerful, because I have no idea what -I- want...



...yeah, I'm well on my way to being a good photographer, neh? :/

 

[Netzach]

Google:


Sally Mann
Lorna Simpson
Nan Goldin
John Coplans


for starters.

I'm biased in my way, but I think you may find something here.

 

[RJMasters]

A powerful image could be of a hand open with fingers stretched upwards, and a pile of sand in the palm ebbing through the fingers.

The end of a gun so that it gives the appearance of the one looking at it that they are staring at a gun pointed right at them.

A hand on a cuttong block and a knife posed over the top of it as if in the next moment fingers will be severed.

A profile shot of woman's face as she is laying down and an ice cube is balanced upon her lips.

Hopes that gives you some ideas or get the creative ideas flowing.

good luck

 

[Evil_Geoff]

The object of the exercise is to find something that moves _you_.

One of the most powerful B&W images I know of is the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. Or any of the photos of the aftermath at ground zero.

Refugees starving in Africa

The cement dust billowing through the streets of NYC like an avalanche

Overheads of NO after Katrina

South Florida after Hurricane Andrew

The police dogs in Selma, Alabama....

What makes you feel fear? Joy? Anger? What moves you?

 

[jacintexas]

So here is my problem:

I have started taking a photography class at my local community college. The first night, we were told that we had to bring in, for the next class, a "powerful image".

I have **no freakin' clue** what to bring in. I tend to go all mental-blank when things like this are thrown at me.

So... can anyone make any suggestions, or link any sites/images, or anything?

Said images need not be sexual in nature... in fact, they'd be a lot easier to show to the class on Monday night if they weren't. All that's required is that they be some sort of visual media, and "powerful".

Please help. Or I'll wind up doing something trite and cliche, and being trite and cliche tends to make my teeth itch, and is very embarrassing for me, and that's not good.

Can anyone help poor lost me?

To me that would be any pictue that invokes a strong emotion no matter what the emotion.. For example the Life mag pic of the vietnamese kids running down the street after a Napalm attack.. there are a lot of WWII images like teh one of the Auschwitz Pictures of survivors and of those who didn't survive and Jewish Children .. or the images of beach the bodies on Normandy after the landing... or of the Great Depression To me that's what they mean by a powerful picture.. it pulls out deep emotion... I hope that helps.. and I hope I'mnot being redundant on the thread..

 

[jadefirefly]

This is a shot that I was leaning strongly towards...

Click Me!

I think I wouldn't have found it appealing, except for a few small factors:
I stood in nearly that same spot when I was a young teenager, visiting the city for the first time. I haven't been back to the city since I was 16. (I'm 25 now.) And last week, while driving towards MA with my PYL, we drove right past the city... I was shocked to realise I couldn't recognize it anymore. Over four years later, is when the smack upside the head really hit, and I actually got mad, sitting there in the car.

You'd think it'd have sunk in a little sooner, what with that being the primary reason I never see the love of my life anymore. Go me.

Buuuuuut... frankly, I hate being cliche, and I suspect more than one person in my class will bring in similar shots. And I -hate- being just like everyone else. If I didn't, would I -really- be in the class?

 

[brioche]

This is a shot that I was leaning strongly towards...

Click Me!

I think I wouldn't have found it appealing, except for a few small factors:
I stood in nearly that same spot when I was a young teenager, visiting the city for the first time. I haven't been back to the city since I was 16. (I'm 25 now.) And last week, while driving towards MA with my PYL, we drove right past the city... I was shocked to realise I couldn't recognize it anymore. Over four years later, is when the smack upside the head really hit, and I actually got mad, sitting there in the car.

You'd think it'd have sunk in a little sooner, what with that being the primary reason I never see the love of my life anymore. Go me.

Buuuuuut... frankly, I hate being cliche, and I suspect more than one person in my class will bring in similar shots. And I -hate- being just like everyone else. If I didn't, would I -really- be in the class?

Keep it just in case. But try to think about images that have made you think or have a personal connection to YOU. Often, innocuous things have power over us for reasons we don't understand. I remember visiting an art deco exhibit and being fascinated with this series of paintings. Each one was powerful to me, but my sister (who, as far as interests, experiences, preferences, even thoughts and expressions, is almost my twin) just walked right by. Same thing with this steamer trunk set for going abroad. It struck me very powerfully at the time - something about putting your life for a year into all those cases.
What we find powerful is intensely personal, and need not be destructive, as many of these things are. Think back to the images that have stayed with you through your life, what the phrase "powerful image" means to you, and what you thought of as soon as she annonced the assignment.
Black and white is a powerful medium. It's all about contrasts and blends. But if you do bring in something sexual you will probably not be cliche!

 

[alice_underneath]

Can anyone help poor lost me?

I'll try, Miss Firefly.

Powerful.... powerful.... hmmm....

OK. I think I found something.

How about this?

http://manstouch.com/laliberte/ph1612.html



On the off chance that you need something more subtle, I'll keep looking...

 

[Blushing Bottom]

I have always found the image of a pregnant woman to be highly powerful.

...and I wouldn't expect too many if any of your classmates would bring in a similar shot.

So here is my problem:

I have started taking a photography class at my local community college. The first night, we were told that we had to bring in, for the next class, a "powerful image".

I have **no freakin' clue** what to bring in. I tend to go all mental-blank when things like this are thrown at me.

So... can anyone make any suggestions, or link any sites/images, or anything?

Said images need not be sexual in nature... in fact, they'd be a lot easier to show to the class on Monday night if they weren't. All that's required is that they be some sort of visual media, and "powerful".

Please help. Or I'll wind up doing something trite and cliche, and being trite and cliche tends to make my teeth itch, and is very embarrassing for me, and that's not good.

Can anyone help poor lost me?

 

[Salvor-Hardon]

A few years ago, a group of friends who were artists/musicians/writers/poets etc were discussing what a "powerful" art meant and how could you achieve it.

A trumpet player came up with "High attack, long sustain" like when there is an initial blast, but it keeps ringing and getting softer over a long period. Powerful art is like that, it grabs you at first glance, really makes you stop and look at it, then haunts your thoughts for a sustained time, makes you think and wonder.

Your shot of the towers captures that feeling I think very well, even apart from the sentiments of their destruction. The contrast of the external lantern being so bright and the buildings and sky being darker. Plus the wonder of what's going on in the offices, so on and so on.

Hope that helps.

 

[alice_underneath]

I searched for several hours for shots from the middle east. They may not mean a helluva lot to anyone else, but like it or not it's my PYL's home for the next year, year and a half, and -that- means something to me, but I couldn't find anything good there, either.

The Name Behind The Face
NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2004

Last week, CBS Evening News showed a photograph that caught everyone's eye: a photograph of a young soldier in Fallujah, Iraq.

At the time, CBS didn't even know his name. But he became an instant symbol of the brave American servicemen who risk their lives every day in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"To us, it was a photograph we had to share," reports CBS' Dan Rather. "A U.S. Marine on the front lines of Fallujah."

"I was just sitting on a roof top on my down time, just talking with my staff sergeant. We were having a cigarette. Taking a break from war," the Marine said.

For his mother it was everything.

"Time stood still. I couldn't breathe," said Maxie Webber.

And underneath the dirt, the blood and the exhaustion - a mother recognized her son.

Source and photo at this link:

http://*******.com/amzwp

At fourteen, my own son is still too young to serve.

The photo moved me, but the text made me cry.

Alice

 

[jadefirefly]

Thank you, all, very very much.

Thanks to my love, I have found the image that I think I am going to use. I'm not able to d/l things from online onto this computer, as it's not mine, so I can't link it for you, I wish I could.

It's a fairly well-known shot of a soldier, I don't know who's, holding a child wrapped up in a blanket. You can't see either of their faces, but the whole shot, body language, etc, just conveys a deslote sort of grief that just sort of grabs me and shakes me and makes me pay attention.

I think that defines powerful, yesh?

It gives me kind of a double whammy, as my SO -- we'll call him C, because I'm getting tired of just giving him acronyms -- is currently deployed in Afghanistan at the moment, and it makes me wonder if that could be him someday.

Anyhow, more ideas and suggestions and discussion of the topic are more than welcome!

Oh, and thank you for the link, Miss Alice!

 

[alice_underneath]

Thanks to my love, I have found the image that I think I am going to use. I'm not able to d/l things from online onto this computer, as it's not mine, so I can't link it for you, I wish I could.

It's a fairly well-known shot of a soldier, I don't know who's, holding a child wrapped up in a blanket. You can't see either of their faces, but the whole shot, body language, etc, just conveys a deslote sort of grief that just sort of grabs me and shakes me and makes me pay attention.

I think that defines powerful, yesh?

Yes, I have seen it and think it is extremely powerful. Great choice.

Oh, and thank you for the link, Miss Alice!

Glad you liked it, Miss Firefly. I was hoping it would relieve the stress of the assignment just a bit.

Alice

 

[jadefirefly]

It certainly cheered me up, and it made C laugh, too!

 

[alice_underneath]

It certainly cheered me up, and it made C laugh, too!

You showed it to C?

Yikes... well, I'm glad he laughed!

I wouldn't want a domly-type guy to be angry at me for showing his sub a photo of a hot naked man!

 

[babiesmiles]

Any Robert Capa's war (and not only) photography is powerful in my personal opinion

 

[DVS]

Not wanting to make this political, but I wonder how many people could have been saved from the Kartrina floods if just a few of those busses had been put into service.

School busses
http://billhobbs.com/hobbsonline/floodedbuses.jpg

City busses
http://static.flickr.com/26/40217123_8eb7949afa_o.jpg

Another angle of the first pic of school busses
http://static.flickr.com/28/40217125_002c0fb411_o.jpg

 

[graceanne]

Thank you, all, very very much.

Thanks to my love, I have found the image that I think I am going to use. I'm not able to d/l things from online onto this computer, as it's not mine, so I can't link it for you, I wish I could.

It's a fairly well-known shot of a soldier, I don't know who's, holding a child wrapped up in a blanket. You can't see either of their faces, but the whole shot, body language, etc, just conveys a deslote sort of grief that just sort of grabs me and shakes me and makes me pay attention.

I think that defines powerful, yesh?

It gives me kind of a double whammy, as my SO -- we'll call him C, because I'm getting tired of just giving him acronyms -- is currently deployed in Afghanistan at the moment, and it makes me wonder if that could be him someday.

Anyhow, more ideas and suggestions and discussion of the topic are more than welcome!

Oh, and thank you for the link, Miss Alice!

I think I know which one you're talking about. I've been looking for one like that since this thread went up. I saw, once, a picture of a soldier holding a small child, carrying him. I haven't forgotten the picture since.

 

[DVS]

The first recovered victim of 9-11.
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/images/news/02/03/911anniversary/judge_11_250.jpg

Just one of many looking for a loved one that didn't come home.
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/images/news/02/03/911anniversary/earlydays11_200.jpg

A look into the eyes of evil.
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/images/news/02/03/911anniversary/wtc6_11_200.jpg

The image that not only impacted tower #2, but also impacted the heart and soul of the world. By then, we knew it was on purpose.
http://www.newyorkmetro.com/images/news/02/03/911anniversary/earlydays10_200.jpg

 

[gypziedoll]

Not wanting to make this political, but I wonder how many people could have been saved from the Kartrina floods if just a few of those busses had been put into service.

School busses
http://billhobbs.com/hobbsonline/floodedbuses.jpg

City busses
http://static.flickr.com/26/40217123_8eb7949afa_o.jpg

Another angle of the first pic of school busses
http://static.flickr.com/28/40217125_002c0fb411_o.jpg

more than you could ever want to imagine

 

[jadefirefly]

You showed it to C?

Yikes... well, I'm glad he laughed!

I wouldn't want a domly-type guy to be angry at me for showing his sub a photo of a hot naked man!

*giggle*
I share everything with him.

He wasn't upset. He found it funny, and promptly passed the link along to a certain friend of mine who hasn't yet accepted that I am unavailable; said friend suggested that my "powerful image" should be one of a penis.

We felt that since he had such subjects on the brain, we'd pass some along to him.


Graceanne, it may be the same image. It's one of those that takes a few moments to sink in, because at first glance, it simply looks like the child is being rescued from something, almost as if he is being hugged. After a moment, you realise that the blanket the child is wrapped in is brown -- not red and brown. That's kind of when it hits you.

DVS, those are all excellent images. Some of them were almost enough to make me change my mind which I wanted to use. Those busses... just sort of made me stop and stare, and wonder why the fuck wasn't anyone thinking?!