II
I took this photograph almost exactly two years ago when I was in Poughkeepsie, NY. I can’t remember the name of the part that we were at, I think it had something to do with FDR. Anyway, the figure is someone who I was visiting the park with. I’m attracted to this photograph because she is so small in comparison to the building and at first glance, you don’t even notice that she’s there. Her posture is the other aspect that I find the most intriguing. She’s slightly hunched over as she’s walking around photographing the structure and the area surrounding it. I’m actually listening to a song by Aarktica right now called Nostalgia = Distortion and it really fits my thought process. It’s funny how looking at something after a long time can drastically change your emotions about the subject. In a way, that is exactly how photography works. I take these photographs and look at them but as time goes on, the feelings that I have about the photos evolve. I find it interesting how just a few years can completely change the way one views anything. I know that you’re “not supposed” to look at the work that you’ve made for a while after shooting it because then you get the emotional distance from the work and you are able to view it with a “clear head.” I don’t think that this is necessarily true. No matter when you view your own work, you’re going to have a distorted view of it based on your own relationship with it. I think that continually viewing the work and forming evolving thoughts about it is the best way to go. Sure, take a break every once in a while but months of not looking at parts of your own work can’t be productive.
