Raymond Meeks album titled "2 Solitudes" contains photographs of natural settings, along with people in these settings. Many of his landscapes contain what is clearly intentional motion blur. Using this technique so skillfully requires a lot of practice and experimentation, in order to know how long the shutter speed should be, how to move the camera best, and even an intention to focus. What I find the most interesting about his technique is that there is one spot of each picture that is almost clear... I would love to learn exactly how he does that.
"2 Solitudes" is an exploration of the concept of solitude, as both a place and a frame of mind. As a place, solitude manifests as quiet natural settings. However, the motion blur adds instability to a concept that should be concrete. Solitude has two sides to it: the bucolic and peaceful, as well as the isolating results for introspection. His portraits further explore the concept of isolation. The people he photographs are far away, facing away from him, or completely uninterested in him, often in barren landscapes. You can't see their faces clearly.
Looking at "2 Solitudes" I can see why one of my photographs was compared to Meeks' work during last week's critique. Looking at his work gives me an idea of a direction that a skillful employment of motion blur can take me, and how I could use this to develop my own unique aesthetic. Also, his portraits are definitely not "too tight". They show how photographing a person from a distance can create an extremely effective visual language, and how this creates distance (both literally and figuratively) between the photographer and the subject.
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