Through Closed Eyes pt. 3

The other day, while searching for a specific photograph for the 2012-calendar made by DNT (The Norwegian Trekking Association),
I ended up going through my work from Flø and found two more photographs that I feel belongs to the Through Closed Eyes-collection.
I believe that time is an important part of editing my own work and that is also one of the reasons why many of the prints that were available on my website in the past are replaced with others, or newer ones. Now, 3 months later, my impressions from Flø and emotions from my experiences there has faded, and it`s much easier to look at that particular work with fresh eyes and to see if what I tried to convey at the time of photography is still present. Some of the photographs still speak to me like they did before and therefore, I decided to release Journey and Mother; two photographs that did not make it the first edit, but which have grown on me with time. I hope you enjoy them.

 

Journey
Flø, western coast of Norway. July 2011.

What inspired me before and during photographing this series, was how seemingly dull subjects can be turned into something extraordinary and meaningful by looking into our own imagination. I noticed an area on a beach where a dried out freshwater stream had left a pattern in the sand (which would most likely be overlooked by a casual hiker) that intertwined with the sand patterns created by the high tide water down by the water`s edge. In those patterns, I saw everything from imaginary extinct mammals to human faces and alien landscapes.
What inspired me was how it made me feel when I imagined these creatures and alien worlds to be real. One of the unique aspects of photography is that it can be used to reveal invisible elements found in the natural world, by leading the viewers eyes (composition), emphasize features (light) and to convey emotions, or moods (color/monochrome), that most of us would not discover otherwise.
If we look at something without knowing its name, if we look at something for the very first time, if we look at the world without clinging to assumptions, prejudice and basic or intellectual knowledge, that particular thing can be anything, or nothing, and the world can be what we like it to be. We more or less do this, each and every one of us, on a daily basis; see what we want, hear what we want, believe what we want.
A meaningful English word could be a step towards enlightenment, but if one does not know the English language, it will be completely meaningless, just a silly sound, just some empty letters. Potentially, any meaning can be assigned to any written word or uttered sound.
In the same way, what we see and how we see it is very much a result of who we are. Personally, I feel fortunate to have directed my eyes towards Nature; a true wonder of this world, a world full of wonders and life, worlds within worlds.

 

Mother
Flø, western coast of Norway. July 2011.

After each photograph, there was little to actually see in the LCD-display because of the subtlety of the patterns and it was impossible to confirm success or failure. Therefore, I had to trust my eyes until I could adjust exposure, contrast and white balance back home to unveil what I had seen. Or, what I imagined that I had seen. While working with the global contrast, I often discovered that tones and patterns that my eyes did not see while photographing, emerged; sometimes as a positive surprise, sometimes not. All RAW-files had to be lowered significantly in brightness (exposure) and adjusted in contrast before I could determine if my subjects were still there. And they were.
After that, I started the time consuming work of creating, and choosing, a proper color palette (white balance) that I consistently used
for all the photographs in Through Closed Eyes.

- Related posts: Through Closed Eyes pt. 1, Through Closed Eyes pt. 2

Seung Kye

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