Chasing Light: New Photography
David Duplessie, Boderra Joe, and Bryce Risley
Boderra Joe
My photography is more of self-reflection and self-discovery. My process is to explore uncluttered areas and embrace the nature of its elements. Listening and observing are what I understand. Language and landscapes are what I bring out of my work as a poet and as a photographer. The two go together and visually, I hold onto a place that I feel vibration, whether its lighting, colors, or an emotion that I feel at that place of time. When returning to a familiar place, we are often flooded with memories. We feel what the landscape offers and continues to offer, those discovered emotions are what I cling to–they make me feel alive. Anaïs Nin said, “We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.” Oftentimes, we forget where we are and what nature presents itself. I believe photography reminds us just how beautiful nature is. We sometimes forget to look around and feel and understand. My photography grounds me because they tell stories. They allow me to be vulnerable and show where I come from: who I am and how I understand language and landscape.
Bryce Risley
My motivation for taking photos is always evolving as my skills with my camera and tools of the art improve, and as I meet new people and my environment changes. It would feel like a betrayal of my creative drive if I focused only on a single genre of photography. If I’m moved by a beautiful sunset then I may capture that, or maybe I’m inspired to photograph fishers processing their catch in Sri Lanka. Both of those moments would inspire me in different ways. I love the creative challenge of composing striking images of such different subjects. If I can communicate science, document community life or the natural world, or engage in the creative process with others using my photography, that’s applying the artform in an especially meaningful way to me.
Matt Mesibov
Matt notes that the same conditions, i.e. time of day, weather, buildings, people & their mannerisms, Matt's location, etc.. only happen once ; thus, any photo that he takes is a unique fossil in time. Each photo while taken is a stamp in time as well as how, when and where it is printed; making every piece unique. Matt edits his photos to deliver an aesthetic image while keeping the image true to life.
David Duplessie
My work is based on the minimal, to show the base of any subject. Most people innately see the overall; few ever notice the parts and pieces of that whole. My impetus is to reveal that inner being of a subject to the everyperson eye.
The process is more intricate than simply depicting a small bit of something, the idea for me is to show the passersby that which they miss every day. To allow them the enjoyment of seeing that which they never take notice of and seldom see the beauty in it.
I return to the gargoyle downspout at Chambord as an example. Upon showing my image to the other members of the excursion and seeing their reaction, that was the pay-off. Their surprise and awe at something so common that they had never noticed it before. Their smiles said it all for me. Though I did not know at the time, I had to photograph in this manner.
Additionally, I present my work in the square format. This requires the viewer’s attention to see only the portion they often miss when looking at a subject. The square eliminates the extraneous information unneeded for the enjoyment of the segment shown.
It is through this process I remain motivated to seek out the structures, public art and expanses to explore. I don’t simply document the character of a piece; I strive to investigate the portions that are overlooked. This is all for the result of bringing a smile to a face, a remembrance to a thought, for a pleasure for the observer.