Photo Exhibits

In the last three weeks I have gone to just as many photo exhibits. Original prints by British great Bill Brandt, early originals by Ansel Adams, and the Ohio Historical Society's show Capture the Moment: Pulitzer Prize Photographs. The last was just today, and I'm still kind of depressed.

Brandt and Adams might have been contemporaries, but their styles were vastly dissimilar. Even so, I was left with a greater idea of what the world was like from the 30s-50s... from a certain point of view.

From a certain point of view, as exited as I was to see the work of these men, neither of their shows stirred me like Capture the Moment.

The collection spans 65 years. Very few images capture the glimmering accomplishments of man; our great spots of hope for achievement or pride. No, we give prizes for photos of brutality, chaos and desperation. We give prizes for bringing light to the human condition, and we've done it for 65 years!

(Breaking News and Feature Photography are the categories under the prize for distinguished photography.)

Back to the condition:

1. We are always at war.
2. We are starving
3. Nature will win.

I never want to win a Pulitzer Prize.

People tell me I take beautiful photographs. To that, Thank You. My secret is that I crop out everything else that I don't want you to see. You're still seeing what I'm seeing, but not the whole picture. You see?

In situations like this, I have the privilege of experience; I was there, man!

Capturing the tragedy of man seems like never ending work, and a painfully daunting task at that. At least one of the photographers was reported to have killed himself because of what he had been witness to. These images are constant reminders of inhumanity, and they've changed nothing.

Sure, these photos had an impact on the situation at hand, but the near consistent subject matter reveals the truth.

It's a good thing I've sided with the winner. Here are some recent shots from a few of Columbus, Ohio's Metro Parks