James P. Blair

Zack Leal
Shannon Duncan
Fundamentals of Photography

The photographer I decided to emulate is James P. Blair. Blair is well known for his work featured in National Geographic however these weren't the pieces I was drawn to. The body of work of his that interested me was actually his private work. This work is mainly comprised of photographs of graffiti, distressed walls, and other things people might find to be eyesores. However I find his photographs to be extremely fascinating as he always manages to also capture a perfect view point that makes it seem as if you were looking at the object itself exactly from the same point of view he took the picture from. So combined with the dingy but raw expressive quality of the pieces he captures I must say I was extremely enthusiastic and interested in trying my hand at taking photos in the vein of his style.

I tried my best to have both of those elements (grafiti type pieces and personal point of view) in the photographs I shot. Nonetheless this experience helped me to broaden my horizons for subject matter as even the mundane for some may be exotic and refreshing to others. Another thing is I feel I'm developing even more of an intimate connection now with the photos I take as all 4 of the final photos I decided to use encompassed a variety of experiences whether it was in finding the subject, actually taking the photograph, or in the process of making the prints. I now also feel that perhaps Blair must also feel this intimate feeling with his works as he tries to capture his photos in a way to best express and show how he found his subject matter in order to share that same experience with those viewing those photos.