It's about time that I introduce one of my favorite photographers from Korea. For nearly 40years, (박원석)Park Won-Suk has told his life story through the lens of his camera. Growing up in Tae-Ku, a beautiful city located along the southeast edge of the Korea peninsula, he admired the beauty of nature that surrounded his life. Many of his images captures the simplistic, yet organic beauty of nature, people and the unique culture that is the product of the interactions of the two. Through the eyes of his camera, a technological instrument of the digital era, Won-Suk archives and retells the forgotten stories about the beauty is hidden within tradition. The picture of the sculptor, crafting a piece of wood is only one example of the many of his such stories. The facial expression of the sculptor, vigorous, yet equally diligent, is one that is immediately engraved on my mind. While the position of the sculptor("dead center") is one that many photographers will avoid, in terms of composition, the subject of his concentration cuts diagonally across the the bottom of the picture, amplifying the energy that is anticipated in the process of chiseling. The dark negative space behind the sculptor helps to bring out the light that is captured in his every hair stroke, emphasizing the difference in value as well as texture in those two matters.

To be honest, his name was what drew me to look more into his work. What kind of a sweet name is Guy Tillim? As I looked more closely at his work, I realized that what he does with the art of photography is just as--or perhaps, even more--cool as his sweet name. Born in Johannesburg in 1962, Tillim started photographing professionally in 1986 when he joined Afrapix, a collective of South African photographers with whom he worked closely until 1990. Tillim's major works focuses on the social and natural challenges on the African continent. Some of the issues he has photographed include: refugees in Angola, and child soldiers in Congo, both of which are included in the respective order. Tillim is a strong advocate of capturing the essence/ truth of reality, and he expressed just this during his interview for Lens Culture with such conviction: “Photojournalism tends to try and create drama. Tries to look for a false drama, tries to use, you know, photojournalistic iconography to create a sense of moment. I think that there is a movement away from that in photojournalism. . . . because what you used to have were these quite inarticulate images that were seen to be so full of drama.” I am particularly drawn to the picture of the Congolese "soldier," who is wearing a frog shirt. The animated expression of the frog on his shirt and the contemplative, almost sad, expression on his face is a depiction of an undeniable tension that is present within the picture: a tension between the youthfulness of the child's nature and the society in which he live in, where such youthfulness is maliciously stolen by the reality of his country's struggle.

'Cameras for Healing' is a World Vision supported movement that introduces the concept of "Visual Art" as a philosophy of healing. The project brings together victims of post-war trauma and gives each participant a camera. The cameras act as a therapeutic instrument, empowering the individuals with their own faucet of communication and enabling self-expression. Maurice Henri, a Canadian photographer and a strong advocate of 'Cameras for Healing' movement, passionately believes that the camera and the art of photography as a philosophy of healing can help build a culture of peace. In these particular set of photos taken from Sierra Leone, Africa, the teens and young adults of this region is learning how to look past their frightening experiences through the lens of a camera. Henri describes the process of healing after an armed conflict "difficult and, of all the injuries, the effects of emotional trauma most insidious and [challenging] to deal with." Henri continues to teach these innocent victims of Africa how to see the world around them in a whole new light.

Among the photos of Noah that Beth edited, I particularly like 'Sundisk.' There is a unified sense of color balance between the subject matter and the foreground. Noah's blue shirt vibrates in particular harmony with the clear, brisk sky, while the light reflecting off of Noah's face join hands in happiness with the playfully dispersed clouds in the background. The cropping of the photo is simple, yet powerful. the vertical line created by the tree on the left side of the picture, along withe the curving of the sidewalk on the right side of the picture naturally pulls the eyes of the viewers to the subject matter and his facial expression. The expression on Noah's face--content, and reflective--is a great representation of the glimpse of sunshine captured admits the unpredictable, whimsical Goshen weather. By Noah's expression, I can almost certainly smell spring! Yes, even in Goshen. :)

Born in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1968, Mattias Klum began taking photographs in his teens. For over 20 years (since 1986) he has been a full-time freelance photographer specializing in natural history and cultural subjects from all over the world. "His photographs have appeared in many publications worldwide, including National Geographic, Wildlife Conservation, Audubon, GEO, and other magazines." Klum received the WWF Panda Book of the Year award as two of his eight books have been recognized in it, and his photos have been exhibited in major museums and art galleries around the globe including: the United States, Sweden, Malaysia, India, and Japan. He has also been granted several prizes and scholarships for his artistic achievements, including a medal from the King of Sweden for his important achievements in nature photography. Klum's images are often exciting in color in that the variety of colors that are captured on a single photo well represents the vibrant energy of the subject matter. The reality-shaming crispness of the images also illustrates Klum's technical advancement as well as his sensitive awareness to the subject matter in which he is working with. I am particularly fascinated by the various use of the depth of field in his images. From the pinhole-like depth of field captured in the fourth image, "Scentless mayweed, Coast of Uppland, Sweden," to the everything-capturing wide depth of field of the last image, "Glacial lake, Landmannalaugar, Iceland," Klum sure knows how to allure the viewers eyes by magnifying the natural beauty of nature.

Over the years photojournalist Lynn Johnson has courageously captured the taste of humanity by traveling around the world. Thou she works for various well renowned foundations such as LIFE, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated, through which she has photographed notables from Tiger Woods to the entire Supreme Court, her favorite assignments cover emotionally demanding stories about ordinary people. In this particular series of photos in which are entitled 'Women's Health: an endless battle,' Johnson captures the emotionally traumatizing tension the women around the globe experience in day to day living in their effort to find balance in what is perhaps among one of the most scarcest resources: health. The strong, yet nurturing characteristics of the subject matters,which are often(if not all)"Women, the caregivers and advocates--the victims and healers--" are well manifested in Johnson's work. 1)"Midwife, Joyce Chuba, uses a stethoscope she made out of local clay. A volunteer, she has delivered 600 babies since 1995." —Zambia 2)"A healthy sense of community is shared by the women who gather in Mariate Banda’ls beauty shop—a center for gossip and friendship." —Zambia 3)"Prejudice taints the care of a woman from Haiti who is undergoing an abortion." —Dominican Republic 4)"The miracle of birth without benefit of drugs." —Dominican Republic 5)"An exhausted mother’s vigil-beds for these smallest patients are rare." —Haiti 6)"Whether body, mind or spirit, healing is about the heart. In the hands of a traditional healer, this leaf can cure all."—Peru

Ah~ yes... I do remember the first blog entry assignment for the class: to upload the series of pictures from assignment #1, 'season:winter.' Here they are. Enjoy! :D

i hope this works?! I'm not quite sure if we're supposed to upload an "educational" entry for our first one or not... hmm.... well, I'll find out in class, i guess. :)