Renewable Revolution

Surly,
That's interesting about those photos taken on the surface of the moon. Though the article talks of the culrurally symbolic value of the photos ("Everyman" = the astronaut because you can't see his face), rather than going into what an artistc photographer's mind goes through before he/she snaps a photo, I got to thinking about that process. I'm no expert on photography, but I get that photogroaphers like to frame a shot with some sort of balance and centering symmetry, color blend, contrast which is sharp in one area of the photo and diffuse in another (or many variations like full diffused or full sharp contrast), and so on.

I remember reading way back in the 1970's that black and white photographs were artistically "superior" to color photographs. You know more about this art than I ever will, but I never could wrap my head around that consensus photography expert view about black and white photos. They said that black and white provides superior contrast to color, thereby making black and white photos of more value in the artistic sense. I can see the value of high contrast if you are looking for fine grained detail (e.g. engineering or scientific photography use), but I fail to see the artistic value. That said, I do recognize that a photographer can control the theme/message better with less color distractions. Perhaps that is why the photos on the surface of the moon (which, except for the flag and gold colors here and there, are basically black and white photos) could be considered high in artistic, as well as cultural and historic, value.

I always thought the photos on the Moon were a bit drab due to the barren, lifeless landscape. I think landscape photos on Earth, like the one below, are far more restful to the eye. A photo like this one (or a painting with the same theme) is something I could frame and hang on a wall and never get tired of viewing. While it is true that the landscape below is rather barren, a photo like that one is something you could look at every day and find lots of meaning in (Life's journey, vocation, promise of tomorrow, hanging in there through barren/dry/difficult times, the value of perseverance, etc.). As you can see, the photo is framed symmetrically with your eye drawn aloing the path of the road. The road surface is in stark, but pleasant, contrast to the multihued, but color limited (as in a black and white photo) landscape.


NOTE: I thought the road surface was taking up too much room in the original (see below). It seems to me that the landscape, though peripheral to the attention focusing road, should dominate the color scheme. What do you think?