Thomas Joshua Cooper,
Image 1
Before reading the article I had know nothing about this man and his Photography, but after reading it I found myself knowing a lot more about him and his work than I would if I had read in a book or looked at his work in a book or on the internet, this article, published 07 April 2010
Cooper, has done many
photographs, of which he has travelled across the world by any means he wanted with an Archaic
5 x 7 camera dating back to 1898 and will only take one photograph when he has
reached his destination, if he does not see what he likes he turns around and
heads back. he has travelled around the world and to reach the edges of the world and photograph them. if he does not like what he sees before taking the picture he will not capture it, To me travelling and only taking one photograph is a very brave
thing to do he must plan and sit and see what he wants and for this day and age
where photography is taken lightly in some cases and people and photographer go
out and take hundreds maybe thousands of photographs to get the perfect image,
he has stopped that and made time for it and looked an thought about what he
wanted to accomplished, this for me can be found in his work from the way his
work is lit to where the camera is placed and what is in the picture and what
is not.
In his images, i have found looking into them and seeing a different land from which we live on they look almost peaceful and mysterious, they engage my attention but also take it to a different place at the same time.
He is renowned for his landscape photography but also does not wish to use the word landscape as the article says …
In his images, i have found looking into them and seeing a different land from which we live on they look almost peaceful and mysterious, they engage my attention but also take it to a different place at the same time.
He is renowned for his landscape photography but also does not wish to use the word landscape as the article says …
“Cooper doesn’t find the word “landscape” useful.
Instead he uses a phrase referring to that which is outside the home,
“outdoors”, implying he is exploring the edges of his personal knowledge.”
This intrigued me, from what I have read about him, he like many of the old well known painters and photographers, seems to take the work he does and make it his own, he gets inspiration from other peoples work but he molds it into his own in very subtle ways, his work to me seems as though in the future he will be an iconic photographer who has changed the way we look at photography and how we perceive the world through a lens. I for one have found that in just looking at his photographs that I like them but then to have found out how he does it, I want to become more like him, take the time and slow down and enjoy the scenery then when the time is right for me stop and take a picture.
From just reading this one article I know there is a lot more to be known about Thomas Joshua Cooper and I know I will be reading it in the future.
Image 1 - From Eye of the Water, 2005. Thomas Joshua Cooper.
All Information i used is from The british Journal of Photography. Link is above.
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