MICHAEL BELL, PITTSBURGH
Member Since December 2008
Artist Statement I began tinkering with photography at an early age with my mother's old 35 mm Nikon camera and was fascinated by finding unique vantage points and angles. The world of digital photography has opened up unlimited opportunities for me to experiment.
My favorite types of subjects are candid, still lives, and architecture, both modern and ancient, as well as abstract subjects. My work consists of not only color photography, but also black and white and sepia tone work as well as digital enhancements that use very vibrant colors. Sometimes lack of color can make the viewer focus more on the subject and less on the background. Sepia tone can also create a certain mood for an image, a certain starkness that again makes the subject more in focus and eliminates background distractions.
When shooting an architectural piece, I look for unusual locations or features and try to find a vantage point that offers something unique to the observer. Often I will add color to enhance certain features that may not stand out and use it to mute others that might obscure the subject. In my candid scenes and still lives, I focus on movement and try to offer a scene that creates a story The abstracts are some of my favorites because they focus on unique shapes and color patterns.
In this exhibit I tried to select a sampling of all the different types of work that I do.
"Water Lilly" represents some of the still life that I done. The bright colors against the black background help to draw out the natural beauty of the flower. This is just a sample of a large series that I did a few years ago.
"The Cafe" and "Meshala", both shot in Istanbul, are two examples of candid scenes. One using lack of color to show movement and to focus the viewer on the subject, and the other using vibrant color to set the scene.
"Broadway Nights" and "Kensington Market" are both examples of street scenes in which I have used digital enhancement to pull out aspects that may have been overlooked. The use of bright colors with a dark background in "Broadway Nights" highlights subject and eliminates the distracting background. In "Kensington Market" I not only altered the colors but I changed the lines and grain of the picture to create a sense of age to the scene.
"Speeding Taxi" is another street scene that is one of my favorites because it creates a sense of movement and creates a feeling of the energy of New York City.
"Spiral" and "Modern Windmills" are both good examples of abstracts. It shows my usage of unique vantage points and patterns as well as the usage of color to create a unique scene.
“The Library at Ephesus” shows how black and white and a unique vantage point can highlight often overlooked details. The lack of color highlights the fantastic detail of the old stone work and also gives the scene an ancient feel.
For more information or for more examples of my work please contact me at azureye31@comcast.net
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