On New Year's Day I drove to Maple Beach and walked along the icy blocks
of sand to another public beach that doesn't seem to have a name and is small
and generally inaccessible. Out of a pipe flowed water that eroded a small canyon
between a wall of icy sand and the rocks bordering a private beach. Midst the stream
were small islands of sand and pebbles. I crouched on one of these islands and
took a few low perspective shots of the stream.
Bodies of water are interesting artistic subjects because they represent different
things to different people. I did some research on 19th century landscape photography,
and I came up with some interesting examples. Roger Fenton, a British photographer
who became obsessed with Scottish and Welsh lakes for a couple years, portrayed water
as very serene and romantic-- in tune with the rest of its surroundings and seemingly
motionless. Henry Jackson Turner, the American landscape photographer, on the other
hand depicts water as epic and awe-inspiring-- reflecting the formidable and exciting
character of the American West. Here's the link to the blog where I'm trying to organize
historical photographs: http://historicalphotographs.tumblr.com.
Winnetka
Taken in January 2013
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