My Visit to the International Center of Photography

I recently visited the International Center of Photography. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you enjoy photography and a bit of history you may want to check it out. Some reading is required and there are many small photo reels, so definitely bring your glasses if you wear them.

The ground level floor of the center contained pictures from the Spanish Civil War. What I liked about the exhibit was that the succession of pictures told a story like a history book. (The photograph on the left of the woman breast feeding her baby during a political speech is a famous shot by David Seymour.)

The bottom floor contained pictures from the Cuban Revolution beginning in the late 1950s with focus on Che Guevara. I liked the Cuban Revolution exhibit more than the Spanish Civil War exhibit because photographs were used more as an artistic form of political speech. Many solo shots of Che were featured because his face became a symbol of his beliefs.

The International Center of Photography has rotating exhibitions which is a great way to get people to return. There is one exhibit in particular that I would love to see, the Avedon Fashion traveling exhibit. It's currently at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts until mid-January 2011. If it came back to the NYC Center I'd definitely return to check out the post-WWII era fashion photography by Richard Avedon. (One of his 1967 photographs is featured on the left.)

The International Center of Photography is a different experience than going to a museum, but I enjoyed it. I'd just recommend looking at the list of current and upcoming exhibits so you can visit when the exhibits that are of most interest to you are on display.

Check out the International Center of Photography website for more information.

Capturing the Elusive

~*Extraordinary, breathtaking, memorable images that make us desire to continuously look despite how many times our eyes have scanned every millimeter of the picture with hope of cementing every detail in memory.*~

Photography is pretty amazing. It's no wonder the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." I particularly admire photos that require not only a good camera, but also skill--an eye for the right lighting, positioning, etcetera that the average person with a camera cannot capture.


Today in my Yahoo news updates I came across a compilation of high-speed photographs. The first thing I thought as I looked in awe at the pictures was, "That's so cool!" Photography is a form of art, and the neat thing about these pictures is that it feels like a science experiment too. Being able to see things that the human eye cannot capture itself is spectacular. I love the parallel of the photograph and the image within the photograph--the camera acts like a time slowing machine, being able to capture something that happens in a fraction of a second, and the photograph stops time as well by being a preserver of the image.

Enjoy :)

(Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yahooeditorspicks/galleries/72157625550600212/page2/)