Jerry Uelsmann

 

  At first glance, Uelsmann's photos feel very surreal and spiritual. I love his combines use of nature and humans/human infrastructure. He uses unexpected combinations and beautiful compositions to create very interesting photos. There is something about his work that really speaks to me. Of course I love the use of black and white and the very rich middle greys. There is also a level of complexity but it is technically done very well so it blends together beautifully. What I especially love about the photo above is how the shape of the rock fits into the empty space from the mountains eroding away. Maybe at one point it was even part of that mountain itself. 


A lot of Uelsmann's work uses clouds which gives the dreamlike effect. When I look at most of his photographs, it feels like I am being transported back into a distant dream. The image above and below both use the contrast of the soft gradients and airiness in clouds against the harsh edges of geometric shapes, which I really enjoy. I feel like a lot of my work tends to the interaction of humans with nature and this is a very beautiful example of what I try to achieve. 


In a lot of the photos Uelsmann creates, he uses human hands and they are often holding some aspect of nature. While I think this can be a very powerful idea, I do have some objections (against the idea, not his work).Thinking that we hold nature in the palm of our hands is very powerful and can give back hope to people feeling like the planet is too far gone to be saved, but I do think that this implies that humans are the only beings that have power or control over nature, and this can be a harmful idea. When humans think they are the top of the food chain and have control over the outcome of the future, they get a little cocky, greedy, and destructive. All of this to say, I love this man's photos.











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