William Oldacre Photography

Tag: articulate

  • Intuition

    Intuition

    abstract expressionism, city street, urban, movement, motion, yellow, mauve, blue, vibrant
    Unnamed Seventeen, 2017 — Sidelong :: (click to see more)

    It’s been really difficult for me to articulate thoughtfully about the images I make. I realize now it’s because I largely operate intuitively. Much of what I do and everything I pursue is all based on intuition. I do it because it feels like the right thing to do. I decide on images based on how they feel to me.

    This is likely why editing a body of work is so difficult for me. I have a strong emotional attachment to everything I’ve made and have trouble releasing it when it doesn’t sufficiently communicate my goal.

    I accidentally stumbled upon a method that seems to work for editing a body of work. I leave the images alone for several months – so I kind of forget about them, distance myself and lose some emotional attachment. Then I can be dispassionate in my evaluation.

    So much emotion in everything I do.

  • Equivalents

    Equivalents

    Light Signatures series, day, colour photograph, art, abstract, abstract expressionism, creative, city street, urban, downtown, cityscape, speed, blur, movement, motion, green, muted, circles, bubbles, shapes
    Undulating Green Smoke, 2013 – Light Signatures :: (click to see more)

    I just read about a body of work Alfred Stieglitz made of clouds he titled Equivalents. For him, they were equivalent to music. I’d never heard of this work of his before but it immediately felt right. The premise that you can make photographs that represent something as ephemeral as music or emotion is at the core of what I do – finding a way to articulate the emotional state of urban living.

    As I’ve said in the past, my interest lies in the instant when waves of movement coincide – intersecting actions that reinforce and multiply each other. Music is an important enabler when photographing and finding these moments. Music was essential for me as I photographed for Coloured City and music is absolutely essential as I edit and finish images. Music allows me to see into an image I’m working on – connect with it on a fundamental level so I perceive what it can become as I methodically expose it’s potential – it puts me into the right mind state.

    Anywhere there are large numbers of people living, there is an accelerated pace – an increased potential. The greater the urban density the greater the pressure of possibility – not too dissimilar to compressing gas into a liquid – the pace of action is elevated and with it the coincident intersections.

    This is when it gets interesting – when it gets fun.