Seeing as how next semester in 209 I'll be learning about black and white photography, I wanted to find a black and white photographer who inspires me. I came across Skip Bolen the other day and I'm really fond of his work. Bolen is mainly known for his photographs that represent the lifestyle and culture in News Orleans. He recently has been traveling to NYC and Los Angeles on occasions to keep taking photographs of the same landscape as it disappears over time. One of his well known collections is the one where he went to Six Flags in New Orleans five years after Katrina hit and documented what happened to the place. Out of all his collections, that one has to be the most interesting for me. What I like about the pictures of Six Flags is how he managed to take such a happy place, even though it went through a disaster, and really capture the eerie side of it. He photographs things that will make you think of Six Flags and having fun, yet he has turned what could be a happy place into a very depressing place through his photos. He has excellent composition and always seems to have the right things in the right spots. He also has great lighting and manages to play the shadows of the roller coasters off one another making the image more interesting. Overall, my favorite image has to be the one with the "Enjoy Your Day" sign. At the top of the sign it says New Orleans so while the sign is laying in the debris, right away you can image this photograph was taken after Katrina. The image is so powerful because the sign is telling people to enjoy themselves, but how can them enjoy themselves in such devastation? I'm really fond of his work and can't wait until I can make images like his.
