Mar

Creative Expression Glows In a Crowdsourced Sunset

by Sheron Long on March 14, 2013

Sunset, seen in a photographer's creative expression and contributed to the crowdsourced Virtual Sunset project

The day says adieu in this sunset over the Pacific Ocean in Cambria, California.
© Sheron Long

Shared Creativity

A few years back, standing with friends on the edge of the western world, I caught a glorious sunset in my lens. It was a moment of creative expression as we laughed at pelicans diving for dinner against the glow.

We were about to dive for dinner too, but first we each had to create a tasty dish. Then we feasted on our shared creativity, a kind of friend-sourced dinner.

At work this week, I collaborated on creating our free ebook—50 Dos and DON’Ts for Living and Laughing. The team lived through the arguments during photo selection (by applying some of the advice in the book), and we laughed a lot. When it was over, there was some of each of us in this team-sourced book.

Shared creativity has been a theme of my life, a great way to stay connected with others. So, when I heard about the Virtual Sunset, created by Studio Tobias Klein, I was intrigued.

Here was an opportunity to create and connect on a bigger scale, really big—like the size of our planet.

The Crowdsourced Sunset

In a three-year project, Tobias Klein is creating the first crowd-sourced choreographed global sunset. It relies on the compilation of sunset images uploaded to his site by people around the world.

Visit Virtual Sunset to see the sunset sites in the collection thus far (and add your own). Click on a pin to see the sunset itself. There’s the one I took in Cambria, California!

World map showing sunsets crowdsourced for the Virtual Sunset project from the creative expression of global photographers

Pins on the world map locate the sunsets crowdsourced for the Virtual Sunset project.
map image © 2013 NASA, TerraMetrics courtesy of Studio Tobias Klein

Klein digitally stores these sunset images, geolocated by time and place. For the installation, he hangs three kilometers of silicone translucent tubing in strips from a rig on the ceiling. He then projects the images in real time onto the tubing. The result? Shared creativity in a three-dimensional artwork that captures the transient nature of a sunset.

Virtual Sunset projecting sunset images crowdsourced from the creative expression of photographers around the world

Translucent tubing hangs in the Virtual Sunset installation, Industry Gallery, Washington DC
photo by Brandon Webster courtesy of Studio Tobias Klein

The installation first appeared at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. It is now on display at the Industry Gallery in Washington, DC, ending on March 20, 2013, the day of the vernal equinox.

At the Industry Gallery, projections from one side of the room show the actual sunset from Washington, DC, while those from the other side show a composite of the crowd-sourced images from the global collection in real time. For example, the sunset taken in Nice, France, at 7:00 pm shows up in the projection at 1:00 pm in DC.

Each future installation will vary based on its physical location and the sunset images that continue to populate the collection.

Strolling Through Creative Expression

Meandering through the tubing in the Virtual Sunset can be meditative, a tangible way to experience collective sunsets as time elapses around the world.

Moving through the Virtual Sunset installation at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
photo by Miyukii Yamanaka courtesy of Studio Tobias Klein

But the experience also invites you to sense the power of creative collaboration—the mix of Tobias Klein’s creative genius in conceiving the project and the creative expression of all those who contributed their sunsets for the global show.

Oh, I see. Shared creativity is people glue.

—It binds friendships over dinner.

—It gives common cause at work.

—Even when you don’t know the other people with whom you share your creative expression, you’re connected to them in the moment.

Together with the Virtual Sunset team and galleries, those of us who participated in this project made something bigger than ourselves. Those of us who walked through the glow of the Virtual Sunset got to share real sunsets experienced by others all over the world.

Now that’s collaboration!

Find the thrill of shared creativity in one of these crowdsourcing projects:

For another article on crowdsourcing, read “Creative Ideas: Dishes Feed a Community Art Project.”

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Sheron Long 1 Comment

The World's Art & Design/The World's Photography

Feb

See Differently: “Blind Sight” Photography Contest

by Meredith Mullins on February 7, 2013

Limpet, a creative inspiration to blind photographer Bruce Hall, who is able to see differently in the creative process

Sea limpet by legally-blind photographer Bruce Hall
© Bruce Hall. All Rights Reserved.

Creative Inspiration Is Born from Seeing Differently

The OIC story on the Creative Process of Blind Photographers provided rich creative inspiration and a definitive “yes” to the question:

Can we see without sight?

The many talented blind and visually impaired photographers who are working today are experienced in seeing differently. They use touch, smell, hearing, memory, and other sensations to “compose” their images and sense the timing of their subjects.

These artists believe that the image comes from within, not from the “outside.” And they prove—beautifully and creatively—that, often, a blind person can have a very clear vision.

Seeing Is about Much More than Sight

These imaginative artists inspired deeper thinking about heightening our other senses to capture a photographic moment.

They inspired a desire to slow down to experience the subtleties and richness of life in the world of modern photography where the accessibility of cameras and the ease of clicking the shutter get in the way of really “seeing.”

They also inspired OIC to create the “Blind Sight” Photography Contest—a call to photographers to share in this Oh, I See Moment—this idea of seeing without sight.

The Blind Sight Photography Contest: An Invitation to All Photographers

We invite photographers from around the world to enter the contest—blind and visually impaired photographers as well as sighted photographers who must, at the moment of image capture, use other senses besides sight to connect with the subject and create the photograph.

Stephanie, woman on motorcycle, captured by blind photographer Pete Eckert in a moment of creative inspiration

“Stephanie” created by blind photographer Pete Eckert
© Pete Eckert. All Rights Reserved.

The Creative Process for the Contest

Blind and visually impaired photographers use their own individual creative processes to make images without sight.

For sighted photographers, we encourage experimentation (with safe practice in mind). If you choose to blindfold yourself or cover your eyes in some way, wander with a sighted partner who can keep you safe. You can also settle in a place (free from dangerous moving things) and just close your eyes.

Use your memory or your sense of hearing, touch, or smell to “compose” your image and to know when to click the shutter. You are on your honor to “see without sight.” The results, we hope, will inspire and surprise you.

You can use your sight or a sighted friend to help you select the photos for the contest. But, you cannot crop or manipulate the photos. They must truly represent your moment of seeing without sight.

How to Enter the Contest

The contest is being conducted from a tab on the OIC Moments Facebook page. The complete rules are linked on the contest entry page, but here are the basics:

1. Make your photographs without the use of sight.

man's eyes shut for a photography contest relying on creative inspiration and blind sight

Eyes shut tight
© Thinkstock

2. Use your imagination, memory, intuition, touch, smell, or hearing instead.

3. Write a brief statement, explaining how you took the picture without looking.

4. Submit the photo (uncropped and not manipulated) plus your statement on the Facebook Contest Page (up to five entries). The contest runs from February 8, 2013, through March 15, 2013 (at 11:59 pm PST).

5. Enjoy the creativity of all who participate. You can vote once per photograph per day for your favorites.

Creative Inspiration AND Contest Prizes

The contest finalists will be selected by popular vote on Facebook and announced shortly after the close of the contest. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will then be selected from the finalists by our jury panel, and announced in early April. Prizes are:

$300 Grand Prize

$200 Second Prize

$100 Third Prize

A selection of work, including photographs from all finalists, will be exhibited in an OIC Moments e-book about seeing differently.

We look forward to receiving your imaginative and surprising results and hope that you have many OIC Moments as you see without sight!

UPDATE: The contest has ended, but you can view the winning entries, and many of the other amazing images, in our free Blind Sight Photography ebook. Click the cover below to download your free copy:

Thank you to our contest jurors, Julie Grahame, Jerry Fielder, and Meredith Mullins.

Julie is the publisher of aCurator Magazine, former director of RETNA Photo Agency, and a representative for ClampArt Gallery in New York.

Jerry is a photographer, curator, and Director of the Yousuf Karsh Estate.

Meredith is a fine-art photographer, photography instructor, and Director of the International Fine Art Photography Competition (and, of course, an OIC blogger).

artsConnect Competitions for Artists

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Meredith Mullins 4 Comments

The World's Photography

Jan

Creative Inspiration Flows In Underwater Photographs

by Meredith Mullins on January 10, 2013

creative inspiration from curious jacks over the sand

Artistic Expression from Down Deep

I’ve had this OIC Moment before. A déjà vu of the deep—from growing up with Jacques Cousteau, learning life lessons from Nemo, and visiting aquariums all over the world. The beauty and intrigue of the ocean world is never-ending.

But as I stood in front of the underwater photographs in an exhibit at the Center for Photographic Art in California, I was mesmerized.

These images showed me that an OIC Moment can come again and again. Something familiar, something seen before can always be seen in a new light, with new eyes. Viewing mysterious underwater images that capture the vastness of our planet can be a powerful creative inspiration.

Creative inspiration from a school of curious jack fish

Diving into the Images

I lost myself in these images, especially the photos (above) of the Curious Jacks. Suddenly, these fish became personalities. Where were they going? What were they thinking? Who, exactly, were they?

Some looked decidedly grumpy.

Some looked mean.

Some looked determined (places to go and people to see).

Some looked flirtatious.

Some looked detached . . . too cool for school (that’s a fish joke).

Some looked bemused.

Some looked, well, curious.

The Jack groups seemed a bit disordered. They were all headed in a different direction, either fiercely independent or in need of a little leadership. I began to imagine their story:

Was it the lobby of an ocean convention center as strangers converged from far corners of the world?

Or, was it a “city” street where each individual carries his own story or follows her own path?

Or, could it be the moments before a school picture, before the students are ordered into neat rows by a bossy yearbook editor?

What do you see?

How the Photographers Capture the Moment

California photographers Scott Campbell and Robin V. Robinson captured underwater moments that most people do not have the opportunity to experience. Scott’s ability to hold his breath for up to seven minutes allows him to photograph underwater life without the interference of SCUBA equipment.

creative inspiration from a diver alone with a school of fish

Robin loves the sense of relaxation during a dive. “Fish don’t have cell phones or email,” she says. “I never feel more present than underwater.” She also welcomes a sense of not knowing what is “out there.”

They both take their creative inspiration from the freedom they feel while underwater and the ability to explore the deepest parts of themselves while they are alone in the vast expanse of the deep.

creative inspiration from a school of barracuda

The Spell of the Sea

Scott and Robin’s talent and technical skills in photographing underwater let us feel the quiet, the peace, and the alien quality of the deep. As Jacques Cousteau said:

“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.”

Lose yourself, as I did, in these photographs. Create your own imaginative stories about life in the underwater world. And may you feel the same inspiration and freedom that these photographers felt as they captured this wondrous world.

Cousteau quote VIA Brainy Quotes

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.