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Purposeful Image Combination

Composite Series | Next >>

Purposeful Image Combination
(Among the Composite Images)

My initial introduction to this section included commentary about the power of image association and why photographers choose to combine or display images together. Cause and effect, correlation, polar opposites, disparate or complementary colors or themes. I've scrapped it. Photographers may snap indiscriminately at times, but rarely are images placed together without a purpose. You know this, and my true goal with this section involves enabling thoughtful commentary as much as image combination. I expect this section to serve as a sort of photographic editorial page. The slideshows are generally image-focused and the Web log light-hearted and short-lived. By including a section dedicated to composites, I hope to create a forum for sharing permanent essays given impact or clarity by the images associated. This section of the site will evoke thought. That said, not every set of images will be serious or profound.

This section is the one that provoked creation of the visitor comments feature, which has since spread to other parts of the site. It seemed entirely unfair, I decided, to include essays entitled "Politics in America Today" and "On Religion" without giving visitors an opportunity to say, "I completely disagree." So feel free to use the [Add Comment] links to correct me where I'm wrong. This site is filled with personal opinion and commentary, but I'm most likely to ruffle feathers here. I also hope this will evolve to become the most heavily artistic and creative portion of the site, though that will depend upon how much time I put into its development. Photos can be added and log entries written without as much energy. If I include something here, more brain cells will be put to use - and I'll generally even run it by an editor.

One final note here involves the digital nature of these images and the World Wide Web in general. That I'm dealing with a digital medium here gives me great flexibility in creating image composites. In addition to the "double exposure" common in traditional photography, digital images can be combined in new ways. I'll be experimenting with several techniques here, although I've kept things basic thus far and don't want to become a slave to this site. (Is it too late?)

You can begin by selecting a composite series from the dropdown box atop this page. You might begin with the entry on Aung San Suu Kyi. Did I mention that there's a little streaming audio included in places as well? Enjoy - and let me know if you encounter things that don't seem to work.