THE SONIC BLOG Fotografie ist Kunst | Photography is Art

“Every wall is a door.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882

“I have always been attracted to extreme lifestyles and isolated places, so moving to Dutch Harbor, Alaska seemed to be a great place to live and to work at becoming a better photographer. (…) ‘Greetings from Dutch Harbor’ is the result of my intimate 2-year relationship with the environment and community existing on the edge of the earth in Dutch Harbor, Alaska.” – Jennifer Boomer.

“I first visited Ilgas manor house in June 2010. At that time, 45 female students temporarily lived there – they did nature research on the territory of a protected natural area. Ilgas manor house has not been redecorated since the Soviet times (1990) and is closed for attendance during the most part of the year. The building has no plumbing, which means that such facilities as lavatory or a warm shower are not available. These conditions make the students’ domestic conditions resemble those of extreme survival reality shows.” – Alnis Stakle

Instead of being only a funny kind of food photography, Anja Engelke’s “Piece of Cake” arises the question what makes an image iconic.

“I always took portraits because I’m attracted to people, but by nature, I’m an extremely shy photographer. A lot of times, the portraits were very fleeting. It wasn’t until I started shooting with a view camera that I was directly sitting down with my subject for a prolonged period of time. There are a lot of pictures I missed and wish I took; photography has introduced both regret and courage into my life quite well. The only way to combat my shyness is when regret is pounding stronger in my gut.” – Nelson Chan

From July 24th to July 31st 2011 I’m in Berlin to soak up as much photography as possible within one week.

If you want to meet me in Berlin to share a coffee/tea/beer/wine and some photo rant, just send a short message to peter[at] sonicsites.de.

“The essential qualities of a good artist’s statement are clarity, brevity, humility, and a keen awareness of the work that has come before you and inspired you. But first you have to have some idea of why you want to make the work and what you want to express with it – in other words, a concept, even a simple one.”

Notes from a Juror on the Artist Statement by Joanna Hurley

“Terrain Vague often describes an intermediate state. Sites whose further development is still not resolved or are in the state of a piecemeal redevelopment. Terrain on which was formerly old industry, now an unfinished industrial estate or still waste land.” – Bettina Steinacker

For the past several years I have photographed conservative Christian goat ranchers from west Texas (my family) who trade with Muslims who purchase their goats for the halal (meat prepared in accordance with Islamic law) meat economy in New Jersey and New York. This project is a personal narrative journey – aspects of which connect with larger issues in our society. – Susan Hayre Thelwell