Whatever: Coincidence

So I got back to back emails today from two friends and colleagues. They both got me thinking about images and the way two images work together and how, often, the end goal of creating an image is to trigger memories and emotions in my audience.

The first email came from my buddy Chip Somodevilla, a great photographer with Getty Images in D.C. (Left: Chip galantly helped my friend Mark photograph my wedding last year. As you can see he’s used to covering much larger events.)

He sent a wonderful project he completed recently, covering his time with the campaigns during the 2008 Election. It was a great look at the power of individual images, combined as a larger project, to speak to a larger message. Images that might not have been as strong by themselves took on a whole new meaning when combined with another image. And Chip speaks really eloquently about the whole thing. Who woulda thunk it, Chip?

The second email came from my designer friend Nate. Nate is an afficianado of two things that I myself love: photography and dogs. While not a photographer himself, Nate has a great eye for it and especially project photography. Nate sends me random links to photography online and it’s always a treat when he does.

Today I got this link. I’d never heard of John Divola, but the project suddenly brought this rush of memories and links to other photographers and my own old work. (Below: Sweetwater, TX. 1999.)

It’s just funny to get two emails, back-to-back, that reminded me how powerful images can be in terms of conjuring memories and emotional response. Thanks for sharing guys.

-ryan