Sam Abell on Photography
Sam Abell recently gave a talk at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art about his (and Torben Ulrik Nissen’s) show Amazonia. The photographs are beautiful, and the stories of their time in the Amazon rainforest are compelling. One of the key ingredients to the feel of their photos is a sense of place – not separating the animal from their surroundings by zooming in, but rather telling the story of the interconnectedness between the animal and their home.
After hearing their talk, I looked through some photos I had taken at the Oregon beach of a sea lion that had improbably hauled itself onto the sand, to be pestered by passerbys and their dogs(!) As the largest living thing at that spot, it never seemed to care very much, and yet I dared not get too close, and had to be satisfied with distance shots. At the time, I cursed myself for not bringing a longer lens, but now, as I review the images, I can’t help but seem somewhat pleased.
And another photo from the beach:
