MOPA Artist Inspiration Week

This past week we were asked to visit the Infinite Balance Exhibit at the Museum Of Photographic Arts (MOPA) in San Diego. Each of the Artists in the exhibit are on the shortlisted for the Prix Pictet, which is the world’s leading prize in photography and sustainability.  After viewing all the photos, we were given the task of choosing one of the photographer’s featured in the exhibit, and then take photos of our own that reflected our chosen photographer’s style.

The photographer I chose was Thomas Joshua Cooper. Cooper’s photos consist of stunning black and white landscapes, most of them containing water in some way or another.  The deep contrasts between black and white in the images are what stood out most to me.  The white really pops, but does not overshadow the deep black and gray tones.  Many of his photos contain a beautiful ethereal glow, usually the white glow of crashing water contrasted against sharp black and grays.

To reflect Thomas Joshua Cooper’s style I traveled to the beach to take my photos like I have many times before.  I focused on getting close up shots of the ocean and crashing waves.  I tried to create as much contrast as I could in the photos, creating really stark black and whites.  These images really fit the black and white beach collage I did a few weeks back, I even featured one of those shots, a static shot of ocean foam, in this series as well. Here are the photos that I took trying to best reflect the style of Thomas Joshua Cooper.

October 18, 2011 | Categories: My Photography | Tags: beach, beach photography, black and white, CSUSM, donovan olson, landscapes, MOPA, Museum of Photographic Arts, oceanside, San Diego, Thomas Joshua Cooper | Leave a comment