This is a photo I snapped while on vacation last August (2013) in Michigan.

Boyne Falls, Michigan (Aug 2013)

(click image to see it larger..)

It struck me (while looking through my images from the trip) that this one fits–particularly well–a current deadpan aesthetic in fine art photography. Not much is going on (there can’t be much going on) and the colors go well together but can’t be too saturated (the red here is probably a tiny bit too strong), and there’s a fair amount of “balance” to the layout or composition.

In short, the image needs to be fairly “boring” so as to (presumably) engage the higher, more sensitive areas of the cerebral cortex without engaging too much sensory perception or emotional response which could hinder lofty cognitive processing.

I’m not totally “down” on such images (I take them myself sometimes), but I’m getting a little sick of them and find them kind of gutless.

I don’t think that staying away from any strong sensory or emotional response is the solution to getting people (viewers) to experience the sublime or (at least) something elevated above everyday experience.

To me this type of art photography is like a nice soothing break one takes between engagements with really interesting art photography…:p.

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