#aaron roe

COWGIRL

Aaron Roe

In my collection of photographs, entitled Still, I have explored the versatility of still life photography. I approached the genre of still life photography by concentrating three ideas: the use of objects not typically used together in the still life, the implied narrative, and the altering of the object or image physically or in post-production.

Still lifes feature natural and manmade subjects. Though they commonly incorporate the use of dishes, utensils, tools, food and flowers, the subject matter is unlimited. Toy photography is growing in popularity, particularly among collectors. I chose to group objects to create intrigue, such as the silhouette of a stork in front of an illuminated old bottle. Narrative in the photographs was intentionally left ambiguous and unresolved. I created miniature landscapes for these scenes to take place. A female figure stands in a dark field of posts. The shadow of a red tricycle is cast by an unidentified lightsource. Many of the images are the result of manipulations physically and/or digitally. Many photographs were used in the creation of the photograph I call “The Storyteller.” First, a photo was taken of the old bottle illuminated by an LED lamp beneath it on the edge of a table. The planetary objects floating above were taken as a group, but individually to achieve sharp focus. These are wood balls suspended with wire and thread. After having photographed these with individual focal points, I made a composite and removed the thread in Photoshop with the cloning tool. I then selected, copied, pasted and rotated the balls above the bottle. I later decide to include the cowboy figure, so I used Photoshop to add him and the rippled reflection in.

One of my favorite photographs is “Sunday Painter.” I like the tones and different textures. Unlike other still life photographs in the collection, I chose to include my hand. This photograph is a composite of two. I took one with my hand holding the knife and one without. I then remove the area behind the frame where my arm was visible. It was really a quite simple trick, and I’m not pretending otherwise. It achieved the concept I was after. In a related photograph, I altered a pear by sticking a branch into it to create a subtle effect in the manner of Rene Magritte.

My “Possessions” photography project was a good exercise in focusing on a particular theme. I got 20 followers within this short timeframe. The closeup photo of the Atari 2600 system got 11 likes, the most likes of all my posts. I believe this had to do with the numerous tags I attached to it: video games, Atari, retro, antique, dof, B&W. Some of the likes were obviously bots and people wanting me to follow them back.

“Words for the Wind”

2007

“The Thief”

2007