Flickr: Anatomy of a Long Photograph
BB reader Jeff says,
I've been reading a lot about Flickr's decision to allow short video clips on the site (and the ensuing dialogue). After thinking about this I remembered the best "long photo" I have ever seen: a scene from Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi where Las Vegas waitresses stand still for what seems like an eternity. I posted the clip (along with two others that come right before the waitresses) on my blog.Link.
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If someone takes a long photo of a long horse, I'll die a happy man.
How about a longcat?
I remember that long shot vividly from oh so many years ago, especially that lady on the far right. Must be nearly 20 years since I last saw it...
the concept of long photography reminds me of andy warhols screen tests
http://www.warholstars.org/filmch/screen.html
I love that film. I must go to the library this weekend....
Wow, I couldn't help but laugh. It reminds me of one of my favorite comedian's take on comedy: it is a buildup of tension, and the punch-line is the moment of release. If the audience never gets a chance to release the tension, it builds up and boils over until they can't help but laughing hysterically for no reason.
#6 -- before I read your comment I was thinking similarly-- I kept thinking the pilot was going to burst into laughter as the camera zoomed in on him (imagine trying to keep an extremely serious face like that for what seems like such a long time).
Of course I've seen the film before and KNOW he doesn't, but yet I still expect it.
There was a short film from David Byrne that accompanied his concert film Between the Teeth. It was a similar notion of long portraits. Instead of staying on each person for the entire duration, it cycled through various people's portraits and then started back at the beginning. Each progressive "wave" got more and more uncomfortable and funny as people started to get fidgety and weird the longer the camera stared at them.
Great example. Koyannisqatsi got under my skin when it came out - I must have been 12 years or so old back then. I remember that whole sequence of people-watching in Vegas better than any other part of that beautiful movie. Such a powerful piece of art. Have we seen anything as innovative or daring in the years that havs come and gone since Koyannisqatsi? I say No, No, No.
The best image of a moving photography I have in mind are the videos of Bill Viola.
http://www.billviola.com/
Extremely slow movements, compositions that remind classic paintings
Interesting comments about laughing when the tension gets too high. Not what I did but as I said in my blog post I was on the edge of my seat, wondering how long it would last.
@#10: Yes, Bill Viola is a great example. When I saw his show at the Getty a few years back I felt the same kind of tension. There was also an artist who did video screens at a renovated bar in S.F. a few years ago (from Paris, if I'm not mistaken but the artist's name escapes me). The portraits seemed to be still but then the eyes would move (reminded me of the Haunted House in Disneyland). It really creeped out my children and we had to leave (ok, they weren't supposed to be in a bar anyway but we wanted them to see these pics).
There is another artists who does these long photos. Her name is Ginny Wearing and she won the Turner Prize in 1997 for these pieces: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1997/turner_prize/36273.stm
And then there's the long photographs of people who think that you're taking a still photo (with your fancy digital camera that also happens to do video).
http://www.flickr.com/groups/takethepicture/