The Tree of Life.

  In February me and my housemates began to start to have movie nights, this week we watched The Tree of Life a film directed by Terrence Malick; The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

  When watching the film first time its very confusing and the plot is made up of many visual and sound clips, i.e. volcanoes exploding, the universe, dinosaurs and vast surroundings. One of the scenes used is a sequence of the universe and the feeling evoked from watching such scenes is a feeling of insignificance of the young boy in the film and gradually how his childhood naivety becomes disillusioned; surrounded by overwhelming scenes throughout the film it helps you understand his emotions without having to be narrated through his life experience (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WvuJwMFPz4). Its a really clever film and the way you look at each segment is a form of re-igniting all these long lost first moments/feelings/discoveries/guilt's of your childhood and every experience is very personal as apposed to being told how you felt about a film, its more your film.

  One particular part that really made me think is a clip of dinosaurs: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDum3gehFg0&feature=related) played into the film and for the life of me I couldn't understand why but after researching this further I was enlightened to the fact that the clip was used to show; the dinosaur’s urge to commit violence is animalistic, but is it also the same bestial urge which influences Jack to commit acts of vandalism, to break in a house and most disturbingly, to tell his brother to place his hand in front of a BB gun and then pull the trigger. This type of exploration really helps to understand Jack's life and the film itself so you feel involved.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/ 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXRYA1dxP_0 - Tree of Life Trailer

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WvuJwMFPz4 - Universe Clip

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDum3gehFg0&feature=related - Dinosaur Clip

Iain Macarthur

                                                                                                                                                                
Iain Macarthur was an Artist that intrigued me around the time I wanted to get my first tattoo. His drawings were the main point of interest as the precise fine art is fascinating to look at from a far and then also when zoomed in provides clever lines and shapes. Macarthur says: 'My work can be described as surreal and unique in its own way. Using mostly pencil, watercolors and pigment pens, I create portraits of ordinary people but create them in a unusual way by, embellishing patterns and watercolor effects into the portrait to give a vivid explosion effect—transforming their faces from something plain to something entirely bizarre and wonderful at the same time.'

He specializes; in shirt designs, tattoo designs, print designs, posters, album art, logos, branding, editorial illustration and private commissions.

Surreal, Iain Macarthur

http://iainmacarthur.carbonmade.com/

Hilda Randulv

Matias & Louise All Rights Reserved to Hilda Randuluv

  Flickr famous, seventeen year old photographer Hilda Randulv from Sweden who believes that photography is a way in which we show people emotion and after looking at her fantastic photographs she really doesn't give herself enough justice she has amazing talent and her photography is really exciting and delicate.

Elsa Holmgren, All right reserved to Hilda Randuluv

Flickr Feed, Hilda Randuluv

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hildarandulv/

TUMBLR uses.

  Although Tumblr is not seen as one of the most articulate and professional blogs for me I do take a lot of visual inspiration through the way people structure their blogs and information, one blog in particular I have read this evening is called 'show me a garden' a blog based solely upon images of the ocean, water and sea-spaces.
  Its not a hipster blog but is very cool and the nautical theme is really individual in a world of skinny hipster girl blogs. I admire the way its laid out and amongst the theme images and style I truly believe that the girl who has created it has made it to make a point and make her memories an interesting visual for everyone else. (Her images are re-blogged and borrowed but with the best intent.)

 

Show me a garden, 2012.

http://11journeys.tumblr.com/

Visual Exploration for real...

   Well this is my second term of my first year studying BA Hons Photography and my second blog which is appropriately named Visual Exploration. Each week I will post a set of images or photo-graphical topics that have interested me I hope that it inspires other people and that can use my links to help to expand their knowledge and interests.