Noah Beil, Photographer

My mom forwarded me an article (thanks Ma!) about Google+ adding some new photography features.

One of the new features is an automated photo editor:

Given an unedited batch of photos from a recent family vacation, Google+ can narrow the images down to what it determines are the best shots.

So you can fill up your memory card with a bunch of crappy photographs, upload them to Google, and have the "best" ones chosen for you, no personal input required.

Vic Gundotra, the guy in charge of Google+ says "I don’t have time to pick them out (myself) because my vacation is over." I wonder if he has time to review the automated selections that he expects his social network friends to wade through.

I can see conceptual artists salivating at the prospect of being the first to do a project that uses Google+ as an editor. Maybe someone has done it already. Write an obtuse artist statement on how your project explores the implications of technology in art and you could be the next Doug Rickard!

Visual art doesn’t affect me the same way music does. I have a visceral reaction to music. Songs remind me of experiences and easily convey strong emotions to me.

Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision when I gave up music for photography. But I didn’t have much choice because of hearing problems I developed after years of going to shows and playing in bands.

Occasionally I have a strong reaction to a painting or photograph. Several years ago I was at a James Nachtwey exhibition in Berlin and I came upon one of his photos from 9/11: a cloud of dust rises from collapsing buildings behind a cross in the foreground. When I saw it, I was overcome with emotion. I reacted to the subject of the photograph, but also I was amazed by Nachtwey’s ability to create a moving photograph in a situation where I am certain I would have been running for my life.

A few days ago I went to the De Young Museum in San Francisco and I saw the Vermeer painting of the girl with the pearl earring. Yes, there is a lot of hype around this painting. How many paintings have their own movie? But there is something powerful in the painting that is difficult for me to identify. When I saw it I was surprised to feel overcome with a wave of emotion. The painting allowed Vermeer to communicate with me across time.

Moments like this keep me going when I want to give up photography out of frustration. Each of us has the potential to communicate through visual art, and to provide sustenance to humanity across time. It is up to us to decide if we will take a chance and reveal our authentic self in our art.

Today I had lunch with my photographer friend Peter Rittling.

Topics of conversation ranged from Nan Goldin and Diane Arbus to the importance of form and content in photography and painting.

If you aren’t in school, one way to keep growing as an artist is to challenge yourself through lively conversations with artists you respect.