On the Beach.

        Richard Misrach is an American photographer, well known for his introduction of color to fine art photography. These photos are from his series On the Beach, taken from the balcony of his high-rise in Hawaii, with an 8x10 camera. I was very intrigued to read that these were also in reaction to the 9/11 tragedies. 

        I was introduced to this photographer during an in-class presentation by another student, and these beach pictures that she showed us really stuck out to me. He takes an environment that is always associated with fun and relaxation, and photographs it in a way that is full of tension and mystery. Since he is so far away from the individuals in the photos, they all appear tiny, especially in comparison to the vast sea that surrounds them. The colors are gorgeous in all of them, but I think the dark patches create some suspense, like something bad is going to happen. 

        The uneven rhythm of the people arranged in photos like this one definitely add to the suspense too. None of them are that near each other which feels unfamiliar and tense, and the darker hue of blue also indicates nightfall and danger. 

        His photos are also very large, with the largest reaching 6x10 feet. Seeing this at full size would be crazy, mainly because of how it would emphasize the vastness of the ocean. 

        You may be wondering how these are related to 9/11, and that can definitely be a number of things. One think I saw Richard speak about was specifically how people like to gather in places like the beach, but also keep a comfortable distance. In the first image on this page, I think this idea is evident. The spacing is what makes it slightly uneasy, even though it's people having fun on the beach. Perhaps this relates to the uneasiness every after such devastation in our own country. 

    Lots of Misrach's other work focuses on human relationship to the environment as well as each other, and this certainly can't be denied here either, with the major focus on the vast and mysterious sea, compared to tiny, miniscule bodies that can't even be identified compared to the ocean.