Sunday, February 21, 2010

Potter Bathtub Telephone

When it comes to sequencing photographs, I follow Potter Stewart's doctrine. I can't define what makes a good sequence but I know it when I see it. The latest La Pura Vida show curated by Greg Flanders certainly qualifies, one of those rare sequences in which the order of the photos makes each one stronger.

Photo by Steven Beckly from January La Pura Vida show

Some will criticize the photo to photo connections for their lack of subtlety. In my book that directness is exactly why the order works. When you play telephone you don't have to mangle the message on purpose. You can trust that mistranslations will occur on their own.

Flickr is a tower of Babel. The photos pull in a billion directions and it's hard to make visual connections. To choose sixteen and make them flow nicely is impressive, and perhaps a prescription for curating in the digital age. So where can I get me some more of that?

1 comment:

Gregory Flanders said...

Thanks Blake, I appreciate your comments. I have to give some credit to the monthly editorial system over at La Pura Vida -- without the creative input of a core group of people who are passionate about photography, the edits wouldn't be nearly as good.

As for finding more, you might start here, the first edit being mine (and following the philosophy of "slightly too obvious" transitions :)) All in all, I find the monthly LPV shows a wonderful way to find quality photography on flickr without wading through the sometimes all-too democratic forest..