Portrait of a Moment - Part Two

© Larry Torno, 2009

Getting comfortable in front of a camera is never an easy thing to do. Yet, every once in a while, someone let's their guard down for a moment and we get to understand who they really are.

Portrait of a Moment - Part One

© Larry Torno, 2009

Rather than call this next series simply, Portraits, I decided to refer to them instead, as Portraits of a Moment.

To capture the essence of a person in one sitting with a single image is quite a tall order. But, to spend some time with someone and come away with a sense of who they were for a while, seemed more realisitic.

What will follow in the next few weeks are some photographs of my favorite, captured Portraits of a Moment.

Sign of the Cross - Part Four

Cloudwire
© Larry Torno, 2009

Cloudwire is an ominous image that I shot from my front lawn. I often find great images when I'm not looking for them. Something has to spark my interest and the growing exhaust clouds from two passing jets was the inspiration to get this image started. It wasn't until I created a negative conversion that I discovered the power in this photograph.

Sign of the Cross - Part Three

Cross in the Night Sky
© Larry Torno, 2009

This image of a lone telephone pole caught my eye when I passed by it on a sunny afternoon. While I liked the location and composition, I wondered how the scene would appear in the near darkness. A long exposure, on a cloudy night, gave me the movement and surreal effect that I was hoping for. Look closely in the upper right-hand corner and you'll see power lines extending upward and out of the frame; reaching.

Sign of the Cross - Part Two

Pall on the Cross
© Larry Torno, 2009

This week's image is from a series of photos that a curator once described as "incidental observations". I wrote an artist's statement for the exhibition that read;

I am not a photographer.

I'm a designer.
I'm an observer.
I'm a composer.

I see the world around me as a series
of shapes, forms and colors.

I absorb my surroundings;
select what is essential
and eliminate what is not.

I create compositions
that tell me a story.

I'm an interpreter.

True to the statement, here is my observation of an electrical post and miscellaneous wires; recomposed as a death shroud, draped over a cross.