Library Day - Maxwell Killian

Peter Gasser

The Photographs of Peter Gasser

Peter Gasser is a Swiss photographer, born 1947, who doesn’t consider himself a “professional” but just someone who loves the beauty of untouched nature. Gasser’s photographs are inspiring and beautiful; gloomy yet lively with his constant change of scenery. Going through page to page you see no pattern in the path he took with similarities in images. Every photograph he takes is a slow process for Gasser. he was Inspired by the Old Swiss photography masters as well as a few greats in his own time such as Ansel Adams. He knew that they took their time and planned their shots. Back then they had more primitive  means at their disposal. They wouldn’t hurry, took their time to study the scene, time to contemplate and finally time to arrange the scene and wait for the best possible illumination for the scenery. So Gasser did the same. He was no professional photographer. He went out and did this all for fun. His photographs are all black and white because he loves to emphasize the contrast and the details in nature. His work looks rough yet clear and smooth with his presentation in black and white and the way he captures the grace of the untouched landscape before him. He simply shoots because he likes what he sees and wanted others to see the same beautiful things.

David Lachapelle

LAND SCAPE

Lachapelle’s LAND SCAPE depicts the globally networked industrial infrastructure of the oil production and distribution. Many of his shots are shot on location in the rain forest but others in studio and other remote locations. Lachapelle’s work is an expression against the the peak of oil and gas stresses taking over the world. Lachapelle does more than just take pictures, he creates his pictures. He uses cardboard, drinking straws, tea tins and so much more, all recycled or re-purposed, to create oil refineries and gas depots. He has everything from neon lights, toothpicks and whatever else he needs to get every detail of these sites so he can still dazzle the viewer with its beauty but also the power it has from the message behind it. His site’s that he creates are dazzling, even romantic spectacle, in a sense of atmosphere and lighting, and the retro-future aesthetic of the buildings distracts from the dangers of their true functions. The viewer’s eyes are pulled in by the “artificial magic”. Going through the photographs taken by Lachapelle I felt the push he was trying to convey to the viewer. At first glance it all looks so real and accurate and then you see one think out of place like a silver soda can and then realize that the entire pillar is made of cans. You look around closer and see that everything is something recognizable. You see straws, lights, cans and everything is re-purposed.