‘One time, when I was young, my mother told me not to look into the sun. So one time, I did. The next day the headaches started.’ Yes, the previous statement is almost certainly misquoted… Don’t get too worked up. Looking at these photos won’t enable you to decipher the inner workings of the stock market, and it CERTAINLY isn’t advisable to look at the sun through a telescope, but if one were to do this, and one were to have the proper filters and and camera, the rudimentary beginnings of photos like these.
Courtesy Of Alan Friedman
Created by Alan Friedman, these photos capture far more than one would expect from earth-based photography. The initial images do require some ‘after-market work’ to finesse out the finer details and the addition of colour, but the scenes offer at once, tranquil, calm views of the sun, and images of intense power and scale. The artist states,
Courtesy Of Alan Friedman
My photographs comprise a solar diary, portraits of a moment in the life of our local star. Most are captured from my backyard in Buffalo, NY. Using a small telescope and narrow band filters I can capture details in high resolution and record movements in the solar atmosphere that change over hours and sometimes minutes. The raw material for my work is black and white and often blurry. As I prepare the pictures, color is applied and tonality is adjusted to better render the features. It is photojournalism of a sort. The portraits are real, not painted. Aesthetic decisions are made with respect for accuracy as well as for the power of the image.
Courtesy Of Alan Friedman
A note: ArcH2O does not, in any way, support or suggest looking directly at the sun- in any capacity.
Matt Davis
