Ian Blum

Utata Member

Bio

I am a semi-professional photographer currently taking a Neuroscience degree at Carleton University. I study the human mind, the human soul, and the human condition; so when it comes to photography I want to put all those things aside and just contemplate the interactions of shapes. Concentrate on the lines, the patterns, the angles, the forms, and all those things that make up our visual world.

I've often considered and contemplated what truly makes a great photograph. Is it emotional impact, geometry, perspective, familiarity, or maybe something a bit more ethereal? I attempt to produce photographs with a view that no one has taken before, I would like to show my viewers something familiar but foreign. Perhaps just to show people what they often miss. I truly believe that if you stare at something long enough you will see beyond it's form and function to find the true magic and natural beauty contained within. It's a bit cliche but then again don't cliches represent ideas that are so familiar we take them for granted.

Testimonial

An eye for the overlooked, a rich colour sense, captions always worth taking time to read, rich black-and-white film work -- and oh, that pinhole camera! Ian dares to shoot into the light, and to stand by what others might call "mistakes". I can't wait to see where his sense of experimentation will lead us next.

Testimonial written by Stephanie Fysh