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Lydia Anne McCarthy's 'Refraction' At Daniel Cooney Fine Art In New York City (PHOTOS)

First Posted: 07/21/11 05:14 AM ET   Updated: 09/19/11 06:12 AM ET

Photographer Lydia Anne McCarthy's new show, Refraction, at Daniel Cooney Fine Art is "a series of portraits made with refracted light, the highlights rendered as spectrum and the shadow areas as undefined lines and shapes." McCarthy took the photos with a self-constructed camera where the lens was replaced with a Fresnel, or magnifying sheet. The show consists of six large scale images of ethereal portraits.

The faces of the subjects are mostly obscured by McCarthy's technique, but the angles and light refractions give a mood that clues the viewer in to who they are, or who they might be. McCarthy's Refraction shows she's interested in how the camera itself can be manipulated in order to get a new kind of image, rather than relying on work in photoshop. Her photograph "Antonia" has a lovely contemplative quality to it; McCarthy captures her model mid-thought and the image seems candid rather than posed.

Refraction is at Daniel Cooney Fine Art, 511 West 25th Street, #506 New York, NY until July 29th.


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Lydia Anna McCarthy, Jessye, Photograph, 40 x 50", 2010, Courtesy of Daniel Cooney Fine Art, New York
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Photographer Lydia Anne McCarthy's new show, Refraction, at Daniel Cooney Fine Art is "a series of portraits made with refracted light, the highlights rendered as spectrum and the shadow areas as unde...
Photographer Lydia Anne McCarthy's new show, Refraction, at Daniel Cooney Fine Art is "a series of portraits made with refracted light, the highlights rendered as spectrum and the shadow areas as unde...
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12:12 PM on 09/07/2011
I think that those pictures look really cool. I'm just in high-school and its stuff like this that makes me consider pursuing a career in photography.
07:57 AM on 08/12/2011
Depth-of-Focus Image Examples
This photo in Figure 1 shows mum flower in middle fore ground and green leaves in back ground to be both in similar focus. This denotes a high f stop number.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/78110/depthoffocus_image_examples.html
08:56 AM on 07/25/2011
I've been doing this for years. It's call "out of focus". What a fool I've been. I toss those pictures.

What's next burnt meals as gourmet delights; fender benders are industrial art; littered unkempt lawns and parks as artistic urban landscapes; other fails?
07:19 PM on 07/24/2011
You've got to be kidding me. I've been doing this "technique" (and with video) for years - though I guess I should have just made it a gimmick and styled a whole gallery show off of it. Are people getting into galleries based on friendships because we can't even get people to look at our work. Please do! vimeo.com/mwoods/disneyworld
12:32 PM on 07/24/2011
and to think all those photos I;ve been deleteing are art!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Eyeful
virtuous raconteur
11:09 PM on 07/23/2011
So what? I can put a Fresnel, or magnifying sheet in front of my camera and get even better results because I'll consider composition and design before pressing the shutter.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
NER2
OBAMA 2012
07:23 PM on 07/23/2011
A report about the frames or perhaps a description of the gallery floors and walls would have been more interesting.
01:45 PM on 07/23/2011
These glasses will produce a similar effect. http://www.3dglassesonline.com/our-products/3d-fireworks
04:59 PM on 07/22/2011
Boring.
10:06 AM on 07/22/2011
www.brilliantarrogance.com see more ART!!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Trev-Rock
Official Party Pooper.
09:09 PM on 07/21/2011
What lovely photos. I didnt know that after my old camera dropped off the dock and wouldnt focus anymore I could have been famous.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Vicky Lupo McDonald
11:04 AM on 07/21/2011
Interesting... would have to see more of this artists work in person to really appreciate this particuliar style of photography!
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Edward Wilkes
Poet/Stage Actor
09:02 PM on 07/21/2011
Agree!