ku # 661-64 ~ the word of god according to Mark - the Landscapist, not the apostle

Fallen rock ~ Taughannock Falls, NY • click to embiggen
Chasm walls / shale ~ Taughannock Falls, NY • click to embiggenThere's seems to be a bit of confusion re: yesterday's I once was blind, but now I see entry -

....aside from the fact that the turnip and the pope kind of look alike, I'm not sure what you're trying to say here..... - Paul Maxim

and, courtesy of Frank (no link)

It's clear what you are saying though and it has nothing to do with photography or art.

It seems that Paul has taken umbrage with Frank's response to his comment although I am not exactly clear on the intent of Frank's comment, re: to which "you" he is referring - is he stating that what I am saying with my pope quotes "has nothing to do with photography or art", or, is he stating that Paul's comment, re: the pope's hat, "has nothing to do with photography or art"?

But, that issue aside, my entry itself may have been a source of confusion for many so I would like to clear a few things up -

1. I have not had a religious epiphany / conversion of any kind.

2. While I offered up the excepts from the Pope's letter to include all of his references to God, The Creator, The Spirit, religion / religious, etc. in exactly the form and manner he intended, let me be perfectly clear - I do not personally subscribe to his God-based theology. I can state without reservation, as stated by British philosopher Bertrand Russel, "I am not a Christian."

3. While I am not a Christian, I do subscribe to many Christian beliefs - I think that the Christian bible - amongst a vast host of other documents both "religious" and "secular" - does contain some great notions - AKA, "truths" - about living a good life.

4. Contingent upon item # 3, I therefore look for wisdom, truth, knowledge, guidance, insight, etc., etc., wherever and however it might present itself. Consequently, I find much to consider, re: art, in the LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II TO ARTISTS.

To wit, as an example, I agree with Pius II that:

1. "None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands."

I tend to "interpret" that passage - removing the god stuff - as stating that artists have been graced with the ability (through their own hard work? through a preternatural / genetic "gift"?) to see / perceive the mystery / wonder of the universe in a different manner than non-artists.

Now, before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, re: smug, arrogant, elitist, "special insight from god" horse shit, what I have stated is that artists see / perceive in a different manner than non-artists, NOT a "better" manner or any other manner that asserts superiority.

That said, that manner of seeing / perceiving is, in fact, "superior" when it comes to the making of art but not so, as an example, when it comes to the making of good science. Although, it is worth noting that it was Einstein who suggested that imagine is more important than knowledge. Although, it is also worth noting that he seemed to be stating - when considering his other statements re; knowledge - that imagination is an important tool in the cause of discovering more knowledge.

2. "Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality's surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery. The intuition itself springs from the depths of the human soul, where the desire to give meaning to one's own life is joined by the fleeting vision of beauty and of the mysterious unity of things."

IMO, this passage needs no de-godding. It is right on the money.

3. "... artists of every age—captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes ..."

Once again, IMO, this passage needs no de-godding. It is right on the money - ever know an artist who wasn't "captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes" or not used / amplified that "hidden" power to inform and make their works?

3. And, of course, I agree completely and without reservation with Pius II in that "From chaos there rises the world of the spirit." - need I say more on this notion?

I could go on and on extrapolating and interpreting Pius II's words, but, as is also my wish / intent re: my pictures, I would hope that most of you are able to delve deeper beneath the surface of things and extrapolate / interpret things for yourself.

That said, in doing so, I would also hope that you might ask questions and/or make comments that might instigate discourse and discussion regarding the same.

ku # 659 ~ a mini cosmos

Early ice ~ in a standing water @ the Jay rapids/falls • click to embiggen

ku # 658 ~ along the trail

Hillside trees ~ Taughannock Falls State Park • click to embiggen

ku # 654-57 ~ young at heart (and mind)

Gorge / chasm trees at Taughannock Falls ~ near Ithaca, NY • click to embiggen
Gorge / chasm growth at Taughannock Falls ~ near Ithaca, NY • click to embiggenOnce I had achieved my Saturday, November 14th objective of picturing Taughannock Falls, I began picturing what really piqued my picturing interest at this location - the narrow strip of land between the trail to the falls with the river/steam that flowed from the falls to the lake and the opposite gorge/chasm wall as a backdrop.

I found it interesting that, while people were picturing up a storm at the falls, nary a camera was in sight or in use along the 3/4 mile trail to and from the falls. In fact, most people didn't even seem to be paying particular attention to anything along the trail other than themselves - chatting, horse-playing, etc. Not that I have a problem with that but there was so much of interest - the stream bed, the cliffs, etc. - to see and explore along that trail that they were missing.

That said, in addition to me, there was group of other people who were exploring the "interesting" stuff to be found along the trail and in the stream bed - young children. Apparently, their native/natural sense of curiosity hadn't yet been dulled or completely destroyed by the fetish of grand and glorious.

ku # 650-53 ~ looking down, not up at Taughannock Falls

Stream bed pool below Taughannock Falls • click to embiggen
Stream bed below Taughannock Falls • click to embiggenTo be perfectly honest I found the 3/4 mile walk along the trail to Taughannock Falls to be considerably more interesting than the falls itself. That was due in part to the fact that the water level was rather low so the stream bed was very exposed in spots which revealed interesting shapes/patterns, colors, detritus, geological features / details, and the like.

That said, some might get the "insider" joke, photography-wise, that is part of the triptych - the picture on the left is my take on the ubiquitous / cliche-ridden / done-to-death / hope-I-never-see-another-one pictures of the moving rocks at death Valley's Racetrack Playa.

ku # 645-49 ~ the focus of my curiosity

View from the Taughannock Falls overlook ~ just north of Ithaca, NY • click to embiggen
Taughannock Falls~ just north of Ithaca, NY • click to embiggenA big part of my past weekend wanderlust was instigated by a number of recent entries like this by Paul Maxim (on his blog) that feature New York Finger Lakes Region waterfalls.

Over the years, and in passing (as opposed to planning), I have seen a very few of these waterfalls. After all, easy-access spectacular natural places are most often teeming with people and crowds just ain't my thing when trying to enjoy / appreciate nature anymore than it is when trying to enjoy / appreciate, as I did recently, great Art like David - even though I was in a museum it felt more like I was at a carnival.

In any event, I was kind of on a mission to get to and picture Taughannock Falls which is located on NY's southern tier close to the PA border. Taughannock Falls is probably the most spectacular of all the Finger Lake falls. It's a 215' drop which is 33' higher than Niagara Falls making it one of the highest falls in the US east of the Rocky Mts.

My desire to picture the falls was inflamed by a curiosity that I had to see if I would see it and its environs in manner different from that as presented in a zillion pictures I have seen of the falls.

The fact of that matter is that, unless you are willing to break a few rules, your POVs of the falls are extremely limited. So, to avoid that end, I broke a rule - I got down to the riverbed and proceeded beyond the DON"T YOU DARE GO HERE signs and got under the footbridge that crosses the river just below the falls (see the top picture). There I was able to capture the shallow DOF view presented here -

View from under the Taughannock Falls footbridge ~ just north of Ithaca, NY • click to embiggen

It's not exactly an earth-shattering landmark picture. It is a bit different from the "regular" pictures one sees of this place and I am reasonably happy with that but ... if I were to present just one picture of the falls, it would be the center image from the above triptych. But, that said, why limit myself to just one picture? Itaque, the triptych, which I think starts to say something a bit more complete about the place - the genius being in the detail(s), after all.

PS - my impression of Taughannock Falls is much like that of Oscar Wilde's regarding Niagara Falls - it's nice enough, but ...

“It would be more impressive if it flowed the other way”.

This quote is courtesy of Paul Maxim, the former Landscapist Contrarian. I met Paul on my weekend journey and we had a very enjoyable lunch during which we did not argue about truth, reality, or statistics. And, PS to Paul, the contrarian slot is still available.

ku # 644 ~ one day - sun, next day - snow

Signs of Winter to come • click to embiggen

ku # 643 / man & nature # 255-57 ~ I've had enough of this crap

Tree trunk with lichen • click to embiggen
Weed + lamp pole • click to embiggen
Damp trees • click to embiggen
Weed + grass • click to embiggenThere's an entry over at TOP - a site that I don't read much anymore since it went to really focusing on gear - that addresses the fact that in the digital age ...

... mastery itself has become more fugitive. Where computer photography is concerned, everything has a time-stamp, a sell-by date. No matter what it is, everything seems to march past on a steady progression from cutting edge to mainstream to obsolescent to unsupported. As soon as you're used to something and begin to master it, it changes. It hardly matters what it is: sensor, file type, color characteristics, image editor, calibration issues, printer models, even papers and inks.

It's no surprise that, with TOP's increased emphasis on gear (which started, not coincidently,when the site started linking to camera stores), the entry has garnered responses along the order of:

... I find it a wonderful challenge ... it keeps changing, so I have to constantly be upgrading my skills. This massages my aging brain cells and keeps my thinking tack sharp.

A true gear-head response to which I would respond - hey moron, all that time you're spending to "constantly be upgrading your skills" in order to "keep your thinking tack sharp" could be spent making pictures. How about upgrading that challenge, asshole. You and your type - those who keep feeding the upgrade machine - are fucking it up for the rest of us.

It's a real shame that so many of the Johnny(s)-come-recently to the picturing making dance will never know the utter joy that can be had from having a long-term dependable camera (and a few lenses) that you know like the back of your hand with which to make pictures. And having a dependable process (both MO-wise and processing / darkroom-wise) that you know like the back of your hand with which to make prints. All of which allows one to just make pictures.

If I were to leave a comment it would be more along the lines of:

For the most part, the only people who are en-rich-ed by the constant stream of hardware/software upgrades are the makers and purveyors of such things. And most brain-dead, pavlovian, and slavish consumers (goods Americans all) lap it all up at the trough of piggish and wretched excess thus encouraging and rewarding the never-ending stream of "upgrades".

A pox on all their houses.

The most recent and egregious example is Adobe's latest Lightroom upgrade that will only work on Intel-chip Macs. Gone are the days of backwards compatibility. Now you need to drop $4-5k on a new computer/memory and other related software upgrades (Intel compatible). To which I have just a few words - FUCK THEM and/or KISS MY HAIRY ASS.

What I wouldn't give for a massive consumer boycott against some of these companies - a significant number of people who just stop buying this shit for a year or two in order to send them a message along the line of, I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.

Update on Saturday, October 31, 2009 at 12:39PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: "Honeybadger" wrote: "I'm a gear head and a darn good photographer. I love the improvements in technology, computers, and software. What the hell are you complaining about. If it weren't for people wanting to improve things, you'd still be stepping in horse shit or walking everywhere you needed to go. Forget about flying, forget about phones, forget about electricity, let alone fine grain films and a Nikon F5. Funny you should be writing your sour grape rant on a computer......and the WORLD WIDE WEB!

my response: Honeybdadger seems to think that I'm against progress or "people wanting to improve things". That simply is not so and nowhere in my "sourgrape rant" did I state so.

What I am against is as Greg H states, "upgrade addition" that is fed by constant incremental "upgrades" by camera / hardware / software makers primarily (not solely) for the benefit of their bottom line. And I would totally agree with Svein-Frode that "the world is heading for environmental armageddon as a result of all the useless shit we produce."

BTW, Honeybadger, where's the "sourgrapes"? - I lust for nothing camera / hardware / software-wise and, even if I did, there is very little out there that I can't afford to acquire. And, why no link to your darn good pictures? Come on, let us all have a look.

And, to answer Brian Willman's question - If ... some people to change more than they need to, so be it ... [W]hy do you care?

I care because in the name of "progress" and being good consumers, we are burying the planet in a sea of environmental shit. Svein-Frode is right on the money. There absolutely no sustainability in a lifestyle based upon excessive consumption and growth.

Hey people, it not only matters what you do, but also what others do as well that will "much affect your / (our) circumstances". It's all connected, folks. It ALL matters.