civilized ku # 600-03 ~ yesterday, après golf
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 11:18AM 
From my bar stool ~ The Cottage - Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggenLast week I had the distinct pleasure of meeting and having dinner with long-time Landscapist follower, Matt Dallos and his lovely girl friend? / fiancée? (her name and precise status escape me, which par for my course). Aside: today's triptych is not from that encounter.
During our evening-long conversation, the subject of Simon Norfolk's recent pictorial in the Sunday NY Times Magazine came up. I had mentioned that I was much impressed with his pictures and that I also had his Afghanistan: Chronotopia book (you can find it HERE) in which he presented pictures that were very much like those from Yemen (in the NY Times piece).
When I say "pictures that were very much like those from Yemen", what I am referring to (amongst many other picturing attributes) is the fact that, after deciding to make pictures of the ruins of war by "drawing upon ideas from 17th century and 18th century French landscape painting .... in particular, that amazing golden light" as well as early photo-era pictures of ruins, Norfolk went on to make all of his Afghanistan picture in early morning light - 4AM to be exact. While the Yemen pictures may not all have been made at 4AM, none appear to be made in the cold hard light of day.
Norfolk, much like Mona Kuhn (as mentioned in yesterday's entry), is committed to making pictures that are very much influenced in one way or another (more or less) by, in the painting tradition - Romanticism, Impressionism, and, in the photo tradition - Pictorialism.
For over a year or more, I have been executing a slow drift toward a somewhat similar approach to making pictures, albeit more like Kuhn (narrow DOF) than Norfolk (amazing golden light) although less like Kuhn (referents = people) than Norfolk (referents = places minus people).
I attribute that drift to my purchase (and my subsequent almost exclusive use thereof) of a Lumix 20mm f1.7 lens that I use almost exclusively at f1.7 for its narrow DOF.
No matter how you slice and dice it, a narrow DOF pretty much lands one in the Romanticism, Impressionism, and Pictorial side of the fence. Add "amazing golden light to the mix" and, if you're not careful, a rapid descent into the realm of making pretty pictures can result. Although, IMO, both Norfolk and Kuhn (and me) have managed to stay on the right side of that fence.
They have managed to do so by making pictures that are both illustrative and illuminative.
You can read more about Norfolk's intent HERE. In order to read more about Kuhn's intent you'll have to purchase issue # 9 of Color magazine. That said, my intent with the narrow DOF thing is to continue making pictures in the postmodern tradition, referent wise (the everyday, the commonplace, the banal), but to, in fact, drift from that approach, postmodern-cold-hard-light-of-day wise.
IMO, and that of many others, the cold-hard-light-of-day - at times, literally, at other times, figuratively - look at things tends to impart a rather cool, disinterested, and detached view of/attitude about things - as somewhat matter-of-fact kind of approach. While that has been my picture making intent for quite a while, I am drifting toward what I want to appear to be (and actually is), a warmer and somewhat involved, caring (as in, it matters), and interested view of things - a slightly softer look at things.
BTW, please feel free to comment on this entry's triptych, re: my notion of a "somewhat involved, caring (as in, it matters), and interested view of things".
Reader Comments (4)
Mark two questions, what paper do you use and were you shooting stealth in the bar?
Don - I use Epson Premium Semimatte Photo Paper for most things.
I was not shooting stealth in the bar - everyone could see the man with the camera and notice that, from time to time, he would raise the camera from the bar and make some pictures. That said, none of the pictures were "posed" or made with the knowledge and/or cooperation of the subjects.
All good compositions, but the third one with the pretty girl is the most appealing (various reasons).
In regard to Mona Kuhn's style, I noticed you sneaked in an overweight person ;-). Interesting how the man's profile (belly) complements the girl's soft rounded cheeks.
The look on the girl's face is enigmatic -- is she bored / deciding / waiting patiently / concerned her photo is being taken? Still engaging though. Is she with a group of younger people or by herself (like the guy in the first image)?
When you observe people (strangers) in public you often try to form an opinion about them, but you don't have their back-story.
Thanks Mark, I could tell they were not staged and I also like the third shot of the female.