the light - quotidian to the core / box o' prints update
Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 11:54AM 
covers / page spreads • click to embiggen
I have created a new book which is off to the POD printer for printing / production. The book, titled simply "the LIGHT", is a collection of pictures - created over an extended period of time - the makings of which were instigated by chance encounters with fleeting light falling upon commonplace scenes. That is to write, while I am intrinsically drawn to picturing the commonplace, it was the light which pricked my eye and sensibilities.
My Artist Statement in the book:
George Eastman stated the obvious when he said, “Light makes photography.” inasmuch as the word “photography” derives from the Greek words φως (phos), meaning "light", and γραφή (graphê), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light". Without light there is no photography.
That written, in modern photo speak, the phrase “the light” has come to mean natural light which baths the landscape in a dramatic and, most often, color-saturated fashion. Dramatic sunsets/rises and the sturm und drang of inclement weather are two ubiquitous examples and there are those whose picture making mission in life is to “chase the light".
In my picture making pursuit, I use whatever light I encounter - found light - in any given picture making situation. It is rare that that light does not suit my picturing intent. Equally rare are those times when ”the light” itself is the primary inciter of my picturing activity.
However, there are times when the found light streaming into interior landscapes creates fleeting moments of intense, focused, and transformative illumination which pricks my eye and sensibilities. While the rather quotidian illuminated objects and/or fragments of interior are of interest to me, it is the light itself which has instigated my desire to make picture.
And it is at those times that I feel “the light” is chasing me.
Box O' Prints project update: to date 4 participants have stepped up to the plate. A minimum of 4 more would be ideal in order to get the thing moving. Of the hundreds of Landscapist followers / readers, surely there must be 4 more out there who would like to participate.
FYI, this project is not intended to involve only "master printers" and it is not a competition. The intent is simply to create the opportunity to put prints, as the ultimate expression of one's work, into the hands of those who prefer prints over screens and it does not matter if one is using a cell phone, crappy/toy camera, or an 11×14 Deardorf view camera in the making of one's work. Nor does subject matter matter - people, places, things, found or made, color or b/w - it's all good.
So, come on. Put your insecurities, self doubts and reservations about your pictures / picture making aside if that's what's holding you back. No matter what your picturing thing is, this project is nothing if not win-win for all who choose to get involved.
BTW, my thanks go out to Markus Spring for his entry, From Love For Prints To "A Box O' Prints, in which he relates his love for prints and provides a link to this blog, re: the Box O' Prints.
Reader Comments (2)
I'd like to add my name to the list. Its not that I necessarily prefer prints over screen presentations. They are different and have different qualities and capabilities.
A lovely set of pictures. The kind we stumble upon and go running for a camera. I now have to go filter my files for some. Who do you use for POD books?