diptych # 204 ~ same but different

early morning /mid-afternoon ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

I might have had an evening (artificial light) variation on this still life but the wife put the dishes / utensils / et al in the dishwasher before I knew what she was doing. I've got to get me a roll of that crime-scene-do-not-cross tape. Or, maybe somebody makes photo-scene tape.

civilized ku # 3060 ~ flower petals / sorry ass SOBs

dormer alcove ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

iMo, the picture making world has been ill-served - at least so in the U.S of A. (can't speak to the rest of the world) - by the demise of the independent camera store.

For the most part, gone are the days (outside of a big city) when one could visit a camera store to literally get the feel of a camera or some other gear and speak to a sales person who might actually impart some useful knowledge / information about gear matters. Someone with whom you have previously interacted and have come to trust. Sure, you can find information online for just about any product but, call me old fashioned, given the choice between a 'virtual' experience and that involving an actual human being, I'll take the human almost every time.

One big-city camera store I have, over past decade or so, come to depend on, both online and in the flesh, is B&H Photo in NYC. The in-store sales people are knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and extremely patient. The phone order staff is as well. Consequently, B&H has become my go-to source for most of my gear and printing supplies. However ...

... the wife is an attorney with an area of expertise in labor and employment law. On a regular basis, she receives notices from Federal and State agencies regarding cases involving labor and employment issues - information that may help her stay abreast of what's-happenin'-now in that area of law. And, therein is the reason for my "however".

Within the last week, she received a bulletin from the US Department of Labor regarding the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs lawsuit against B&H for:

...systematically discriminating against Hispanic employees and female, black and Asian jobseekers at its Brooklyn Navy Yard warehouse. In its suit, OFCCP seeks complete relief for the affected class including lost wages, interest, front wages, salary adjustments, promotions and all other lost benefits of employment and a reform of discriminatory policies.

During its compliance review OFCCP found (amongst other issues) that:

• B&H’s Brooklyn Navy Yard warehouse exclusively hired Hispanic men into its entry-level laborer job group, contributing to the complete exclusion of female employees at the warehouse and the near exclusion of black and Asian employees at the facility.
• B&H promoted and compensated its Hispanic workers at a significantly lower rate than comparable white workers, leading to lower pay, fewer opportunities to advance and a near-total exclusion of Hispanic workers from higher level clerical, managerial and supervisory positions. Hispanic employees were also subjected to racist remarks, degrading comments and harassment at the worksite.
• Failed to keep and preserve required personnel and employment records.
• Relegated Hispanic warehouse workers to separate, unsanitary and often inoperable restrooms.
• Failed to provide designated restroom or changing facilities for females

Suddenly, just like that, B&H has sunk to last place - or, more accurately, to no place - on my picture making needs source list. Shame on them.

Of course, B&H has the opportunity to provide relief as ordered by the OFCCP. Failure to do so will result in the cancellation of all government contracts which are estimated to be valued in excess of $46 million dollars. It will also result in my never again purchasing from them.

And, I will be curious to see if any of the "big name" photo websites - those who depend, at least in part, for some their income through commission links to B&H - will be making note to their followers of this situation. Or, whether they will play the say-what? I-know-nothing card instead.

punctum baby (he/she's back) / family memories ~ life is just a snapshot

great aunt, grandma, grandpa • click to embiggen

I've been reading and thinking on my "personal meaning which 'escapes' language", re: the Punctum Baby picture. The readings - very selective chapters / essays from 2 books - provided 'clues' which facilitated my some of my thinkings. So, first, the clues:

1. In the normal rhetoric of the photographic portrait, facing the camera signifies solemnity, frankness, and disclosure of the subjects essence. - Susan Sontag ~ On Photography

2 ... even the most happy and innocent photographs - perhaps especially the most happy and innocent - function as kind of memento mori for the viewer's own death, reminding him or her that all things pass and fade; that life is just a snapshot. - Steve Edwards ~ PHOTOGRAPHY A Very Short Introduction

3 ... the photograph seems to testify that particular people existed or that things actually happened … photographs act as prompts or provocations for stories and reminiscences ... (which) spin off from these powerful points of association ... [T]he photographs that take on this role often articulate some shared experience or need.

Thoughts regarding clue # 1: facing the camera. There is no doubt in my mind that the direct facing-the-camera stare with eye contact, despite its diminutive size within the frame, is what first pricks my eye and sensibilities, personal meanings wise. I find it very arresting due to its I'm looking at you and you better not look away quality which also suggests (to me) a you're going to have deal with me, buddy feeling - "I can not nor will not be ignored."

All of which is delivered in a non-threatening and somewhat expectant manner that, at the very least, suggests some of the Punctum Baby's "frankness" and "essence" such as it might be at his/her early stage of awareness. The stare / eye contact / facial expression suggests to me that Punctum Baby is an open, inquisitive and inviting person - I would like to make his/her acquaintance.

Thoughts regarding clues # 2 / # 3: all things pass and fade / photographs act as prompts or provocations. I have linked my thoughts on clues #2/3 because those those thoughts flow from one to the other.

First, foremost and quite obviously, the moment pictured has passed (long ago) and, for all we know, it is possible that the Punctum Baby has passed away as well. And, other than the perceived idea about the Punctum Baby's essence' everything else about the picture is unknown / unknowable. Because of that, I am left with a sense of mystery and endless speculation which can never be unraveled regarding the story of Punctum Baby's life and fate.

While I could go on and speculate nearly endlessly, it is here where I came to a stop, re: trying to put into language that which I have come to believe should remain unknown. For, as Susan Sontag opined, "Interpretation is the revenge of the intellect on art." and I would much rather experience the feelings and reactions rather than dissecting them and, most likely, sucking the life out of them.

Ultimately, I think that a significant but not exclusive part of my feelings / reactions to the Punctum Baby picture all come down to the question of life with meaning. Did he / she have one? And, prompted by the picture, am I engaged in a life with meaning? Or, on the other hand, ... whatever.

BTWFYI, the old-timey pictures of my relatives do not come anywhere near to instigating the feelings / reactions I have to the Punctum Baby picture.

civilized ku # 3057-59 ~ recently seen and duly noted

hotel room / reflection on tv screen ~ Potsdam, NY • click to embiggen
cell phone against white ~ Brasher Falls, NY • click to embiggen
American Legion / Post 939 ~ Brushton, NY • click to embiggen

While attending a hockey tournament and moving about the extreme northern tier of New York State - the St. Lawrence River valley along the Canadian border - a few things pricked my eye and sensibilities.

diptych # 203 / civilized ku # 3054-55 ~ late winter inside color

flowers and stuff ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
flowers ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

I am working on my next entry, re: punctum baby ~ personal meaning which "escapes" language part II. Hope to complete it tomorrow afternoon while in a hotel killing time between hockey games.

As an aid to help clarify my approach to finding the words which come close to defining / explaining my reaction, personal meaning wise, to the punctum baby picture, I am re-reading the book ,READING PHOTOGRAPHS ~ UNDERSTANDING THE AESTHETICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY which was published in 1978 and which I read for the first time a long time ago.

FYI, the book is a collection of 9 essays (on average, only 2 pages each) covering 9 topics - such as, Time, Organization of space, Symbol and Light - all illustrated with a number of pictures relative to the topic. The book is an easy and somewhat informative read.

However, as I read it I am starting to think that I what I really need to do is to re-read a few chapters in Susan Sontag's book, On Photography. So, I guess I'll throw that book into my suitcase.

punctum baby ~ personal meaning which "escapes" language / part I

A number of years past I acquired a book, The Art of the American Snapshot ~ 1888-1978. The book is a catalog of a 2007 exhibition of the same name at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, I missed the exhibition which dearly wanted to see. In any event, the book itself is quite interesting and impressive. In the description of the book (found on the inside fold of the dust cover), with which I emphatically concur, it is written that:

The publication shows that among the countless snapshots taken by American amateurs, some works, through intention or accident, continue to resonate long after their intimate context and original meaning have been lost.

To my eye and sensibilities, one such snapshot which resonates with me, long after its intimate context and original meaning has been lost to the ages, is the baby in a highchair snapshot which accompanies this entry. It so resonates with me that I consider it to be one of the most beautiful and intriguing / involving pictures I have ever seen.

This picture is a found picture. Several years ago, I acquired it in a small second-hand store in a central Pennsylvania town where the wife and I had stopped for lunch during a drive from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. It was buried in a shoebox of old snapshots and, when I saw it, I was stopped dead in my tracks. To this day I can not adequately explain in words its hold on me and my thoughts.

I know on one level, that of the picture making craftsman in me, I find the picture to be quite beautiful. The rich-in-detail dark tones contrasted against the luminous light on the baby and upper highchair is simply gorgeous. The quality of the slanting light - most likely late day, is one reason why I react to the picture as very "warm". However, the absolutely wonderful distinct shadows of the highchair, of the porch pillar and fretwork, the foliage as well as the rather indistinct shadows in the lower third of the picture, all combine to create a somewhat "cool", ominous and mysterious feeling which stands in contrast to the "warmth" of the late day light.

And, with the primary referent, that of the baby in his highchair, nearly centered within the frame, all of the aforementioned seem to swirl around the balance of the frame so that it all works together to create a well ordered and harmonious pictorial space.

And, it is the well ordered and harmonious pictorial space in addition to the light and dark play of light that causes me to wonder about the maker (was it a man or woman?) of this picture. iMo, the picture evidences either the result of a of a "lucky" snapshot, or, that of a picture maker with an awareness of good framing and the interplay of highlight and shadow. I lean toward the notion of a picture maker with awareness inasmuch as ...

... the picture maker seems to have selected a POV which not only includes, one might even say features, the play and quality of the light but which also stands in contrast to what a very casual snap shooter might do - move in closer in order to fill the frame with the baby. I think it also safe to write that a casual shape shooter would barely, if at all, noticed or cared about the surrounding environment / background.

All-in-all, to my eye and sensibilities, the picture evidences a rather sophisticated awareness on the part of the picture maker to visual matters other than the baby. Then again, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.

While I can go on and on describing why the picture appeals to my craft sensibilities - what Roland Barthes might label, at least in part, as studium ... the fact that the image is a unified and self-contained whole whose generalized meaning can be taken in at a glance - it is when I get to the punctum - the wounding, personally touching detail which establishes an intensely private / personal meaning which "escapes" language - that I get rather tongue-tied (or, if you prefer, typing-tied).

In part II of this topic I will try my best to put into words that which "escapes" language. That is, to elucidate my reaction to the personally touching detail which establishes the intensely private / personal meaning that I experience with this picture.

diptych # 202 / civilized ku # 3053 ~ the destroyer of worlds, art-wise

sweepings ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
sweepings / sweeper ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

I continue to struggle - write, re-write, edit, re-edit, think, re-think - with the entry, re: the most beautiful and intriguing picture I have ever seen, so I have decided to break it into 2 parts.

Part I will deal with the craft to be seen in the print, itself. Craft, whether intention or the result of dumb unthinking luck, which is rather striking. Addressing this aspect of the picture has not been particularly difficult. Although, in fact, the craft does play a significant part in how the picture affects me.

Part II will deal with the picture's emotional / mental impact and affect on my feelings and sensibilities. My understanding of that impact - both how and the why - is where I struggle. That is to write, having the ability to connect to (understand) and to put into words what could be described as my complete fascination with the picture and why I consider it to be the most beautiful and intriguing picture I have ever seen. Or least, one of the most beautiful and intriguing pictures I have ever seen.

civilized ku # 3052 ~ having a good time

aftermath - surgical tape and gauze ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

Sometimes you eat the b'ar, sometimes the b'ar eats you - an expression describing the bipolar nature of life, the universe and everything.

Variations:

Sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the tree

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug

On the other hand, if you don't believe in dualism, the other side of the coin, win some / lose some or the like, you can always say...

Fuck it, man. Let's go bowling.

or, Hop in the Cordoba, baby, we're going bowling.

fyi, some of the above is harvested from the Lebowski Lexicon and Mike Lange-ism