man & nature # 75 ~ infrastructure

XC ski trail underpass ~ Mt. Van Hovenberg • click to embiggen

man & nature # 74 ~ an apostate visual artist

2 trees, 400 miles / 24 hours apart • click to embiggen2 quick items and then I'm out of here to NYC.

1.) Mary Dennis wrote: "I wanted to add that I'm a little surprised to hear that the focusing, schlepping and chutzpah part of photography doesn't come naturally to you ... I always had the impression that you were old hat at this kind of thing.

my response: I'm old hat at schlepping my commercial photo portfolio although those days are behind me for the most part. But, the fact that I am "old hat" at doing it doesn't mean that I like it, not to mention that schlepping commercial work is a whole different kettle of fish than doing so in the Art world.

The commercial world has nearly endless possibilities, not so the Art world - by "Art world" I mean the "high-end" gallery world. A world that, thanks to Aaron, I have a point of entry into. Nevertheless ... ugh.

2.) The consensus from the SURVEY is that one of the primary reasons most keep coming back to The Landscapist is because it is one of only a few blog-places where gear and techno topics don't rule the day. Fortunately for me, there are just enough of you out there who are interested in the medium of photography beyond that of the toys involved - just enough to keep me going.

But, I'm curious. Why do you think that is? Why aren't more picture makers interested (for their own benefit / curiosity, not mine) in the some of the topics discussed here? Could it have something to do with this? -

Unfortunately, art in America has become an elitist preserve. This is partly the fault of a critical establishment which abandoned the enduring search for a common language - the language of love and loss and sorrow and remembrance - and began to speak, almost exclusively, in a specialized and opaque language that few can understand. I mean, who dares to define the ironies of postmodernism? Who cares? I know of very few writers, historians, theologians or scientists, who offer the slightest nod to the so-called "art world" - which now defines itself by a handful of art stars (exciting, savvy, marketable) who, unlike their literary counterparts (Dylan, DeLillo), speak primarily to a small New York audience. This audience hungers for an acceptable avant-garde they can take for granted, an "edginess" that shocks for a moment or two. Outside of this extroverted realm in which celebrity has been converted into meaning, in which the quiet, free-standing work of art is given little respect, apostate visual artists find themselves longing for an absent American discourse. - John Rosenthal

Which brings me back to item # 1. I am mostly likely an "apostate visual artist" in that I am not certain that my pictures conform to the "specialized and opaque language that few can understand" art world of New York. IMO, I and my work tend towards that "absent American discourse" that Rosenthal writes about.

And, it is those considerations that make schlepping my work in the Art world so daunting.

full moon ku # 1

Under a full moon • click to embiggenI'm just trying to figure out what a night picture made with the light of a full moon should look like.

FYI ~ an open invitation

Incident at the flumeFor those of you in the NYC area who might be interested, tomorrow, Thursday - Nov. 13th, is the opening of Aaron-The-Cinemascapist's new exhibit. The opening is from 6-8pm at The Collette Blanchard Gallery - 26 Clinton Street, NYC. That's just south off of E. Houston St. (between 269 and 299 E. Houston).

Both Aaron and I would love to meet with any of you who might be so inclined to pay a visit. We hope that some of you might be able to stop by.

FYI ~ a change

You may have noticed one of the changes I have made here on The Landscapist - a category named picture, no words.

My intent with this is to post pictures (at this point, my pictures - but that could change) without words - other than a caption - in order to put a bit more emphasis on the idea that it's all about the pictures.

My hope with this is to stimulate discussion / conversation about pictures in and of themselves rather than the usual discussion / conversation about the medium of photography.

Where this goes is anyone's guess but many of you who have responded to the survey have mentioned that The Landscapist is one of the few blogs / sites on which the medium of photography is discussed beyond the realm of the technique / technical - a trait that many of you find of value in figuring out, for yourself, things photographic.

IMO, opinion there is much to be learned - for me and for you - from conversation / discussion about the results of all that figuring.

Let's give it go.

man & nature # 73 ~ color in the clouds

Red barn converted to a home with a view of the slides on Mt. Colden • click to embiggen

man & nature # 72 ~ grasshopper

Ski trail with Indian Pass in the distance ~ Keene, NY • click to embiggenYesterday afternoon I ventured out to go moose spotting.

Over the last 5 years or so moose have returned to the Adirondacks. Their population has grown fairly quickly to a currently estimated number of 400-500. Since there is no top-predator for moose, namely the wolf, here in the Adirondacks, their number is expected to reach 2,000+ within the next 5 years.

As is to be expected, the return of the moose has been much too tempting for some moronic "top predators" with guns. The NYS DEC has recently charged 2 men, 1 from my home town, with killing a moose in the nearby town of Keene (where today's picture was made). It appears that moose have moved into that area in great numbers - many sightings are made there on a daily basis.

One can only hope that the Criminal Court in Keene will throw the book at 'em - up $2,000 in fines and 1 year in jail. IMO, they should also lose their license to hunt and their guns for an extended period of time. These jerks need to serve as an example that this kind of behavior simply will not be tolerated.

PS - my bet is that they will use the Sarah Palin made me do it defense.

That said, as I was making the 18 mile drive to Keene, I was pondering the idea of how I might choose to picture a moose. Since I have absolutely no desire to make a moose "portrait", I figured that I would picture it as just part of its environment. In any event, it was a moot point in as much as I returned home without spotting a moose. I had to console myself with making some pictures of other things and scenes (like the one presented here).

My interest is not so much to picture a moose as it is just to see one in the wild. Their return after a 160 years or more of absence is something that touches me in a rather profound manner. Amongst many considerations, it is a powerful indication of the natural world's ability to rebound, to repair itself, to right the wrongs inflicted upon it by humankind - something that we here in the US of A must commit ourselves to with a great deal of vigor.

What I found instructive about the idea of picturing a moose is the fact that I am not certain that I could make a picture of one that conveyed my feelings about their return. Maybe this is just because most fauna pictures that I have seen leave me rather unaffected - Nick Brandt's pictures being one notable exception.

All I know at this point is that I don't much care, one way or another, whether I ever picture a moose or not. This notion runs contrary to what I feel about most of the pictures I make - in most cases, I am much more "contemplative", "thoughtful", and "involved" with my pictures of people, places, and things than I am of them when I am actually experiencing (and picturing) them.

And, let be emphatic about it, I do not think/feel that the act of picturing is "getting in the way" of the actual experience. Not at all. Rather, I think/feel about it like this:

What we hope for from the artist is help in discovering the significance of a place. In this sense we would choose in most respects for thirty minutes with Edward Hopper’s painting Sunday Morning to thirty minutes on the street that was his subject; with Hopper’s vision we see more. ~ Robert Adams

BUT, I must admit that, over the past few years, I have been experiencing visions in my head of grasshopper-me sitting, legs folded in Zen-like contemplation (replete with robes, beads, and maybe some incense and soft sitar music off in the distance), in all of the spots from which I have been picturing - truly and deeply experiencing the moment. I feel that I am having these visions because I sense that I am missing something in real-time.

Do I have a character "deficiency"? Am I too "cool and distant" in the face of real life? Is my picturing activity an attempt to compensate for this personal "failing"? Am I trying to "connect" with real life with my pictures in manner that I can not attain "in the flesh"?

Truth be told, I simply don't have the answers to these questions.

What about you? How/ what do you feel about your relationship with the pictures you create?

civilized ku # 127 ~ A SURVEY

Rowers and bridge on the Schuylkill River ~ Philadelphia, PA. • click to embiggenThe nominal reason that the wife and I were in Philadelphia / South Jersey over the weekend was to watch college-boy compete in the Frostbite Regatta. Although it must be said that with coma-girl in college in Philly, the wife's family cluster just over the river in Merchantville, NJ, and a very good friend of mine who just moved to Philly, the excuses needed to travel there are many.

A SURVEY: I am very curious to know 2 things about you, The Landscapist visitor. Your responses will be a factor in how this blog evolves, so please respond.

1) a.Where are you on your picturing making journey? and, b. What do you most want to learn / discuss photography-wise at this point in your journey?

2) At this point, what keeps you coming back to the Landscapist?

As I mentioned a little while back, I am feeling that "everything has been said" or, at least, everything I have to say has been said. Now, I don't mean that literally, but most of time, judging by the number of comments, I don't have any idea whether I am striking a chord - word-wise, picture-wise - with visitors or not.

The reason that I am wondering about this is because one of the primary reasons I started and continued with this blog for the past couple years is because I was thinking out loud / talking to myself in order to clarify some of my thoughts and ideas about the medium of photography. Now, I'm not going to don a flight suit, stand on the deck of an aircraft carrier and declare, "Mission accomplished", but I am feeling that, for me, much has been resolved.

Consequently, these words have been on my mind:

Philosophy can forsake too easily the details of experience… many writers and painters - and photographers, I might add - have demonstrated that thinking long about what art is or ought to be ruins the power to write or paint. (or photograph) - Robert Adams

That said, I don't feel in any way that my power for picture making is anywhere near to being "ruined". However, I do feel that I need to move onto the next stage in all of this. That stage definitely includes continuing this blog - because of where I live, it's virtually (pun intended) my only contact on a regular basis with the "outside world" of photography - and continuing to make pictures pretty much as I have been (subject, style, vision). But ... I absolutely feel that the time has come to do something public (non-virtual) with my pictures.

In order to do that, I must spend a considerable amount of time editing my pictures and organizing them into coherent / focused bodies of work. At the same time, and here's the part that doesn't come easily / naturally to me, I have to start schlepping, backed with a heaping helping of chutzpa, my pictures to galleries and publishers.

Ugh.

The only way I am going to make this work is to start by making POD books of my edited work. I do enjoy doing that so hopefully the process will be more fun and ugh.