ku # 1177 ~ tiny ecosystem

Grass and ground hugging growth ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen

ku # 1176 ~ small ecosystem

Little island ~ Tupper Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen

civilized ku #2337 ~ Coors Light

Peaks ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenLots of peaks. Might not have noticed all of them were in not for the fact that the truck caught my eye.

squares² # 2 ~ common beauty / beauty in common

diversity, all linked together in my eye and mind • click to embiggenDuring my recent visit with the Curator at view, one of the points we discussed, re: my pictures, was the continuity in vision which is evident across my diverse (referent wise) bodies of work - a topic I recently addressed in the civilized ku # 2299-2305 / ku # 1160 / rain # 20-22 entry under the heading of "profligatographers":

Profligatographers, unlike many who make theme / referent related work, make unified bodies of work which are made coherent by their concentrated efforts on the simple act of seeing. Despite their seemingly promiscuous choice of picturing referents, a Profligatographer very often has a distinctive personal vision / manner of seeing which pulls everything together, body of work wise.

The Curator, after viewing all 5 of my folios, most definitely saw the overarching vision which I believe unifies all of my pictures. That is, with the possible exception of my single women pictures. She felt those pictures to be less controlled / structured than my other work, an assessment with which I agree.

My single women pictures are much more referent biased than most of my other pictures. In my other works, while the referents matter, there is much more visual evidence of the deliberative use of natural color, shapes, and space within the frame, all of which come together to create the design / form as viewed on the 2D surface of the print. And, IMO, it is the coming together of all of those elements which is the overarching visual bedrock of my vision, that is, a quality / characteristic which is most often described as "beautiful prints" (in and of themselves, independent of the referent).

That written, my pictures are more than just visual. Moving beyond the illustrative, my intent is to address / illuminate, picturing wise, what I consider to be the beauty to be found in the commonplace - those things which are looked at in the passing parade of everyday life but to which little attention is given. To bring attention to the fine details of everyday life as opposed to the grand spectacles thereof. That M.O. is, IMO, the other overarching implied bedrock of my vision.

To my eye and sensibilities, taken together, my explicitly stated (the referent / the illustrated) way of seeing and my implied (the illuminated) meaning(s), create the overarching totality of my vision. And, I don't believe it takes a genius to understand and/or see, in all of my work, that the visual quality of my prints emphatically underscores the implied meaning(s) to be had / found therein ..... beautiful prints + common stuff = common beauty.

Or perhaps, on the other hand, some of you might think that I and my pictures are full of s**t. In any case, opinions of all kinds are encouraged and welcome.

civilized ku # 2328-36 ~ state fair

Roasting pig / NYS State Fair ~ Syracuse, NY • click to embiggenRear ends ~ NYS Fair / Syracuse, NY • click to embiggen
Chinese gourmet ~ NYS Fair / Syracuse, NY • click to embiggen
Fried dough ~ NYS Fair / Syracuse, NY • click to embiggen
Funnel cakes ~ NYS Fair / Syracuse, NY • click to embiggen
Cows / redhead ~ NYS Fair / Syracuse, NY • click to embiggen
Train / midway ~ NYS Fair / Syracuse, NY • click to embiggen
Chicken ~ NYS Fair / Syracuse, NY • click to embiggenIMO, if you can't see something to picture at a state fair, you must be blind as a bat. I can not think of a more concentrated place/space which is so incredibly target rich. And after this year's visit to the Fair, I have vowed to return next year for 2 days of picturing.

High on my list is to concentrate on food vendors - there must be hundreds of them and all of them are incredibly over-the-top, signage wise. Then there are the animals and the surrounding fair life of their owners / handlers - aka: farmers. That's an interesting culture unto itself. And, of course, there's the midway and the freak / side shows - the bearded lady, the world's smallest horse, et al. Of special interest to me would be making a series of on-the-spot portraits of carnival barkers who are a show all by themselves.

In any event, the more I think about it, 2 days may not be enough time to cover it all. Maybe that's why the Fair is 7 days long.

FYI, the food vendor pictures were made while the wedding couple and the wife and I were riding around in the Fair parade.

civilized ku # 33 ~ published work

Busted red door / abandoned mill ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenFYI, the upcoming Nov/Dec issue of Adirondack Life Magazine will have a feature spread / story with 10 pictures from my The Forks ~ there's no place like home exhibit.

picture windows # 49 ~ sailboat

Sailboat ~ Blue Mt. Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen

ku # 1175 ~ boat+dog / flat out dumb luck

Dog on boat ~ Blue Mountain Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenFor 6 days during our stay on Blue Mountain Lake, I attempted, unsuccessfully, to make a picture of this dog on a boat. The boat+dog went by our cottage 3-4 times a day on no particular schedule so it was impossible to predict their appearance and therefore be prepared to make a picture. Each time they appeared over the first 6 days, they were either too far out of camera range (for the lens mounted on the camera) or I didn't have a camera at hand and the few pictures I attempted just didn't have it.

However, on the very last morning of our stay, as I was out early picturing another great sunrise (taking advantage of the light, so to speak), the boat+dog came around the point positioned exactly the right distance for my camera/lens set up. Boat+dog appeared so suddenly and unexpectedly that I was fortunate the camera was set for the proper exposure, the light couldn't have been better and the dog was in the same position - although I never saw him in any other position or even move, for that matter - because I only got one shot at it. Literally, one single click of the shutter.