life in pictures # 12 ~ some do, some don't

A sea of savings ~ Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggenWhen I showed this picture to the wife, her immediate response was that I was contradicting myself - that, contrary to my previously stated intent theorem wherein I stated that people in a life in pictures picture should not be looking at / conscious of "big brother", I have, in fact, chosen to use this variant from Saturday's picturing at the mall.

Sure enough, this variant does include people looking at / conscious of "big brother" but it also includes an equal dose of those not looking at / conscious of "big brother", which, IMO, creates a balance of sorts. A balance that still respects the notion that most people are unaware of "big brother" constantly hovering in the background of their lives and consciousness.

We'll see where this goes as the series progresses.

Update on Monday, February 22, 2010 at 12:07PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Gordon Coalewrote: "It's interesting that both males (child and adult) are looking at the model but the females aren't."

my response: That's exactly why, at least at this stage, it made the cut.

life in pictures # 11 ~ Montreal redux

Ouverture Bientot ~ Old Montreal, CA. • click to embiggenI have resurrected this picture from the dustbin - I created / posted it a couple years ago - for inclusion in the a life in pictures series.

life in pictures # 10 ~ Starbucks

Starbucks Coffee ~ NYC< NY • click to embiggen

life in pictures # 9 ~ He's a real Nowhere Man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land, Making all his nowhere prints for nobody.

Champion ~ Bell Centre, CA • click to embiggenAs is to be expected an entry on another blog, re: a new 18mp wunder-camera, generated a very large number of comments. Some of the commenters agreed with the entry creator that 18mp was simply overkill for an "consumer"-level dslr. Others were quite favorably impressed with this next-best-thing.

I, of course, was in complete agreement with one commenter - Mike Korvak - who stated:

.... don't you see the relationship that has been built between the high-tech forces of the world? 18mp in a consumer camera will require the user to buy a faster/larger capacity computer, larger/faster memory cards, a higher quality "pro" printer, new image manipulation software, and of course, lenses of greater quality to "match" the level of camera. And do not forget the banks and credit card companies who will reap the benefits of all this consumer purchasing. OOPS, one more interest that will be the recipient of great rewards..the landfill companies where all the outdated no longer worthwhile equipment will wind up. All this so the consumer user soccer mom can put her camera in "point-n-shoot" mode to capture little Johnny in the game of his life (at 7 years old). Sorry to be such a cynic, but I have reached my personal level of excessive consumerism tolerance. Get real America!

However, so much of the pixel-count yammering had me wondering - why is it that there are lots more "serious amateur" painters / illustrators making really interesting paintings / illustrations than there are "serious amateur" picture makers, AKA - photographers, who are making interesting pictures?

To be certain, that question / implied opinion is NOT based on any scientific survey - it is based solely upon my personal observations in the many "small-time" craft/art galleries that I visit on a regular basis. When doing so, I am often tempted to purchase (and occasionally do so) a painting / illustration but I am never, or at least so rarely that it seems like "never", tempted to purchase a photographic picture.

IMO, part of the reason for than situation is that so many "serious amateur" picture makers are so wrapped up in their picture making machines - my camera is better than your camera - and picturing making accoutrements - my lens is sharper than your lens - that they are both mentally and emotionally incapable of making an interesting picture. They invest all or most of their time in the mechanics of the medium and pay scant, if any, attention to what make an interesting picture interesting. Instead, when it comes to actual picture making, they stick to the tried and true - pretty pictures of pretty scenes.

In truth and in fact, there probably are more interesting "serious amateur" photographic pictures (vs. painting / illustration) out there than meets the eye. However, "small-time" (by which I do not mean "schlock") craft/art galleries have limited wall space and they tend to show what they think will sell and "pretty" pictures will outsell "interesting" pictures (in such settings) almost every time. Especially so, because "pretty" pictures are a dime-a-dozen and, most often, priced to match. That, and, as the saying goes - no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.

Consequently, there is much in the way of interesting pictures that simply doesn't see the light of day (properly filtered, of course) in small-time craft/art galleries. Unfortunately, much of the work of "serious amateurs", photography-wise, is caught in a no-see-um land between a rock and a hard place. The "rock" being the small-time craft/art galleries and the "hard place" being the big-time art galleries.

But, that's a whole other story.

life in pictures # 8 ~ drink Molson EX

Bell Centre ~ Montreal, CA • click to embiggenI'm really starting to get a bit juiced re: the life in pictures series. Even though the work has initially raised some questions in my mind about direction, content, etc., it seems that those questions are having a tendency to work themselves out as I go on picturing.

Although, it's not as if they are working themselves out without any thought on my part. Quite the contrary. But that thought process has helped me to arrive at a point where I think it is possible to write what would be, at the very least, a preliminary artist statement about the work.

Once I get through this weekend - 3,000 of the wife's family are coming for a visit, I'll get down to the business of jotting down a few words about the life in pictures work and let you have a go at it.

Wish me luck - both on the statement and making it through the weekend.

life in pictures # 7 ~ 1 + 1 = 10

Sonia Rykeil ~ Bell Centre - Montreal, CA • click to embiggen
RAW ingredients ~ Montreal, CA • click to embiggenA few days ago on the FYI entry, the wife confessed to an act of horrendous proportions - she wrote, "the best life in pictures photo EVER did not happen because I did not want to miss the pre-game skate on Saturday."

In fact, the real reason that she/we almost missed the pre-game skate on Saturday was because, a few weeks ago, she had misread the game starting time on our tickets. Seeing the number 2010 on the tickets, she thought that, instead of denoting the year in which the game started, the number 2010 denoted the time that game started - 8:10PM. She accomplished this incredulous, and nearly disasterous, feat by ignoring the number 1400, the actual time (aka, 2PM) that game started.

Fortunately, the error was discovered early enough on Saturday morning - as opposed to discovering it in a cab on the way to the Bell Centre at, say, 1700hrs (right about the time the game ended) - that we were able to make it to Montreal and the game on time, albeit a bit rushed.

Consequently, on the way to the Bell Centre (less than a block away), when I saw a great life in pictures picture making opportunity (the fashion banner), I was informed by the wife that there was no time to wait for the next band-o'-passersby (hockey fans headed to the arena) to appear. So, just for the hell of it, I made a picture of the banner and kept on moving.

As we arrived at the Bell Centre, I noticed what could have been another opportunity but I did not have any WA lens at hand that would allow me to picture the complete hockey-guy banner that was hanging on the building. So, just for the hell of it, I made a picture of that banner scene and kept on moving.

Fast forward to this AM and, after looking at the shattered picturing remains of the wife's numeric screw up, I was determined that I would not let her brazen and brash forget-about-picturing-and-get-me-to-the-game-on-time hustle stop the making of great Art.

Hey. Where there's a will (and Photoshop), there's a way.

life in pictures # 6b ~ wild at heart - re: reading a photograph

Wild At Heart ~ v3 • click to embiggenThanks to one and all who took the time and made the effort to comment on life in pictures # 6/6a. Your comments were helpful to me in clarifying a number of issues that I had regarding both pictures.

That said, the most clarifying comment was left by Paul Maxim who stated:

... Even if it's only in the imagination of the viewer (of the photograph), the people in the image need to be seen as being 'connected' to the display itself. There has to be something that links the people in the mall to the display. Otherwise I'm left to wonder whether I'm supposed to be looking at the people or the display. There has to be a connection.

In photo # 1, I must admit to having been visually seduced by the little girl in pink but bothered by the fact that she was interacting with the window display. In photo # 2, I both liked and disliked the fact that there were 2 sets of eyes making eye connect with the viewer of the picture but, ultimately, I was bothered that the 2nd set of eyes (on the passerby) was too dominate.

That said, and what I appreciated about Paul's comment was the fact that Paul got it so completely and utterly wrong. His notion that "the people in the image need to be seen as being "connected" to the display", at least so on a visual level, is actually quite antithetical to my concept behind the life in pictures pictures - the fact that so many people are not consciously aware of the ubiquitous, pervasive and, perhaps, ultimately deleterious presence that advertising images play in their daily lives.

If one had taken the time to click on the "life in pictures" link under the Journal Categories section of the sidebar as part of his/her opinion-forming exercise, it should have been readily apparent that none of the pictured "participants" in the pictures were interacting / connected to the eye-contact marketing / advertising referents in the pictures. They were, in fact, seemingly unaware / oblivious to - again, on a conscious level - the eyes of "big brother" that were upon them. Which, of course, is the point of this series.

Thanks to Paul, by having thoughtfully reminded me of that concept (by totally missing it), I have removed the girl in pink picture from the life in pictures works. However, that left me with the dilemma of the 2 sets of eyes in picture # 2.

I actually like the passerby eye contact with the camera - it actually denotes a sense of being observed (as opposed to being oblivious about one's surroundings), if not by "big brother" (advertising wise) then at least by the eye of camera - which makes things really interesting (IMO) because now the viewer of the picture can contemplate (as Paul states, "to wonder") the idea of, not 2, but 3 sets of eyes. Or, even more accurately, 4 sets of eyes when one includes the eyes of the viewer of the picture.

And, that's a big part of the concept behind the life in pictures series - cognitive observation, or, the absence thereof.

However, as mentioned, I was bothered by the visual dominance of the passerby's eye contact with the eye of the camera. Eventually it became clear to me that, with the addition of another passerby and the shifting of the eye contact with the camera closer to the edge of the picture, that eye contact became less dominate and more "complimentary" to the proceedings.

So, with my apologies to the "purists" in the crowd, I put the couple into a third variation I had made - one with just one passerby. A picture that I had previously rejected because it was too un-peopled. IMO, that little PS slight-of-hand balances the picture out quite nicely.

And, Paul - FYI, the point of the life in pictures pictures, especially when viewed as a body of work, is to leave viewers "to wonder" about the connection between the people depicted therein and the eyes of "big bother" that are upon them. So, since the picture left you wondering, you at least got that part right (insert smiley face here).

life in pictures # 6/6a ~ wild at heart

Wild at heart ~ Champlain Center Mall - Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggen
Wild at heart, v2 ~ Champlain Center Mall - Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggenThis past weekend, while I was in NYC, I spied this window display while I was driving by in my car. There was virtually no opportunity for parking so I wasn't able to picture it.

However, yesterday, while I was picking up a DVD at the mall, there it was again. So, while trying to blend into the background - the diminutive EP-1 helped but a nearly empty mall, people wise, did not - I was able to make a few life in pictures pictures.

As mentioned, there were very few passersby in the mall, which not only emphasized my presence and picture making activity, but also meant having to wait and wait and wait for people-presence in the picture. IMO, people-presence is a rather key element in life in pictures pictures. In any event, I came away with a small number of pictures, the best of which are presented above.

That said, I'll do something I rarely do - solicit opinions, re: your preference (and the reasons why) between the 2 pictures. I am on the fence, preference wise, for reasons that I won't express here in order to avoid tainting the jury pool (that's all of you).

I don't normally ask for much. So, come on, help me out here.