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This blog is intended to showcase my pictures or those of other photographers who have moved beyond the pretty picture and for whom photography is more than entertainment - photography that aims at being true, not at being beautiful because what is true is most often beautiful..

>>>> Comments, commentary and lively discussions, re: my writings or any topic germane to the medium and its apparatus, are vigorously encouraged.

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BODIES OF WORK ~ PICTURE GALLERIES

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Entries in photography of others (69)

Tuesday
Apr192016

civilized ku # 3082 / comparison ~ channeling Stephen Shore

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kids V2 ~ Whitehall, NY - just outside the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
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Stephen Shore ~ from the book UNCOMMON PLACES • click to embiggen
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comparison • click to embiggen

Relative to yesterday's entry and the recent entry, digital / pre-digital color, I thought I would share a comparison between how a RAW converter / processor sees a RAW file and what the same file looks like after I tweak the a and b channels in the RAW converter / processor. iMo, an amazing difference / good clean color. Take particular note of the "restaurant" word mural and the weathered wood window frames - both are rendered with very clean / accurate color.

Also thought I would share my picturing experience, re: kids - Whitehall, NY ... after stopping in Whitehall to see the Skene Manor I wanted to make a picture of the Manor from the village in order to present its dominating presence up on the hill. First I made a few pictures from a vantage point across the street by the mailbox (as seen beyond the kids). Then standing in the street. And finally, between 2 corner buildings which framed the scene.

Turning around after walking to that last vantage point, a vision of a Stephen Shore picture immediately came to mind. I also knew, at that moment, that I would be presenting an 8×10-proportion picture as a short of homage to Mr. Shore. He was, after all, one of my early picture making inspirations. Or, more accurately, early on après my get-beyond-the-pretty-picture epiphany.
Wednesday
Feb242016

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

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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.
Wednesday
Feb172016

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.
Monday
Jan252016

FYI ~ see it, you'll like it

Last evening the wife and I, along with The Cinemascapist and family, attended the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour event in Lake Placid. The event was a screening of 9 films selected from the many film entries at last year's Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Notable amongst the selected films was the film ECLIPSE which chronicled the quest by photographer Reuben Krabbe to make a rather mission-impossible, once-in-a-lifetime possibility picture - that of a skier silhouetted against a solar eclipse. The film and the resulting picture - yes, he nailed it - is visually stunning and the story is rather compelling.

You can view the entire film in full-screen HD - ECLIPSE - highly recommended (the film is about 30 minutes long).

And, the BMFFWT might be coming to a location near you. You can check the schedule / locations here - Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour locations
Monday
Jan042016

civilized ku # 3033 ~ a totally unexpected surprise

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

A little known part of my persona is my fascination with and desire to acquire some chickens. Not just any chickens but rather exotic chickens.

I am not sure of the reasons for this proclivity other than exotic chickens seem to speak to me of a Supreme Being (of some sort) - perhaps the Creation Department Director in charge of Poultry Evolution - who gathered together an assembly of graphic designers and gave them each the task of designing a chicken. The results were creative, plentiful and, iMo, quite spectacular and that is the reason why our house is replete with many chicken / rooster effigies. Objects which represent how, at this time, I am dealing with my chicken obsession.

In any event, it came to my notice, in a recent edition of our online local community newsletter, that a local farm was making a number of laying hens available because their flock was overextending their poultry housing facility. While I am not particularly interested in chickens for their laying ability (nevertheless, a nice ancillary activity), I clicked on the link to the farm website to see what might be what.

The unexpected surprise that greeted me on the Blue Pepper Farm website was not that of chickens but rather that of some absolutely delightful photography. Pictures which are presented not as addendum's to text but rather pictures which are presented in a photography blog / site format, seemingly for the pure joy of picture making.

Most, if not all, of pictures seem to be of cell phone origin, most with some sort of photography app effects applied. However, whatever the methodology, the pictures speak with an unmistakably enthusiastic and affectionate voice regarding a love for farm life and all it entails. Wading through the hundreds of pictures reveals a large number of wonderful picturing gems.

If ever there was a "hidden" treasure of undiscovered pictures which cry out to be seen in a gallery exhibition (with an accompanying exhibition catalog), this is a prime example thereof.

Spend some time viewing the pictures. I don't think you will be disappointed.
Thursday
Dec172015

civilized ku # 3025 / sports update ~ keep on moving

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sidewalk, trees and bridge ~ Pittsburgh, PA • click to embiggen
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Hugo / hockey ~ Lake Placid, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

FYI, I did not make the pictures of Hugo's Player of the Game performance in a recent hockey tournament.
Friday
May242013

civilized ku #2516-17 ~ I am a square, she's a square

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iPhone Photography ~ Lunenburg, Nova Scotia / Canada • click to embiggen
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Photo gallery / shop ~ Lunenburg, Nova Scotia / Canada • click to embiggen
During our first day in Lunenburg while driving down the main street, a poster in a storefront window caught my eye. It should go without writing that my attention was garnered by the square pictures with black borders. Nevertheless, it wasn't until our last day in the Lunenburg vacinity that we were walking past the window and I looked inside only to notice more square pictures presented 3×3 in a single frame.

The story/gallery was closed but, as luck would have it, a man came down some stairs and I knocked on the window and he let me in. After a very brief explanation of my interest in square pictures, he stated that he was not the picture maker. In fact the picture maker was a woman (his wife, I believe) named Mariette Roodenburg.

I was escorted up to the second floor where a gallery occupied the entire very large space. Most of the works on display were of Mariette's making and in short order she came down from her third floor studio (more of a print making studio than a picture making studio), introduced herself and we proceeded to have a nice long chat. Our chat focused on art/aesthetics and nary a word about cameras / gear or technique with the exception of a brief explanation about how she was able to print - with exquisite detail, tone and color - some of her Land Squares pictures on uncoated Japanese rice paper (she pre-treated the paper with an ink-retaining coating).

When all was said and done, it was a real treat to see the work of fellow-traveler, square picture wise.

Wednesday
Jul042012

old pal

Old Pal ~ Saranac Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenIt has been my custom, every July 4th, to post a picture, which contains the American flag, upside down. As some may not know, an upside down flag is a signal of distress.

I signal distress inasmuch as I believe my country to be in deep shit - un-civil public discourse, ideological polarization, political obstructionism / government disfunction, unbridled greed and rampant consumerism, to name just a few examples. And now, thanks to the Supreme Court, an election for president that might just be decided on which party has the most cash. An outcome which would herald the return of a wealthy ruling class.

It's a mess and not showing any signs of getting better. It some ways, it seems like an old pal is dying.

FYI, picture made by the girl formerly known as Coma Girl. Processing by me.