picture window (sort of) # 12 ~ let the howling begin

Covered bridge • click to embiggenWhile reading some quotes about photography, I came across 2 - under the heading of "Anonymous" - that, IMO, are related:

The type of photographs you make, the subjects you single out, reveal the person inside of you.

Of what use are lens and light to those who lack in mind and sight?

IMO, the reason that overwhelming majority of pictures made - by those trying to make art/Art - are trite, boring, repetitious, imitative, smaltz-y, unimaginative ... (pick your own "poisonous" word) is simply because .... (CAUTION: here comes the elephant in the room that no one talks about in the photo blog-o-sphere) .... well, "the type of photographs you make, the subjects you single out, reveal the person inside of you." and, just by taking a look at the state of human affairs, it seems quite obvious that there are lots of persons who "lack in mind and sight".

In a rather ironic way of looking at Art, it could be said that, if the best of Art deals with "what it means to be human" - and, increasingly, it seems that the sine qua non of humanity is avoiding reality - then all those ubiquitous (and brain-dead) pretty pictures of blazing mountain sunsets must be the real Art of our times.

Or, so it seems to me but, then again, maybe I'm just in a foul mood 'cause the Pens didn't win The Cup.

Update on Friday, June 6, 2008 at 12:20PM by gravitas et nugalis

Hey people - some absolutely great comments from everyone.

For those who are just cruising my pictures or my words, take the time to read these comments.

picture window # 11 ~ arrogance and self-confidence are not synonymous

Inside and out • click to embigenPaul Maxim has stated, "... Consider some budding photographer who has just taken an image of some mountain, perfectly reflected in a small lake at sunrise ... they feel they've produced something 'special' ... then they read your blog and discover that their picture is merely "Decorative Art" - not to be confused with "Fine Art" that real artists produce (like the Birch Tree Lodge image?).

With this statement, it seems that Paul is suggesting that I believe Birch Tree Lodge, or, for that matter, any of the pictures that I post, is/are Fine Art and that, therefore, I am a "real artist". To which, all I can say is- Man, I wish I had that kind of self-assurance / confidence about what I am and what my pictures are, photography / Art- wise.

The fact is that I do believe that my pictures resemble that of Fine Art, photography division, more than they do that of Decorative Art, photography division. However, the other salient (and, by far more important) fact (reality) is that, in the world of Art, it really doesn't matter what the hell I think they are. Nope, not at all. Not even a little bit.

Being considered an Artist and having your pictures considered Art are not "honors" one can bestow upon oneself. Like it or not, only the Art world at large (or in part) and time can render such judgement. Howl and scream as much as you like regarding the prejudices and strictures of that club (like I do re: the academic lunatic fringe), but the reality is there is no getting around or denying them.

It doesn't matter at all that I/you consider what I/you are creating is "special". In the Art world, what matters most is that others think what I/you are creating is "special". It's as simple as that. Deal with it.

Are part of my desire and effort expended in being "accepted" into part of that world? Yeah, sure. But, am I naive (or stupid) enough to think that achieving this goal is a given? No.

Now, it should be noted that Paul believes that I possess a fair amount of hutzpa - artistic arrogance, in his parlance - but I would have to be possessed by a megamaniacal amount of self-delusional hubris to think that all of my picturing utterances even approach the level of Fine Art, much less, achieve it.

picture window # 10 ~ no talking!

Covered bridge in Jay • click to embiggenI came away from this weekend with an embarrassment of riches, photography-wise - the result of twice fleeing the house while the wife was doing her DIY thing. FYI, I will not be asking her to give up her day job.

A couple days ago, I mentioned a piece by Joe Reifer wherein he wrote about "going deeper" into the depths of what inspires us to carry around these little boxes that leave an imprint on film or sensors .... In my response / entry on the topic I addressed part of what I think it takes to go deeper in the picturing process, but, when I stated that Joe had been kicking around some thoughts that were also on my mind, the thought of his that I was/am most interested in is:

I started participating in this modern new fangled photography blogging thing because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Somehow I’m still rolling with it. The very existence of all this verbal photography food has created a strange sort of dependence on the Words Words Words. Maybe we don’t need all of this jabber ....

Like Joe, I started doing the "modern new fangled photography blogging thing because it seemed like a good idea at the time". And, by and by, it has proven to be a reasonably good idea but, of late, I too have been questioning "all this verbal photography food", Although, I am not questioning it from this dumb-ass brain-dead POV (a comment on JR's blog) -

It’s all so much pontificating and ego blather ... Writing about photography is meaningless ... Writing about visual art defeats the whole purpose of why visual art exists, which is to inspire the viewer on a personal level, specifically without words.

According to that wacky theory, all anyone can do is look at photographs with the dictate of "NO TALKING!!" (here is where I imagine one of my grammar school nuns - stern expression, arms folded, one foot tapping, ruler in hand while I am writing 1,000 times, "I must not talk about photography."). No, that idea is pure bullshit.

I am questioning it strictly from a personal perspective, as in, I have been writing about photography for the better part of 2 years now and, in doing so, I have worked out - with a little help from my friends - many of my ideas, questions, and issues that I have had about the medium, its possibilities, its vernacular, and its potential for "meaning".

After 2 years, I feel as though I am running out of things to write about, at least as far as my own personal curiosity and gratification are concerned.

By that, I do not mean that I have figured everything out, that I know it all. Far from it. I have, however, arrived at at place where I am, with some degree of confidence, able to think about the medium from a more "informed" perspective and apply that thinking to my picturing in a manner that I was not able to do in the past. This "thinking" has also enabled me to be more discerning in my recognition and appreciation of good photography (my own and that of others).

All of that said, I feel that the time has come for me to really focus on my picturing and my pictures (please note my recently stated desire to launch a photo-only site). Not that I am about to stop photography word blogging ... but ... as I mentioned, I am running short of notions and ideas from a purely personal interest. Soooo ...

I sit at the ready to answer and/or address any questions, notions, ideas, postulations, etc. that any of you might have a personal interest in, unless, of course, all of you already know it all. In that case, please fill us in.

Any questions?

Update on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 12:00PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Steve Durbin wrote: "I think a fair number of people have followed a similar trajectory. Blogs like The Landscapist provoked discussions with a much broader audience than we were used to. We learned a little or a lot (probably the writers most of all), but there's a law of diminishing returns. One comes to the realization that some issues will never be (and shouldn't be) settled, certainly not by talking alone. They are just things that are worked out for each photographer by making photographs.

But blogs are nice for sharing, as well as for learning. How about more focused blogs on single projects with fewer issues? Writing could be copious or occasional or non-existent, with input from readers or not. One could aim for something closer to reading a photography book than a magazine, which by nature lacks the "deep" that Joe and Mark and others are looking for. It might not work for everyone, but I'm thinking of giving it a try."

picture window # 9 ~ keep on pushing the button

Chaise lounge and leg lamp • click to embiggenJoe Reifer has been kicking around some thoughts that have also been on my mind recently.

On his blog entry, Going deeper may require more abstract excursions, Joe states that "Outside the morass of online photography talk there must somewhere lie something more pure and true .... I’ve hinted before with some abstraction at my dissatisfaction with the state of photography on the internet .... So how do we go deeper than normal? Delve into the depths of what inspires so many of us to carry around these little boxes that leave an imprint on film or sensors or glass plates or whatever? .... "

Leaving aside the modern-era internet stuff and, for that matter, the photography stuff, his question is nothing new for an Artist of any era or persuasion. I think any Artist is perpetually consumed by the idea of delving deeper and arriving at something more pure and true. I am reasonably certain that Joe knows this to be true.

By sheer coincidence (or is it?), I came across this comment by John Camp on an entry at The Online Photographer:

There is this terrific worldwide urge by people to make art, as a way of demonstrating their value, and most of what almost all of them make is junk. I'm sorry, but if you make a beautiful picture of a clearing winter storm in the Sierras, it's almost certainly junk (in the artistic sense), because the thoughts behind it are essentially technical and retrospective .....

Ansel Adams photos are now a technique, readily replicable by anyone with a good camera, a couple weeks of experience at the Santa Fe Workshops, and some time to linger in the mountains. Taking the photos isn't hard; thinking of taking them was the hard part .....

A serious artist making serious art shows a new way, demonstrates thoughts not thought before, makes what is essentially a philosophical argument .....

Art photographers, or any serious photographers, for that matter, IMHO, have to decide who they are and what they're doing, and make it plain ....

Photos are just the easiest thing, for the moment, and attract the people who want to apply a technique to something and then call that something art. It's not; it's just more internet junk.

This is basically the same thought as Joe's with an answer - decide who they are and what they're doing - thrown in. Joe has suggested something similar as potion for what ails him - Your normal sources are not going to cut it. The internet is not going to cut it. This may take wandering around the middle of the desert for a few days to figure out. Maybe a few weeks. Probably longer.

IMO, he's answered his own question. But, I'm not entirely certain that it's the whole answer.

Because "photos are just the easiest thing" to make, I believe that an essential ingredient for getting out of the what's - it - all - about - Alfie conundrum is to simply picture your way out of it. Make lots of pictures in a short period of time without thinking about it all that much - just picture what you "see" and feel. Make a bunch of work prints and then go into the desert, take the time to really look at them and think about it. And, oh yeah, bring some Chimay,

Think of it as tinkering and just fooling around. Trying to "force it" with purely "abstract" thinking alone just doesn't cut it. Even though I really dislike NIKE and just about everything they stand for, I have to say that "Just do it" is a really valuable piece of advice.

picture window # 8 ~ Walking down Main Street, gettin' to know the concrete

A picture window in a picture window • clickto embiggenA few days ago, while looking for an Eggleston Tricycle picture to link to, I came across a blog by the name of Condition Uncertain.

What caught my attention was the masthead title of Like A Brown Bird Nesting In A Texaco Sign with a subhead of "An intoxication comes over the man who walks long and aimlessly through the streets. With each step, the walk take on greater momentum; ever weaker grow the temptations of shops, of bistros, of smiling women, ever more irresistible the magnetism of the next street corner, of a distant mass of foliage, of a street name."--Walter Benjamin.

As if that wasn't enough to pique my interest, there was also this quote, "Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen." --Robert Bresson, which was followed by ""Like a brown bird nesting in a Texaco sign, I've got a point of view" is a line from the Silver Jews song "I'm Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You." This blog is a slice of my point of view.

I was hooked. If someone were trying to suck me into an identity theft / money scam / nefarious scheme, the person (Mark Burnette) who had set this little web up had sunk the hook deep into where I live. I just had to explore deeper in the bowels of what, IMO, has turned out to be a very interesting ... well ... uhmm ... I'm not really sure what to call it, but, whatever it is, it is interesting.

Mark Burnette has created a blog that is one part photography, another part poetry, another part song lyrics, another part glimpse of southern life in these here United States. And, when it's all put together, what you end up with is a pretty damn immersive experience. It's not something that I can take in in large doses but it's is fun to return to again and again and pick up in small bits and pieces.

That said, I find that a lot of the photography - especially that of the landscape in and around Mark's home territory - is a genuinely honest and interesting look at life "as it is". There is a distinct nod to Shore and Eggleston in his pictures, but Mark has managed to avoid being a copycat clone of either.

All in all, it appears to me that Mark Burnette, like the brown bird nesting in a Texaco sign, does have a point of view that makes visible what, without him, might perhaps never have been seen. I hope he continues to walk long and aimlessly through the streets, to delve deeper into that state of intoxication with even greater momentum and that he gives us more of the ever more irresistible magnetism of the next street corner, of a distant mass of foliage, of a street name as he sees them.

PS one caveat - Mark needs to figure out how to make smaller pop-up images - most are way too big to fit on anything but a 40 inch display.

picture window # 7 ~ then and now

NYC window, East Village • click to embiggenPreviously, I mentioned John Pfahl's Picture Windows book from his 1978-1981 series of the same name.

One of the big differences between his picture windows pictures and mine is the nearly total lack of interior detail in his pictures. I am fairly certain that his "choice" of this approach was in fact a "Hobson's Choice" - the technology of the day simply did not allow him to capture the full range of light presented by such a scene. Consequently, he composed tightly to the window itself and the interior walls provided a mostly featureless "frame" to the exterior view. This was an effective visual device that lent emphasis to the outside view.

My picture windows occupy much smaller portion of the picture than Pfahl's do. There are number of reasons why I chose to picture this way, but, I was afforded an actual choice because of today's digital darkroom technologies - all of my picture window pictures are a blend (manual, not HDR) of at least 2 different exposures of the same scene - 1 exposure for the exterior scene and 1 for the interior scene.

I have chosen to picture in this manner because I am most interested in exploring the relationships between the inside and outside worlds - a task that was difficult but not impossible in the good 'ole analog days. A task that is much easier to pursue in the digital era.

IMO, one of the blessings and banes of the digital darkroom is the seemingly endless possibilities of image editing that are available. It seems to me that there is quite a bit of doing it because I can stuff being done that creates little more than technical showmanship and/or excesses. But perhaps that is to be expected when kids are given a new toy to play with.

picture window # 6 ~ an Aaron update

Ink, Inc. • click to embiggenAs I write this, Aaron and (his) the wife are on their way to NYC to attend the New York Photo Festival, the first international photo festival in the US and billed as The Future of Contemporary Photography.

Amongst the many activities and events scheduled during the 4 day festival is tonight's New York Photo Awards Ceremony. Aaron has the honor of being selected as a finalist in the Personal work / fine art series awards category.

Also of note, and not related to the NYPF, was a recent phone call from the Pittsburgh based Silver Eye Center for Photography. Earlier this year Aaron had been accepted into a juried group show at the Silver Eye. He subsequently donated one of his Cinemascapes, Steeltown to the SE benefit auction. The phone call from the SE was to thank him for paying their electric bill for the year. The photo fetched $3,000 at the auction.

For those of you not familiar with Aaron's Cinemascapes, or, if you want to check out his newer pieces, click here

picture window # 5 ~ oh my aching back

N. Jersey kitchen window • click to embiggenI am thoroughly enjoying a bit of downtime. The big tourism marketing piece along with several others is done and so is the biggest pain in my ass, the bedroom renovation - 2 bedrooms turned into 1 with the walkin closet of her dreams for the wife.

bedroom renovation

Looks like I'll have a bit of time to recoup and rethink, photography-wise. Item #1 on the agenda is to create a picture-only site for my photography. The time has come to present my pictures in category galleries -

ku - landscapes of the natural world
man & nature ku - signs of humankind in the natural world
urban ku - cityscapes (big and small)
picture windows - views of the world outside
decay & disgust - decying things on my kitchen counter

Can anyone out there recommend any gallery software or a hosting service with gallery templates?