urban ku # 93 ~ portal/transition

Transition - mystic/rational • click to embiggenYesterday, pursuant to civilized ku # 50 Martin Doonan asked, "... are the great photos those that, even though only enjoyed for their connotation (the event/place isn't special to the viewer), have a deeper meaning denoted to the photographer? Thus, the photos that we appreciate most are those that we sense have meaning to the photographer, without necessarily knowing or understanding it."

When I view a picture - even my own - I assume that the photographer has a 'meaningful' connection to picture, if not the actual referent/object of the camera's gaze. Whatever the referent, I take it as a given that the photographer has pictured it for a reason - he/she, by picturing it, has 'elevated' it to a level of importance that should warrant the viewer's attention.

Whether the photographer has 'elevated' the referent for its denoted or its connoted qualities is often difficult to discern without the assistance of words - artist's statement, caption, title.

So, in answer to your question, I guess what I am saying is that I think it's difficult for a picture maker to make a picture that can be appreciated beyond its decorative qualities unless the picture maker has a 'meaningful' relationship to his/her 'subject' - the 'subject' being expressed through both the denoted and the connoted.

However, that being said, for the viewer, if a picture does not possess a personally experienced punctum - "... that accident which pricks, bruises me ... - Roland Barthes/Camera Lucida - no sense of the picture maker's connection to the denoted will help the viewer connect to the picture as anything more than decorative (if even that).

While most photographs offer only the identity of an object, those that project a punctum potentially offer the truth of the subject. They offer "the impossible science of the unique being."

urban ku # 92 ~ beach life at dinner time

Leaving time at the beach • click to embiggenWhile checking my daily recent came from stats, I noticed that someone had click through to The Landscapist from Pitchertaker, a blog by Frank Armstrong.

Frank must check in at The Landscapist enought to know that I had just returned from the Jersey Shore, as had he. If you would like another look at a few interesting pictures of the Jersey Shore, visit Pitchertaking and take a look.

There is also a link to Frank's 'formal' website which is well worth a visit.

Thanks for stopping by, Frank.

urban ku # 91 ~ beach life at its best

Night time is the best time • click to embiggenEveryday by about 6pm, the beach people leave the beach. Except for a few walkers and even fewer runners the beach remains pretty deserted until the next day.

And so it is with photographers. While there is sizeable group of dedicated night shooters, they are definitely in the minority. I wonder why that is.

We haven't done a 'theme' gallery for quite awhile. Is there any interest in a Night Gallery?

urban ku # 90 ~ beach life, extended version

Beach life - the triptych • click to embiggenIt's amazing how, even when you have your butt parked in a beach chair under an umbrella and aren't about to move an inch because it's so f-ing hot and humid that just moving your eyeballs makes rivers of salty sweat run down your face, there is still plenty of interest all around you to picture.

There are these lovely little vignettes that don't seem especially interesting in real-time but, when stopped in picture-time and viewed with a bit of reflection, they create a flood of real-time memories and associations. Even if the viewer doesn't share any 'beach' experiences, when the pictures are approached with a sense of curiosity, one can still be transported to a 'place' - mental, emotional and visual - that is new and different from one's everyday 'place' in life.

urban ku # 89 ~ beach life

Coors Lt HHR $1.50 Dfts $2 Btls - Windrift Avln • click to embiggenOne of the many differences between the south Jersey beach and the Adirondacks is sky adverts. We have seaplanes, they have a regular procession of flying advertisements.

This particular winged midway barker is extolling the virtues and location of the Windrift in Avalon where, during Happy Hour, Coors Lite can be had for $1.50/drafts or $2.00/bottles. The message certainly fits in with the beach culture but I keep waiting to see a truth-in-advertising banner that simply says, "Beach lovers bonus - death by skin cancer.

urban ku # 88 ~ busy crossing, and, I break radio silence once again

This must be a very busy crosswalk • click to embiggenWhy an eating place would want to use a symbol that signifies rats and child abduction is somewhat beyond my comprehension. But, in any event, I found a bit of humor in the seemingly well placed crosswalk sign.

Breaking radio silence - once again, I want to give credit where credit is due and perhaps be of some help to those who shoot RAW and are on the Mac platform.

Close to 2 months ago I mentioned that I was very pleased with my new Olympus E-510. Since that time I have been more and more impressed with the camera's performance, albeit a qualified appraisal. The fly in the ointment was due to the fact that the only RAW conversion software available that supported the camera was Olympus' own software (which was only available in a 'trial/demo' version). The software was full-feature but rather clunky and the results, while very good ... well ... let's just say that I wanted some basis for comparison.

Now I have it in Raw Developer, a powerful RAW image conversion application designed and optimized specifically for Mac OS X. The output of this software simply blows away the results I get from Aperture/Lightroom/ACR. Period. (comparison based on Oly E-500 files since none support the 510 yet) Elsewhere (Photo District News), the output has been described as film-like and I emphatically agree.

What I really like about Raw Developer (aside from its stunning output) is that it is a single purpose software - it's a raw processing/conversion software and nothing else. It's lean and mean - it loads large folders really fast; processing effects are immediately displayed in the preview; it's simple and intuitive. Add to that frequent upgrades for new cameras and, get this, send them an email asking for a new feature or support and, voila, a magic fairy appears and your wish is granted (a little poetic license, perhaps).

I have encounterd only a single glitch - the nagging fact that I should go back and reprocess every single Oly RAW file in my ku series.

So, that's it. No noise about noise, sharpening, features, etc. - lean and mean, just like Raw Developer.

PS - a free full-featured demo version is available. No matter what camera you use, you owe it to yourself to give a try.

urban ku # 84 ~ everything every which way # 2, or, Popeye slept here

Sea Haven - Inet style • click to embiggenThe little hamlet of Inlet on the Fulton Chain of Lakes in the south-central Adirondacks is, in many ways, a perfect 'snapshot' of the Adirondacks both past and present.

First and foremost, the hamlet is surrounded by 'forever wild' forest. In addition, within the hamlet, there is a mix new developemnt (mostly renovations) and some properties and businesses that have been there since the late 1800s. There is also a high concentration of properties - motels, stores, camps - dating from the 30s, 40s and 50s. That era was part of the motoring heyday of the Adirondacks in the last century.

With the advent of the interstate highway system in the 50 and 60s, the Adirondacks experienced a severe decline in tourism as vacationists traveled much farther afield in their cars. Over the later part of the last century, many of the 'heyday' properties fell into economic and, consequently, physical decline. Some aged gracefully with a patina of character and nostalgic charm. Others just disappeared.

That said, everything every which way # 2 (Payne's Boat Livery/Air Service) is a prime example of a 'heyday' property and business that is still hanging on, some might say, literally 'hanging on'. FYI, everything every which way (#1) was pictured inside of the boat livery. For a view of the flipside, see Aaron's life jacket anyone? cinemascape.

Payne's Air Service (seaplanes) has moved across the inlet to newer more modern digs, presumely to instill a bit more confidence in those who are in the market for seaplane ride.

It is this unsanitized mixture of old and new that is sprinkled throughout the Adirondack Park in little villages and hamlets (I live in one which is much more patina-ed than new) that I treasure. It is one of the primary reasons that I live here. Even though the Adirondacks are an extremely resurgent tourist destination, the place still remains very 'real'.

urban ku # 83 ~ green chair and towel

Green chair and towel • click to embiggenOften, when the subject of the art of seeing/talent, some seem to think that what is being suggested is that either you have it or you don't.

Just to be clear, IMO there is a very broad spectrum on the have-it-don't-have-it curve. Is there any doubt that this is true, as Paul Maxim opined, across the spectrum of all human endeavors?

In the domain of art/Art (photography-division), does that mean that those who make decorative art (which the Art world tends to rank 'lower' on the Art spectrum) 'lower' on the what-it-means-to-be human spectrum? Absolutely not. And, while their art may viewed with little regard in the Art world, there is little doubt that it is valued in the rest of the 'real' world.

It is also worth mentioning that, while I consider (as an example in the landscape genre) Galen Rowell and his legions of camera club clones/wannabes to be a decorative artists, one has to admire his/their dedication and hard work.

Update on Friday, July 27, 2007 at 08:32PM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Sebastian wrote; "Either side you sit on, there is always room for debate and things to learn. Great food for thought the last few days. Thanks for bringing it up."

my response: Sebastian, thank you and all the others who chimed in this week. Good stuff,one and all.