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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

  • my new GALLERIES WEBSITE
    ADK PLACES TO SIT / LIFE WITHOUT THE APA / RAIN / THE FORKS / EARLY WORK / TANGLES

BODIES OF WORK ~ BOOK LINKS

In Situ ~ la, la, how the life goes onLife without the APADoorsKitchen SinkRain2014 • Year in ReviewPlace To SitART ~ conveys / transports / reflectsDecay & DisgustSingle WomenPicture WindowsTangles ~ fields of visual energy (10 picture preview) • The Light + BW mini-galleryKitchen Life (gallery) • The Forks ~ there's no place like home (gallery)


Entries from May 1, 2008 - May 31, 2008

Friday
May302008

man & nature ku # 11 ~ a sometimes thankless task

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Birch Tree Lodgeclick to embiggen
Speaking of questioning and/or dissatisfaction with photo blogs and blogging, Mauro raised the point that most often comes to my mind when I think about chucking the whole thing:

In blogs there is always some kind of imbalance. You, the producer, write about things that, from your point, have been already achieved. We, the consumers, read about things which, as in your case, can give us more insight, let us feel a little bit less alone etc.. It is a no win game for you and we always win some more bits of information.

There is, indeed, an imbalance in the blog-o-sphere. For the most part, when it comes to receiving comments, the blogger gives way more than he/she gets. In the photo blog-o-sphere, this is especially true when one writes about things other than gear and technique.

Many has been / is the time when I get rather, well ...let's just say, "disappointed" in the number of comments from readers of The Landscapist. I mean, with an average of over 400 page views a day, you would think that more than just a handful of "regulars" might have something to offer in return for the extended effort I make to share my thoughts, ideas, opinions, and ramblings on the medium of photography.

However, I don't take it personally and I know that many other bloggers experience the same thing. So, I try to keep it in perspective.

Despite this imbalance, I have lumbered on. Although, I'm not certain at this point whether that is strictly the result of inertia. As I mentioned previously, I do get something out of blogging, even if no one ever left a comment. My blogging about things photographic is my way of thinking out loud, if you will, and just by thinking out loud and writing things down, I have figured a few things out and have come to some kind of grip on things that I have not figured out.

And, if you haven't figured it out yet, I am all about communication and connection - that's why I picture. Initially, that's why I picked up a blogging pen. While there has been some connection and communication, I have had to console myself with other redeeming blogging values.

And, oh yeah, lest I forget, Mauro - thanks for the comments. I really appreciate it.

Friday
May302008

ku # 520 ~ therefore, I am

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East Branch of the Au Sable, Jayclick to embiggen
I engage in picturing on a daily basis. A camera (or two) is my constant companion in large part because I can't stop "seeing" things that I want to picture.

What is a little weird about all this picturing is that I would not in any way call it a "desire" to picture. Nor would I call it a "need". It's more like breathing - it's just part and parcel of my being (being = a verb and a noun). I like to observe. Sort of like Chauncey Gardener (Chance, the gardener), in the movie Being There, when he said, "I like to watch."

When I picture, I am usually just making a visual note of what I "see". What I "see" is most often that which most others do not or, perhaps, choose to avoid or overlook. Over time I have come to realize that this is quite simply how I "see" - I am not intentionally driven to see in a different manner than most, which is to say that I come by my "vision" honestly. My "vision" is neither a contrivance nor an adopted affection.

Now, none of the aforementioned could be called the "inspiration" for why I like "to carry around these little boxes" and picture. In fact, I am not certain that I need or have ever had any "inspiration" to picture, unless you count the personal pleasure and satisfaction I get from making "something" out of "nothing" - the pure act of creating - as inspiration. Without a doubt, I get plenty of emotional and intellectual pleasure from that.

And, yes, I really enjoy it when my pictures communicate to others at least part of what I feel and think when I am picturing a given subject. When viewing my pictures becomes an act of connecting with others - a sharing of my thoughts and feelings about what it means to be human.

While I do not seek praise from/for my pictures, I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment (and a warm, fuzzy sense of connection to others) when I hear comments such as, "I never noticed that before", "I never looked at it in that way", and, "I never thought about it in that way".

For me, "Photography is the capture and projection of the delights of seeing; it is the defining of observation full and felt." ~ Walker Evans. And, I really enjoy that I can, "Make visible what, without you (me), might perhaps never have been seen." --Robert Bresson

In a very basic sense, I feel both "validated" as a person and connected to the human race when my pictures "speak" to others.

And, in a very real sense, I can say, "I picture, therefore, I am."

Thursday
May292008

urban ku # 188 ~ it just is

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It was a sunny dayclick to embiggen
In another example of an item / topic making its way around the internet, Joe Reifer's Going deeper may require more abstract excursions blog entry is, as they say, sweeping the nation.

It seems that, at least in educated circles, his notion about photo blog blather, blabber, and banality has resonated with those for whom photography is more than entertainment. References to his post can be found all over the place, including one that held a big surprise for me (read to the bottom of the entry).

For those of you who have not taken the time to read Joe's entry, let me give you the simplified Cliff Note summary - Joe was looking for inspiration regarding "what inspires so many of us to carry around these little boxes". In his quest for such, he found precious little of it in all the usual internet photo blog places. So, he's going to look for it somewhere inside himself.

Simple enough. Or, is it?

IMO, Joe wasn't asking a photography question at all ... unless you understand that his referent (photography) is merely a metaphoric device for the connoted (implied) subject of his question. At its root, Joe's question is about life - what it means to be human. Nothing less than a sentient being's quest for meaning - a life worth living.

In photography terms, it seems that Joe just want to make pictures that have meaning and convey a truth about what it means to be human. In seeking to do so, he is looking for a connection to others who are seeking the same thing in order to establish a bond that helps create and foster a synergistic energy that invigorates the spirit and motivates the mind and body so that he can "just do it." IMO, Joe is pursuing nothing less than the basic human desire to be part of a tribe and to be of some worth to the community.

OK, you say, but enough of the commie-pinko, anti- American, socialist, pointy-headed, liberal BS. What inspires you to carry around these little boxes?

For me, the desire / need to carry around these little boxes is 2-fold.

The first inspiration, and by far the hardest one to "understand", is undoubtedly subconscious. I would even call it preternatural - what some might call a "gift". Simply put, I was born to "see". I can't explain it any other way, that is, unless you want to delve into the science of genetics/DNA - which I will, in a purely anecdotal way.

There simply has to be something to the fact that 4 generations of Hobson men were / have been "born to see".

My grandfather (generation 1), unbeknownst to me (generation 2) until after his death, was a skilled and avid amateur photographer. Even though I have absolutely no conscious memory of him ever making a picture, I do have several albums of early childhood family pictures - all taken, processed, and printed (BW & color) by him. I discovered his interest in photography after I had begun my own, so it's fair to say that his photography background had absolutely no (conscious) influence the development of mine.

The same can not be said of my son (generation 3) Aaron's interest (and unbelievable success) in photography. He grew up with at least a tangental awareness of my photographic endeavors. But, despite that reality, he evinced absolutely no interest in picture making until little over a year ago, when he purchased a camera and, within 8 months time, found his vision with his Cinemascapes, which are now being exhibited, written about, and collected all over the world. Keep in mind that Aaron has had NO training in things photographic or things Art. None. Nada. Zip.

It is also worth noting that Aaron's day job is as graphic designer / art director - a position that he did not want to apply for when it was advertised because it required a college degree. He has only a high school GED - I pulled him out of high school after his sophomore year because it was such an incredible waste of his time, energy, and talent. Aaron apprenticed to me doing design work, something for which he seemed "gifted", and, in doing so, built a design portfolio that simply blew away all those of all the college grads who were vying for the position he now holds.

Now, here comes the somewhat, to me, scary part - my grandson Hugo (generation 4), son of Aaron. Simply put, this kid, at 3.5 years old, has a visual awareness and acuity that gives me the willies, goose bumps, and standing hair on the back of the neck. He is the very living, breathing definition of a true visual / picture thinker. Where this will lead him is, at this time, anyone's guess but I do worry about his future education experience.

For those of you who made it this far, thanks for bearing with me. I share this personal experience with you for 2 reasons:

1) I say phooey on those who think that Artists are not "special". In a very real way, it is a "gift" that not everyone shares in. A "talent" for Art is a very real thing and, at least when it comes to reaching the highest level of artistic expression, a preternatural disposition (no matter when it emerges) for "seeing" really does matter. And...

2) I wonder if any of you have a similar experience, personal or observed in others.

PS - stay tuned. Tomorrow, the conscious part of what inspires me to carry around those little boxes.

Wednesday
May282008

still lfe # 7 ~ less is more

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Natural graceclick to embiggen
The wife left these 2 flowers on my office floor as possible fodder for my decay series.

They have indeed been pictured and added to that series. However, I was struck by the simple and pure grace of the stems and wanted to picture just that essence and character. So, I pictured them in as simple and pure a manner as possible.

Just as the referent is simple, the connoted is as well - nothing "heavy", just the beauty of nature with a little bit about the nature of beauty thrown in for consideration.

Wednesday
May282008

ku # 519 ~ decide what you're making

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Lilacs, birch, & Jay Rangeclick to embiggen
A couple commenters, and who knows how many others, took a bit of umbrage the other day when I quoted a comment from Joe Reifer's blog. Specifically, it was this little ditty:

... if you make a beautiful picture of a clearing winter storm in the Sierras, it's almost certainly junk (in the artistic sense) ...

Just because I quoted this idea doesn't mean that I agree with it. The fact that a lot of what is being made, photography-wise, is Decorative Art, not Fine Art, does not make it "junk". It's true that a lot of it may be cliche ridden, schmaltz-y, obviously (and intentionally) imitative, and, as some always point out, meaningful to the person who made it, but, IMO, that still does not make it junk. It's not Art, but it's not junk.

That said, the part of the quoted comment that I do agree with is this:

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

Even in my basic agreement with this notion, I would issue caveats regarding "new way" and "thoughts not thought before" in as much as "it has all been done (and said) before". All Art is derivative in the sense that all Art; a) builds on / evolves from what came before, and, b) relates to / derives from the culture in which it is created.

The best of Art may, indeed, address a given subject in a "new way" and address thoughts and ideas from a "new" perspective, but, ultimately, the best of Art addresses what it means to be human and, therefore, addresses "timeless" thoughts and ideas about the human condition.

IMO, this is what separates the wheat from the chaff - Fine Art from Decorative Art - in the world of art, especially so in the visual arts. Art is so much more than what strikes the eye, AKA, the illustrative. Art is at least as much about what strikes the mind and soul as it is about what strikes the eye, AKA, Art that illuminates. The best of Art incites, not just passion, but thought and, by extension, discourse about meaning and truth. Art that stimulates something other than just the pleasure centers of the human psyche.

Much has been written lately about photography that suggests that what is pictured in a photograph (the referent) is not nearly as important as what is implied in a photograph (the connoted). As an example, Jeff Wall has opined that it is vitally important to avoid, at all costs, picturing anything that you actually care about lest the referent take precedent over the connoted. This is an excellent example of the academic lunatic-fringe thinking that has dominated a large segement of contemporary Art world. Although, it must be said, that is probably a legitimate notion when one is making Art about Art, which is essentially what Wall is doing.

All of that said, and with the exception of pseudo-art made solely for commercial gain, I would suggest that there is a lot of art out there - most of it Decorative, and just a bit of it Fine.

Tuesday
May272008

picture window # 10 ~ no talking!

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Covered bridge in Jayclick to embiggen
I 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?

Monday
May262008

ku # 518 ~ a delightful surprise

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opposits attractclick to embiggen
Recently, I mentioned that I have been looking around the web for some photo blogs worth reading / looking at. While doing a google search for a photo blog that I thought I knew the name of, I ended up on this site - the blog of a painter who lives on the fringe of the Adirondack region - instead.

Imagine my surprise when I was greeted by paintings of scenes close to my home with which I am very familiar and some of which I have pictured in a strikingly similar manner. Yoi and double Yoi - I didn't know whether to cry or wind my watch and you could have knocked me over with a feather.

In any event, if you peruse Takeyce Walter's paintings, when you come to Birch and Maple Trees, you will notice that it has a SOLD sign. As soon as it arrives at my house, Birch and Maple Trees and my Cascade Lakes Blackies will be framed side by side in a single frame and placed in our newly renovated bedroom.

I also believe that Birch and Maple Trees will not be last of my purchases from Takeyce Walter.

Friday
May232008

picture window # 9 ~ keep on pushing the button

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Chaise lounge and leg lampclick to embiggen
Joe 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.