Snapshots ~ can you do it?

Hugo, the cat that swallowed the canary • Click to embiggenLast week, I posted this entry about snapshots. Judging by the response - none - it went over like the proverbial lead balloon. Well, I'm not gonna give up that easily ...

Coincidently enough, after I posted that entry, I was across the lake in Burlington, Vt. and I stopped into a bookstore where I found a beautiful book, The Art of the American Snapshot ~ 1888-1978. The book is the catalog from an exhibit of the same name that is currently on view (10/07-12/31) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

From the book sleeve; "The impact of the humble American snapshot has been anything but humble. Any American who takes a snapshot contributes to the compelling and influential genre. Since 1888, when George Eastman introduced the Kodak camera, the snapshot has not only changed everyday American life and memory, it has also changed the history of fine art photography. The distinctive subject matter and visual vocabulary of the American snapshot - its poses, facial expressions, viewpoints, framing, and themes - influenced modernist photographers as they explored spontaneity, objectivity, and new topics and perspectives ... 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."

The book is divided into time 4 periods, each with a narrative written by different authors. The text never veers into obtuseiness and it provides an interesting cultural perspective on the pictures from each era. Taken all together, this is very good stuff.

IMO,the pictures themselves make an interesting addition to our discussion here about 'vision' - it is very possible - in fact, IMO, quite probable - to make pictures that 'illustrate and illuminate' when you avoid thinking too much about 'making pictures' (especially the technique of making pictures). Simply pick a near-and-dear subject and, as the saying goes, "Just do it."

As the American artist and teacher Robert Henri stated; "There is no end to the study of technique ..." but "... technique can only be used properly by those who have definite purpose in what they do, and it is only they who invent technique. Otherwise it is the work of parrots."

FYI, and, IMO, this is a must-have book. It is available at a substantial discount - $32.92 ,instead of the cover price of $55 - at Overstock.com - if you go to Overstock.com by clicking here, The Landscapist gets a small piece of the action. When you get to Overstock, click on books, then art, then photography and then just type the book title into the search box.

and, PS I am going to the exhibit. I'll let you know the date just in case anyone would like to hook up.

and, oh yeh ... can you do it? - that is, shoot a snapshot? Or does the thought of doing so scare the crap out of you? Can you even shoot a snapshot with a 'fancy' camera? IMO, if you can't shoot a snapshot, you make good pictures either.

ku/urban ku series ~ weekend obsession

I have created a new gallery labeled the Fall Weekend Gallery which presents the results from this past weekend's picturing activities. I have created the gallery for several purposes.

1. To illustrate the point that if you are obsessed with picturing, you can make pictures everywhere you go. In a sense, it's not what to picture, it's what not to picture. And I don't mean just random point and shoot, I mean pictures worth making - interesting pictures that both illustrate and illuminate.

2. I would genuinely like your opinion(s) on the previous statement re: pictures worth making - interesting pictures that both illustrate and illuminate. Do you think so?

3. To support my claim that (in Paul Maxim words) "... I don't think I'd want to be labeled "obsessive" or "compulsive". Such a photographer would likely just keep taking the same images over and over again. If you've seen one, you've seen them all."

Now, I can't claim to know for certain if many photographers, who make anything of better than average value in the world of Art, are "literally obsessed with the act of picturing', but I do believe that most of them exhibit personality traits that meet at least a minimum definition of 'obsessed'. Furthermore, that the results of that mindset are, indeed, in a very real sense, the 'same images over and over again'.

In the Art world, 'the same images over and over again' is commonly referred to as a body of work that is the result of pursuing, in depth, one's 'vision'. The Art world is not interested in a collection of images that exhibit different styles and techniques - the typical hobbyist 'portfolio'.

This true across the entire field of Art. Calder and Rodin each, in their own individual 'style'/vision, made the 'same' sculpture over and over again. Picasso, Monet and Seurat each, in their own individual 'style'/vision, made the same painting over and over again. In photography, the same can be said of Adams (both Ansel and Robert), Frank, Kenna, Meyerowitz, Evans, et al. In the end, it's why you tell an Evans from an Adams and why both are (to the experienced eye) immediately identifiable upon impact. Some Artists work through different 'periods', but each is distinguished by a particular 'style'/vision.

Many think that my ku pictures (and their variants) have an identifiable style/vision. If this true, I believe that is a result of several 'over and over again' elements -

1. the pictures are united by a common subject - the everyday world in my Adirondack 'neighborhood'.

2. the pictures are made with a very limited range of lenses (primarily a single 11-22mm - 22-44mm 35mm equiv.) and most pictures are made from (my) eye level. For the most part, they have the same visual POV.

3. the pictures have a 'subject centered' composition and the edges of the pictures are seldom 'clean'.

4. the pictures, as the results of items 1, 2 and 3, intentionally mimic the "snapshot' aesthetic. The pictures appear to be the result of somewhat random picturing.

5. the pictures are all the same square format. They exhibit a nearly identical tonal range and color palette and they all have the same corner vignetting. And, of course, there's that black border which is reminiscent of analog darkroom days.

6. the pictures all have the same primary 'connoted' underlying 'message' - that there is beauty to be found everywhere one looks. The "snapshot' aesthetic inference suggests that no fancy tools/techniques are required to see and capture it. It's all there if you will just 'see' it.

So there you have it. Please visit the Fall Weekend Gallery and let me know what you think.

urban ku # 122 ~ to be obsessed

Obsessed with Willeys? • click to embiggenRegarding my statement re: vision and obsession, Paul Maxim opined, "Someone who is such "an educated and informed boy", it seems to me, ought to be able to do a little better with the language. Obsession? Are you kidding? ... As a photographer, I don't think I'd want to be labeled "obsessive" or "compulsive". Such a photographer would likely just keep taking the same images over and over again. If you've seen one, you've seen them all."

'Obsession' does have it's negative connotations, however, I still believe that it is the most accurate discriptor that I know of for artists who are driven to create. To be obsessed - 1. adjective, having or showing excessive or compulsive concern with something; 2. v. intr., To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic.

It is well known that many people in all manners of human endevours - to name a few, law enforcement, science, business, medical research and, yes, the arts - have been obsessed by, consumed by, driven to do what they do. Many, perhaps most, great advances have been made by those who 'won't let go'. Just ask all the 'victims' - spouses, children, friends, co-workers, et al - of 'obsessively' driven people. Wrecked marriages and relationships are everywhere scattered about the landscape of obsession. It's not a pretty picture.

To be sure, like everything else, there are degrees of obsession. Not all obsessions lead to personal / relationship mayhem. But, suffice it to say, obsession (to be obsessed) goes way beyond the polite notions of 'desire'and 'passion' and many great artists seem to have 'obsessive' personalities.

I liked Steve Durbin's and Sean McCormick's takes on 'obsession':

SD - Can't help but think of George Bernard Shaw: The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

SM - ... Perhaps if you were a diagnosed (albeit high-functioning) schizophrenic you'd understand how an obsession can be turned around so that it becomes the bellows that drives the flames of creativity ...

PS - stay tuned - more later today on '... Such a photographer would likely just keep taking the same images over and over again. If you've seen one, you've seen them all.' hint: ever been to a 'name' photographer photo exhibit - it's the same 'images' over and over again.

urban ku # 121 ~ the village idiot

The village idiot • click to embiggenEvery small village charter has a mandate that the village have at least one designated village idiot (it has been my experience that some villages go way beyond the minimum). An interesting case in point in my village is one of a local-boy-makes-good type idiot, hereafter referred to as LBMG/I.

It seems that LBMG/I has made quite a bundle as the founder/proprietor of a company that operates in some segment of the health care industry, the net result of which is a net/gross of more money than he knows what to do with. Actually, that's not entirely true - one thing he does know about what to do with too much money is to spend it on quite a number of things that consume petrol. LBMG/I has acquired a fair number of motorized things.

One example is pictured here. Of all of the street vehicles he owns, this is the one he chooses on a Saturday morning to drive the 2 blocks between the local diner and one of his houses
Bigger is better • click to embiggen - most likely the house also pictured here - his primary bachelor residence.

However, in all fairness, it must be said that LBMG/I, in an apparent attempt to mitigate his conspicuous consumption persona, did acquire a piece of derelict property and donate it to the town for $1.00. The town razed the wreck and a group of citizens organized a fundraiser in order to construct the Village Clock (Pocket) Park visible just beyond the Hummer in the above picture. The park is also now the home of the village Xmas tree.

urban ku # 120 ~ let me say this about that (vision)

Au Sable Point on Lake Champlain • click to embiggenIMO, the worst thing you can do to develop and foster 'vision' is to strive too much for it - to think and fret about it until it turns into a bee in permanent residence your bonnet.

'Vision' can not be coerced, cajoled, bludgeoned or forced into emergence. It tends to flow out of 'natural' acts of doing and being. As an example, I am naturally inquisitive and I like to read - not for just for the sake of gaining knowledge but because I enjoy reading. And, since I am interested in photography, I read a lot about the medium of photography, it's history, it's movements, it's practitioner, it's theory, etc. (virtually nothing about technique). In addition, I do a lot of 'general' reading - theology, philosophy, social and economic theory, environmental topics as well as a heaping dose of fiction.

As an adjunct to reading, I have a sizeable collection of books and periodicals of photography. The collection is not limited to any one genre. In fact, it pretty much runs the gamut of fine-art photographic realms - portraiture, documentary, landscape, nature, experimental and so on.

Add to that, my love of film (movies), especially small (and usually quirky) indie productions, and I guess that you can say that if you are what you eat, my diet is varied and I must be tipping the scales in the upper registers.

Now, all of that makes Jack an 'educated and informed' boy, but, vision-wise, it don't mean jack without a thing called 'desire'. However, I think 'desire' is too polite a word for that trait that one needs to create anything of better than average value. A much more accurate word is, 'obsession'.

If one is not literally obsessed with the act of picturing then forget developing a 'vision' that will be of any real consequence (to anyone other than oneself) in the broader world of art. And, if that obsession is not accompanied by the ability to take a punch - to take direct and often harsh criticism (some of it self-generated), then, as the saying goes, if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen (A caveat regarding 'criticism'. I don't mean criticism of the how I would have done it variety, because that is utterly useless and ultimately destructive in the cause of finding one's vision).

All of that said, good Art is the result (not the act) of expressing one's self and, most often, the greatest obstacle to that act of expressing is the fear of rejection - letting something that is uniquely you all hang out in a rapaciously competitive environment and waiting for the blade to fall.

urban ku # 119 ~ racing the sun

A putt for birdie on the 390 yard 7th at Adirondack CG • click to embiggenThis was an odd week of Grand Jury duty - 1 full day and 2 days of 1 hour sessions. Yesterday's late afternoon 1 hour session was the last bit of a messy/ugly child sexual molestation case. I hit the street at 4:30PM with the intent of meeting the wife and her mother for a glass of wine, but the day was glorious and, as I walked to the car, I got the urge to walk down a fairway. Fortunately, whether I venture near or far, my golf stuff is always in the car for just such a golf emergency. So, I managed to get in 9 holes before daylight departed the scene, which, around these parts at this time of year, happens at 6:15PM.

When I arrived home, I was surprised to see all the comments on yesterday's entry. Gordon McGregor was quite involved and along the way, he asked some good questions, including this one; "It's also somewhat amusing that everyone continues to talk about the easy to talk about technique and design parts and still little discussion of vision (or how to have them). Mushrooms ? Painful introspection ? Following subconscious urges ? ... It's pretty easy to talk about how you don't do things or what you reject. But what do you do ? How do you do it ?

Sean McCormick had a good answer; "I don't think you can teach that. I think it's something that comes to a person through doing. Sorta like falling in love. One day it's not there and the next day it is. And you know when it is, but it's sure as hell not something you can learn or knowledge that can be applicably transferred to someone else."

And Aaron Hobson also mentioned; "I think it is too personal or too complex to explain for most...I think you would have to peyote trip with me, but even then I wouldn't be making sense."

Both answers make sense to me.

urban ku # 118 ~ scarey things

Ghosts, goblins and fresh vegetables and plants. • click to embiggenI received an email a few days ago from Gordon McGregor, who, if I remember correctly, used to call himself a stranger in a strange land, because (again, if I remember correctly) he is a Scotsman living in Texas. That sounds like a sure recipe for culture shock if ever there was one.

In any event, his email was in response to my mention regarding the 'silent' visitors to The Landscapist from The Radiant Vista where it was noted during a forum discussion about Aaron's Cinemascapes, that he was my son and I am not a fan of The Radiant Vista. In his email, Gordon states that; "...I'm also a friend of Craig's, having taken a few workshops with him and also having spent a bit of time with him outside of that sort of environment. He's a talented photographer with a real passion for teaching. That passion and inspirational side of his character comes across strongly in person - I'm not entirely convinced that it comes over at all well in his daily critiques. I know his aim is to try and give back what he's been lucky enough to get on workshops, by doing this - that's the aim - perhaps it gets lost in the execution ... His podcasts do also ramble a bit and the metaphysical leanings can be hard to swallow on occasion, but past that, he is good friend to me, an inspiration to my photography and always seems to find the positive when helping his students, no matter at what level they are at ... In the Daily Critique sense of things, people are actively asking him 'how he would have done it' - they are trying to learn, looking for an opinion, or some direction ... Maybe that isn't a valid way to learn. Perhaps our own vision should appear perfectly formed. Certainly eventually we should learn to reject the suggestions of others and present work, finished, as it is, how we feel it should be. But for the people aspiring to be decorative photographers, or in a more mainstream sense, commercially viable photographers, the guidance of someone who makes his living shooting landscapes to promote environmental awareness or sensitivity, doesn't seem to be a terrible place to start."

First and foremost, I would like to thank Gordon for his earnest and sincere response. He was the only visitor from The Radiant Vista to break the silence and I applaud him for that as well.

Leaving aside my thoughts re: The Radiant Vista and Craig Tanner's sincerity (which I do not doubt), I would like to address Gordon's point about "people are actively asking him 'how he would have done it'", and how that "doesn't seem to be a terrible place to start."

IMO, I think 'that place' is, indeed, a terrible place to start. It has been my experience that most people who start out that way, end up that way - once a follower, aways a follower. To a practitioner in the medium of photography, there are 2 important realms - one quite tangible - technique - and the other, very intangible - the vision thing. Of the 2 realms, technique is of lesser importance and it can be taught quite successfully. The vision thing is far and away the more important thing and, while it can not be taught, it can be fostered and encouraged.

The vision thing is very personal and it must come from within. At its root, it is the result of being your own person, or, put another way, the result of fostering your own individuality. Now, to my way of thinking, fostering your own individuality can not be accomplished by following the crowd - even if the crowd is being lead by a sincere and passionate leader. No matter how you slice it, you still have a ring in your nose and we all know how hard it is to get those things out once they're in there.

Here's the absolute bottom line that most 'teachers' refuse to teach -

a.) Technique/technical-wise, the medium of photography is not rocket science. In fact, it is quite simple. It can be easily learned and 'mastered' by just about anyone - and if it takes you more than 6 months to do it even without a 'teacher', I would recommend pursuing another hobby or profession.

B.) Vision-wise (the 'scarey thing'), it simply can't be taught because, quite frankly, it has nothing to do with photography. Vision is 'simply' (yeh, sure, sure) an outward expression of the inner you. It is 'simply' the ever-evolving manifestation of what you believe and how you live and think. As the sportswriter Red Smith is said to have claimed, "writing (or in our case, photography) is 'easy'. All you do is sit down with a typewriter (or in our case, pick up a camera) and open a vein."

So, my question to you is - how do you 'teach' that?

urban ku # 117 - the image has a life of its own

Bright red leaves and flag • click to embiggenPictures can be put to many uses and made with many intents. IMO, one of the most powerful forms of photographic expression is also the one that involves the least amount of thought and technique to create - the 'family' snapshot. I also think that it is amazing that I find the snapshots of families that I don't know very involving and captivating.

Spend some time with the Basil family (thanks to Joe Reifer) and also browse the pictures over at bighappyfunhouse - found photos. free pie. and let me know what you think.