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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 October 1, 2012 - October 31, 2012

Wednesday
Oct312012

ku # 1219 ~ entre chien et loup

Moon over Blue Mountain Lake ~ Blue Mountain Lake, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenWere I to be light chaser, the light to be encountered during the time of day the French call entre chien et loup - literally translated as between the dog and the wolf - would be the light I would chase. That is, the soft light which bathes the landscape after the sun has set but before darkness descends).

In fact, I have a body of work which is comprised of just such light. Most of the pictures in that body of work were made with my 8×10 Arca Swiss view camera utilizing 8×10 Type L (long exposure) color negative film (some exposures were up to 20 minutes long and Type L color negative film was formulated to deal with the reciprocity failure - color-shifting, as dye layers of the film absorb light unevenly over the prolonged exposure). The color results from that combination, printed by me or one of my assistants on Ektacolor paper (C print), were amazingly delicate / subtle - a result which also recorded the same entre chein et loup qualities of the light.

Some may be wondering why I used past tense verbs (was ... were) in the preceding paragraph. That's simply because I haven't made pictures with that view camera / film for over a decade more. The reason for that is also simple - as sheet film + processing have become harder to find than hen's teeth, I simply wasn't up the task of dealing with the film / processing issue, not to mention having to set up a darkroom in which to make prints (which assumes C print paper and chemistry won't become equally scarce).

In any event, I am currently closing in on a digital domain image file processing routine which is coming close to my past film / C print results.

Wednesday
Oct312012

dyptich # 12 ~ truncated trunks

Tree trunks ~ Tawhaus, NY / Newcomb, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen

Tuesday
Oct302012

civilized ku # 2390 ~ hot time in the old town tonight

Fire ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenYou may have read on the first page of my picture article in Adirondack Life (see below entry) that the village of Au Sable Forks has 559 residents. Assuming that figure to be accurate, I would venture a guess that all of them were on hand to witness this evening's majestic conflagration.

FYI, I managed to move, in stealth like fashion, beyond the line of fire trucks, ambulances, and rescue vehicles in order to make some close proximity pictures. Eventually someone took notice of a guy who was not in firefighting gear and I had to melt back into the spectator crowd.

Tuesday
Oct302012

FYI ~ you see what you wanna see (and disregard the rest)

Spreads - Adirondack Life / Dec 2012 • click to embiggenAs previously mentioned, some of my The Forks ~ there's no place like home pictures were going to be published in a feature article in Adirondack Life magazine. I now have in hand the December 2012 issue of Adirondack Life which includes that article.

The layout/design of the article is quite visually pleasing. It looks more like that found in a photo book / magazine than it does like that most often seen in a general interest magazine layout - lots of white space and very nice typography. And, as an added bonus, one spread in the article is the center spread of the magazine.

The pictures in the article are prefaced by the Artist Statement from my gallery exhibition / body of work, The Forks ~ there's no place like home, and thereafter by quotes from a few Au Sable Forks residents. IMO, those quotes add a very personal / human overlay to the pictures. Each picture is also identified by its title.

a humorous and instructive (how people look at pictures wise) aside: I was showing the article to a neighbor - who also happens to be a town supervisor - and as he was viewing the Clouds / Stewarts picture on the first spread, he gave a little laugh and said "Until I read the title, I didn't even see the clouds ... I was looking to see who it was who was pumping gas."

Friday
Oct262012

civilized ku # 2388-89 / ku # 1221-22 ~ a visit to a wayback machine

Ghost town ~ Adirondac / Tawhaus, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenMcIntrye Furnace ~ Tawhaus / Adirondac , NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenTangle ~ Tawhaus / Adirondac, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenTamarack bog ~ near Union Falls, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenSorry for the delay in posting this entry, but during my NYC friend's 5 day / 4 night visit, we were out an about everyday - together with an evening art event, dining out, and numerous sittings around with rye, bourbon, and wine - and I never found the time sit down at the google machine and make an entry. That written, now that I have some time on my hands as I and the wife sit about (a belated anniversary getaway) in our cabin (in front of a toasty fire, waiting for Hurricane Sandy to make its presence known), I can post this short and sweet entry.

That written, here's the short and sweet of it .... one of the places my friend and I visited was the abandoned Adirondack mining town of Tawhaus (or Adirondac, as it was formerly known). Much to my surprise, the old McIntrye Furnace - situated a few hundred feet down the road from the town and, until recently, nearly invisible due to being hidden by 160 years of forest and undergrowth - was dramatically on view. I have passed by the furnace on a number of occasions and taken notice of its upper reaches (it sits below the road level), inasmuch as it is located a mere 20 feet from the edge of the road albeit obscured by vegetation.

Needless to state, we stopped to investigate and, again to my surprise, found that not only had the furnace been cleared of vegetation but so had the 100 ft. slope down to the Hudson River beneath it. On that slope, much like an archeological dig (which, in fact, it is) was an incredible array of mill work mechanicals lying about in disarray just as they have been since the mill structure collapsed in 1856. Not to mention the remnants of an imposing 50-60ft. tall / 12 ft. thick granite block stone dam which dammed the Hudson River and diverted water to a flume which drove a large waterwheel which, in turn, turned a couple 20ft. gears which powered 4 large "piston" units which supplied blast air to the furnace which was heated to 2500 degrees.

All in all, the place was a truly interesting historic site. I'll have more pictures and more to tell when I get back home on Tuesday.

Wednesday
Oct242012

civilized ku # 2388 ~ more Autumn yellow with a sprinkling of red

Yellow leaves / red car ~ Port Henry, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggenMy good friend from NYC is up for visit and we're spending most of the days out and abound just wandering around. The weather is very nice and there are lots of picturing opportunities. When I have time (tomorrow?), I'll post a bunch more pictures.

Monday
Oct222012

civilized ku # 2384-87 / ku # 1219-20 ~ Autumn yellows with a sprinkling of red

Yellow leaves / red barn ~ Jay, NY - in the Adirondack Park • click to embiggen1044757-20714072-thumbnail.jpg
Yellow crab apples / tree ~ Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggen
1044757-20714084-thumbnail.jpg
Yellow leaves / red building ~ Plattsburgh, NY • click to embiggen
1044757-20714171-thumbnail.jpg
Yellow leaves / red leaves ~ Near Jay, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
1044757-20714178-thumbnail.jpg
Yellow leaves / red leaves ~ Near Keeseville, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
1044757-20714187-thumbnail.jpg
Yellow chair / red ears ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
1044757-20714197-thumbnail.jpg
Yellow trailer / red leaves ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

Friday
Oct192012

Bodies of Work ~ a sampler

Click here to view this photo book in its entirety




I've spent the past few days putting together a POD book which is being sent (by request) to a couple curators / gallery directors. The book (81 pages) is titled, Bodies of Work ~ a sampler, and has 9 sections, each section comprised of a title page followed by 6 pictures examples from each body of work. The section title pages have a grouping of the 6 pictures which follow in that section - the purpose of the grouping is to illustrate how the pictures work together, visually, as a body of work.

The page sample pictures posted in this entry are (top - bottom): cover, title spread, section title page + the 6 pictures in that section, the remainder of the title pages. Even though, at the very top of the entry, there is a Shutterfly share book version in which you can view the entire book, I have included the sample page pictures so you can have a higher quality look at some of the pages.

While I stand by my many previously written endorsements, re: Shutterfly's excellent quality POD books, their shared book e-versions are seriously lacking in the visual quality department. They are better than nothing but only by a slim margin. The shared book allows a viewer to have a sense of a book's layout and flow but details (image and typography sharpness) are not good. However, keep in mind that shared books are free.

That written, if Shutterfly were to offer a true high quality e-book conversion service, I would be more than happy to pay a premium for that service.