FYI ~ cinemascape fever

Global clippings • click to embiggenIt is interesting, to say the least, following the 'round the world hubbub about Aaron's Cinemascapes.

The opening for his NYC show should prove to very interesting since a couple of biggies on the NYC art scene have picked up on his work and are writing about it even before the show. All of this buzz has been mainly product of the web - it is simply amazing how it has spread like wildfire around the globe. Embiggen the 'clippings' thumbnail and note all the different languages.

Aaron's pictures certainly deserve the attention they are garnering, but the speed with which they have gained atention around the world is simply incredible.

ku # 482 ~ sort of an open ended question

Rail, rocks and cliff with mist • click to embiggenA few entries back, Robert wrote, "... Not sure (I never am) what your aim was here ..."

One of the 'aims' of my picturing is to make pictures that are ambiguous - pictures that (as stated in an essay about Walker Evans polaroids) don't explain themselves, don't narrate clearly, but are discursive in a more surreptitious way.

My manner of picturing, serendipitous and spontaneous, (again about Evans) 'demands an element of abandon that denies the possibility of intention, perfect shot, or definitive statement about the subjects ... [T]he images are without sentimentality, are uncompromising in their plain statement ...' My concern is 'for something besides style or "good" pictures', something more literal and simple.

If one takes the time to view my more complete body of work, I believe (for most) I have questioned what is assumed to characterize the idea of "good" photography. The pictures appear to be accidentally produced, confused and confusing, and do not appear to be motivated by any clear vision - which is exactly my intent. I am definitely driven by obsessive scrutiny and a disregard for photographic tradition.

I do not wish to link the experience of observing my pictures to the culturally conditioned oeuvre of "good" photography. I want to confront the viewer with a different experience - one that poses questions, not only about what constitutes "good" photography but also about the culturally conditioned way one scrutinizes the world around him/her self.

urban ku # 104 ~ golf in the kingdom

Like playing golf in Scotland without the airfare • click to embiggenIf I had to choose one golf course to play for the rest of my life, without a moment's hesitation it would be the Cedar River GC.

The course is an outstanding example of golf the way it used to be - a course built long before earth moving equipment shaped a course. The course simply follows the lay of the land and, in this case, the Cedar River (or the Cedar Burn, as the Scots would say). The river, a wild scenic gem, winds its way throughout the layout coming into play one way or another on nearly every hole - sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't.

And, just like Scottish links courses, there are plenty of blind shots, firm undulating fairways (with lots of brown grass - only the greens are watered) which can cause a beautifully placed shot to roll and roll and roll to a place you really don't want to be, elevated tees and greens, and, speaking of greens, beautifully maintained small-ish greens with lots of contours and devilishly placed pins - it was very entertaining to see the wife chip onto a green and then watch the ball roll off the other side and then, chip on again, only to have the ball roll right back to her feet (not once, but twice). Great fun (for me).

All of this delightful quirky character is wonderful but the icing on the cake is the course placement in an Adirondack-wild location. Because the layout is so follow-the-land natural, it feels (and is) like all-of-a-piece with its surroundings. It is a joy to behold and is simply what many a modern constructed course wishes it could be.

Re: back to photography - the current issues of View Camera features 2 interesting triptych panorama photographers - Bruce Myren and Ann Mitchell. Neither are making revolutionary pictures, but both are making very engaging ones.

urban ku # 103 ~ spider, and 1874 - 1940

Walking around a cemetery near Indian Lake • click to embiggenThe number of cemeteries in the Adirondacks is amazing. Every village and hamlet has at least one but there is also an increbible number of small cemeteries in the middle of no where - along roadsides and even sprinkled out in the wilderness. They are just plain interesting to explore.

urban ku # 102 ~ a tourism 'nightmare'

A trip into the past • click to embiggenAt the last moment, our canoe trip devolved into a car getaway to the late 50s/ early '60s. Chalk it up to lingering un-wellness and Friday night dinner guests (we should have been packing).

In any event, Saturday AM we found ourselves cruising the web looking for lodging in the central Adirondacks. Labor Day weekend and all, our expectations weren't too high - all of the 'high-end' lodging that we tend to frequent was probably booked months ago.

And then I remembered the Cedar River Golf Course and Motel (and restaurant) - definitely not a 'high-end' lodging property. We've never stayed there but we have played golf there on what must be considered the most natural golf courses (9 holes) in all the Adirondacks, maybe in all the northeast. The history of the course, once owned by Dewey Brown - the first black member of the PGA, is interesting.

As luck would have it, lodging was available so we booked it - a 2 room 'suite' - and off we went.

Now, you have to understand that most of the people we know, especially those in the tourism marketing biz, would probably rather sleep in their cars (after poking their eyes out with a sharp stick) than stay at the CRGC&M. Most golfers I know would probably rather have a Cobra Speed LD/F driver (toaster on a stick) parked where the sun don't shine than go out of their way to play this golf course. The restaurant? Locals know it as a great place for an excellent diner-style breakfast(served 7am - noon) but I don't think too many tourists give it a second look.

What a shame, for despite the fact that there was no spa, feather beds, designer furnishing, haute cuisine or other amenities that the modern tourist has come to expect/demand - hence a 'nightmare' for tourism marketing types in the Adirondacks - we had an absolutely great time.

In all honestly, you really can't build a marketing campaign around the look of a place like the CRGC&M. In fact, amongst all of the 5 letter words one might use in tourism marketing, 'motel' is very very low on the list - way below words like 'resort', 'condo', or even 'hotel'.

But, much to the consternation of the marketing crowd, the Adirondack lodging experience is chock full of motels, most of which were built in the 50s or 60s. Most have been lovingly maintained - clean, comfy beds and linens, a little landscaping with a pool, and with rates that harken back to those of a couple decades ago.

Nothing 'fancy', just a decent place to park your car and rest your weary head for the next day's outdoor Adirondack experience - amongst other things, we went canoeing, golfing, swimming, cemetery exploring (Dewey Brown is buried in the cemetery right next door to the CRGC&M) and visiting the Adirondack Museum.

Somehow, the word (and the place) 'motel' served us very well.

Update on Thursday, September 6, 2007 at 09:04AM by gravitas et nugalis

Featured Comment: Eric Fredine wrote; "I love these kinds of little motels - usually family run. Every little town in the Canadian prairies has one."

My response: Show me/us.

FYI ~ meet the French guys

The French guys on our trip this past weekend • click to embiggenIn my last installment - ku # 481 - Mike said; "Surrender monkies? When did they surrender? Remember the Resistance. Who bailed the Colonists out when they were being thrashed by the Brits? Where do these epithets arise? "Cheese eating, wine-swilling" — just because they know how to eat well is no cause for jealousy — get educated."

Just in case Mike thought my 'cheese-eating, wine- swilling, surrender monkey' comment was anything other than shot at the morons who coined it, let me introduce myself and my grandson, Hugo - we are 14th and 16th generation descedents of the one of the Duzine - 12 French Huguenot family heads who, in 1677, founded the village of New Paltz, NY.

Hugo and I are the descendents of Hugo Freer, whose house, built circa 1698, still stands today on Huguenot Street in New Paltz.

'nuff said about the French.

PS - the other side of my family hails from the Emerald Isle - guess that's why I love potatoes, beer, links golf and a lady named Kelleher (not necessarily in that order)

a question

Is anyone other than Kent Wiley having problems posting comments in the Guest Photographer Forum?

ku # 481 ~ a french lesson

Autumn is on the way • click to embiggenAs many of you know, I live in a place called Au Sable Forks which is at the confluence of the East and the West Branch of the Au Sable rivers where they form the Au Sable river which continues on - through Au Sable Chasm - to Lake Champlain.

That's a lot of Au Sables and, in fact, there is a lot of 'sable' (Fr. sand) here about. Many of the early settlers 'round here were French Canadians who were drawn to the area by the logging industry. Many stayed and the village is filled with many families with French surnames, although, truth be told, none bear any resemblance whatsoever to the modern day so called cheese-eating, wine- swilling, surrender monkeys that you hear so much about (let's hear it for freedom fries).

In any event, our area comes by the name Au Sable (fr. with sand) honestly.