BODIES OF WORK ~ PICTURE GALLERIES
BODIES OF WORK ~ BOOK LINKS
In Situ ~ la, la, how the life goes on • Life without the APA • Doors • Kitchen Sink • Rain • 2014 • Year in Review • Place To Sit • ART ~ conveys / transports / reflects • Decay & Disgust • Single Women • Picture Windows • Tangles ~ fields of visual energy (10 picture preview) • The Light + BW mini-gallery • Kitchen Life (gallery) • The Forks ~ there's no place like home (gallery)
Tuesday, September 15, 2015 at 10:22AM 
Friday, September 11, 2015 at 08:45AM 
When paddling onto the Hudson River (above Newcomb) from Lake Harris, one encounters a sign indicating 2 choices. Turn right to reach New York City or left to Mt. Marcy.
One can not actually reach Mt. Marcy but you can get very close, get out of the canoe and hike to the top of Marcy - the highest peak (5,343 ft.) in the Adirondacks. The highest water source of the Hudson River is Lake Tear of the Clouds which is located about 1,000 ft below the summit of Marcy.
On the other hand, you can actually reach the river terminus at Battery Park in lower Manhattan. It would be a long paddle - 315 miles - requiring more time than I have on my hands at this particular moment.
Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 11:47AM 
Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 10:09AM 
I have often written that, in my picture making, I rarely "chase the light". That more often than not, I only make pictures which feature "the light" when it chases me. Which does not mean that I don't appreciate "the light" when I see it. However, I will not always make a picture featuring "the light" when I see it. To the contrary, I often deliberately avoid making a picture of "the light" because I have absolutely no interest in making yet another cliché picture of it.
Re: "the light", George Eastman, the man who put a camera in the hand of any everyday person who wanted one and made picture making easy (you push the button, we do the rest) said:Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.
With that statement, it could be reasonably postulated that Eastman was advocating "chasing the light". On the other hand, no one knew more about the "mechanics" of light striking a light-sensitive surface than Eastman and his legion of research and development cadre. For him and them, knowing about light was their key to photography.
In any event, at Rist Camp "the light" is chasing me minute to minute, or so it seems.
FYI, George Eastman also said:The world is moving, and a company that contents itself with present accomplishments soon falls behind.
George must be spinning like a top high-speed drill press in his grave.
Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 11:57AM 
With the meal I had 2 glasses of Ommagang Rare Vos (see tap in bar/ bartender picture). An absolutely delightful Belgian-style (brewed in NY State) Amber Ale.
On the drive out of North Creek, we stopped so I could picture the Hudson River. Much to our surprise, there, in the river, was another of those previously discovered local cairnines - visible on a rock in the lower right quadrant of the picture. They're turning up everywhere.
Heading back to the car, I made a picture of the road, albeit just because I could.Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at 01:43PM 
I'd encourage you to ask yourself a question: why do you really do this, anyway?
The "this", of course, is picture making.
The question was posited in the cause of helping picture makers get over or at least come to grips with their desire - some might say "need" - for attention / success in their picture making endeavors. Or, as Johnston puts it - why am I not famous, or when am I going to make a little money at this, or any of the other gnawing dissatisfying insecurities that seem to crop up for all of us.
Johnston's answer to his question - for the most part, photography is just a fun activity. A recreation. An enjoyable pastime. We do it because we enjoy it.
I am reasonably certain that answer is good for most picture making participants. Perhaps even for you. Although, for me, no so much.
And it's not that I do not enjoy making pictures. However, the word "enjoy" really is not the word I would use to describe my involvement with the medium. Nor is the word "fun". In fact, when asked why I make pictures, my answer is not because it is fun or enjoyable. Invariably my answer is, "Why not?"
That answer derives not from my desire to be a smart / wise ass but rather from the fact that there would have to be a very compelling reason for me not to make pictures because, making pictures is what I do. Not because it's a "fun activity" or "enjoyable". It's more because, for me, picture making is like breathing - I don't think about why I do it, I just do it - in fact, I have been making pictures of one kind or another since as far back as I can remember.
Which leads me back to where I started this entry - most recently the question "Why do I really do this, anyway?" has been much on my mind.
There are no concrete answers as of yet. Notions of creating, drawing attention to something (my referents, their potential for meaning, and my pictures in and of themselves), making connections, in a more visceral sense, to my environment (people, places, things), and last but not least, something in my DNA / genetic makeup which has created a preternatural drive to make pictures.
Over the next few weeks, most of my entries will be ruminations on the topic of "why". I hope to incite comments and feedback both about my ideas on the subject as well as your insights regarding your own personal motivations in the realm of picture making.
I know from conversations with other artists (non-photography), that they would be interested in and participate in such a conversation. IMO, it could be a fun and informative ride.
Are you up for it?
Today's Artspeak Gobbledygook - My current work predominantly deals with themes of identity, race and heritage as it relates to preconceived notions of Euro-centric beauty and heritage within post-colonial societies ~ found on the internet