The New Snapshot # 197 / triptych # 6 ~ the (formerly) Steel City

Southside flats ~ Pittsburgh, PA (embiggenable) • iPhone

outdoor display / Strip District ~ Pittsburgh, PA (embiggenable) • iPhone

Pittsburgh's South Side (Flats) is a 30 block long (right across the river from center city) historic district - one of the longest Victorian main streets in the US.

People live, eat and drink there. With approximately 70 bars and taverns, the neighborhood is patroled by Pittsburgh Police public urination patrols. Amongst the many shops and and stores you can find fine dining, get a tattoo, buy Versace clothing or idle away some time at one of the many coffee shops - all locally owned and operated.

The South Side is a very diverse and rather funky place.

civilized ku # 5142 ~ it's all about visual energy and rhythm

soapdish ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

After the better part of 15 years spent struggling with the concept of what is a photograph?, I have arrived at some conclusions which, despite the gazillion words written and expressed on the subject since the very inception of the medium, are really quite simple ...

1. a photograph is a picture.
2. virtually all pictures, created with photography apparatus, are a cohort / representation of a referent found in the real world.
3. a photography-created picture is best experienced as a printed object.
4. the print is a thing in and of itself, independent of that which it depicts.
5. inasmuch as a photography-created printed picture is considered to be part of the visual arts, it should be addressed, first and foremost, as a visual experience.
6. while a photography-created printed picture can be appreciated for the depicted referent, the best photography-created printed pictures can also be appreciated for visually preceived qualities with which the picture has been constructed.
7. pictures which are created / constructed employing good visual qualities - visual energy (agitative or placid) and rhythm (cordant or discordant), regardless of the depicted referent, are those which have the best chance of being hung on a wall and appreciated over very extended period of time.
8. looking for meaning in a photography-created picture is an illusive pursuit inasmuch as there will be as many meanings as there are viewers.
9. nevertheless, inasmuch as interperative meaning is subjective (except for pure propaganda), a given photogaphy-created picture may incite a deep / powerful meaning for a given viewer.

So there you have it and it's not that complicated. Except, of course, for the "visual energy and rhythm" thing. The so-called rules of composition rarely, if ever, apply to the creation of visual energy and rhythm. Creating such qualities is more of a feeling / intuitive thing and I am not certain that it can be taught. Rather, I believe that in most cases it can be recognized in one's pictures and subsequently fostered in continued picture making.

civilized ku # 5141 ~ a good find

I read it through the grapevine ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

While in New Jersey during the holidays, I purchased a photo book called, appropriately, THE PHOTO BOOK. The book, which weighs 13 lbs., is a compilation of pictures - 1 ea. from 562 different picture makers. I am about half way through the book and am surprised by how many pictures I am familiar with.

That written, one overriding impression I am left with is that everything that can be pictured has been pictured. And, just about every manner of making pictures is well represented.

Each picture is accompanied by a short discription re: about the picture and the picture maker and his/her M.O./vision. And, when appropriate, historical context inasmuch as the pictures cover picture making from the medium's very beginning.

Is the book intersting? Yes, it is. Was it worth the price? Yes, inasmuch ass it was on the book store post-holiday sale rack for the price of $28.83USD (appoximately 50% of retail price). Also worth mentioning is the fact that the book is published by Phaidon, a very well respected publisher of such books.

ku / civilized ku / the new snapshot ~ best of 2017

best of ku / 2017

best of civilized ku / 2017

best of the new snapshot / 2017

When I started to select my best of picture from 2017 my intention was to select one picture as the best of 2017. However, as I was looking through my 2017 picture, it became apparent that I needed to pick a best of picture from each of my primary bodies of work - ku (the natural world), civilized ku (evidence of humankind) and the new snapshot.

While I have a number of sub-catagories which fall under those primary bodies of work, I felt that choosing one best of from all of those additional bodies of work would kinda defeat the purpose of trying to narrow the selection down to just a few best of pictures.

In any event, I discovered a few things about my picture making during the selection process:

1. Over the years I have move from making primarily ku pictures to making many more civilized ku pictures.
2. Since the inception of my iPhone the new snapshot making, I have made many more the new snapshot pictures than ku / civilized ku combined.
3.That written, the new snapshot picture making does include ku, civilized ku and people referents as well as few of my sub-categories.

The net result of those conculsions is that I intend, during 2018, to concentrate on making more ku (especially so) / civilized ku (and their sub-categories) pictures utilizing my µ4/3 cameras. Only time will tell if I can stick to that (New Years) resolution.

civilized ku # 5140 / diptych # 221 (The new snapshot) ~ bathroom art

restaurant restroom ~ (embiggenable) • µ4/3

cigar store / escape room - breakout game place restrooms ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

I am finding somewhat interesting, in several ways, the signs to be found in public bathrooms. They run the gamut from polite, sometimes stern, admonitions to humorous and rather vulgar expressions.

While I have not intentionally sought out such signs, I am starting to think I should. Hell, at 70 years of age, I'm peeing enough to be a frequent visitor to public restrooms.

civilized ku # 5139 / diptych # 220 (the new snapshot) ~ there and back again

truck art ~ Southside / Pittsburgh, PA (embiggenable) • iPhone

kids~ Cherry Hill, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Xmas and New Years has come and gone. Over that time I have gone to Pittsbugh, PA and on to Cherry Hill, NJ and back home again.

While I was away, I meant to post an entry or two but, one thing or another, I never found the time. However, I did manage to make approximately 40 pictures, most of which were made with the iPhone camera module.

On the subject of picture making, iPhone / µ4/3 or otherwise, this Xmas most of my gift giving centered around giving pictures (prints). Or, as I tend to think of it, preserving and giving memories. And, it is worth noting that one of the recipients of one of my pictures actually broke out in tears (of joy), a response which cemented by decision to make my primary gift giving (any and all occasions) centered around preserving and giving memories.

My ability to preserve and give memories is attributed to my adoption of iPhone picture making inasmuch as I am making a lot of pictures of people - something I did not do much of with my "real" cameras (for what reason I don't know). And, pictures of people - family, friends, et al - are the single most cherished pictures that most people possess.

What I have discovered about my people pictures is that I can not help but bring all of my picture making / processing / vision skills to the making of such pictures. Consequently, the pictures are perceived as something very special, above and beyond what they are accustomed to seeing in a "snapshot". Throw in my deckled snapshot border and somehow, a picture becomes even more special, which may be due to the fact that the retro border incites a rather instant "nostalgic" reaction / quality to the picture.

In any event, I have been absolutely delighted with the reactions I have received to my the new snapshot pictures.

civilized ku # 5138 / the new snapshot # 191-92 ~ miscellania

bike at night (multiple differing color balance light sources) ~ Saranac Lake, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • µ4/3

fuselage art ~ Canadian War Museum / Ottawa, ON (embiggenable) • iPhone

snapshots ~ National Gallery of Canada / Ottawa, ON (embiggenable) • iPhone

In one of the current exhibitions, Canadian Biennial, in the National Gallery of Canada is 3-panel (1 1/2 panels shown in above picture) piece of art, Sleep II, comprised of found snapshots of people sleeping. As long as you have a wall in your home that can accomodate a 9'5" x 22'9" piece of art, you can buy it through the sleep II link.

Hugo was rather perplexed about why this was art and slightly disturbed by the works "creepy-ness". Nevertheless, he spent a fair amount of time viewing the work. On the other hand, Hugo was immediately impressed with the 2 for Hooking fuselage art work in the Canadian War Museum. A work that instigateed not a bit of "creepy-ness" - eye of the beholder and all that stuff.

civilized # 5137 / the new snapshot # 190 ~ on display

Nice turnout for the PHOTOGRAPHS IN CONVERSATION exhibition. Jaci was very happy that I included a picture of her naked (albeit under bubbles) in the show.

Of particular interest to the assembled was the make-your-own-conversation interactive part of the the exhibit. A box of 50 prints and 2 photo ropes on a wall provided lots of opportunities for picture conversations making fun.