# 6935-37 / common places-things • kitchen life ~ OT but with OnT pictures

February 3, 2025

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS OUR WINTERS HAVE been rather erratic, weather wise. It comes and goes in cycles; light snow–2-3 inches–followed by balmy temps and the snow melts down to bare ground. Throw in a little freezing rain here and there and it gets downright odd for this time of year. This is quite a different scenario from 12-15 years ago (and before) when it was quite common to be buried under 60 inches of snow even in the month of March.

That written, I live in a tiny area in the Adirondack Mountains known in some quarters as The Banana Belt. That moniker derives from the fact that, quite often during winter, our little hamlet is much warmer–with less snow–than the village of Lake Placid which is only 25 miles away, albeit 1600-1700 feet higher in elevation. Travel another 6 miles beyond Lake Placid to the village of Saranac Lake and, more often than not, on many winter days it records the lowest temp on planet earth.

And, writing, re: cold temps and odd scenarios, yesterday’s pre-dawn temp here in The Forks was -12˚F. Today’s noon-time temp is 40˙F. That’s a 52˚ change in temp in 18 hours. There was a dusting of snow on top of 2-3 inches on the ground yesterday but, true to form, it’s all melting away today.

All of this is part of so-called weather weirding, a product of planet warming. But, I’m not worried inasmuch as I am certain that our Destructor-In-Chief will come to the rescue by burning more fossil fuels. Everything will be great once again. Not to worry, and, the price of eggs will go down.

# 6921 / common places • common things ~ boneheaded bunkum and balderdash

January 18, 2025

***kitchen sink ~*** all photos embiggenable

WRITING–IN 3 ENTRIES–UNDER THE RUBIC OF “BONES’ M. Johnston has informed his readers that “every creative effort in every artistic medium needs bones: a structure to guide the work and give it a framework. A concept.” You might ask, what are “bones” and his answer is that it is “an idea” aka: “any intellectual notion that facilitates and motivates working. And–(sarcasm alert) this is really good one–he also throws in the idea that:

“(I confess to never having liked the phrase "caught my eye.")…..They want to haphazardly grab any "photo opportunity" that happens to pass their way….they'll say something like, "I just take the camera when I go for a walk and photograph anything that catches my eye." That seems like a dreadfully weak-dishwater idea for working, a framework for little more than desultory camera-pointing.”

To which I reply, good f____ing grief, what a bunch of condescending bourgeois bunkum and balderdash. I mean, why would someone, when walking around with a camera and something catches their eye–in my case, pricks my eye and sensibilities–NOT make a f–––ing picture of it? Making pictures is what photographers do and they don’t need no stinkin’ “intellectual notion” to “facilitate and motivate working.”

Upon reading the idea of “intellectual notion”, the very first thought that came into my head was Sontag’s notion of the revenge of the intellect on art cuz I believe that anyone who looks for an “intellectual notion” to facilitate / motivate the making of their photographs is headed down the wrong road. Simply written, iMo, making a picture is not an intellectual pursuit. It is, plain and simple, a visual pursuit, the results of which are manifested as a visual manifestation, aka: the culmination and subsequent visual representation of the act of seeing… not of thinking.

All of the above written, let me express my take on the idea of facilitating / motivating one’s self to “get one past not-doing and into doing”….

…. in my experience, I have noticed that when a picture maker is experiencing a lack of enthusiasm for getting out and making pictures it is due precisely to the fact that they are sitting around on his/her lazy ass trying to come up with an idea about something to photograph instead of just getting out the door—or at least just getting off their lazy ass–and start making pictures. That is, pictures of any thing(s) that catches their eye.

To write it very emphatically, there is absolutely nothing f–––ing wrong with making pictures in order to just see what something looks like when photographed–especially so in order to see what it looks like when photographed by you. And here’s the thing about this exercise; after a period of time, you might just surprise yourself by realizing that, in your (sarcasm alert) “desultory” and “dreadfully weak dishwatery” camera pointing, there just might be a few pictures of referents / themes that you have unintentionally but repeatedly responded to that just might create the foundation for further picture making investigation.

Point in fact, all of my bodies of work, with just one exception, evolved from–as M. Johnston might put it –my “desultory” and “dreadfully weak dishwatery” camera pointing (discursive promiscuity, as I put it). That is to write that, as an example, I did not start my kitchen sink body of work by thinking that I should photograph my kitchen sink. Rather, I realized after of period time during which I made a few pictures of my kitchen sink, among many other referents, that, surprise, surprise, there was something, picture making wise, worth exploring further along that line of photographic inquiry. And that example is true of all of my various bodies of work (see examples above).

So, here’s my point–or is it a counterpoint to M. Johnston’s point? I don’t need no stinkin’ intellectual idea to facilitate / motivate my picture making. Rather, I rely upon my continuing desire to see what some thing(s) looks like when photographed–especially so when photographed by me. While my way of working ain’t gonna necessarily work for everyone, iMo, if your wheels are stuck in the station, instead of rootin’ around in your head for an idea, try rootin’ around with your eyes in order to see what your eyes might see.

Don’t be a bonehead. After all, it is a f–––ing visual medium.

PS Next up: a critique of Johnston’s thoughts, re: the Artist Statement.

#6709-16 / zines ~ paging all photographers

January 12, 2025

I HAVE LONG PONDERED THE IDEA OF WHY anyone would engage in picture making and not make physical / tactile objects-aka: prints, books, et al-of the results of that pursuit. The absence of such objects, leaves me perplexed, re: what’s the point? The only answer I can come up with is the old adage of “different strokes for different folks”, or, “whatever floats your boat”.

I, of course, am the poster boy for the making of printed photographs in one form or another; the current count of displayed photographs on the walls of my house is 124 (some prints display multiple photographs of my travels “snapshot” work). In addition there are 25 photo books laying around the place. And now, to add to the “clutter”, there is a growing body of zines.

FYI:

The word “zine” is a shortened form of the term fanzine, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Fanzines emerged as early as the 1930s…A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published unique work of minority interest…There are so many types of zines: art and photography zines, literary zines, social and political zines, music zines, perzines (personal zines), travel zines, health zines, food zines. And the list goes on and on.

My interest in making zines is to: a) create easily made and economically inexpensive updates of my various bodies of work, b) make the zines available for distribution on an e-commerce component of this site, c) thereby getting my work, in printed form, in the hands of those who might be interested in it, and, d)duh, I like looking a prints of my work

My zines are printed by BLURB. BLURB zines are actually labeled as magazines on the site. The quality of their magazines is much better than typical zines-often hand-bound pages made on photocopiers-inasmuch as the paper and printing quality is very good. And, what I find amazing is the very low cost; typically a 20 page zine will cost about $10-12US (+ shipping*).

Re: the paper and printing quality is very good: I can write, without much reservation, that, if making zines on BLURB were to be the only method I could employ to print my work, I would be quite happy to cut pages out the zines and frame them for display on my walls. The print/paper quality is more than good enough for that use. Portfolio use or photo-”perfectionist” viewing, maybe not so much.

BTW, my current photo world fantasy is to create a curated site devoted to showcasing and selling photo zines. The biggest problem to doing that is finding a critical mass of zine-making photographers and, accomplishing that, getting the word out to a sizeable audience.

In any event, why not give it-making a zine-a try?

*BLURB shipping costs are, iMo, a bit high. So what I do, in addition to selecting the cheapest shipping cost, is to order at least 3 copies of a zine and split the shipping cost across the number of books)

# 6705-08 / in situ • common places-things ~ I contain multitudes

January 10, 2025

LIFE IS BACK TO POST-HOLIDAY “NORMAL”. Been busy grinding out more SEEN magazine editions, most recently Issue No. 5, IN SITU. Also updated the IN SITU gallery on the WORK page. From the zine’s Artist Statement :

As I see it the medium of photography and its apparatus has as its primary capability making visible what something looks like when photographed. That characteristic is the impulse that drives my making photographs obsession….

…. Presented herein are photographs culled from my picture making oeuvre organized under the discriptor of in situ, aka: in the original place. They pay homage to the genre of street photography but not all are made on the street. My intent in the making of these photographs was to record, in a pictorially interesting manner, divine and sometimes quirky snippets of the human condition / comedy.

The other thing that has kept me somewhat busy is seeing-now 3 times-the A Complete Unknown movie. Wednesday evening I drove, to and from, a theater in Lake Placid during a moderate snow storm with 2˚F temps and a bitter, biting wind. Some might suggest that that certifies me as a Dylan fan-atic but, truth be told, I am not wrapped up, as so many others are, in the never-ending quest to unravel / decipher / understand the who and what of Bob Dylan.

In order to avoid going completely OT, I’ll bring it back around to photography, re: Paul Strand; who when asked about his work, simply stated that “the answer is on the wall”. Dylan has spent a lifetime of not answer any questions about his work and his private life. Which, in most people’s minds makes him enigmatic. I don’t think of him as enigmatic inasmuch as I believe the answer to Dylan is, simply stated, in the music cuz, after all, he was-and still is-aware that The Times They Are A-Changing, so consequently, he let it be know that (he) I Ain’t Gonna Work On Maggie’s Farm No More, and, he was-and still is-not afraid to tell his fans that It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (..take what you need You think will last But whatever you wish to keep You better grab it fast). And, of course, if you still can’t figure it out, you might wanna remember that The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing In The Wind.

What I appreciate / respect about any artist is their authenticity-true to one's own personality, spirit, or character-and an unrelenting commitment to their art. iMo, that’s true of many photographers, musicians, et al. Also iMo, I do not believe that in that regard Dylan has ever changed inasmuch as, no matter the musical “notes” / rhythms he pairs with his lyrics, his lyrics are always amazingly lyrical-think Nobel Prize for Literature.

All of that written, it’s back to photography, specifically, my photography. Like Dylan, I contain, photography wise, multitudes. Consider this from the In Situ Artist Statement:

During my 60 year picture making life, I have adopted no allegiance to any one photographic genre-landscape / nature, still life, people, street, et al. Rather, whatever pricks my eye and sensibilities is impetus for my discursively promiscuous picture making endeavors.

As I am creating multiple SEEN magazines representing many of my separate bodies of work-kitchen sink, in situ, life without the APA, picture windows, art reflects, poles, decay, autumn color / urban + nature, tangles scrub / thicket / trees, single women, all of which reside under the umbrella of discursive promiscuity-that endeavor serves to reinforce my understanding that ordinary life is my source of artistic inspiration, aka: my muse*. And, it should be made obvious that, like Dylan and his work, I refuse to be put in a box, referent wise.

Although, it should be made plain that I am not consciously “refusing” to do anything; rather, simply put, I am being true to myself and my muse, aka: being authentic. What others may think about what I create is of little concern to me** cuz I am doing just what it is I have to do.

*Some common synonyms of muse are meditate, ponder, and ruminate…. all these words mean "to consider or examine attentively or deliberately which describes precisely my picture making M.O.

**but, of course, I do appreciate that others may appreciate my work.

# 6594-99 / common places-things • kitchen sink • landscape ~ over the river (lake) and thru the woods

December 24, 2024

***Vermont as seen across Lake Champlain*** (6th largest lake in North America-120 miles long and 13-miles at its widest point)

CROSSED LAKE CHAMPLAIN INTO VERMONT AND went to Middlebury, a quaint college town, to do some Yuletide season shopping. The main street is lined with a number of small, eclectic gift laden shops. 5 miles out of town we drove into a snow storm which created a stereotypical winter wonderland vibe. Throw in a roaring waterfall along side of the main street and a late pub lunch and it was a grand day out; although, no visions of sugar plums dancing in my head were to be had.

In any event, Merry Holidays to all and to all…goodnight (and no, rest assured that I am not saying goodbye, blog wise.)

# 6541-46 / common places-things • around the house • kitchen sink ~ an alternate reality

November 19, 2024

FOR THE BETTER PART OF 2 DECADES I HAVE been making square format photographs. With either a real camera or the iPhone, my picture making procedure has been the same; set the picture making screen view to square and make the picture, open full frame RAW file in PS and crop to square in exactly the center of the image which yields an image exactly as I saw it on the screen of my picture making device. Rinse and repeat ad infinitum.

Somewhere along the way-about 18 months or so ago-the monkey wrench gang sneaked into the room and, as is the wont, threw a wrench into the works; i.e. I began to notice that the full frame image suited my eye and sensibilities as much as the square version. In a perplexing manner, both aspect ratios seemed to “work”-differently but, oddly, the same.

The oddness steams from the fact that, in almost every case, the additional image information-top and bottom or left and right (depending on camera orientation)-”fits” perfectly, to my eye and sensibilities, into the picture. I find that very disconcerting inasmuch as that information was not visible on the viewing screen in situ. A fact that throws the traditional picture making adage-”compose”, aka: what to include/ exclude in the frame, carefully-right out the window. Or, at least, right out of my window.

A part of what I am enjoying(?) about this revelation is that the additional visual information creates an image that comes as a bit of a surprise. A pleasant surprise to be exact. That said, it leads to an interesting question; would I have achieved the same result if I had been viewing the in situ scene with the viewing screen set to a full frame view? …. answer: don’t know and probably never will cuz sure as hell I ain’t gonna changes horses in midstream.

Might be time for a photo book titled alternate realities - square format on one page, full frame on the adjoining page.

# 6537-40 / common places-things • landscape ~ it's like an itch, when ya feel it ya gotta scratch it

November 13, 2024

THE NY TIMES HAS AN ONGOING SERIES CALLED The 10 Minute Challenge which challenges the reader to look, uninterrupted, at a single piece of art-to date, no photographs-for 10 minutes. During that time the viewer has the ability to zoom in/out in order to explore details. The viewer can stop at any time and a timer will let him/her know how long was spent viewing the picture. There is no penalty for not completing 10 minutes. Upon the termination of viewing, an art “expert” steps in and writes about/comments on the picture.

The commentary does yield up a few interesting bits and pieces, put they invariably veer off into art-school “lectures” which break down / disassemble the art piece into individual visual components in order to “explain” to the viewer how the art piece “works”. For the mechanically inclined, I guess this makes sense. For those who prefer the experience and sensations of viewing art, not so much.

An example of “experience and sensations” v. “mechanically inclined”: I would suggest that the difference can be explained by my approach to automobiles; the wife and I have 3 “drivers” cars; cars with exceptionally good handling-one has a track-tuned suspension-which means they handle the twisty bits at speed with composure and precision, aka: no fuss, no muss. They just drive and feel-the synchronous connection between car, driver, and the road-right. That written, I have very little interest in how, mechanically, it all comes together cuz I primarily care about the experience and sensations of driving those cars.

FYI, I especially enjoy, when driving the track-tuned car with my best friend as passenger, I can drive (literally) him through the twisty bits right up to edge of where the uninitiated tend to soil themselves.

Moving on, I accepted the 10 minute challenge for Edward Hopper’s painting, Manhattan Bridge Loop. and made it through to the 10 minute mark. While I did zoom in 2-3x to view a few details, I primarily viewed the piece in its entirety letting my eyes wander around the piece exploring various points of interest that caught my attention. I enjoyed my time with the painting. Time well spent, although, having spent time viewing a number of Hopper’s paintings-most notably Nighthawks-I can write that, staring at it on a screen is a far cry from seeing it on a wall.

Next up, I read the commentary which was complete with multiple images of the picture with the perfunctory lines and shapes drawn across/on its surface to…I don’t know…make sure that stupid people “understand” the picture and that painters use lines and shapes in constructing their work? I guess this annoys me so much cuz it‘s a kissing cousin to the advice you get from photo “experts” on the subject of how to “master” composition.

On the positive side, re: the commentary, it included these words from Mr. Hopper, himself:

Mr. Hopper wrote that he was primarily interested in the “vast field of experience and sensation. Form and color and structure were the tools he used to express those ideas….Why I select certain subjects rather than others, I do not exactly know, unless it is that I believe them to be the best mediums for a synthesis of my inner experience,….So much of every art is an expression of the subconscious, that it seems to me most all of the important qualities are put there unconsciously, and little of importance by the conscious intellect.…But these are things for the psychologist to untangle.

The highlighted part of Hopper’s words support, iMo, my belief that most of great art is created, not by thoughts, but by feelings. Think too much about it and yer gonna fuck it up. Ya gotta feel it when yer makin’ it. Loosen up and let it all hang out. If ya wanna think about it, think about it later.

It was Joel Meyerowitz who wrote:

“I connect to things in a visceral way…The camera is a reflex for me, it rises to my eye and opens up to take in that thing out there-sensation, feeling, cohesive elements that appear in front of me. It is a way of matching and absorbing the response I have to the world. It captures my consciousness and, later, this allows me to read my consciousness back like a text and understand my relationship to things or moments.”

In any event, if you have a subscription to the NY Times, I recommend the challenge. If not, why not click on one of my pictures and spend 10 minutes with it?

# 6534-36 / commpn places-things • folliage ~ some men follow their junk

November 10, 2024

RECENTLY, OVER ON T.O.P. , THE TOPIC OF “the most interesting photographer in history” was raised. To define that phrase M. Johnston went on to write, “Interesting meaning fascinating or thought provoking, in any aspect—personal lives, significance, ideas and attitudes, accomplishments, whatever.” Stated that way, I had very little interest inasmuch as I have no curiosity, re:what someone who makes pictures has for breakfast or if that someone picks his/her nose or who might literally, run around in little circles from dawn to dusk. The only saving grace in that descriptor was the inclusion of “significance” and “ideas.”

Having written all that, I can state that the primary interest I have with any photographer is the pictures he/she make or have made. The only interest I might otherwise have, is bit of background on what drove him/her, if applicable, to pick up photography and, minus any art-speak, what he/she believes he/she is trying to accomplish with their work. However, that would only interest me if I found his/her photographs interesting.

So, in any event, I thought, just for giggles and grins, that I would enlighten my readers with my list of photographers who. iMo / to my eye and sensibilities, make interesting photographs…

THE SIGNIFICANT: In a class by themselves, Shore, Eggleston, Meyerowitz, Adams (Robert), Frank. These guys radically changed the idea of what can be photographed and what constitutes a good photograph like no other photographer before them.
THE QUIRKY: Joel-Peter Witkin, Diane Arbus, Martin Parr, Weegee, Paula Klaw.
THE VENERATED: Evans, Stieglitz, Weston, Margaret Bourke White, Porter, Bresson.
THE ONE AND ONLY: Maier

In my personal photobook library, re: Photographer Monographs, I have at least one-in some cases 2 or more-book of each of the above named “interesting photographers”. That written, I have many other monographs by photographers whose work I admire. However, they tend to fall in one or another of the 1-3 categories listed above and I felt that those listed are more than enough for anyone to figure out the kinds of photographs I find interesting.

***Burtynsky is one of my favorites*** (embiggenable)

FYI, a photobook I would emphatically recommend is Photo-wisdom ~ Master Photographers on Their Art;

Through the extraordinary images and insights of 50 of the world's master photographers, Photo-wisdom explores the richness of contemporary photographic practice. Photo-wisdom features commentaries from original interviews with world-leading photographers alongside exquisite reproductions of key images chosen by the artists themselves.The result is an unprecedented collection of 200 images showcasing each master photographer's work and their unique voice. ~ from publisher’s description

Then there’s this review-written by a woman-a customer on a used book site:

“It's big, it's beautiful, it's full of photos... but is it really full of wisdom? And if not, do we care? ….there's a lot to learn and a lot to love even if you never read a word of the accompanying first-person essays (mostly taken from interviews). But I do love reading that some photographers rely on luck, some make elaborate plans, and some let their camera lead them around much as some men follow their dicks.”

Keep in mind that “contemporary photographic practice “ is c. 2010, when the book was published and also note that the 50 photographers presented range from award-winning photojournalists to celebrity shooters; from politicized environmentalists to elusive artists; from timeless veterans to new visionaries; and from great storytellers to the makers of lasting icons. iMo, the diversity of the practitioners is what makes the book especially interesting.

In any event, the book is highly recommended and it can be found on a variety of used book sites (including Amazon) for very reasonable prices. I purchased my copy in 2012 in an upscale, small storefront, used book store on 2nd Ave. in the East Village NYC. Over a couple decades I visited the store 2-3x a year. It had a photobook section of ever-changing titles in near like-new condition at quite reasonable prices. Not that I am counting, but it is possible that half or more of photobook collection came from this store. Unfortunately, it closed a bout 10 years ago.

FYI, it should be evident from my discursive promiscuity approach to picture making that I am a photographer who-according to the woman reviewer quoted above-falls into the picture-making group that lets their camera lead them around much as some men follow their dicks…guilty as charged.