# 5848-50 / landscape (ku) • kitchen life ~ forever and ever, amen

(embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable) • iPhone

I HEARD AN INTERESTING PHRASE LAST EVENING ON A PBS SHOW-”staring into the distance of the present”-which had nothing to do with photography or art but I thought it kinda said something about my pictures. Especially if it is paired with a quote from George Tice:

It takes the passage of time before an image of a commonplace subject can be assessed. The great difficulty of what I attempt is seeing beyond the moment; the everydayness of life gets in the way of the eternal.

Over the past few years in particular I have willfully avoided, while making pictures, thinking about anything but responding to the moment. I do not think about “the eternal” or any other notion, re: why I am making the picture. My intent at the moment of making a picture is simply to be successful in capturing that which pricked my eye and sensibilities.

My idea of success is measured upon the viewing of the finished print and whether or not it instigates the same prick I experienced upon the viewing of the actual scene / referent. With those pictures that achieve that result, I know that they will repeatedly do so every time I view them, a quality which makes them and the depicted referent somewhat “eternal”.

# 5736-39 / trees ~ one way or the other

(embiggenable) • µ43

(embiggenable) • µ43 infaredish

(embiggenable) • µ43 infaredish

WORKING ON A BOOK ABOUT TREES. Might be in BW or, maybe, color. Have not decided yet.

(embiggenable) • µ43

# 5557-59 / odes to ~ you are what you eat

The Desert Seen-ish ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Osbow Archive-ish ~ (embiggenable) • µ4/3

Wald-ish ~ (embiggenable) • µ4/3

"As great a picture can be made as one's mental capacity--no greater. Art cannot be taught; it must be self-inspiration, though the imagination may be fired and the ambition and work directed by the advice and example of others." - Edward Weston

ON YESTERDAY'S ENTRY, A COMMENT WAS LEFT BY Thomas Rink:

"As you already pointed out, there is neither "good" nor "bad" light. Each kind of light has its own particular quality, and will reveal different kinds of pictures. For example, consider "Oxbow Archive" by Joel Sternfeld, "The Desert Seen" by Lee Friedlander, and "Wald" by Michael Lange. All made under totally different lighting conditions. Mr. Sternfeld used decidedly picturesque lighting conditions to depict the New England landscape as a stage for Thomas Cole's pictures. "The Desert Seen" was made under very harsh light, and the washed out highlights and grayish shadows create an atmosphere which I would associate with scorching heat and aridity. "Wald", on the other hand, has been photographed in German forests at dusk, often in pouring rain. Mr. Lange told me that these conditions arose a certain mood within him that he considered quintessential for what a forest represents to him. I'm pretty sure that in all three cases the choice of light has been a conscious decision; Mr. Sternfeld didn't use this light since the peers in his camera club told him to do so, Mr Friedlander certainly hadn't just been too lazy to get up in time for the blue hour, and Mr. Lange didn't venture into the forest under ungodly conditions in order not to have to spend the evening in front of the TV together with his wife.

I believe that next to the choice of what should be in the frame, a kind of light suitable to convey the pictorial intent (for a lack of better words) is important to create a subjective, expressive picture. It is only "artistic sauce" if a certain kind of light is used in a mindless way - for example, the camera club buff who only goes out during the blue hour, or the MFA student who goes for the deadpan look just because Robert Adams did so. Understanding what light does, and how to employ this knowledge for my pictures, is what I try to learn.

my response: Thanks for the great comment. Much appreciated inasmuch as, while I am very familar with Sternfeld (I have 2 of his books) and Friedlander (I have 2 of his books), I knew nothing of Michael Lange.

In his comment, Thomas mentioned the work of Sternfeld, Friedlander and Lange as examples of his point. That caused me to dig into my photo library to see if I could find examples of my own work that bear more than a passing resemblance to their work in order to make a kinda Ode to ______ entry.

Then I dug out the Weston quote-from my quotes library-cuz it seems appropriate for this entry which references the work of others as learning examples of one kind or another.

re: the imagination may be fired and the ambition and work directed by the advice and example of others. I have a large collection of photo books. They are all mongraphs of individual picture makers. In additionto that resource, I have spent a lot time in my adult life visiting stand-alone and institutional photo galleries where in I have viewed the work of many of the big name picture makers and was lucky enough to have chatted with some ... such as Meyerowitz, Shore and Pfahl. So, it is fair to write that my overview of the medium is broad, deep and diverse.

FYI: that written, the single benefit-in addition to the pleasure of viewing the work-of such activity, for me, is not firing up my imagination but rather firing up my ambition / drive for making pictures. Not for making pictures which mimic work that I have viewed but rather for making pictures in the manner that my imagination guides me.

I was somewhat surprised to find the pictures displayed in this entry cuz, believe it or not, I was not familiar with Sternfeld's Oxbow Archive nor Friedlander's The Desert Seen. And, as mentioned, I was not familar with Lange's work at all. So, I found it interesting that I was able to find a few pictures which displayed a similar feel and look to that of the aforementioned picture makers.

In light of my viewing consumption of so much work, I guess the old adage is true...you are what you eat.

kitchen life # 40 / infared-ish # 15-17 ~ baloney

egg and jam remains ~ (embiggenable) • µ4/3

foliage ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

beach dudes ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

fallen blossoms ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

While indulging in the debunking of an oft heard quote-"The best camera is the one you have with you."-Mike Johnston highlighted a reader's comment which read (in part)

"Color pictures have to work harder to mean anything." I like that line. B&W cuts to the essence of a subject ...

iMo, Johnston should have debunked the reader's comment while he was in a debunking frame of mind. Of course, Johnston has an oft stated preference for BW pictures, both the making and viewing thereof, so he might be hard pressed not to second that idea.

On the other hand I have no such preference so I have no difficulty at all in writing that I believe the idea of BW's supposed superiority over color in getting "to the essence of a subject" is utter nonsense. Now I certainly think I could write quite a long essay regarding why I believe the aforementioned idea is a load of self-serving crappola, but I won't. Instead let me proffer just one particular point.

BW picture making as the pinnacle of picture making is a concept which has come and gone. Prior to the advent of modern-era color film, making pictures with color film was an iffy proposition inasmuch as the early color films were less than perfect. The colors produced were not very accurate-some greatly exagerated other non existent-relative to real world colors and extended exposure latitude was the stuff of dreams.

As a result, "serious" picture makers worked within the confines of the BW picture making genre. Results could be tailor made - film contrast / tonal / grain control with the use of various developers and an veritable cornucopia of paper choices with a wide range of characteristics were the order of the day. "Serious" picture makers most often had their own special recipe for getting exactly the results they desired and they were/are as obsessed with getting their work flow "right" as any digital color picture makers of today.

All of that written, no matter the genre-color or BW-one chooses to work in/with, it is not the genre which works hard to get to the essence of a subject. Rather, it is the picture maker who needs to work hard in order to "master" the genre with/in which they ply their talents. In either case, a picture maker who has "mastered" their genre has the ability to make pictures which successfully represent the esssence of his/her subject. And have no doubt about it, "mastering" either genre-color/BW-is an skill / art unto itself.

the new snapshot # 149 / infared-ish # 9-11 ~ how much fun can you have with an iPhone

desk lamp ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Au Sable Chasm bridge ~ in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • iPhone

food truck ~ Near Chaffeys Lock, ONT. CA (embiggenable) • iPhone

dune path ~ near Ardara, Ireland (embiggenable) • µ4/3

FYI, the infared-ish pictures are made using the BW>Infared filter found on the PS Express app together with additional processing using the Snapseed app. After the Snapseed processing the pictures are then run through the Polamatic app with the Polaroid 600 film effect applied. The source pictures are made with the iPhone 7 Plus camera module.

iMo, the resultant pictures are more like high-key BW than infared in appearance. Though, without a doubt, there is a somewhat infared look to the pictures but I would place them at the extreme edge of the infared neighborhood, look wise. Hence, I call them infared-ish.

Whatever one might call them, I like the look and, while making them, I am having more fun than a barrel full of monkeys.

FYI, the infared filter in PS Express works best-for my intentions-with pictures which have a lot of green in them and not too much saturated yellows.

civilized ku # 5106 / infared-ish (the new snapshot) # 5-8 ~ the angry gargoyle

things on my desk ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

infared-ish ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

infared-ish ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

infared-ish ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

The gargoyle depicted in this entry is a reproduction of a gargoyle which adorns the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The gargoyle's expression reflects how I feel about the Las Vegas shooting massacre.

One of the first things that came to my mind upon reading about the Las vegas massacre was the 1966 University of Texas Tower shooting. In that event, for 90+ minutes the shooter rained rifle fire down upon people, killing 17 and wounding 30 more.

The 2 events are remarkedly similar with one notable exception. The Texas shooter did not use automatic weapons which thankfully resulted in "only" 47 casualties. Contrast that with the Las Vegas shooting in which the shooter was armed with multiple weapons which had been converted to automatic firing capabilities. That difference resulted in 58 deaths and 500+ wounded IN LESS THAN 11 MINUTES.

My anger, re: the Las Vegas massacre, is not directed at the shooter but rather at the (primarily) GOP members of Congress who refuse to address the issue of automatic weapons for just about anyone who wants them. Those weapons are the weapons-of-choice for every mentally unstable perpetrator who seeks to commit mass carnage.

Some simple facts - the US has 50% of guns in private hands in the world. The US has a gun-related homicide rate that dwarfs the rest of the world combined. States with more guns have more homicides than those with fewer guns. States with more guns have higher death rates for law enforcement personel than those with fewer guns.

There are those who claim that guns don't kill people, rather that people kill people. However, the fact is that people with guns kill people. The 2 factors-guns/people-are inseparable. They are inextricably linked and, since we can't eliminate people from that equation, that leaves guns as the only component of that equation which can be addressed.

To do nothing in the face of 1,518 mass shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting-(1,715 deaths/6,000 wounded)-is nothing more than a criminal act.

FYI, to be absolutely clear on the matter, I do not suggest that gun ownership should be eliminated. I suggest that gun ownership needs to be subjected to common sense regulation.

kitchen sink # 42 / (the new snapshot) infared-ish # 1-4 ~ taking/making

coffee cup / reflected light ~ (embiggenable) • µ4/3

infared-ish flora - (embiggenable) • iPhone

infared-ish Hudson River - (embiggenable) • iPhone

infared-ish pine - (embiggenable) i• Phone

Consider this:

If a medium is representational by nature of the realistic image formed by a lens, I see no reason why we should stand on our heads to distort that function. On the contrary, we should take hold of that very quality, make use of it, and explore it to the fullest. - Berenice Abbott

Now consider this:

Writing as a picture maker who has been, for the most part, a committed practioner of straight picture making, I whole heartedly endorse the preceding quote. However, inasmuch as I have recently strayed from the straight (and narrow) I have had a few thoughts, re: straight picture making. FYI, rest assured that my commitment to straight picture making is as secure as ever. However ...

... the thought has occurred to me that one of the photo medium's problems in being considered as an art form is, in fact, the very idea that a photo is just a realistic image of real-world referents and nothing more. While the statement, That's a beautiful picture, is often heard, that statement is directed, more often than not, at the depicted referent as opposed to the picture as a thing in and of itself.

While a similar statement-change "picture" to "painting"-could be made, a painting, however, is almost always considered by a viewer thereof to be art (good, bad, or indifferent). Whereas a photo is most always considered to be just a picture of something. And, as we all know, anyone can take a photo but it takes a "real artist" to make a painting.

Since the beginning of time, picture making wise, many picture makers (Photo Division) have been devoted to making "art" by veering away from the straight (and narrow) and lathering up photos with a lot of art sauce, re: visual effects - especially effects which are part and parcel of the painting genre. The new world of digital picture making has only added to that proclivity. In most applications, the effects are intented to negate the relationship of the picture to realistic representation.

Other picture makers have come to the conclusion that they can make "art" by picturing only "spectacular" referents. And in doing so, they typically add as much art sauce as possible by making those pictures in the most dramtic manner possible ... warm directional light, wide angle / telephoto lenses, ND filters to make dramatic skies, and other dramatic picture making techniques.

All of that written, now consider this:

The coffee cup / reflected light picture in this entry. If it were a painting, most viewers would consider it to be art. Afterall, it is a painting, made by an artist. As a photo, most viewers would consider it to be a picture of a coffee cup and inquire, Why did you take a picture of that?

FYI, the above commentary should not be understood to be a complaint nor a rant. It is just an observation in the cause of creating some food for thought.