# 5998-6002 / around the house•(civilized) landscape ~ going fishing

April 4, 2022

OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS I HAVE BEEN THINKING THAT I want to explore the possibility of a new way of picture making. Specifically, to create a new, themed body of work that is different from those bodies of work that have emerged from my discursively promiscuous manner of making pictures.

The big question, re: that desire, is, different in what way? Other than the fact that I would like to create pictures that represent something about the place where I live-in the Adirondack Forest Preserve, aka the Adirondack Park-is a new approach about subject matter? technique? a combination of subject matter and technique together? In any case, in thinking about this, I find that I keep bumping with into the walls of the box into which I have locked myself, picture making wise.

Re: the problem with subject matter - simply written, in my pursuit of making pictures, fine-art wise, I have rarely focused on specific referents. That written, my eye and sensibilities have been pricked by repetitive references-my kitchen sink as one example (of many)-but, not because I seek out those specific referents. Rather, what pricks my eye and sensibilities are sections of the real world which evidence potential as photographs which create interesting visual form.

Consequently, I have a problem with pursuing a specific referent cuz of my fear that placing my emphasis on chasing a specific referent will lead to the loss of my feel for seeing and picturing form.

Re: technique - I have no interest in making any kind of pictures other than straight pictures. I would rather poke my eyes out with a sharp stick than to add any thing to my pictures that I consider to be effects or cheap tricks. However, that written…the medium of photography and its apparatus does have a handful of native picture making mechanics with which I have always had an interest.

There is one mechanics in particular that I have tinkered with over the years-that of Depth-Of-Field, aka DOF. My “tinkering” has run the gamut of trying to achieve, in some cases, maximum DOF, or, in other cases, minimal DOF. It all depended-and still does-on what i was intending to achieve, picture making wise.

Virtually all of my discursive promiscuity pictures depend upon maximum DOF to elucidate the form I create. I want the lines, shapes, tones, colors, texture, et al in my pictures to be clearly delineated across the 2D plain of my pictures. However, it has come to my attention in experimenting with the iPhone full-frame format-using the Portrait Mode-that a bit of limited DOF can still accomplish my picture making intentions, form wise.

Literal referent wise, I have always liked limited DOF for its ability to lend a bit of “mystery” to a picture. And, I will readily admit, the contrarian in me wise, that I like it even more considering the current picture making obsession with sharpness and definition to the eye-searing max.

In any event, wherever all of this picture making casting about might end up, I think it will include a bit of limited DOF. And, thank you, thank you to the iPhone for giving me the capability of fine tuning the apparent DOF after the picture making fact.

5787-5792 / flora•people•civilized ku ~ what did you do this past weekend?

May 24, 2021

OVER 46 HOURS THIS WEEKEND PAST THE WIFE and I drove 700 miles (round trip) to Rochester, NY to go the Lilac Festival in Highland Park* and to catch up with a few friends and family.

At the Lilac Festival I made a picture of the wife at spot where there was sign which stated that it was a perfect spot take a picture. I also enjoyed a refreshing $8.00 lemonade drink while the wife had a $6.00 Creamsicle smoothie.

FYI, I grew up immediately adjacent-about a 3 minute walk-to Highland Park, a beautiful setting, covering 150 acres (61 ha), of hills and valleys created from glacial deposits. Spent a lot of time in the park, skateboarding down the paved walkways, ice skating in winter, disappearing into the woods (overlooking the city) with my girl friend to watch the submarine races and variety of other activities.

On Sunday, during our return-to-home trip, we had a delightful late morning breakfast at the "famous" Keyes' Pancake House-a long time favorite of mine-in Old Forge in the south central region of the Adirondacks. We both had pancakes. Arriving home at 3PM, we spent a relaxing afternoon on the porch with the cat while imbibing a few drams liquid refreshment.

Kinda felt like old times, aka: pre-Covid, thanks to the vacines and a (majority) pandemic mandate abiding population in our state.

*Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to seem like a natural occurrence of trees, shrubs and flowers, Highland Park, a city park, is actually a completely planned—and planted—arboretum or “tree garden.” In addition to over 1200 lilac shrubs, the park boasts a Japanese Maple collection, 35 varieties of sweet-smelling magnolias, a barberry collection, a rock garden with dwarf evergreens, 700 varieties of rhododendron, azaleas, mountain laurel and andromeda, horse chestnuts, spring bulbs and wildflowers and a large number of trees. The park’s pansy bed features 10,000 plants, designed into an oval floral “carpet” with a new pattern each year.

# 5455 / social distancing

August 28, 2020

FORTUNATELY FOR US, WE HERE IN THE ADIRONDACK region live a nearly Covid free zone. Very few cases and less than 8 deaths since day one of the pandemic.

Going out to dinner-while maintaining social distancing-is a very safe thing to do. As is hiking in the wilderness. So, while we are here at Rist Camp, we plan to do some of both.

civilized ku # 3547-50 ~ free association

December 5, 2019

1980 Miracle On Ice Olympic Arena cafe / high peaks view ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone — ***1980 Miracle On Ice Olympic Arena cafe*** / ***high peaks view*** ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable) • iPhone - normal lens/Portrait setting

the wife ~ night mode (embigenable) • iPhone — ***the wife*** ~ night mode (embigenable) • iPhone

A FEW ENTRIES BACK I WROTE about editing, from my "finished" photo library of 25k pictures, a new body of work category titled DISCURSIVE PROMISCUITY. That is, a body of work not defined by a specific theme or referent. Pictures of any thing and every thing, as is my "normal" picture making wont.

In that entry I posited a question that might have come to your mind ... how would a body of work hang together without a common theme or referent? The answer to that question is to be found in one of my portfolio showing experiences ....

20 years ago, I was driving by an art center with my "fine art" picture portfolio on the passenger seat. Inasmuch as I have always fully embraced the adage you never get what you don't ask for, I took a chance that the gallery director was therein and that he/she might take the time to look at my work. Which, as it happened, is exactly how it worked out.

After the gallery director had viewed my work, which at that time was most definitely not organized by theme or referent, the director asked, "Are you a graphic designer?". FYI, my answer was a simple "Yes." (in fact, a multi award-winning graphic designer). At which point the gallery director went on to explain that the reason for the question was that, even though there was no theme / referent organization to the work, my work was very identifiable to him as a coherent body of work by the sense of design, independent of the depicted referent, he saw in my work ....

.... to be precise, by "design" he meant the manner in which I organize* the visual elements-line, shape, color, tone, et al-on the 2D surface of the print within my chosen frame(ing).

This was not an aha moment for me inasmuch as I was very conscious of bringing a sense of design to my picture making. For the most part, that's what my pictures are "about". However, if there was an ellemnt of aha moment-ness lurking in there, it was the fact that someone "got it". Or, saw it, if you will.

So, the idea of an organizational theme / referent free body of work is not a fraught with doubt concept for me. The real challenge is editing 25K pictures down to a manageable 25-30 picture body of work.

*I could have written, how I "compose" my pictures but I didn't. Deliberately. I really dislike the word "composition", especially when it is used as a descriptor in the medium of photography and its apparatus, because it is most often used in the phrase "the rules of compostion". I believe that there are no "rules" of composition. Or, as Ansel Adams was reputed to have said:

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.