# 6884-88 / common places-things • portrait •travel ~ frames within a frame

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AS MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, I HAD A PHOTOGRAPH ACCEPTED for the On the Street exhibit in the PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, VT. I was also pleased to receive an additional notice that the photograph was also chosen to be displayed for a month in a Middlebury fancy-pants coffee shop after the exhibition closes. Apparently the gallery has reached out to local venues in order to give a few photos from each exhibition additional exposure and a chance for additional sales. A nice touch.

In any event, I have submitted 6 photos–those in this entry–for consideration for an upcoming exhibition, Portals : A New Perspective–”…. photographs that explore openings, thresholds, and points of transition. Windows, doorways, mirrors, gates, archways, reflections, and frames within frames …. Whether urban or rural, interior or exterior, documentary or conceptual, show us how photography opens new ways of seeing” (from the Call for Entries).

Re: “…. how photography opens new ways of seeing” – whenever I have encountered the idea of “new ways of seeing”–photography wise–I have always been somewhat perplexed inasmuch as I am very uncertain as to what the hell that means.

Is someone trying to encourage me to adopt a new lens or camera in order to create photos that have a new visual perspective? Ya know, like a wide-angle look or a tele-photo look. Or, maybe, to try some sort of processing effect like high contrast, elevated saturation, ultra-high resolution or some other special effect?

Or, moving away from the idea of how you make photographs, technique wise, perhaps it means something as simple as pointing your picture making device at something other than the proscribed, “standard” picture making subject matter. Pay attention to the overlooked–things most people recognize but seldom really see. And, in doing so, ignore all the cliche rules for making “good” photographs; ya know, rule of thirds, “perfect” light, leading lines, simplify, and a plethora other simple-minded, clap-trap advice. In other words, strive to attain a direct, honest, and un-affected way of seeing, sometimes know as straight photography.

However, without trying to further muddy the waters, re: new ways of seeing, an important question remains; whose new seeing are we talking about–a picture maker’s or a picture viewer’s?

My answer to that question is that–writing / thinking as a maker of photographs–my intent in is two-fold; 1) to photograph the overlooked world in a manner that transcends mere documentation–that is, to see it as it is but endowing the act with that quality of formal rigor that identifies a work of art, and in doing so, 2) writing as a viewer of photographs, to encourage the viewer of my photographs to see the world in a new way–that is, to realize that the overlooked can yield up unexpected visual pleasures.

# 6714-16 / common places-things • people ~ OT interim entry

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THE WIFE AND I ATTENDED THE MICHIGAN-FEST YESTERDAY. The festival has nothing tho do with the state of Michigan but rather, it is all about a local food commodity, aka: the Michigan hot dog. No one knows how the word “Michigan” was applied to the thing–a steamed all-beef hot dog in a steamed bun, topped with a seasoned meat sauce–but it has been suggested that perhaps the man (a traveling salesman?) who “invented” it while he was in Plattsburgh might have been from Detroit, Michigan.

In should be noted that I am not a Michigan fan. First, and foremost, a good hot dog–some are not so good–should never be boiled cuz, after all, we are not British. In addition, the meat sauce, despite the ingredients, is most often rather bland and does not have much singe. Put the combination in a plain white hot dog bun and the result is, iMo, rather bland.

So, you might be wondering, why the hell did we go to the Michigan-fest? With nothing else on our Saturday schedule and it being a fine Summer day, I thought that maybe that, with a gathering of multiple Michigan venders–food trucks and restaurants–there just might be some interesting variations on the Michigan recipe. But alas, that was not the case. Apparently, diverging from the tried and true is just not in the cards. It is, when all is said done, a very popular item hereabouts so why mess with success? Nevertheless, it was a relaxing afternoon having a couple good beers in the beer garden, meeting and conversing with a few interesting people.

FYI, I made the SUNY Plattsburgh DEI table photo cuz no one was visiting it. The wife and I had just watched the South Park episode, Sermon on the 'Mount .…

…. wherein Cartman is grappling with the loss of his ability to offend the world, raging that, in Trump’s second term “woke shit is off limits” and that his unique brand of bigoted misanthropy has become the norm…”now everyone rips on the Jews .… it’s OK to say retarded”, plus the devastating news that President Trump canceled NPR, thus ending Cartman’s limitless free access to hearing liberals whine about current events cuz, as Cartmen laments, “That was like the funniest shit ever.” ….

So, I took the fact that no one was stopping at the DEI booth as a sure indication that, as Carmtan fears, “WOKE IS DEAD” and made the photo. A sad, sad sign of the times.

#6709-13 / people • flora • common places-things ~ at times a few words never hurt

view from 1st hole tee on the Mountain Course - all photos (embigenable)

the 3 of us

“My photographs are visual analogues for the quality of my life, a private view of subject matter found in the commonplace reality of the Adirondacks.”

THE OPENING LINE IN MY ARTIST STATEMENT FOR MY Adirondack Survey body of work could, with a slight modification, be used for just about all of my various bodies of work – substitute “in my life long walk about the planet” in place of “in the commonplace reality of the Adirondacks” and there you have it, a one size fits all statement that is applicable to just about every photograph I have ever made (commercial work excepted).

I mention this pursuant to my last entry wherein I reiterated my promise to not turn this blog into some kind of written personal diary. But, truth be told, my photography is in fact a visual personal diary of sorts. That’s cuz I do not make pictures of things, I make pictures of life in all its forms and locations. Hence my propensity for discursive promiscuity.

Despite that propensity, I have numerous individual bodies of work which fall under the headings of “traditional” photo genres–people, places, things, street, landscape, still life, et al– but, that written, I rarely make a photo with a genre-driven idea in mind. Virtually all of my individual assemblies of genre-related photos were organized together well after the fact of their making.

In any event, on occasion I do post photos that do seem to call for a caption / description of sorts. Say, like .… those in this entry ….

a.) I do not write about my golf game but I do post photos of my golf experiences, most often in the form of a landscape photo. However, yesterday, I played golf with my son and grandson on our home course–the Lake Placid Resort Course (45 holes, 2 18s and 1 9 hole par 3 course)–where we are privileged to play for free. That written, the real “story” here is that I am so lucky, fortunate, and graced with the opportunity to play with my multi-generation progeny on a regular basis–although grandson is only home from college for the summer. And, FYI, independent of that story is the fact–which may be understood by just looking at the pictures–is that, no matter how well–or not–one is playing, the old saying of “Golf is a good walk spoiled” does not apply on this course. It is always a grand and glorious good walk.

b.) Bet ya didn’t know that the Adirondack chair most often seen in photos are a later day version of the original Adirondack chair, aka: the Westport Adirondack chair. That chair design was the very first Adirondack chair which dates back 1903 and the Adirondack village of Westport. iMo, and to my eye and sensibilities, that chair is the most simple and elegant chair, of any kind, ever designed. That’s why we have 3 of them on our front porch. And, BTW, our cat also likes them.

# 6998-6700 / people • around the house ~ they say it's your bithday... well it's my birthday too, yeah

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TOOK A FERRY RIDE YESTERDAY ACROSS THE 13TH LARGEST lake in the USofA–Lake Champlain-107 miles long, 14 miles at its widest–and purchased a new car. Didn’t mean to buy a new car, it was just kinda a spontaneous happenstance. In any event, all 3 of our cars are now sport-oriented–aka: so-called “drivers” vehicles–turbos.

Today is my birthday so this entry is on the brief side. I’ll be back in the more wordy mode in a few days.

6993-97 / adirondack vernacular ~ for posterity

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had dinner and breakfast at Chef Darrel’s Diner

stopped at a local farm to get some protein for a cookout

WE TOOK A SHORT DRIVE TO BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE on Saturday for the opening of the Adirondack Lakes Art Center’s new facility–I have had 2 solo exhibitions at the old facility, Stayed overnight in one of their visiting artists cabins–that’s the wife posing on the steps of the cabin. The Center was running the No Octane Regatta-classic Adirondack boats-on the lake on Saturday.

A lot of my photography that is on the walls of our house are 4-picture composites of our various trips and travels like the one pictured in this entry. All of the pictures are presented as “snapshots”. That’s cuz that’s what you do–take snapshots– when you travel.

I also order 4x4 prints of most of the pictures–again, converted to “snapshots”–that I make when traveling and throw them in a box for safe keeping. These are the pictures that are most likely to survive after my passing from the planet. FYI, the template I use for the snapshot border is from a family snapshot of my grandparents.

# 6979-87 / common places • common things • people ~ 2 fer 1

cover photo -The World At My Feet ~ all photos (embiggenable)

11 YEARS AGO I MADE POD PHOTO book titled The World At My Feet. In hindsight that title was a bit of a misnomer inasmuch as, while my picture making gaze was cast downward, neither my feet nor the ground / floor were integral to the photographs (with 2 exceptions). Retrospect suggests that a more appropriate title should been something like Looking Down, or, Eye Contact Down, or, Downward Gaze.

In any event, during the 11 years since the making of that photo book, I have made hundreds of downward gazing photographs, to include the 5 in this entry which were made over the last 2 days. And then there is the Eyes Downcast gallery on my work which, FYI, has not been updated for a few years. Update coming soon.

To be certain, I have never considered the photographs resulting from my downward gaze M.O. to be a body of work. However, I do believe that now is the time to round up the best of the bunch and make another photo book.

BONUS CONTENT:

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A TRIP TO NYC IS IN MY VERY NEAR future for the sole purpose of seeing the North American premiere of Constellation, the most comprehensive presentation–454 prints–of work by Diane Arbus. I must admit that I feel that viewing 454 prints replete with Diane Arbus subject content is an intimidating proposition. It might just require a 2-day viewing experience; day 1–a comprehensive walk-through to get a grasp of the scope and tenor of the collection, and, day 2–spend time engaging with some of the more captivating photographs. In any event, it should very interesting.

FYI, over the years I have made a few–very few–Arbus-like photographs. Strangely enough, most are of children. While my photos do not have the Arbus strange weirdness vibe, they are a bit on the quirky side.

6962-78 / common places • common things ~ 5 days of ordinary life

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“Some people are still unaware that reality contains unparalleled beauties. The fantastic and unexpected, the ever-changing and renewing is nowhere so exemplified as in real life itself.” ~ Berenice Abbott

OVER 5 DAYS, LAST WEDS.>SUNDAY, IT RAINED A lot. I took the ferry to Vermont for service for one of our cars and killed time in a Panera Bread. Next day I played golf along Lake Champlain on a Canadian wildfire smokey day. Saturday there was a motorcycle rally in my home town and then it was off to Saratoga Springs for the running of the Belmont Stakes-2nd leg of the race for the Triple Crowd, a fitting appointment to have my irons re-shafted, and to hear our son-in-law’s band. Sunday was a quiet, sunny day at home.

FYI, I have made a few photo books that fall under x-number-of-days titles, i.e. like the title of this entry. Making such a photo book happens when I have had a number of consecutive days of intensive picture making for one reason or another–or, at times, for no reason at all. When I show the books around, viewers are usually rather intrigued by them inasmuch as they are rather fascinated by their interest and attraction to seemingly mundane picture matter.

That written, viewers almost always find a picture or two that really hold their attention and I am often surprised by their selections. I have even has requests a copy of some of the books. The most common comment I hear about their selection(s) is “I never would have thought to take a picture of that” and I must confess that that reaction gives me a great deal of pleasure.

RE: Abbott’s quote …. I would amend it to read that real life provides opportunities to make fantastic, unexpected and beautiful photographs. That cuz, real life does not always present us with unparalleled beauty. And, to my eye and sensibilities, the magic of photography is its ability to transmute the commonplace into something else, i.e. a beautiful–or at least interesting–print.

# 6905-09 / people • travel • photos by others ~ stumbling into things

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APOLOGIES FOR NOT POSTING RECENTLY. ALTHOUGH I HAVE PLENTY OF photos to publish I really have not had much on my mind, photography wise, to say. There’s that, but also it should not go without mentioning that I was pretty wrapped up processing photos––110 to be exact–– from my recent travels. That written, I’m back in the saddle and ready to go.

During my recent travels to New Mexico I serendipitously encountered a few items of interest, 2 of which are photo related, 1 of which is, well, kinda weirdly mysterious(?) / mystical(?) / or, maybe just oddly coincidental….

ITEM #1 …. while visiting Bandelier National Monument, I purchased a Smokey Bear building kit––sorta like a LEGO kit but with a zillion excruciatingly tiny pieces––cuz I like to construct LEGO kits, not cuz I am enamored of Smokey Bear, per se (albeit that he is the “mascot” of the National Park Service). Being a instant gratification kinda guy, I built Smokey a day later while in our hotel in Santa Fe.

It was not until a day ago that I learned the actual Smoky Bear (a cub)––severely burned––was rescued from a forest fire in New Mexico. He was then taken to Santa Fe were he was nursed back to health and then transferred to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC where he was given a permanent home in the National Zoological Park with the stipulation that his life be dedicated to fire prevention and wildlife conservation.

That written (and call me weird if you like), but I do find it kinda weird that I rescued a disembodied (fragmented?) Smokey Bear effigy languishing in a New Mexico National Park gift shop and took it (him) to Santa Fe where I restored it (him) to life-unlike Humpty Dumpty, I made Smoky whole again. He was transported to Au Sable Forks, NY where I gave him a permanent home. I ask you, cosmic or what?

ITEM #2 (not an actual thing) …. A part of the desire to return to Santa Fe was that during our previous visit, we were not able to visit the Georgia O’Keeffe museum cuz it is by reservation only and is often booked full well in advance. So informed, we were able to book a reservation well in advance. Hence, I learned a few interesting facts about O’Keeffe….

O’Keeffe was “discovered” by Alfred Stieglitz. At first she was his lover but then his wife. It should come as no surprise that, being married to Stieglitz, she often found herself in the company of––even occasionally traveling with––notable photographers- Adams, Porter, Strand, Webb and others. Stieglitz created 350 photographs––formal studies––of O’Keeffe. Starting in 1940, after Stieglitz’ death, O’Keeffe began in earnest to pursue making photographs––with a Leica and a Polaroid––of the Southwest. She has had several exhibitions of her photos, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Photographer at the Museum of Fine Arts (Houston).

In the triptych above is one of O’Keeffe’s photos of her favorite door, a photo of her and Stieglitz at the Stieglitz family property in Lake George, NY (about 40 as-the-crow-flies miles from my house) where they spent many summers and where Stieglitz made most of his Equivalents photographs, and a photo of O’Keeffe out and about photographing with her Leica––which was on display in the glass case by the mural.

ITEM #3 …. In the O’Keeffe Museum gift shop I purchased a book, Stand in the Light ~ NATIVE VOICES illuminated by EDWARD S. CURTIS. While I was casually aware of the work of ECS, I was woefully ignorant of both the volume of the work and the dedication extended to create it.

Between 1900 and 1927 Curtis visited 80 different tribes, made 40,000 photographs, recorded songs and stories, interviewed famous tribal leaders and managed to produce and publish 29 volumes of The North American Indian. He did all this while exhausting his personal funds, losing his studio, his wife divorcing him, and being forced into bankruptcy.

Don’t know if that was extreme dedication to an endeavor or a form of obsessive insanity but, as it states on the book’s back cover:

……In a perfect partnership, the songs, prayers, and philosophies of eight American Indian tribes are paired with select historical photos––taken by the incomparable Edward S. Curtis––of the people who lived them. This carefully curated collection is an inspirational and educational journey of respect for their culture, ideals and images.

The portraits in this book are simply stunning in their straightforward honesty and gaze. iMo, Curtis is not only at the top of his game but also at the top of the game. If there is a better portrait photographer in the entire history of the medium, I am stumped as to who that might be.

Highly recommended.