# 6496-99 / common places-things ~ the treadmill keeps on moving

September 30, 2024

BEEN BACK FROM RIST CAMP FOR A WEEK and it’s amazing how much catching up there is to do after being away from home for 5 weeks. Actually it was 6 weeks cuz there was a week at the Jersey Shore the week before Rist Camp.

In any event, there was one significant and unexpected catching up that arose last week; the message that popped up on my screen that said YOUR CURRENT VERSION OF PHOTOSHOP IS NO LONGER SUPPORTED. No big surprise cuz I knew it was coming sooner or later-I was hoping for later.

That written, I was also hoping there would be a version of PS-compatible with my OS-to which I could upgrade. But, no such luck cuz I can not upgrade the OS on my late-2012 MAC mini. So…it’s a new mini for me along with all the attendant set-up rigmarole. Ugh.

On the other hand, hardware wise, I am awaiting the delivery of my PRO MAX iPhone 16. I was not planning on an upgrade from my PRO MAX iPhone 14 but, while I was at our cell service provider store with the wife’s new PRO iPhone 15-she ordered the phone (at no cost with her trade in), which came with a free iPad, online (from our cell service provider) to set up activation, data/file transfer, add screen savers, et al, getting a new iPhone just seemed like the right thing to do. FYI, the $900USD trade in value on my PRO MAX 14 was an significant inducement to upgrade now instead of later.

That written, there are a few improvements / changes to the camera and its operation on the new iPhone. In particular, I appreciate the new 48mp RAW capability on the ultra wide lens cuz I shoot in the RAW mode whenever possible. Other than that improvement, most of the other “improvements” are, for the manner in which I use the iPhone, relatively minor. Although, there is the new Apple AI…..

# 6441-44 / kitchen sink •rist camp • common places ~ behind and beyond

August 26, 2024

TOOK A 50 MILE DRIVE FOR DINNER WITH SOME NEAR-to-Rist-Camp friends. Dinner was at a husband and wife owner-built home in trendy Bolton Landing on Lake George. A good time was had by all.

Lake George, a summer tourist hot spot, is the place where Alfred Stieglitz and his paramour Georgia O’Keeffe spent summers on Stieglitz’s father’s large estate-staying not in the lakeside villa but rather in a modest farmhouse on the estate. It is where Stieglitz made his famous Equivalents photographs. In case you are not familiar with the photographs, they are photographs of the sky / clouds,

In the making of his Equivalents photographs Stieglitz maintained that these works were a culmination of everything he had learned about photography; he “wanted to put down my philosophy of life—to show that my photographs were not due to subject matter—not to special trees, or faces, or interiors, to special privleges—clouds were there for everyone.”

As photography historian Sarah Greenough wrote:

“The Equivalents are photographs of shapes that have ceded their identity, in which Stieglitz obliterated all references to reality normally found in a photograph”…by doing so ”Stieglitz was destabilizing your [the viewer’s] relationship with nature in order for you to think about nature, not to deny that it’s a photograph of a cloud, but to think more about the >feeling< that the cloud formation evokes.”

Additionally, art critic Andy Grundberg wrote:

“Equivalents remain photography’s most radical demonstration of faith in the existence of a reality behind and beyond that offered by the world of appearances. They are intended to function evocatively, like music...[E]motion resides solely in form, they assert, not in the specifics of time and place.”

Now, to be truthful, I present this entry not only as a history lesson, re: the medium and its apparatus, but also to reiterate my picture making M.O.—that is, my photographs are meant to suggest something behind and beyond the visual appearance of the quotidian world-not only the surprising visual form that can be extracted from the ordinary but also a hint of my philosophy of life.

That written, have no doubt about it, the making of my photographs is not concept (aka: content) driven. It is driven my my desire to create interesting visual form as manifested in, ya, know, a picture.

However…on the other hand, some might consider form as a rather ethereal / intangible apparition rarely perceived or experienced whole cloth in situ. And, iMo, it is only on the surface of the photographic print that form becomes something “real”. But, even then, for many the perception of it is most often a rather elusive idea, aka: concept.

So, inasmuch as the point of my photographs is not about the their literal referents but, rather about something behind and beyond that offered by quotidian world appearances, I especially like and appreciate this exchange by Stieglitz and a viewer of one of his Equivalents photographs…

Viewer: Is this a photograph of water? Stieglitz: What difference does it make of what it is a photograph? Viewer: But is it a photograph of water? Stieglitz: I tell you it does not matter. Viewer: Well, then, is it a picture of the sky? Stieglitz: It happens to be a photograph of the sky. But I cannot understand why that is of any importance.

# 6757-61 / common places • common things ~ omphaloskepsis*

October 25, 2023

***can you see the alchemist at work?*** ~ **all photos** (embiggenable)

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead-his eyes are closed.” ~ Einstein

I HAVE PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN THAT I AM NOT a fan of hi-def photographs. That is photographs which make obvious extreme fine detail and resolution. To my eye and sensibilities they often tend to illustrate everything but reveal nothing. A good example of such is in the comment made by a gearhead who wrote about one of his pictures…

…look closely at the fabric on the side of the hat. The detail is there.

Unless the picture was made for the hat manufacturer-fyi, it was not-then capturing the fine fabric is critical to the picture making mission. However, if the mission is to incite an emotional / mental involvement from the non-fabric obsessed viewer or, the non-photo technique obsessed viewer, iMo, who gives a crap about the fabric detail?

And, I might add, looking “closely”at a picture is a sure-fire recipe for missing what a photograph might be “about”. That’s cuz a good photograph is all about the collective visual sum of its parts, not the parts in and of their literal selves. iMo, in a really good photograph, when the sum is good, the overall effect can draw the viewer’s eye across the field of the print in order to investigate some of the parts - an activity that I label as experiencing a photographs visual energy.

All of that written, it explains why I have never been in pursuit of making photographs that exhibit ultra hi-def or, for that matter, photo technique “perfection”. That’s cuz I believe that the best photographs are those that have, albeit most often subtle, a sense of the mysterious. That is to mean, mysterious in the sense of being somewhat enigmatic, i.e. difficult to understand or explain cuz, ya know, some things are best left to a viewer’s imagination.

I know that I am successful in that pursuit cuz, at exhibitions of my photographs or when someone is viewing one of my POD books, the single most common comment / reaction I hear is, “Why did you take a picture of that?” (mystery #1). Followed by, “I don’t know why I like it, but, I do.” (mystery # 2). Reactions that are the result of the fact that my photographs are not stating the obvious. As in, ain’t pictures of beautiful things beautiful.

To be certain, my photographs are not in any manner in the same mystery league as, say, the grand mysteries of the universe. However, I do believe that I am exploring the little mysteries of how the quoditian, aka: everyday life, can mysteriously present, to those whose eyes are not closed, “quiet,” little vignettes that, when pictured with a sense of creating interesting form, produce prints of surprising visual beauty…

…a perfect example of the medium’s alchemistical ability-something of a mystery or is it magic?-to facilitate the nearly inexplicable or mysterious transmutation of the commonplace into the exceptional.

The fact that my eye and sensibilities are captivated by those seeming mysterious “presentations” is, believe it or not, after all these years still a mystery to me.

*aka: navel gazing - the practice as an aid to contemplation of basic principles of the cosmos and human nature

# 6704-6708 / COMMON PLACES • COMMON THINGS ~ small is beautiful

September 15, 2023

AS I NEAR THE END OF WEEK 4 AT Rist Camp, I have made, by my count, exactly 50 INSTAX prints during my stay (so far-but another week to go). FYI, 20% of those pictures have been made in the kitchen. Add to that total another 65 INSTAX prints made at the Jersey Shore and I have quite a bundle of pictures that I need to figure out how to deal with.

My current what-to-do-with-them is, quite simply, my life-long affinity for small things. I do not have a clue as to how to explain it. That written, a fun example of this proclivity is the little tiny loon who lives on the binnacle-not be confused with the bonnet, boot or windscreen-of my vehicle’s instrument cluster. I find him (her?) to be very amusing as, when driving with “vigor”-the wife calls it excessive speed-through a string of twisty bits, the loon swims from side to side (g-forces at work) across the binnacle. It never gets old - I break out in a smile, if not an outright laugh, every time. One might suggest that simple pleasure goes together with a simple mind, but that’s another story.

In any event, my plan for this plethora of prints is to make 2-3 regular prints-non-INSTAX-of selected images from each collection. Then select 9 INSTAX prints from each collection to be presented as pictured below-not an actual framed piece, just some prints placed on a frame I had handy to see how it might look. As for the rest, I have discovered that there is a considerable number of picture albums for INSTAX prints.

One rather exquisite example is a fabric-covered, hard bound cover, 8x5 inch horizontal format (2 vertical prints per lay-flat page) album that holds 52 prints. It is right up my alley cuz…it’s small.

# 6698-6700 / landscape • rist camp • (a) kitchen sink ~ the gift that keeps on giving

September 7, 2023

CREATING A BLOG ENTRY WHILE HERE AT Rist Camp is rather problematic inasmuch as there are a host of distractions. There is the never-ending and ever-changing view from the porch or 9 holes of golf everyday on one of the most scenic courses in the Adirondacks. Then there is the early evening>sunset porch monkey hour spent sipping a very good whiskey and sampling a bit if a very good cigar. And, of course, I would be very remiss if I were to leave out the kitchen sink.

That written, were I to follow the lead of other so-called photo sites, I could write endlessly about the variety and finer points of whiskey (and how it is made) or the finer points of golf and my golf game (I’m low handicaper), but, as promised I won’t go there. So…

How about the idea of being in the moment, to picture or not to picture.

Recently, on a couple “true” photo sites, the idea that there is a time to photograph and time not to photograph was bantterd about. The notion that making a photograph somehow pulls the maker out of the moment and thereby diminishes the appreciation thereof. And, that constantly stopping to make a picture while talking a walk destroys the mood of simply taking a walk, not to mention annoying one’s companion.

Now I can see that that idea has some merit when considering a “serious” amateur picture maker who totes around a camera bag full of lenses, filters, et al and stops to “work” a scene, maybe even setting up a tripod and/or changing lenses. However, when it comes to my manner of making pictures, the idea has a very much not so much application.

To wit, even in my “real” camera days I-like many others-was a proponent of and practitioner of the 1 camera / 1 lens brigade. The camera was set up to be essentially, lift to the eye, point, shoot. Add to that efficiency the fact that I rarely “work” a scene and now that I am picture making within the iPhone brigade, I have time aplenty to savor/ be in the moment.

However, iMo, if one encounters a moment to be savored, appreciated, or to “be in”, not making of picture of a time-slice of that moment-in the most efficient mentally / emotionally non-invasive manner possible-is a missed opportunity. That is, an opportunity to make a picture of a moment that can be savored, appreciated, contemplated and enjoyed in an extended manner that is not possible in the actual moment.

After all, moments come and go in a….well…in a moment. Whereas a photograph can be there “forever” (within the limits of archival-ness) and is fully capable of, at least for the picture maker (and, perhaps for a companion who experienced the same moment), instigating similar feelings to those which were a part of the original being-the-moment circumstance.

So, my advice to the serious amateur, is keep it simple.That’s cuz even the most amateur-ishly made snapshot is perfectly capable of producing a recognizable facsimile of a memorable moment.

# 6685-87 / landscape • common places and things ~ happy and pissed at the same time

August 22, 2023

***the view from the porch*** ~ (embiggenable)

SO, I’M EVER SO HAPPY TO BE BACK IN THE REAL WORLD as opposed to being in New Jersey. I consider New Jersey to be something of an aberration along the lines of:

I believe that there's an intelligence to the universe, with the exception of certain parts of New Jersey. ~ Woody Allen (as Miles Monroe in Sleeper)

That aside, I have arrived at this place with 50-60 INSTAX prints made at the Jersey Shore - fewer than I expected to make but more than I know what to do with. The solution to that situation might be found in editing.

While there is a very high number of good / interesting referent pictures, I do believe it is possible to narrow the field down to 16 (=/- a few) that can at least provide a solid hint at the feel of the event. 16 would a good number cuz 2 frames with a cluster of 8 pictures each would look good. Add a nearby bowl with the balance of the prints for easy browsing and it’s good to go.

Re: easy browsing - I can attest to the fact that people find it nearly impossible to resist the urge to browse when confronted with a pile of INSTAX prints. At the Shore, I would leave a pile of prints on a table at our house and within a few hours most of them had disappeared. They were apparently as tempting and tasty as a bowl full of candy.

On a more tragic note, I discovered that the version of PS that I have been using for years on my lap top is no longer supported by ADOBE, and, if I want to continue using a currently supported PS version I have to buy a new lap top. That’s cuz my long-in-the-tooth lap top air can not support an updated OS that will support the currently available PS versions.

This situation really pisses me off. I don’t want a bloated updated version of PS. My use of PS is centered around a handful of “simple” tools and capabilities. I don’t want no AI. I don’t want no video tools. And, “older” versions have always been more than fast enough for my needs.

In a nut shell, I can write that I really hate-yes, genuinely hate-software companies who constantly update software with “improvements”. “Improvements” designed to keep consumers on the ever-revolving treadmill of “improvements” so they can get into our coffers.

# 6246-55 / landscape • rist camp • common places • common things ~ hit rate much higher than zero

September 22, 2022

HIT RATE ZERO, OR SO MICHAEL JOHNSTON TITLED AN ENTRY, wherein he explained / lamented his failure-“I was cold and really didn’t get anything”-to harvest a few situations (aka: picture making opportunities?). After reading Johnston’s entry in its entirety, I was not surprised, for a number of reasons, that he came home with a “hit rate zero”.

item 1 - “…the magic can't happen unless you're out there with the camera” I believe that the idea of looking / waiting for“magic” to rear its head in the making of pictures is a rather bogus pursuit. That’s cuz I believe that if a picture maker has figured out / recognized in a conscious manner how he/she sees the world-literally and figuratively (in a style representing forms that are recognizably derived from life)-the so called (and, iMo, mis-labeled) picture making ”magic” can happen at any time, any where, for any referent.

item 2 - “…any time, any where, for any referent” (my words). The worst possible intent a picture maker can harbor is going out in pursuit of making a “greatest hit” pictures. I mention this in light of the fact of Johnston’s utterly, totally, completely ridiculous / nonsensical / statement that a “…picture works entirely or it doesn't work at all. Everything's a no that isn't a yes.”

iMo, that statement is one of the most destructive-to a picture maker’s “confidence-opinion I have ever heard/ read cuz, over a life time of viewing exhibitions / monographs of “big-name” picture makers’ work, it can be stated / written that not every picture in a given body of work is a “greatest hit” (whatever the hell that is). However, all of the pictures-some more so, some less so-are all working together in a given body of work to reinforce the visual idea the picture maker is striving to create. Think of it as a visual example of strength in numbers.

item 2A - I believe that going out to create pictures of a specific referent (people, places, things) causes most picture makers to miss all the picture making possibilities that surround them. That is, those possibilities that do not conform to what they are pursuing. Case in point, my picture making MO…

I rarely go out with the intention of making pictures. That written, I rarely go out without making pictures. That’s cuz I do not encumber my picture making activities with the inconvenience of carrying a “real” camera. Rather, I always have my picture making device-the iPhone-on my person so that when something-a people, a place, a thing-pricks my eye and sensibilities, I always have the means to make a picture.

The result of that MO is that I have a ginormous library / collection-some might say a grabasstic cluster f**k-of pictures of all kinds of referents-people, places, things. From this seemingly haphazard, random collection there has emerged-I might add, somewhat organically-a number of thematically coherent bodies of work. Bodies of work that I add to, over time, by the mere fact that I continue to make pictures of what I see as opposed to what I have been told-or even tell myself-what is a good picture.

So, the moral of this story is simple. Forget about making the”perfect” picture and realize that some “less-than-perfect”-aka: nearly perfect-pictures are perfectly suited for inclusion in a body of work. And, that bodies of work are what matters most. Plus, if you must concentrate a specific referent / theme in the act of creating a body of work, when you go out to make pictures, take off the blinders that obfuscate the joy of photography. That is, the simple act of just making pictures of any peoples, any places, and any things.

FYI, included in this entry are handfull of some the pictures I made over the past few days. Discursive promiscuity in action.

# 6243-45 / common places • common things • rist camp ~ defamiliarization and disorientation

September 17, 2022

“…By unhinging our customary perceptions of the world, the visual artist forces viewers to experience what has become habitual with renewed attention.” ~ Daniell Cornell

“Photography is a contest between a photographer and the presumptions of approximate and habitual seeing. The contest can be held anywhere.” ~ John Szarkowski

THE ABOVE EXCERPT WAS LIFTED FROM AN ESSAY which was written to accompany the 1999 Yale University Art Gallery exhibition, Alfred Stieglitz and the Equivalent, Reinventing the Nature of Photography. In the essay the author, Daniell Cornell, introduced an early-tewentieth-century linguistic theory in which a Russian university professor proposed that the function of poetic language was…

“…not to reflect reality but to make it strange…Russian Formalists called the disorientation created by such an estrangement from one’s usual perceptions defamiliarization, identifying it as the central characteristic shared by all artistic representations.”

While I have never spent much time over-thinking the idea of defamiliarization-or, to be honest, ever recognizing it as such-I can certainly write that one of the most common and oft-heard comments, re: my pictures, which i really appreciate is, “I don’t know why I like these pictures but, I do like them.” It now seems obvious, to me, that comment-or a variation thereof-is the result of my picturing making act of employing the concept of defamiliarization. That is, making pictures of referents which are not perceived as subjects for the making of what the great unwashed masses of the picture making world think is a suitable referent.

Most of those viewers of my pictures, when they realize that they like a picture(s), seem to become disoriented, aka: “I don’t know why it like it.” Of course, what they most often fail to realize* is that their liking is not incited by what is depicted but rather by the visual impression, the form, created by how it is depicted-my version of unhinging of customary perceptions of the world-aka: my vision thing…the vision thing which, seemingly, is the by-product of how I see.

*“My aim is increasingly to make my photographs look so much like photographs that unless one has eyes and sees, they won’t be seen.” ~ Alfred Stieglitz