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socially distant ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
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WHENEVER THE IDEA OF "READING" OR FINDING "MEANING" in a photograph comes up, I am reminded of a quote attributed to Gen. George S. Patton in the movie, PATTON:
You know General, sometimes the men don't know when you're acting.
Patton: "It's not important for them to know. It's only important for me to know."
However, in my head, it goes lke this....
You know Mark, sometimes viewers don't know what the meaning of/is in your pictures.
Me: "It's not important for them to know. It's only important for me to know."
And, more or less, what I know is that, picture making wise, I am (primarily, not exclusively) a formalist. I.E., I place an emphasis on form over content or meaning in my picture making and, to be certain, in all of the arts. Add to that the idea that I am also a sensualist inasmuch as, re: picture making and the arts in general, I tend to make pictures-and view / appreciate art in general-which prick the physical sense of vision, aka: seeing, rather than to stimulate the mind. That is, to instigate feelings rather than thoughts when a viewer encounters my pictures.
That written, I certainly understand that feelings can, and most often do, lead directly to thoughts. Which is pretty much how our wiring works. But, when it comes to making pictures and viewing art, I have been, iMo, fortunate to have been able, to quote Bagger Vance, "to learn how to stop thinking without falling asleep."
A practice which I believe is most valuable to the "understanding" of art.
kitchen life / around the house / # 3573-75 ~ trying to keep it simple addendum
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late afternoon light ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
late afternoon light ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
A FOlLOW UP TO THE PREVIOUS ENTRY, re: TRYING TO KEEP IT SIMPLE.
Hintsight being 20/20, it occurred to me that, while I wrote about using the Photoshop CURVES for image file adjustments, there was precious little detailed info about how to use the tool. The reason for that was simple inasmuch as I was trying to keep it simple. That reason plus the fact that I had no desire to get into the how-to stuff which can get fairly complex and/or, lazy wise, way too time consuming to write.
So, making amends wise, here's a link to the Adobe CURVES how-to page.
FYI, the best way to learn how to use the CURVES tool is to use it. To be safe, make a duplicate image file and just start screwing around with the tool. It really isn't rocket science, athough it might seem to be at first glance. And remember, in addition to global adjustments (the entire image), you make selections of any area, large or small, of the image and make adjustments to just that selection area. In either case, you can see on screen what your screwing around does to an image and , if you don't like it, you can just undo it.
around the house / kitchen life / coronavirus snapshot # 3564-66 ~ trying not to lose it
neighbor helping neighbors ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
(embiggenable) • iPhone
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I AM MOST DEFINITELY IN THE MOOD FOR A RANT. However, I can not latch onto a topic, picture making wise, to get all worked up about.
Sure, sure ... the picture making "perfectionists", gearheads and Academic Lunatic Fringe are all up to their usual monkeyshines and gobbledygook but, right now, I don't have the energy to get all worked up about it. And, if I'm honest about it, that is because almost all of my anger and frustration-thus my reason for a rant-is latched onto: 1st and foremost - the utter and complete ineptitude / malevolent incompetence of the orange-faced narcissist and his party of death, and, 2nd - the conspiracy-addled, re: the pandemic, contingent of the public.
However, I don't want to venture down that rabbit hole cuz this is a photography blog. And, to be frank, I am also trying not to get preoccupied by that anger and frustration and bide my time 'til Novemeber when, hopefully ....
In the meantime, I am just trying to be safe, aka: semi-isolation, the mask thing and social distancing. Activities that I am rather certain will be in my future for an extended period of time.
However, that written, staying safe where I live-a huge region (bigger than some states) of northern New York State along the Canadian border-is easier than most other regions / states. That is due to the facts that in this region, the numbers are very good...
...currently, there are only 349 confirmed cases of the virus and only 6 reported deaths. And, after testing in our region for the virus antibody, only 1.2% of those tested, tested positive for the antibody which means that the number of confirmed virus cases is a reasonably accurate number.
Although, those numbers could change for the worse when NYS starts to reopen and the tourists start to come back. I might have to avoid the sidewalks of Lake Placid but, if you can't social distance in the wilderness, I don't know where you can. So, I am looking forward to packing up our solo canoes and heading out on a wilderness water-way to set up camp, far from the maddening crowds, for a few days.
civilized ku # 3557 ~ sorting it all out
stay at home pictures ~ (enbiggenable) •iPhone
IN A VERY REAL SENSE, I HAVE, during life during wartime, made more pictures than I know what to do with. Seen on screen, in this entry's picture, are 95 of the approximately 110 pictures I have made since I started isolating in early March.
That written, and in an attempt to get beyond the don't know what to do with feeling, I have started to edit the pictures down to a kinda "best of" collection. The operational editing criteria is to select pictures which have the greatest sense of life in isolation. However, since I am not totally isolated, to also include pictures depicting, on those occasions when I venture out, a sense of how life has been effected in the public sphere.
I'm aiming for a finish date NLT this coming Friday by which time a Coronavography gallery will appear on my WORK page.
civilized ku # 3548-51 ~ making the best of it
napping ~ (embigggenable) • iPhone
listening ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
social distancing ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
olympic ski jumps ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A "TYPICAL" Sunday afternoon during life during wartime. Although, with the wife way more busy than normal-she's an expert on labor / employment law and is now helping / advising county goverment, school districts and private enterprise navigate the emerging rules, regulations and programs during life during wartime-Sunday is a well-earned day of rest for her. This Sunday past was a gloomy and rainy day although the temperature was relatively mild.
The wife took a mid-afernoon nap while I listened to a superb digitally re-mastered version of Paul Simon's Graceland album. I purchased the re-master after learning of the recent death of Bhekizizwe Joseph Siphatimandla Mxoveni Mshengu Bigboy Shabalala, the founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the group who accompanied Simon on 2 songs on the album. It was on this album I "discovered" LsBM and later went on to twice hear/see them in concert and aquire a number of their albums.
The listening session was energizing and invigorating so, after the wife arose and went out on her afternoon walk about, I decided to get in the Abarth for a soft top-open drive about my "neighborhood" in the light rain. CAVEAT FYI, when the Abarth is at speed in a light rain with the soft-top open, the aerodynamics of the vehicle prevent the rain from falling into the car. END OF CAVEAT
The buffeting fresh air together with a couple stretches of rather vigorous driving through some very twisty bits + a restful stop on a small lake made for a very relaxing drive about. It was a good day, for all concerned, to be alive (and not infected). Hope all is well with all of you out there.
civilized ku # 1325-31 ~ not bending my curve
tp ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
koyaanisqatsi ~ looking through the glass (embiggenable) • iPhone
koyaanisqatsi ~ looking through the glass (embiggenable) • iPhone
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WARNING: NEW VIRUS DISCOVERED. LOOKING FOR A CURE.
The new virus is called the Coronavography Virus. Don't know how contagious it is but I sure as hell got it. My primary symptom is undeniable ... over the last 2 weeks of stay-at-home (apparently a pre-condition), I have made at least 42 pictures that have made it into my "finished" folder, aka: "keeper" folder. And, the count keeps rising.
Case in point, the pictures in this entry were all made within the last 4 hours. I even had a break-down of sorts and made a picture of toilet paper. And, I am about to go out on a drive about with the expressed purpose of making more pictures.
Might be time for an intervention.
civilized ku # 1324 ~ through the glass looking
koyaanisqatsi ~ looking through a wine glass (embiggenable) • iPhone
I HAVE NEVER BEEN A USER OF FILTERS FOR EFFECTS. And, even though the picture in this entry may appear to have been created with a filter, it was not. In fact, it was made looking into a wine glass and making the picture through the curved portion the glass (note the rim of the glass in the upper left of the photo). Consequently, I can still cling to the idea that this is a "straight" photograph.
Re: my last entry about pictures needing words-the fewer the better-to contextualize a picture maker's intent, the word for this picture is "koyaanisqatsi". A Hopi word denoting choatic life or life out of balance. Also a word that I would suggest is an apt description of life as we currently know it.
That written, the challenge for me now is to determine if this picture making approach is a valid idea for making pictures during life during wartime. Or, instead, if it is nothing more than a cheap trick.
civilized ku # 1318-20 ~ doing their part to flatten the curve
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public service announcement ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone
RUNNING OUT OF PICTURES TO POST on the Coronavography site. Please keep those cards and letters coming and hopefully a few followers who indicated they would participant will start chipping in. Don't want this thing to peter out. And, if any contributor is looking for some inspiration, check out the self-quarantining exhibition on LENSCRATCH.