civilized ku # 5308 ~ teetering on the brink

(embiggenable) • iPhone

I am in the throes of a full-fledged picture making dilemma. The accompanying angst has nothing to do with what I picture or my vision (aesthetically, aka: the manner in which I "see" what I picture). Rather, it is all about how (the mechanics) I picture things.

To be specific, re: the "how" thing, I have become addicted-not really the right word-to making pictures with the iPhone. Or, perhaps re-phrased, I have become accustomed to making pictures with the iPhone. Case in point, over the past couple months, all of my picture making has been accomplished with the iPhone.

That picture making with the iPhone qualifies as the "accustomed to" part of the equation. The "addicted to" part is attributable to the ease of making a picture with the iPhone, immediately processing it on the iPhone* (or iPad), and then seeing the finished picture, all within a matter of minutes.

And, have no doubt about it, for 95% of my picture making the image quality-technically speaking-of so made pictures is very, very good. I can produce exhibition quality prints-22x22inch image centered on 24x24inch paper-which, by any measure, are beautiful prints.

So, you might ask, given all that, where's the angst? Well, after considerable thoughtful consideration, I believe I have the answer ....

.... as I sit here typing away, I am surrounded by an incredible array of professional picture making gear - 35mm Nikon system (2 bodies, 6 lenses), 120 Bronica ETR system (2 bodies, 4 film backs, 3 lenses), 3 4x5 view cameras (1 field, 2 studio, 4 lenses, 20 film holders) and 1 8x10 view camera (3 lenses, 10 film holders) + 1 light meter, 1 flash meter and assorted Polaroid backs for 120-8x10 formats (not to mention my µ4/3 system - 4 bodies, 5 lenses). Even though I have used none of this gear-µ4/3 system excepted-for almost 20 years, and herein lies the crux of the matter, I still carry the memory of the effort it used to take-using, in my 30-year professional life, the aforementioned gear-to make a good picture.

Given that vivid memory, I believe I am experiencing more than a bit of guilt / confusion-inasmuch as I am "shirking" what should be done to make a good picture-regarding the ease (and accompanying freedom) that comes with the use of the iPhone as my primary picture making device. FYi, I am unable to call the iPhone a camera and that, undoubtedly, is also part of the angst.

All of that written, I think I am at the point of letting go of all of that baggage and just going with the flow. Although, I am equally certain that I will always have my µ4/3 gear with me whenever I leave the house.

*using an app with near Photoshop-like capabilities, at least inasmuch as I use PS.

assorted civilized ku ~ a color moment

color moment #1 ~ (embiggenable) • µ4/3

color moment #2 ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

color moment #3 ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

color moment #4 ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

color moment #4 ~ (embiggenable) • µ4/3

color moment #5 ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Recently, on TOP, Mike Johnston presented a 3-part (voluntary) challenge for his followers. In short: 1.identify 25 separate bodies of one's work, 2.from those, select those that one would consider to be one's top 5 bodies of work, and, 3.the payoff - after identifying one's top 5 bodies of work, heed the advice of experts and concentrate all of one's picture making on those 5 catagories.

I did not undertake the challenge for the simple reason that-as anyone can view on the WORK section of this site-I had already identified 39* separate bodies of work. It should be noted that only 7** of those bodies of work were undertaken with the intention of being separate bodies of work. Many of the rest were identified over time by a somewhat unique process.

That process was instigated a number of years ago by an outside source. Specifically, a photo gallery which issues (10-12x a year) submission requests (yielding 2,000-3,000 submisions) for juried theme-based gallery and online exhibitions (FYI, I have about a 65% acceptance rate). Those requests have induced me to repeatedly rumage through my photo library-8,000+ µ4/3 / 7,000+ iPhone pictures-of "finished" pictures in order to identify pictures appropriate for specific theme-based submission.

Inevitably, I begin the process by thinking that I might have a handful of picture possiblities for any given theme only to be genuinely surprised to discover that I have, typically, 50-60 picture possibilities. That is, iMo, enough pictures to establish a separate body of work classification.

Not all searches yield up a legitimate body of work. The pictures in today's entry are a case in point. The exhibition call theme was for pictures which illustrate A Color Moment....

A successful color photograph finds color as an essential element. Without color, the impact of the image would be significantly reduced. When used well, color coalesces with the other elements of the image to create an atmosphere, an emotional response, a sense of place. Effective use of color can take your breath away, zing your eyes, grab your heart, and celebrate light.

....My search for such pictures produced some strong contenders but not enough to justify a separate body of work.

Although, one the bodies of work on my WORK section which is scheduled for deletion, The Color of Light, just might be reincarnated-some pictures deleted, some added-as a new body of work entitled, A Color Moment. However, on that body of work page I will retain the quote by Arthur Meyerson who, by coincidence, is also the juror for the A Color Moment exhibition.

fYi, Color Moment #1 was submitted as a bit of an outlier inasmuch as it is not saturated with color but, as stated in the call for entries, it most definitely conforms to the idea that, "Without color, the impact of the image would be significantly reduced".

*a couple of those bodies of work are schedule to disappear and few new ones are scheduled to replace them.
*1.Rist Camp/35 Days, 2.Art Reflects, 3.Single Women, 4.Life Without the APA, 5.Decay, 6.Picture Windows, 7.What Is a Photograph

civilized ku # 5307 ~ I don't need no stinkin' menu(s)

a color picture ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Over the holidays I had some time to ruminate on a number of items, re: the medium of photography and its apparatus (conventions, not gear). However, to be honest, one item was gear related.

That item-based rumination was instigated by a post, re: some camera or another, on TOP. A comment from a reader about the camera stated that he did not like menu(s) configuration (or words to that effect). That comment sruck me as kinda odd. Although, truth be told, I do find digital camera menus to be rather obtuse.

On the other hand, I could not care less one way or the other due to the fact that I rarely utilise the menu(s) on my cameras. The reason for that is simple ... for 40 years of my picture making life I was in the anologue / film world (there was no other choice). My picture making mechanics were quite simple; set the film speed on my handheld spot meter, take a reading, set the desired aperture and shutter spend on the camera, focus and shoot. Easy peasy.

When I entered the digital picture making domain, I just naturally fell into the same picture making M.O. with the exception of the handheld spot meter thing ... set the ISO (almost aways 200 so it rarely requires setting), take a light reading (center weighted) with the in-camera meter, set the aperture / shutter speed and shoot. Again, easy peasy.

I rarely visit the menu(s) because I always - with a "real" camera - shoot RAW. Color is always set to "NATURAL/NEUTRAL". The viewing screen is always set to square (the camera delivers a full frame file for cropping to square). And, I don't do in-camera effects. So diving into menu(s) is a very rare occurrence (most often to set an auto-bracket setting).

For me,other than the initial set-it-and-forget-it menu setup, menu(s) just are not a part of my normal picture making M.O.. Therefore, I can't ever imagine a situation where menu(s) configuration would be a factor in choosing a camera.

civilized ku # 5304-06 ~ wacky weather

(embiggenable) • iPhone

(embiggenable) • iPhone

my hometown ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • iPhone

2 days before Xmas day the land was shrouded in for and rain. Visually interesting but not what most were dreaming of for Xmas, weather wise. The day before Xmas day, it snowed all day creating a white winter landscape which was perfect for the season.

Today is New Year's Eve day and, after a few days of very mild temps, the landscape is back to shades of green and brown and little piles of snow here and there. No snow in the forecast for the next 6 days. Winter just ain't what it used to be.

civilized ku # 5304 / diptych # 237 ~ there's reason I haven't posted in a while

frozen pumpkins ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Xmas present project ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Been kinda busy of late. Hockey and building our cherry-butcher-block-topped kitchen island. A project which is one of my Xmas presents for the wife. The island, while not complete (needs finish work - trim, paint, etc.), is in service and ready for the Holidays. Finish work happens after the Holidays.

And, to be honest, with all of the aforementionded and other general getting ready for the Holidays, I really haven't had much time for picture making. However, things are slowing down and I'll be able to get out and about more frequently. Consequently (+ hopefully), there will be more picture making.

PS, Paul Ralphaelson wrote an interesting comment on my last entry, EITHER / OR ~ MEMORY OR ART OR BOTH. If you haven't read it, you should.

either / or ~ memory or art or both

WIldwood Pier ~ Wildwood, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

picture window ~ Stone Harbor, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

bakery window ~ Middlebury, VT (embiggenable) • iPhone

Earlier today I listened to a LensWork podcast in which Brooks Jensen held forth on the difference between an image and a photograph. His conclusion was that an image is what a picture maker creates on his/her choice of light sensitive material. A photograph is a physically tactile thing. Which is to write, a photograph is a material thing (substrate) onto which an image has been afixed.

I am in agreement with Jensen's conclusion. However, as is often the case when opining about such things, Jensen goes all wonky and commences to introducing ideas such as ... a picture maker, aka: a photojournalist, makes images for publication. When those images are afixed on paper in a publication, are they photographs? My answer would be in the form of another question - what the hell else would you call them?.... hey, did you see those reproduced-by-non-photo-methods images in the recent issue of ....? Whatever.

In any event, in today's entry I am addressing the idea of picture making intent ....

To do so, I have placed 2 pictures of the same image side by side, albeit that the images have been processed and presented in different manners as related to my picture making intentions. In the case of these 3 pictures, my intentions were 2-fold:

intent #1: to create art
intent #2: to create memories

Everyone will have an opnion, re: whether or not my conventionally processed and presented pictures are art. Although, I am certain that most would concede that they represent (at least) an attempt to make art. In my defense however, I would like to note that the bakery window picture was accepted for inclusion in an art gallery juried exhibition.

That written, I believe that the snapshot presentation of the same pictures would be immediately seen and perceived as an attempt to create memories of things seen or experienced. While my intent, memory making wise, was to make pictures that would stir memories for me (and others who may have been with me at the time of their making), I also believe that those pictures are quite capable of stirring similiar memories in others who have no immediate connection to me or the specific depicted referent.

Based on my belief that others who have no immediate connection to me or the specific depicted referent could be incited by the depicted referenets to have feeling relative to their own experiences of similar places or events, and, considering the words of Joshu Reynolds ....

The great end of all arts is to make an impression on the imagination and the feeling.

.... is it possible that my snapshots are art?

An answer to the question could be had in my aforementioned comment that the bakery window pictures was accepted for inclusion in an art gallery juried exhibition .... I forgot to mention that it was the snapshot version of that picture which was excepted.

civilized ku # 5301 ~ common observation

pumpkins ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

A quote from Joshua Reynolds:

Common observation and a plain understanding is the source of all art.

When the Royal Academy in London was founded in 1768, Reynolds, the leading English portraitist of the 18th century, was elected its first President.