best of ku / 2017
best of civilized ku / 2017
best of the new snapshot / 2017
When I started to select my best of picture from 2017 my intention was to select one picture as the best of 2017. However, as I was looking through my 2017 picture, it became apparent that I needed to pick a best of picture from each of my primary bodies of work - ku (the natural world), civilized ku (evidence of humankind) and the new snapshot.
While I have a number of sub-catagories which fall under those primary bodies of work, I felt that choosing one best of from all of those additional bodies of work would kinda defeat the purpose of trying to narrow the selection down to just a few best of pictures.
In any event, I discovered a few things about my picture making during the selection process:
1. Over the years I have move from making primarily ku pictures to making many more civilized ku pictures.
2. Since the inception of my iPhone the new snapshot making, I have made many more the new snapshot pictures than ku / civilized ku combined.
3.That written, the new snapshot picture making does include ku, civilized ku and people referents as well as few of my sub-categories.
The net result of those conculsions is that I intend, during 2018, to concentrate on making more ku (especially so) / civilized ku (and their sub-categories) pictures utilizing my µ4/3 cameras. Only time will tell if I can stick to that (New Years) resolution.
the new snapshot # 152-53 (diptych)
fall color from Rist camp porch ~ in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • iPhone
ku # 4020 / the new snapshot # 138-39 ~ quid est demonstratum
the gloaming / Rist Camp ~ Newcomb, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) µ4/3
interesting house ~ Madrid, NY (embiggenable) iPhone 7s camera module
interesting porch ~ Madrid, NY (embiggenable) iPhone 7s camera module
John Linn wrote:
I am enjoying your "snapshots" but have missed your straight pictures... they just seem more genuine to me.
my response: Knowing that many visit my blog for my straight pictures, I have been including, along with my the new snapshot pictures, at least 1 straight picture in nearly every entry. I do so for that reason but also for the reason that I continue to make straight µ4/3, aka: "real", pictures in addition to my the new snapshot pictures.
That written, I have, beyond any reasonable doubt, been quite obsessed with making pictures with my iPhone and trying to do so within the parameter(s) of the snapshot aesthetic. I am doing so in order to make pictures which will be made into small prints which will fill shoe boxes and/or be placed into picture albums. It is my belief that, after I'm gone, it will be these "snapshot" pictures which will be viewed by family and friends as "genuine" pictures which more accurately tell a story about me and my life than any of my "serious" / "art" pictures.
quid est demonstratum ~ "album" book from Shutterfly / 5.5" prints from Parabo Press
ku # 4017-19 ~ coming to grips
µ4/3 picture (embiggenable)
iPhone 7s camera module picture (embiggenable)
iPhone 7s camera module picture (embiggenable)
While spending the better part of the last 4 months in a the new snapshot picture making frenzy - approximately 500+ pictures - I have been contemplating / festering, re: my relationship with the snapshot thing and where do I want to go with it.
At this point, my conclusion is that I want to remain true to the snapshot idea inasmuch as: 1) I want to make lots of prints, and, 2) I want those prints to be small in size - think the classic drugstore sizes, and, 3) I want those prints to made by a commercial printer, and, of course, 4) all pictures to be made with the iPhone. While I am certain that I will make the occasional large print for framing and hanging on a wall, but I will have all of the new snapshot pictures printed elsewhere.
In other words, I push the button and leave the rest to someone else (in-camera processing aside), ala Kodak's original marketing slogan of, You press the button, we do the rest.
Re: printed somewhere else. Thanks to my friend Anna I have discovered a online printing source, Parabo Press, which is devoted exclusively to printing pictures made with a phone. Amongst their bewildering array of products, of particular interest to me, is their 4x4"/5.5" square prints. The prints are printed on a thick paper - almost framing mat thick - that is flat as a pancake and very lie / hang stiff.
I am currently awaiting the arrival of my first (free) set of 25 5.5" square prints. As far as I can tell - their site states, One free set per order - it appears that those prints are always free. There is a $5 charge for selecting the 5.5" prints instead of the no-cost 4" prints and the shipping cost - $10 - is not included. So, my cost for 25 5.5" square prints is a very reasonable $0.60 per print.
BTW, if you are interested in this printing service and are inclined to order prints, please use this code - BBQIAJ - when placing an order. Doing so gets you $10 off your first order and I get a $10 credit to use on my future orders. I would greatly appreciate it.
ku # 4016 / the new snapshot # 135-137 ~ a walk on the wild side
Yesterday I got off of my porch monkey butt and took a walk through the iForest at the W!LD CENTER in Tupper Lake. The W!LD CENTER is an internationally known / acclaimed - visited by people from all over the US and 30 other countries - science-based nature center with a 54,000 sq.ft. museum and 81 acres of forested outdoor installations to explore.
iMo, if you are in the neighborhood, the W!LD CENTER is a must visit experience. If you are not in the neighborhood, the W!LD CENTER is well worth the trip to in the neighborhood.
ku # 4015 / the new snapshot # 133-134 (diptych) ~ the easy way
9/18/17 ~ at Rist Camp / Newcomb, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • µ4/3 camera
9/18/17 ~ at Rist Camp / Newcomb, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • iPhone 7s camera module
The view from the front porch at Rist Camp is a nearly never-ending display of land, sky and air (aka: mist and fog). It can be both mesmerizing - as in, I can't believe I just spent 3 hours just sitting here - and therapeutic. And, of course, a great place to make pictures while sitting on your butt.
ku # 4014 / the new snapshot # 130-132 ~ theodore rex
tree / Wild Center ~ Tupper Lake, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable)
the wife and Teddy Roosevelt ~ Newcomb. NY - in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable)
Teddy / morning coffee • lumberjack event ~ Newcomb, NY in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable)
ANSWER: this weekend past was the annual Teddy Roosevelt Weekend celebration in Newcomb, NY. Why Newcomb?
ANSWER: Teddy Roosevelt was climbimg Mt. Marcy - the trailhead begins in Newcomb - when he was summons by a guide to get down the mountain and proceed with all due haste to the train station in North Creek. After the midnight buckboard wagon ride - 30 miles in 6 hours through rain and mud - to North Creek, Teddy was informed on the station platform that President McKinley had died - from an assassin's bullet - and that he was now POTUS.
Newcomb is the location of Rist Camp where the wife and I spend 5 weeks in late August - late September. So, the wife, who has something akin to a crush on Teddy, makes attendance mandatory at some of the festivites. FYI, at this weekend's event, Teddy told me that he liked my glasses.