# 6457-62 / rist camp • common places-things ~ simple is as simple does

September 7, 2024

ON MY AM CRUISE OF THE WEB, PHOTO SITES WISE, I came across a site with an entry that, on my first glance, caused me to think, this guy is yet another how-to-make-better-photographs guru doling out exceptionally idiotic advice. But, then I took breath, dialed down my over-reactive boiling point and decided it would be best to address his advice from a more even tempered point of view….

…. the advice which got my knickers in a twist was that picture makers should show less in order to show more. Essentially a take on the well worn adage of “simplify”. Ya know, cuz, in his words, “the more you put in the frame (or fail to exclude), the less impact any one element has, and soon it’s a photograph that isn’t really about anything specific…. because busy photographs are exhausting to read…. because what we do not exclude dilutes the power of what we include…. I need you to simplify.”

So, to be unremittingly uncharitable, it sounds to me that this guy is a rather simple-minded twit. Ya know, maybe he can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. But wait, here’s where I get a bit charitable….

…. it is quite obvious that, upon viewing his photographs in the entry, he is, like the preponderance of most “serious” amateur picture makers, literal referent oriented / biased. That is to write that people-places-things is their raison d'etre for making a photograph. Consequently (and to be kinda kind), I guess his advice is on-the-money for the room.

That written, this advice reminds me of an idea I have mentioned before; there are 2 kinds of art, Fine Art and Decorative Art. And, according to the authors of Einsein’s Space and Van Gogh’s Sky (from where this idea originates) Fine Art turns on the brain whereas Decorative Art turns off the brain. Or, to put it another way, Fine Art is meant invigorate / challenge the senses, whereas Decorative Art is meant to relax / sooth the senses. Or, yet another way to explain it, Fine Art can instigate a multi-dimentional experience where as Decorative Art promotes a singular experience, aka: a simple experience.

Therefore, iMo, whether he realizes it or not, this “guru” is advocating for his followers to make pictures which are decorative rather than fine. So, as I often say, whatever floats your boat.

# 6451-56 / rist camp • common places-things ~ the order of things

September 3, 2024

WHILE I’M ON THE TOPIC OF BODIES OF WORK, I thought that the topic of sequencing photographs in a book / folio / gallery walls was worth a few words. The idea was brought to my attention during the aforementioned viewing last week of my Adirondack Survey book.

During that viewing I was asked about the arrangement / sequencing of the photographs in the book—how did I determine the flow of the photographs? The question caught me somewhat off guard inasmuch as I had paid very little attention to the sequencing. That’s primarily cuz I was not trying to tell a “story”. Consequently, I did not pay any particular attention to the sequencing other than to avoid having 2 photographs of a similar referent to appear consecutively.

After thinking about the idea of sequencing / flow, I realized that most of the photography-based monograph books I own do not seem to have an “organized” sequencing of photographs—William Eggleston’s Guide is a good example of seemingly random sequencing. Of course, it is possible that what appears to a viewer to be random flow is actually the result of agonizing over achieving a very organized / arranged sequencing.

In any event, while I do not spend much time or effort, re: sequencing in a book / folio / exhibition, there is one thing on which I spent zero time / effort—captioning or giving a photograph a title....have I mentioned how much I vigorously despise “creative” / cutesy captions / titles for a photograph?

#6445-50 / common places-things • rist camp ~ it's my body and I like most of it

August 30, 2024

ON T.O.P. MIKE JOHNSTON RAISED THE IDEA OF bodies of work in which he noted the Fine Art world’s affinity for referent / technique themed collections of work. In the photography art world many of the recognized “greats” are known for such thematic bodies of work. Some of those greats have created multiple bodies of work but those bodies of work are also, more often than not, created around a referent based theme or technique / “style”.

Joel Meyerowitz is a good example of different bodies of work created by a single photographer; he started as an accomplished small camera BW street photographer then migrated to an 8x10 view camera and began making color landscape-ish photographs of his summer life on the Cape. That work made his chops as one of the three “fathers” of the new-color, new-topographics genre. He went on to create more bodies of work of other places he inhabited / visited, Tuscany and St. Louis, but each with the same vision / “style” of his initial Cape Light work.

In my picture making, Fine Art wise, I take a rather hi-bred approach to creating bodies of work; for the most part I just continue along my discursively promiscuous ways-picuring any thing, any where, anytime that pricks my eye and sensibilities-and then sorting it out, after a fashion, afterwards. That is, recognizing that I have, over time, photographed enough similar referents which grouped together can create a thematic / coherent body of work.

That written, if you view my WORK page, there are only 4 bodies of work that were undertaken with the intention of making a body of work-poles, decay, art reflects, and picture windows. Each were started with an initial flurry of picture making and I have been adding to them on a here-and-there, now-and-again basis ever since. FYI, not represented on the WORK page is a recently all-at-once, over a week or two, created body of work, porches of my hometown, which will be posted soon.

All of the written, after realizing over the past that I have, rather belatedly (understatement), not understood that my discursive promiscuity work is my most important body of work. And, that buried in that work are over 10K pictures with the Adirondacks as its theme.

The work , as I now realize, is mashup of people, places, and things but, taken together, present a tremendous sense of place. That belief is the result of showing my Adirondack Survey book-60 photographs-to a few local people who have responded with a surprisingly enthusiastic and delightful appreciation of the work. One couple in particular, our recent Lake George dinner hosts, is worth noting.

At my wife’s insistence, I brought the Adirondack Survey book along to dinner with no intention of showing it to anyone. However, after a tour of their owner-built house, during which I notice some very impressive original art of their walls, I decided to show them the book.

Separately, they both viewed the book. Their reactions were overwhelmingly-to me-positive and, for lack of a better word, educated, Art appreciation wise, inasmuch as they both took the time to “study” each and every picture-all 60 of them. The husband stopped dead on one page declaring, “We have to have a print of this for a wall in our house.” The wife had a similar reaction to another picture-that is, 2 pictures sold on the spot with the possibility of a 3rd. They both also asked if they could get a copy of the book.

All of that written, the comment that I appreciated the most was when the husband was looking over his wife’s shoulder, as she viewed the last few pictures, said, “We just yesterday were driving home from the Finger Lakes through the Adirondacks and I can’t believe how much this work reminds me of that drive.” To which the wife responded, “Me as well.”

In any event, next week I will be pitching this work-with the book and a 20 print folio-to the Exhibition Director at The View in Old Forge here in the Adirondacks. Wish me luck.

# 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.

# 6437-40 / Rist camp • common things ~ a weird sense of obligation

August 24, 2024

***in the ADIRONDACKS*** ~ all photos (embiggenable)

THE CAT AND I ARRIVED AT RIST CAMP ON TUESDAY. The wife arrived on Thursday evening for 4 day stay then back to work on Tuesday. A pattern she will keep until the last full week when she will stay the week. Life is good.

Last week at the Jersey Shore, I lamented the notion that I felt that, after 30 years of visiting the shore, I had photographed every thing there is to photograph at the shore. Turns out that there were more than a few things that pricked my eye and sensibilities. And, as I sit here at Rist camp, it turns out that I feel the same way, re: photo making possibilities in and around camp. Nevertheless, I am certain that there will be plenty of picture making possibilities.

That written, a strange thing happened as I was packing for camp; for some reason I can not fathom, it occurred to me that I should bring my µ4/3 camera and kit to camp.

Perhaps it was just a twinge of nostalgia for my former picture making M.O. However, on the other hand, I had a feeling somewhat akin to guilt, re: inasmuch as I have made so many good pictures with that gear, it seemed as though I was obligated-lest I be considered to be an ingrate-to make some more good pictures with the the gear. Weird, no? Although, not exactly Don-old Trump weird.

In any event, I brought the gear along, but….there is a downside to using it; I need the full processing power of PS to process the files. That’s something I do not have access to here at Rist camp cuz, as I have mentioned previously, my very old-in-the-tooth laptop no longer supports any version of PS. Which means I can shoot but I can not process and post.

All of that written, it will be a modified return to yesteryear-a real camera hangs on my body-but with the iPhone always at the ready. Real camera file processing to come upon my return to home.

# 6434-36 / common places ~ from that to this

August 21, 2024

I SURVIVED ANOTHER 6.5 HOUR / 420 MILE THRU THE NIGHT drive-Jersey Shore to home-on Saturday. Next up today is a very pleasurable 1.25 hour drive thru stretches of Adirondack wilderness to Rist Camp where I will spend the next 5 weeks.

The difference between the 2 vacation spots-although I actually reside in one of these vacation spots-could not be more dissimilar. One, iMo, is an urban / suburban megalopolis custerfuck-otherwise known as New Jersey-the other is the largest wilderness preserve, AKA. the Adirondack Park-which, in fact is larger than the state of New Jersey-east of the Mississippi River.

In any event, let there be no doubt, re: on which porch I would rather “vacation”.

# 6431-33 / stone harbor • common places-things ~ how and what you see is what you get

August 14, 2024

All photos ~ (embiggenable)

SITTING HERE THIS AM HAVING COFFEE AND FRESH CANTALOUPE STARING at the picture in this entry. A thought, which has guided my picture making since forever but which I never really put into words, emerged into my conscious mind and it occurred to me that I should put it into words.

35 years ago (or more) I read the book Einstein’s Space and Van Gogh’s Sky-co-authored by a physicist and a psychologist in which they try to meld the two domains of knowledge and experience to explain “reality”. FYI, it is NOT an easy read. Nevertheless, near the end of the book, the authors delve into the idea that there are two kinds of art; Fine Art and Decorative Art. I took this to mean-as they wrote-that Fine Art is meant to challenge / agitate the viewer’s visual senses whereas Decorative Art is meant to “entertain” / sooth the viewer’s visual (emotional?) senses.

The authors’ definition pretty much matched my thoughts inasmuch as I divided art into 2 categories as well; Fine Art, grounded on the classic art elements of art-color, value, line, shape, form,, texture and space, and, Calendar Art, grounded on the principle of the “pretty picture”. That written, while I have often adopted a rather dismissive attitude toward Calendar Art, I do, in fact agree with the book’s authors that both types of art serve very valid ends-ya know, ya can’t always be wired. Sometimes ya gotta just relax.

So, all of that written, let me get down to the subject at hand, photography-wise…

… Unique amongst the visual arts is the medium’s intrinsic relationship with the real world. ASIDE I am writing about “straight” photography END OF ASIDE Consequently, most “serious” amateur picture makers concentrate on making pictures-highly detailed / technically “perfect” / by-the-rules-of very specific people, places, things, AKA: referents. Their pictures are always very literal depictions of their chosen referent(s). Although, that written, many will add exaggerations and embellishments-color/saturation/contrast/eye bleeding sharpness-in order to distinguish their pictures from those of non-serious amateurs, AKA: the snapshot crowd.

It is also worth noting that these “serious” amateurs, if not obsessed with a very specific referent, will most often concentrate on making pictures with one specific type of referent as their referent of choice.

iMo, this defines the Decorative Art crowd, Photography Division. Next up is the Fine Art crowd, Photography Division…

…. These straight picture makers also depict highly defined and recognizable people, places, things, although rarely, if ever, employing exaggerations and embellishment in their picture making. And, in my experience, they rarely give a shit about the referent in their pictures other than it’s possible appropriation as a vehicle for creating interesting, engaging, captivating form. Their special skill in creating form is that, unlike standard photographic composition which can be created in situ by following the “rules”, form can not be created in the picture making wild; it can only be seen and then skillfully-or more likely, intuitively-appropriated / captured and then presented on the flat field of a photographic print.

It is worth noting that much Fine Art photography bears a remarkable resemblance to non-serious amateur snapshots (a topic for another entry). Or, at least it appears so to the Decorative Art crowd.

In any event and all of the above written, to my eye and sensibilities, the genius of so many picture makers who are enshrined in the Fine Art level, Photography Division-take your pick; Avedon, Evans, Carier-Bresson, Shore, (Robert) Adams, Frank, Eggelston, et al-what they all have in common, despite their seemingly disparate referential depictions, is their ability to make photographs with interesting, engaging, captivating visual interest / form.

CONCLUSION: Fine Art-wise wise, it’s not about what you photograph, it’s about how you photograph what you see.

# 6464-66 / travel • Jersey shore ~ my burden to bear

August 12, 2024

36 HOURS WITHOUT SLEEP, throw in a 430 mile drive thru the night and my first day at the Jersey Shore was a “recovery” day. Making photographs was not at the top of my to-do list.

That written, after 30 years of Jersey Shore summer “vacations” (not my idea of a vacation), I kinda feel that I have made pictures of every thing there is to make pictures of. And, inasmuch as what was once a “quaint” summer cottage place to be, over those 30 years the place has been turned into-thanks to the neauvo-riche and good ol’ America conspicuous consumption-little more than a grotesque upscale suburban enclave.

Boring, boring, boring and not a lot of referents that prick my eye and sensibilities.