pinhole ~ all photos (embiggenable)
FIRST AND FOREMOST, A HEARTY THANKS TO John Babineau who left a comment / suggestion on the just making pictures entry:
“Mark, please read the obit re Peter Elbow in the March 3, 2025 NYT.
Very interesting following this post of yours!”
I very much appreciate this comment as it is remindful of how thing used to be on my blog; readers chipping in with links, references, opinions, and facts, all of which contributed to a rather vibrant vibe. Thanks again John. And now, on with the show….
“I connect to things in a visceral way. There are things that surprisingly move me and often I am shocked at the unpredictable character of these things. The camera is a reflex for me. It rises to my eye and opens up to take in that thing out there––sensation, feeling, cohesive elements that appear in front of me. It is a way of matching and absorbing the response I have to the world. It captures my consciousness and, later, this allows me to read my consciousness back like a text and understand my relationship to things or moments.” ~ Joel Meyerowitz
I HAVE, OVER THE YEARS, AMASSED QUITE A COLLECTION OF quotes––like the Meyerowitz one above––from photographers / creatives that align with my thoughts and practices, re: the medium of photography and its apparatus. Keys points for me in this quote are: connecting in a visceral way / camera as a reflex / taking in that thing out there–sensations, feelings, cohesive elements / and, especially for purposes of this entry, reading my consciousness back to me like a text.
Re: reading my consciousness back to me like a text. A number of years ago I stumbled upon an idea that struck a chord with me; the concept that a photograph is capable of staring back at the viewer––for all intents and purposes, a metaphor for the experience of a good photograph’s capability of holding the attention of a viewer. This fanciful notion captured my interest cuz, like Meyerowitz perceives, my photographs (as wells as photos made by many others)––to use the metaphor––stare back at me and, in doing so, assists me in understanding my relationship to things, moments, and event as encountered in the real world. Call it what you like, the idea that a good photograph––or for that matter, any visual art–– can hold a viewer’s interest ain’t exactly a secret.
That written, the NY Times has a running series, every first-Monday-of-the-month, The 10 Minute Challenge. Each month the Times picks a well known work of art that is presented on a neutral background with the “challenge” for a viewer to look at it for 10 minutes––there is a running timer that the viewer can activate when ready to begin. FYI, a viewer can zoom in/out if desired. After whatever time when a viewer is finished viewing, there is a comment section for the viewer to record what he/she derived from the viewing experience.
The current challenge is a Henri Cartier-Bresson photograph––his famous puddle jumper picture (not my HC-B favorite). This link will take you to the challenge page but the NYT is a subscription site so I do not know if you will be able to take the challenge. Nevertheless, there is nothing from preventing you from selecting a photo (mine or anyone’s) and isolating it on your screen and looking at it for 10 minutes. ASIDE 10 minutes ain’t a mandated / magic number, and, iMo, it is best to let your eye wander about the image instead of zooming in or out END ASIDE
IN any event, you just might see / experience something––a sensation / a feeling / a recognition of cohesive elements––that you probably would have missed with a much more abbreviated viewing.