places • landscape • people ~ TMI

August 7, 2023

***from the Mountain Course 1st tee*** ~ (embiggenable)

***weekend activities*** ~ (embiggenable)

SOMETHING I DO NOT UNDERSTAND…why would anyone interested in the medium of photography bother to follow a (obstensibly) photo site / blog wherein the author constantly loads it up with chit-chat about swimming / pool / other non-photo activities, coffee, broken refrigerators, audio equipment..hell…even the weather. Reminds me of the few times I was the speaker at some camera club events-do actual go-to-meetin’ camera clubs even still exist?-where the assembled crowd mingled about (pre-speechifying) sipping wine and chit-chatting about all kinds of things other than photography. The exception being, of course, showing off and or talking about a new camera or piece of gear.

Now I’m not suggesting that a camera club meet up should be all photo-talk / business and no play. It is, in fact, a social gathering and it’s normal (almost natural) that people might want to talk-faceo a faceo-about their recent skid into a snowbank, how they got right with their maker or some such conversion before they get down to the business at hand. I get it cuz, unlike visiting a blog, it’s an actual face-to-face gathering / event. I been there, done that.

That written and at least for me, when I am on the interweb looking for interesting photography or interesting writing about the medium and its apparatus (aka: conventions, traditions, and practices), I have no use for those sites that are little more than a (chit) chatroom wherein it becomes all about the author and the inconsequential (photo wise) minutia-verbal, not visual-of his/her daily life.

Quite a while back-3-4 years?-when I was contemplating the direction I wanted to pursue, re: this blog, the one thing I promised my self and readers was that I would never turn it into a my-life chatroom. So far, mission accomplished.

And that is why, as an example, I could write all about my weekend…

…like how the wife and had breakfast in Lake Placid with our daughter and soon-to-depart for college (where he will play college hockey) grandson and describe in detail the bloody mary with pickle I had with breakfast after which I picked up some meds and then went to the framing shop to order a frame for an INSTAX picture a local craft gallery wants to display for sale OR like how on Saturday evening the wife and I went to a newly opened, renovated former ski lodge for a drink and live music and write about the sangria I had and how it compared to the sangria(s) I had in Portugal OR like how on Sunday I played golf on the Lake Placid Club Links Course with the aforementioned about-to-depart grandson and give a detailed account of the course conditions (to include the weather), my score (and how it might effect my USGA handicap index) vs my grandson’s score and whine and complain some more about the idiot 4-some in front of us who refused to let us play through even though there was no one on the course ahead of them…

..but I won’t.

# 6658 / commmon places ~ where did that come from?

July 29, 2023

IT IS SOMEWHAT COINCIDENTAL THAT AFTER POSTING AN entry about creativity that, today, I was told that I have a wonderfully creative idea. To wit…

…2 entiries back, I mentioned that I had assembled a collection of my photographs of my home town-made after the first The Forks ~ there’s no place like home gallery exhibition. I had done so “in anticipation of a gallery exhibition titled, The Forks ~ it really is a small town.” Well, as it turns out that, today, after presenting the idea to the Tahawus Cultural Center gallery director, the only anticipation in play is the anticipation associated with selecting the exhibition opening date.

Quite obviously (or should be), it was the gallery director who mentioned “the wonderfully creative” idea. He thought that the idea of exhibiting small prints-INSTAX prints in 8x10 black metal gallery frame-of a small town in a small gallery-the small gallery is the ground floor, tiny store front* of the cultural center-was both creative and somewhat subversive. But what he especially liked was my interactive idea to, during the opening, print out Instax prints for individual gallery goer requests (for specific pictures) for $1.00US per print. Of course, framed prints and a companion book will be for sale at more conventional price points.

All of the above written, since I recently addressed the topic, you might be wondering where this idea came from, aka: the source of my creativity…

…truth be written, there was no single source of inspiration. Although, it could be reasonably argued that my acquisition of the INSTAX Mini Link Printer-and my subsequent infatuation with the prints-was what ignited the whole endeavour. It started a chain reaction which went something like this….

….buy the printer and start making some “test’ prints of existing pictures on my iPhone library…one of which was a picture of my hometown and, I liked what I saw…a picture which got me to thinking that I have a fair number of pictures made of my hometown since the original 2010 THE FORKS exhibition…so, I culled out another 35 hometown pictures and started making some prints…the more I made, the more I liked them…the more I liked them, the more I began to think about a possible exhibition…which got me to thinking about a title for the work…hmmmm, small prints? hey! it’s a small town, and, guess what? there’s a really small gallery in town…of course there has to be a book…and then the thought occurred to me that, since I don’t need to make any money from the exhibition, why not sell, for next to nothing, INSTAX prints made on the spot?…bada bing, bada boom…a few short weeks later, I’m scheduling an exhibition date.

FYI, I have never bought into the idea that, if you are in need of a spark to get the creative juices flowing, get a new piece of gear-camera, lens, etc. An idea, that, iMo, is right up there with the-if ya wanna make better pictures, get a better camera-nonsense.

I also believe, or at least know (in my case), that while I have always had a reputation of being a creative type-after all, I was a Creative Director at one time-I can honestly write that I never had a sudden, spontaneous, out-of-the-blue moment of creative inspiration. For me, creativity was a result of rather mundane, sorta plodding along, moment to moment / day to day immersion over the course of letting an idea germinate and seeing where it goes. That, and begining each thought with “what if….?”

That’s cuz I believe it ain’t what you eat, it’s the why how you chew it.

*she wanted to have the exhibition in the large 2nd floor gallery but I insisted that it had to be in the small store front gallery.

# 6651-53 / kitchen life • common place ~ instax gratification

July 19, 2023

**a part of the 01/21 exhibition** - not (embiggenable)

I HAVE BEEN PREOCCUPIED RECENTLY IN THE MAKING of 32 INSTAX prints of pictures of my home town. The effort has been made in anticipation of a gallery exhibition titled. The Forks ~ it really is a small town. The exhibition would be a redux / revival of my 2011 exhibition The Forks ~ there’s no place like home - about which this review was written:

Last Friday, I went to the new Tahawus Cultural Center – currently under renovation as part of an ongoing rehab project. On display was "The Forks - there's no place like home" by photographer Mark Hobson, which features intimate and intriguing portraits of the local community ... you can see Hobson's great photos right through the great shop front windows ... you might have seen Hobson's work recently in the Lake Placid Center for the Arts Annual Juried Exhibition .…. Of course, a picture is worth a thousand words, so the best way to experience Hobson's evocative work is to head over to Ausable Forks and check it out ... It is a great photography show in an exciting new gem of a space and I recommend stopping by for a visit.

2 years after the exhibition, Adirondack Life Magazine published an 8 page feature-presented monograph style-of pictures from the exhibition. Added bonus - the magazine (and I) won an Award of Merit in the annual International Regional Magazine Awards event, the judges noting that the pictures were a “refreshing look at home”, “everyday scenes that many people overlook”, and how they were struck by how beautifully the series captured everyday life in a small town.

It should go without writing but, no surprise, since the exhibition, I have continued to make pictures of my small town. No particular reason for doing so other than the fact that here it is and so am I. But, as fate would have it, enter the INSTAX Mini Printer.

To wit, my acquisition of the INSTAX Mini Printer got me to thinking that the small prints-a tiny bit over 2x3 inches-would be a perfect format for pictures of a small town (we’re talking 600 people here). And, what better place to exhibit them than in a really small gallery.

Wow. What a creative cosmic convergence - really small photographs of a really small town in a really small gallery. The only thing that could make it even better would be if I were 4 foot tall.

PS meanwhile life goes on in my kitchen

# 6645-50 / places • people • things ~ my change over day in pictures

July 14, 2023

YESTERDAY MORNING I CLOSED OUT MY 76th year on the planet and began the first day of my 77th year on the planet first day with a walk around the neighborhood to check out the rain results on our local river and brook. Both were raging and roaring up to, but not over, flood stage level. Returning home I got into my normal morning wake up routine which goes as follows…

Coffee, coffee, coffee

coffee, coffee

coffee

Everybody shut up

coffee

Next up, around noon, I picked up a good friend (since grammar school) and went to lunch where I made an instax picture / print of our friendly bartender /waitress. After a very leisurely repast + a tipple of Lagavulan 16 (all praise the peat), we headed out to return my friend to his home. During the drive we drove straight into yet another rain storm. And, after arriving at my house, I and the cat lounged through an hour-and-a-half thunder storm. Me on the bed reading and he under the bed hiding.

Next up, the wife arrived home from work and I made a call to our local liquor store to inquire about the anticipated arrival of a unique whiskey, Fuji Japanese Whisky, I had requested that they find and order. Lo and behold, it had arrived on the very day of the beginning of my 77th year.

So, after the wife retrieved said whisky, we spent a relaxing 2 hours on our back porch inbibing and watching the rain clouded sky transition into a soft, drifting clouds sunset.

It was a nice day.

BTW, the pictures in this entry appear in top-bottom, chronological order.

# 6624 / here I go again ~ I can not help myself

June 26, 2023

I AM ADDICTED. THERE IS USE FIGHTING OR DENYING it. I have been swallowed whole into the Instax microcosm. Just a few days after acquiring the Instax printer, prints are mounted, framed and hanging on the wall.

At the light-heartness of it all, it is just a belated extension of my former Polaroid SX70 affect-ion. Which, at its core, is the answer to the question, “How much fun can one have making pictures?” Although, to be clear, it’s not as though I do not receive satisfaction / pleasure from the act of making “regular” pictures. Rather, making instant prints seems to be so much less “serious” of an endeavor. However, that written, I have discovered that making pictures for Instax print making can be, indeed, a very rigorous and demanding undertaking.

For instance….I have learned that not every picture making possibility is well-suited for presentation on an Instax print. Contrary to what one might think, re: the small size of an Instax print might be better suited to pictures with simpler subject matter. Not so to my eye and sensibilities.

Through trial and error, I have come to the conclusion that the more complex and detailed the subject matter the more one is drawn into the picture, both physically-bend at the waist-and visual curiosity wise. A form of engagement that is quite different from “normal” print viewing (idiotic pixel-peepers excepted) - an engagement that some might find annoying and that others might feel is rather intriguing.

FYI, all of this fascination springs from the fact that I have always believed in the idea that “small is beautiful” - a principle espoused by Leopold Kohr (1909–1994) advancing small, appropriate technologies, policies, and polities as a superior alternative to the mainstream ethos of "bigger is better".

Consequently, to my eye and sensibilities, I look at / consider Instax prints as precious, little gems. Much like traditional, small religious icons. Apparently, I don’t need no stinkin’ 24x36” prints.

# 6611 / common places • common things ~ a return to yesteryear (sorta)

June 16, 2023

IT’S SORTA THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT; THERE IS the Polaroid camera whirl-like sound of the a print ejecting from the camera, the impatient wait for the image to develop, and the delight of almost instant gratification. However, different-wise, it’s not quite instant inasmuch as I need to send the image to the printer from my iPhone and, re: to obtain the result I want, I make a few simple adjustments-density, saturation, contrast-on the printer app and then hit the print button..

Nevertheless, in very short order I have a print in hand. A print that I can pass around to on-hand relatives or friends, an act which engenders much more delight than handing an iPhone around. And, should a request be expressed that someone would like a copy of the print, I can just press the print button and viola.

FYI, the palm sized printer is a Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2 Smartphone Printer.-$100US at B&H. The prints are credit card size. Prints can be made from a just-made photo or from any picture in my iPhone’s picture library. Images are sent to the printer from my iPhone via Bluetooth (any phone with bluetooth will do). Print cost is $.66 a piece when purchased in a 6-pack. Each print pack has 10 prints. BTW, there is an Instax Wide Link Printer-2.4 x 3.9" prints-and an Instax Square Link Printer-2.44 x 2.44" prints-available.

This thing is a genuine more-fun-than-a-barrel-of-monkeys print making device. I mean, after making the purchase, how much photo fun can you have for only 66 cents a pop-actually, a whirl-is never ending.

All of that written, I now have a new objective, photography-wise. I want to create / exhibit The World’s Smallest Photo Exhibition. If I am able to get the word out far-and-wide enough, I would like to receive Instax print submissions made by others for consideration for the exhibition.