civilized ku 4075-76 ~ a little time for me

walker / her shadow and mine ~ Manhattan / NYC, NY (click to embiggen)

NEW YORKER / 34th street ~ Manhattan / NYC, NY (click to embiggen)

First full day in Manhattan and I finally have some downtime for myself. Arrived yesterday and immediately went to B&H to attend a friend's (Mel DiGiacomo) photo /presentation / seminar. Afterward, a mid-Mahattan walk about and new pair of shoes.

Today's a bit of a relaxed no-commitments day. Nowhere to be, nothing on the schedule. Even though it's raining, I'll be headed out to get lunch and maybe, at the wife's suggestion, a pedicure + manicure.

In any event, pictures will be made. And, rain or shine, tomorrow is photo gallery hopping day.

civilized ku # 4071-72 ~ remnants

door ~ Alexandria Bat, NY • (click to embiggen)

utility meter ~ Alexandria Bay, NY • (click to embiggen)

So it begins - Turkey Day through the New Year and my tis-the-season time begins with a 7-day 1400+ mile odyssey ...

... On Thursday, home to North Jersey for Turkey Day eats. Then on Friday (without the wife), North Jersey to Rochester, NY for Hugo's hockey tournament. Sunday is the return trip to North Jersey to hook up with the wife and, on Monday, move on to NYC where she has a conference through Thursday. At which point we return home.

Looking forward to all of it, including the opportunity to visit lots of photo galleries / exhibits in NYC. Haven't been able to do so in quite a while.

Will be picturing and posting throughout the trip and, if anyone along my routes is interested in hooking up, just let know and we can try to make it happen.

civilized ku # 4070 / diptych # 215 ~ the calm before the storm

early morning light ~ Alexandria Bay • Thousand Islands, NY (click to embiggen)

vintage signs ~ Alexandria Bay • Thousand Islands, NY (click to embiggen)

Spent Friday night and most of Saturday in the very funky St. Lawrence River / heart of the Thousand Islands town of Alexandria Bay. The primary purpose was to transport Hugo and a teammate to their hockey game against the 1000 Islands Pirates.

The trip was extended through most of Saturday because, while the kids were swimming in the hotel pool after the morning game, the wife and I were able to sit on our room's balconey overlooking the St. Lawrence River / Seaway, enjoy a libation and bask in the warmth of a blue-sky 70F degree afternoon. The sojurn was made even more enjoyable with the knowledge that, by the same time Sunday, there would most likely be 2 feet of snow on the ground.

After leaving the hotel we walked arond the town's main street whick looks remarkedly like it did in the 40s and 50s - my kinda a place. I suspect the reason for that situation is that the town is a distinctly (upper) middle-class destination (although very expensive watercraft are to be found at the various docks during the summer /early fall seasons). Off season, the town rolls up the sidewalks and most retail shops / restaurants / bars close down making it a very quiet place.

AN ASIDE - most small villages and towns here about have attached to their WELCOME signs a smaller sign noting that zoning ordinances, parking restrictions and the like are in effect. A telling sign regarding the town's summer season character attached to the Alexandria Bay WELCOME sign states quite, OPEN CONTAINER LAW STRICTLY ENFORCED.

civilized ku # 4069 / ku # 1393-94 ~ late autumn remains

roadside things ~ Ore Bed Rd / Redford, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (click to embiggen)

late autumn scrub ~ Westville, NY (click to embiggen)

late autumn apples ~ Bellmont Center, NY (click to embiggen)

Apropos of just looking and seeing ...

"...with most of my photographs, the subject appears as a found object, something discovered, not arranged by me. I usually have an immediate recognition of the potential image, and I have found that too much concern about matters such as conventional composition may take the edge off the first inclusive reaction." - Ansel Adams

"Now to consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk." - Edward Weston

If one were to google around the web searching for quotes from picture makers, Photography Division, the idea at the root of the Adams' and Weston's quotes - see and react, don't think about it - can be found to originate from a wide swath of picture makers. For a spatio-visual thinker - one who thinks in pictures - that root idea makes a lot of sense. For verbal thinkers - one who thinks in words - not so much.

Without a doubt, I am predominately a visual thinker - obviously everybody can do both. People in the middle of the scale use both equally. Those lying towards the either extremity of the scale tend to favour one over the other most of the time. As a personal example, a math problem has always been a picture in my head. It is also why I have never consulted the rules of composition when making a picture.

To wit (as found on the web):
… fundamentals in visual thinking lay the ground work for many design disciplines such as art ... [where] ... Two of the most influential aspects of visual composition in these disciplines are patterns and color. Patterns are ... prevalent in many different aspects of everyday life ...

When asked how I "compose" my pictures, my answer is always the same; I picture what I see. I suspect that if a predominately verbal thinker were to be asked the same question, their answer would be formulated by the recitation of some aspect of the rules of composition.

Since most people think both ways, can a predominately verbal thinker "train" their brains to think more visually?

I don't know the answer to that question. Perhaps that question is the topic for another google around the web.

civilized ku # 4067-68 ~ moon spottings

contrail / moon / sunset ~ Fort Covington, NY (click to embiggen)

moon / flock of birds ~ Westville, NY (click to embiggen)

As I have written previously, I only rarely submit pictures for consideration for juried exhibitions. And, in fact, the only juried exhibitions to which I have submitted pictures - over the last 2-3 years - are those offered by PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont.

The reasons for that exclusivity are two fold; 1.the submission fee is reasonable - $30 for 5 picture submission, and, 2.for that fee, if one of your pictures is accepted, the gallery will print your picture for $35 - choice of high quality paper - and matte and frame and hang it for no cost. FYI, in the gallery world that is a rare offer.

All of that written, the reason for my only ocassional participation is that, when a request for theme-based submissions is announced, the name of the juror is included in the announcement. I immediately visit the juror's website in order to determine his/her picturing bias. If that bias is slanted toward (partially or completely) contrived picture making wherein software or hardware effects are on prominent display, I do not bother to submit any pictures. FYI, that seems to be the case more often than not.

That written, the next juried exhibition, Composed, features Sam Abell as the juror. Abell worked for National Geographic as a contract and staff photographer for thirty-three years so his picture criteria is no surprise:

As juror for this exhibit, what am I looking for in an image? In a word: everything. I want to see well designed photographs that have depth, strong structure, good light—and within them a spark of life.

What don’t I want to see? Images that are contrived, forced, synthetic or derivative. Images where software or hardware have made the picture.

I will be submitting pictures for consideration for this exhibition.

more artspeak blather ...

I aim to loosen the complexities of material encounter with intangible concepts.

civilized ku # 4063-66 (remains) ~ patinaed testaments

It should come as no surprise, at least not to me, after this past weekend's picturing spree - which included the not-what-they-used to-be pictures - that, after a search through my picture library, I have more than enough not-what-they-used to-be pictures to justify a new body of work. That written, while I believe the collection holds together, referent wise, I am bothered by the fact that there are, to my eye and sensibilities, two picturing M.O.s apparent in the work; 1. a structure pictured in its environment, and, 2. a structure pictured independent of its environment (see yesterday's entry).

iMo and to my eye and sensibilities, the first M.O. places the structure within the context of place whereas the second M.O., by means of emphasizing the divorced-from-environment-context relationships of color, shapes, and tones with the frame, is more graphical and, dare I write it, more Fine Art-ish.

At this time my intention is to be more accutely aware of picturing opportunities in order to add to the seen better days body of work. However, within that awareness I will be looking for referents which fall in the non-contextual and the contextual M.O.s with the intent of dividing the work into two separate - contextual / non-contextual - collections.