discursive promiscuity ~ ~ big ambitions

covers

covers

intro spread

The book project which I mentioned in my last entry is partially completed inasmuch as the first iteration of the book is, except of the intro spread, pictures only, free of words and ready to go. It is primarily intended for submission to the gallery / art institution director audience.

The next iteration - the most difficult part of the total project - is to write text for the book which reflect my views, re: the medium of photography and its apparatus, and a discourse, re: my eye sensibilities and how they drive my picture making - the referents I choose, how I picture them, and my intentions for doing so. For all intents and purpose, a story about my life in photography.

My objective in writing that text is to create a how-to (of sorts) which addresses the audience of picture makers who are looking to break out of the confines of making pictures which they have been told are good pictures by helping them find their own way of seeing. It is my belief that many "serious" picture makers have arrived "at a technical plateau where production of a technically good photograph is relatively easy" and "It is here that real photography starts and most photographers quit" ~ Brooks Jensen - Things I've learned about photography.

Those picture makers are well past the point of technique / "mastering" something or another how-to books. They are looking for some guidance regarding going beyond / "forgetting" about the techincal and gear stuff and moving on to a place in their picture making where they can discover and experieince the joy / pleasure/ satisfaction of making pictures that evidence their own personal manner of seeing.

My intent is to create a book which appeals to that audience of seekers and consequently to a publisher which might interested in publishing it.

civilized ku # 4096 ~ smoked meat

smoked meats, steaks, cocktail lounge, and a Bloody Caesar ~ Ottawa, Ontario, CA (click to embiggen)

Read as part of a movie's credits:

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart. ~ Helen Keller

That quote got me to thinking ... one can see and touch a photographic print and, in some instances, that print can be a beautiful thing. In addition, the combination of those characteristics / qualities can lead directly to feelings "of the heart" instigated by the picture itself.

That written (and it should not be considered to a refutation of Keller's statement, but rather an addendum to it), I believe that the overwhelming number of pictures which are made, viewed and appreciated are those which depict something / someone that is precious to the picture maker / picture viewer, as opposed to their artistic merit(s).

Be that as it may, Keller, due to her blindness, was never able to experience the act of being "touched" by a photographic print. However, as evidenced by another Keller quote ...

So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good.

... Keller most certainly understood and appreciated the power, pleasure and comfort provided by memories. And so it is with those who view pictures which have a talisman-like effect on the viewer due to their memory inducing characteristics - hence the propensity of those fleeing an impending disaster most often grab a family picture album or pictures as the thing they would most like to save.

That nearly instictive reaction leads me to wonder - if a collector of fine art pictures were to be fleeing a disaster, would he/she save the art or the memories?

civilized ku # 4095 ~ and an FYI

January 5 / no snow ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (click to embiggen)

After experiencing a winter wonderland - post Alberta Clipper - in Ottawa, arriving home to a snowless Au Sable Forks is a bit of a downer.

FYI, my picture, night swim / green was selected into the COMPOSED exhibition at the PhotoPlace Gallery in Vermont. Over 2,200 pictures were submitted for consideration, 75 pictures made the cut.

See the selects HERE.

selective focus # 1-3 ~ now for something completely different

selective focus # 1

selective focus # 2

selective focus # 3

This summer past I started to play around with making selective focus pictures. Pictures which, although they might look like an effect was applied, are actually straight from the camera with no post picture making effects applied.

As previously mentioned, I am casting about, picture making wise, for a new picturing M.O. which, although still straight picture making, is nevertheless distinctly different from my previous picture making endeavors (which I will still continue). While I am not readt to declare selective focus as that M.O., I will continue to make such pictures in an effort to see where it goes.

Opinions and thoughts appreciated.

civilized ku # 4093-94 / iPhone picture # 5 ~

New Year's Eve snow storm ~ Gatineau, Quebec, CA (click to embiggen)

New Year's AM / Hotel V ~ Gatineau, Quebec, CA (click to embiggen)

Ice Arena bar (iPhone picture) ~ Ottawa, Ontario, CA (click to embiggen)

Our hockey tournament stay in Ottawa was extended by an extra day due to the effects of an Alberta Clipper. Driving home 6:30pm in a heavy snow storm didn't really seem like the thing to do.

So, the wife found a pretty cool / hip / trendy hotel - Hotel V - in Gatineau, Quebec for us to wile (or if you prefer, while) away the hours 'til the New Year. On the way to the hotel we stopped at an LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Canada) store to pick up a bottle of bubbly and shortly after our arrival at the hotel we went out for a quick bite to eat. It was a very relaxing end to a successful hockey tournament.

FYI, one of the very good things about any hockey tournamant in Canada is the Canadian commitment to having very nice bars - with good bar food - in almost all ice arena / hockey rinks. The facilities are a warm comfortable place to hang out while waiting for a game to start - most teams must arrive at a rink 1 hour before game time.

viewmatic # 7 ~ the beauty of simply taking photographs

stuff on kitchen counter ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK (click to embiggen)

Considering today's artspeak blather / bullocks quote ...

"The photographs contained herein are a record of some things I have seen since I first began to use the camera as a framing tool in 1970."

... I thought posting an image which emphasised the "framing tool" function of a camera would be the thing to do.

The quote is from Michael Dunev whose pictures are presented in today's entry on LENSCRATCH. That entry begins with the statement that ...

...Sometimes we get so caught up in the intention of photography or finding subjects to build a project on, that we forget the beauty of simply taking photographs...

... a notion with which I totally agree, with the exception of the Academic Lunatic Fringe which is always caught up in the intention of photograph.

Dunev's pictures do indeed appear to be made with the idea of "simply making photographs" at the fore of his picturing M.O. His pictures are relatively free of picture making tropes-and-tricks artifice commonly employed to feign artfulness. Although, that written, his pictures do exhibit a visual nod to those of Michael Kenna. (Please consider this statement as an observation rather than as a criticism).

In any event, where Dunev loses me is with his Artist Statement in which - while certainly not the most egregious artspeak bullocks I have ever read - he, seemingly like most art school grads, veers off into references to "quantum mechanics" and the "uncertainty priciple" and, of course, "the camera as a framing tool".

While I understand why picture makers from the Academic Lunatic Fringe need to write artspeak-infested viewer instruction guides in order to connect a viewer to their pictures - which most often do not evidence any visual clue regarding the picture maker's intent - why can't art school grads let their pictures "speak" for themselves and, in the process, let the viewer "read / interpret / understand" a picture(s) according to what they see in a picture (visually) and what they bring to the viewng experience?

Dunev also wrote:

The photographs contained herein are a record of some things I have seen since I first began to use the camera as a framing tool (ed. strike out) in 1970. They are a subjective interpretation of topics that have concerned me over the years, such as loneliness in the urban landscape, the relationship between people and nature and the human footprint on our environment, transforming over the years, my own perception of the object of my gaze, to remain as still reminders of a single moment.

iMo, that's all he needed to write.