petals 1

It’s been too long; but sometimes life gets in the way.

The photograph here was part of my final work for the class I was taking this spring. It was an element of a triptych that was to be somehow autobiographical. In the end, I dropped the photos from the previous two posts and redid them so that the three works were all of a piece.

In doing so, the breakthrough came for me that this is an important step in my development as a photographer. I have a pretty clear idea of the subject I would like to work on as a project and this photograph is perhaps the first in a long series. I have a strong inclination towards skin and nudes, although not at all in the standard sorts of ways; the glam, soft-core crap that so many photographers do or even in a portrait / art nude sort of way, either. What I’m looking for is a more difficult beauty, a conceptual idea of skin as a surface of culture and as the site of our participation with the world.

So here we have skin that is hardly recognizable as such, at least at first glance, with some decaying flower petals strewn about. The important thing, though, is not the basic descriptive elements of the photograph, but the feeling that they convey, a sense of nostalgia, of something lost, or at least just out of reach.

For the entire time, pretty much, that I’ve been working at this seriously, I’ve been a go-out-and-find-stuff photographer, and probably I will still do that, because some of my themes can only be found in that way. But I have found that working in the studio and pre-conceptualizing is a strong method of work. Moving forward with this will, however, require overcoming some lifelong personal traits. And that may take some work.

It feels good, though, to have come to this place; to know that my art has a point, a focus, a meaning, perhaps that even a style is emerging. Some of the photos I took during my first bout with photography in the mid-’70s also have a hint of this point of view that has emerged so strongly of late, but the process of clarifying this over the past months and years has been gratifying. Although I suspect that my vision will not have a huge audience, if, in fact, quite a small one, I have come to the point where I can work with more confidence and not worry so much about that.

no. 2

When creating a photograph, there is an inner vision that guides the process. Whether one works directly from the world as it presents itself while wandering about or in the studio where the photograph is worked up consciously, there is an image in the mind that one tries to express. When observing as one walks, sometimes that inner vision needs to be acted on spontaneously; there is little or no time for conscious thought. Other times, something is seen and there is time for more consideration, as in a studio.

Envisioning an abstract photo to serve as a metaphor is not easy. Abstracts have their own way of meaning, yet the meaning can be clear. It arises from the structuring of the shapes within the frame: which parts are emphasized, how the shapes relate to one another, various types of rhythm, from color to line. All of these things create the meaning within the abstraction. Putting this meaning into words may be problematic, although sometimes a description of the photo will allow some themes to emerge.

This photo builds on the ideas of the previous one through a process of abstraction. The criticism of the class led me to crop that image to 5:4 and remove the negative space around the edges. This photo, then, began with abstracting the circular motion and the idea of a indentation or depression within the main shape. Further, the intent was to soften the image by reducing the sharp edges to a minimum and to make the depth-of-field shallow, so the contrast with the previous photo was highest. The circular shape was cropped severely and is visible mainly in the arcs across the top and emerging from the dark lower corners.

In processing, then, I worked to adjust the palette of each toward common values: mostly silver-ish tan and to use the repetition of the more orange-ish areas to provide some continuity.

The meaning, and the metaphor, are thus related to the earlier photo. A process of elaboration can allow the meaning to be transferred to the new image, which is much more abstract and yet has a similar meaning.

exposed

Last week, the assignment for my class was to do a self-portrait that was not a literal self-portrait. For me, this wasn’t a particularly challenging assignment, for the most part, because I think any intentional photograph has an element of biography, in the sense that the thing in the photo was something that struck me enough to press the shutter. The key is that it is intentional, though. There has to be some minimum of conscious choice, beyond the attempt to learn a new technique or photos taken for commercial or pre-ordained uses, which limit the element of photographer choice, or just random snapping.

So, while I was wandering the beach in Mexico, I saw a couple of these dead puffer fish. They all looked the same: dry and bleached-out and emptied from the belly. When I made this photo, I didn’t yet know that I would have the self-portrait assignment, and, indeed, I was still looking for the photo for that week (see the previous post). Nevertheless, there was something in this dried out carcass that spoke to me.

Explicating the meaning of this dead fish is a bit more difficult. First of all, it only represents some part of me, and a deeply inner aspect, at that. Even people who know me probably don’t suspect that there are all those now-useless and prickly defense mechanisms lurking below the surface, still actively interfering with making progress. And a few people do know why I feel all hollowed out, from having an essential piece removed. Then, there is my deep skepticism and cynicism that have been stoked over the past year from political events. All of which goes to show why something this disturbing would attract my eye.

Finally, I’m reaching a point with photography that my vision, to use David Duchemin’s term, is beginning to emerge and I feel less and less interest in making standard types of photos. The themes and approach that I want to explore are becoming clearer to me. The problem is that all those out-dated defense mechanism are getting in the way and it’s infinitely frustrating to me on a daily basis; which also doesn’t help the sour mood I often find myself in.

Now, the assignment is to make a three-image series with this as one element …

cleaning

Before I left on vacation, I tried to visualize a theme that might work where we were going and would be something I could fit in while relaxing and doing vacation activities. So even before we left, I had a pretty clear idea of what I was looking for: a resort worker doing something menial while being passed by tourists who were paying no
attention.

It seemed to me that something that would work into a sort of parable would be the contrast between these hard-working staff of the resort and the tourists. At the place we are staying, there are probably hundreds of people working to make everything smooth and comfy. Except for the bartenders, who are everyone’s friend, all the workers are largely invisible and the majority of tourists seem to ignore them entirely. All the while they do their work with a level of pride and thoroughness that are hard to find in America. They are friendly when you acknowledge them and help you with a smile.

There could be many levels of interpretation for this. The main one is class. Another might be the Western attitude toward the people of the developing world. On the surface, perhaps, it isn’t too deep or profound a photo, but peeling apart the layers reveals more complexity than is at first apparent. There is the level of the worldwide resort chain, providing reliable and clean accommodations; but who knows what their politics is, perhaps we’re supporting the worst sort of oppression without knowing it. Then there are the people who can afford to stay at a place like this. I have a certain amount of inner conflict about this. And finally are the local folks, who are mainly just trying to build a life for themselves and an easy way is to cater to the coddled bourgeois of the more developed world.

In this photo, which I only found on the last morning we were there, a worker is cleaning bird poop off the tile of the walkway, while a couple walk past him.

coritas cocina mexicana

Last night we returned from our spring break vacation to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. It was a smooth trip, if too short. We got away from the resort atmosphere a bit more than last year and enjoyed it more, as a result.

I’m a reluctant traveler, for the most part. I hitchhiked a fair amount when I was young and it got the travel and adventure bug out of me pretty thoroughly. The whole idea of spending a lot of money and having to deal with airports just doesn’t excite me, in fact the reverse. So now, I travel because my wife loves to travel. For the most part, I enjoy it when we get to where we are going and now that I do photography there’s at least something to occupy me while we’re there.

During this trip, I was happy to find some of my usual themes, transferred to a different culture. One could easily spend probably years in that area finding all kinds of unique and fascinating visual material. There is the old, vernacular layer, which now has an uneven overlay of the modern, with white high-rises and many areas cordoned off for the “safety” of the tourists. And many other contrasts of this sort.

In the couple of days we were there, I know I only scratched the surface. It’s not easy to know what to focus on when it’s all new and something you probably will never see again. While I didn’t shoot wildly, I think that I found many photos that are representative of the area. At the same time, I found many abstracts of a different nature than I tend to find at home and some of the work I did is more interpretative.

This photo, of course, is more toward the former, just a quaint little cocina in Bucerías, a small town a mile or so north of where we stayed.

trace

Lately, I’ve been coming to appreciate the power of conceiving and setting up little scenes to photograph. It is very different from the activity of walking around and looking for things. It isn’t like when you do that you don’t have concepts and themes in mind and other ideas in your subconscious waiting to find expression. But going through the process of conceptualizing what you want and then trying to get it provides some time for consideration and experiment that usually isn’t possible in the street.

While still more or less in the proof-of-concept stage, my series of body details provides the context for today’s photo. I have only taken a few photos so far exploring this idea. The main concepts here are: close-up of body, to the point of abstraction; filtered light; some other elements to add some conceptual complexity. It isn’t important that the skin be unblemished and, in fact, I’m coming to think that scars, tattoos, piercings, and other cultural and life traces will play an important role. The body is our surface of contact with the world and that interaction has many expressive and emotional overtones.

It’s also the case that American culture is way too hung-up about embodiedness. I expect that some photos in this series will push the boundaries of comfort at different levels. Here, that might be the pain endured as a result of what caused the scar.

Had a couple of meetings now for the class I’m taking. The dynamics of the group are quite different than in the fall. Then, most of us were roughly in a similar place with our photography: mostly comfortable with the technical parts, but looking to explore more in depth the aesthetic aspects. Now, a fair number have known the instructor for many years, some are established to some extent professionally as photographers and do shows, and there are a couple, like me, who are only a handful of years into serious work. 

So it’s more varied in that sense, although the quality of the photos is, interestingly, perhaps more predictable. 

Our first assignment was to photograph something not for what it is, but for what it represents. We are using Minor White’s idea of equivalence as a sort of touchpoint. The idea that something in the world provokes a feeling in the artist and attempting to elucidate that feeling is the artist’s endeavor.

In this photo, I thought I’d build on some of the staged works that I’d done for the fall class and incorporate some of the filtered lighting ideas that I’ve been working with over the past few months. I also did some experiments a month or so ago with some plastic sheeting and I wanted to include that, as well.

To me, there are some strong elements in this photo; the diagonal lines, the subtle lighting, the play between the green and the decaying plants, the feeling of rising toward the top of the frame. The strong abstract quality is something I worked to achieve, as well as the slightly theatrical quality. In class, though, I’m not sure anyone really knew what to say about it, since it was one of the last works discussed and mostly in generated a quizzical silence.

I’d be interested in some comments, because to me there’s something here that I would like to explore further.

fleece

Today was 30 degrees F warmer than yesterday and people were starting to get their spring enthusiasm going. Walking around with a coffee, loosening their winter coats, sitting in sunny areas that have been covered with snow for months.

For the most part today, I was trying out and testing some technical things with my camera. It seems useful to me to learn doing manual focusing, at least for part of the time. I mostly don’t have too much luck with it, between the tiny viewfinder and my eyes. I always seem to either over or under focus and it’s frustrating when an otherwise useful photo is made unusable by the focus being in the wrong place.

So I worked on practicing getting a narrow plane of focus with unfocused areas in the front and back of the focus plane. I also spent some time working with the diopter adjustment in the viewfinder, which seemed to be off. After that, I seemed to have better luck, although doing the same shot with manual focus and an autofocus point, the autofocus was always better. So maybe I need to look into getting an adapter or something.

Tomorrow starts the continuation of the class that I took in the fall. I’m looking forward to it quite a bit. It will be a different group of people, since the instructor wanted to mix up the two groups a little. So that will be something new to get used to. I’ve made some progress since the class ended in December in clarifying some parts of my aesthetic position and exploring some photographic themes that interest me. Having the interaction and the deadline of a project are useful, too.

composition

Next week the annual member show of the Center for Photography at Madison begins at University Hospital here in Madison. For my submission, I decided on this photo, which I took in Grand Marais, Minnesota, during our vacation last August. Yesterday I received the print from WHCC and it’s quite powerful at the larger size (12×18 in).

Grand Marais is a lovely little town. It seems to have a thriving artistic community and is graced by a basalt peninsula dubbed “Artist’s Point,” because it has long been and remains popular with artists. During the time we were there, I saw a handful of painters and several photographers. It has not only bare rock, but a fine, if small, example of relatively untouched Northern forest; so there are many things to photograph.

Of course, most people look for the scenic views, of which there are many, but my interests are more focused and abstract. The things I chose to photograph there were mostly along the lines of the photo above. I try to find a point of view that while completely based on the thing before me, presents it in a way that make you think a bit about what it is. This photo was made close to sunset, which had lovely light that evening.

abstract

Today my age is the same as the year I was born: 56. While to some, that might be a reason to celebrate, to me it just means that I’m older. It’s nothing to be proud of, or a sign of anything, it just is a fact.

Making photographs is a way for me to make use of my time, a means of pursuing philosophy, maybe, in a variant form. While I am interested in a certain sense of beauty in my work, it is by no means what generally passes for beauty in photography. I have little interest in scenics, the grand landscape with over-saturated skies and billowing clouds, etc. etc., especially the over-done HDR variety. Flowers are mainly of interest to me when they are well into their decay phase. And so on for most photographic genres.

What I find most fascinating is light and its interaction with stuff. In the photo above, that stuff is ice and a small rock, partially shadowed, but with effects of light spilling out into the shadowy areas. At the same time, what the photo contains of the world is less important than the structure and the overall aesthetic impression, the play of the shapes and the gradations of tone.

While, when I first started thinking about his post, I thought it would be more bleak (and in a few weeks it will be four years since my first step into death), it seems that art provides a foothold and a discipline that can form a foundation for thought. This thought can be transposed into photography. When it connects with my consciousness then the beauty that my art expresses finds a way into the world as a new thing, a thing that puts a conception, an interpretation, into the photograph.

So I will continue to seek out my beauty, the meaning enfolded in the world.