A Transient Rumination

The set of tools that photographer’s use today is rapidly removing the limitations that have traditionally molded the visual possibilities within the medium. What does this expansion of possibilities and the ease at which these variations can be realized do to the process of making images? I wonder why I see so many artists impose upon themselves limitations, whether conscious or unconscious, by choosing materials with defined boundaries. Why have so many people chosen a specific type of paint to work in? Why are there photographers putting the brakes on so to speak and saying “I just want to make pictures” not shoot video, not work on 3D models in Photoshop CS4? When did Photoshop become about 3D wire meshes and editing video? And of course where does the decisive moment fit when your camera can shoot 30 fps in HD-any of which are suitable for publication in many newspapers and websites around the world? Where does the still image fit into this ever changing set of photographic tools?

Photography is unique in the visual arts. It requires physicality to function. It requires a presence, a thing, an object, a place. It requires a noun in order to become what it is. No other art requires anything except the mind of the artist. A photographic image cannot be made from memory. A painting can. A sculpture can. A photograph cannot. What does this mean to me as a photographic artist? Does it even matter?

The link to reality that photography needs in order to fulfill it’s function has been a stumbling block from it’s invention in 1839. At first people only wanted to record facts, places, and things. Fast forward 169 years and it seems that many of us are more interested in photographing from memory. I’m more interested in communicating what is in my head than what my eyes see. It seems to go against the very nature of the medium I have chosen to communicate through. Can it be done? What are the images going to look like? Where will they come from and how will they be made? Does technology get in the way of this desire to photograph from memory? Project our thoughts another 100 years into the future and where does photography find itself?

Original Post October 6, 2008

The genesis of my thesis work dealt largely with the physical body in relation to environment. Finding peace and deep understanding about this dynamically changing relationship caused me great consternation. Initially I was driven by a subconscious fear, a mostly undirected, vague, menacing sort of fear that I eventually realized was about the changes in my physical form and the process of figuring out how to be okay with those changes. 

My sense of self has been directly linked to my physical form, at least historically, and along with this link there has been the aforementioned unease simmering away. It was important for me to face this fear of the unknown and to come to terms with the reality of change in our bodies and the disparate relationship between our minds and the body that we inhabit. 

It was with halting steps that I began the journey of a two year project exploring various facets of identity, memory, and time. At some point along the way the morbid fascination with how my body was changing, growing older, and closer to death with each passing day faded away and I began to find peace with the realization that I am not a body. 

This post is probably going to appear nonsensical to the 2 people who may read it, but for me 2 years of work originated with a tiny seed of fear and doubt that led me a place of equanimity. I don’t think I could ask for any more from a project such as this. In the future I’ll be posting some fragments of the writing that helped me find my way.

Original Post September 30, 2008

What is it about the brain? It’s always ahead of our hands and our abilities. The wonderful visions that can be conjured up in a photographers mind-perfect light, perfect composition, a pristine vision of the most perfect moment…yet the reality always falls short, a mere shadow of the perfection in our minds eye. Does it always have to be like that? Is vision always ahead of our ability to execute? 

This phenomenon is something that has happened in my own creative life many times-and appears to be a common theme in most of my students lives as well. According to those who write about art and vision this is apparently usually the case, the brain is consistently more advanced than our abilities. Funny, because we are controlled by the very thing that controls our hands-so how is it that our brain can envision this perfectly rendered world yet all too often cannot convince our bodies to commence in the creation of that perfection? 

Why is it this way?

Original Post September 21, 2008

What a renaissance we are experiencing! Never before have we been able to control everything about an image. Never before have we been able to have ultimate flexibility with our workflow. And very soon we will be able to shoot 1080p video at unheard of quality with a $2700 camera. The Canon EOS 5D Mark II is upon us and it is indeed going to change the nature of what DSLR’s are capable of. Sure, Nikon recently released a D90 capable of shooting 720p video, but the new 5D shoots 21MP stills and 1080p video with some of the best lenses in the industry. From the murmurs on the grapevine those in the know claim it has some of the best low light performance of any video camera they have ever seen. 

I’m not sure how I feel about DSLR’s shooting video-but I do know that with such a capable camera shooting such fantastic video, photographers are going to be changing how they see the world. Will they stop shooting stills? Absolutely NOT! But what will they do with it? That remains to be seen. It is another fundamental shift in the capabilities of our tools and one that will reverberate through the industry.

Original Post August 20, 2008

Critique is essential. For photographers it is a time to begin to understand how your work is viewed objectively and an opportunity to break down mental barriers between the work and your emotional connection to that work. A hard critique, one that challenges your understanding of the medium and your use of it can be compared to the process of turning coal into diamonds. 

For all students and artists critique should be seen as an opportunity for gaining greater clarity in your creative life. As cliche as it may sound no one has ever gotten better without periods of questioning and doubt about the validity and direction of a body of work. Critique is the catalyst for beginning to know yourself.

Original Post August 19, 2008

Photography, by its very nature, is unique in the visual arts. The camera shows us all too easily the thing itself rather than a personal vision of the individual wielding the tool. It is by far the easiest and most ubiquitous device to use and therefore it’s power is often diminished. A skilled photographer, however,  can show us something so much more than the thing itself-the world of the mind, of thoughts and of memory. Creating work that is deeper and more complete than what is represented takes time and dedication to the craft of photography and a desire to understand yourself and the world around you. The ability to use the physical attributes of a photograph to speak of the intangible aspects of life is a gift and a responsibility, one that I find ceaselessly fascinating.