Henry Mountains at 70 mph
I remember when we were making our tour of the area surrounding Capital Reef (September 2, 2013) that I was in “happy snap,” not serious, Fine Art Photographer mode. I need to be in a spot for quite a while before I can get in the proper frame of mind to create a photograph that is more than recording what is in front of me. Mementos of a good time are valuable, but I aspire to produce something that has quite a bit more of me in it than just what is in front of the camera. The problem with landscape photography is the temptation to make a pretty picture (easy to do in southern Utah) is not really what I want to do. The goal is to make a pretty picture that says something about yourself and your relationship to the subject and be able to say that something to the audience so they understand it. It’s a triangle that has to be completed: the artist, the subject and the audience. While the world can always benefit from more beauty, the goal is to make the beauty meaningful. That’s not easy.
To make that connection with the landscape and the audience takes time. Without going all mystical on you, I have to get a feel for something before I can make a photograph. It could take a few hours, it could take a few days, or it might even take years. Yesterday, as we rolled through the Utah landscape, it was great to see wonderful scenes that can I may be able to come back to in the future.
I didn’t make many "artsy" photographs yesterday, but I did make many more memories. Memories usually improve with time, most photographs don’t.
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