Postcards from the Creative Journey

Photography Without Limitations II

Door, Charleston, South Carolina

When photographic options were limited, we had arbiters of photographic taste that were able to direct the masses to “good” photographs. The arbiters of good taste were capable of rationally explaining why certain photographs were “good” in comparison to others. There were conventions that made discernment of good photography readily identifiable. The reasoning was rational, based on aesthetics of the past and required dedication to craft.

Of course, today things are much, much different. The Web, Instagram, flickr and other social media sites have given the masses the ability to share their photographs and in doing so have redefined photographic aesthetics - democratically. The taste of popular photography has shifted to take into account what is considered a “good” photograph. The “goodness” of a photograph can be determined by the numbers of “thumbs up” given to a particular image. Those that are learning the process and commenting on the work of others with no real experience or qualifications are considered “experts” because they have the temerity to offer their opinions on image sharing sites.

Beginners are learning photographic aesthetics from others that are as equally unqualified as themselves. Possession of a log on ID does not confer upon the owner the privilege of becoming either a learned critic of photographic art or photographic instructor. But, alas, that is the future or photography. Photography is being taught to the masses by those that are not the least bit steeped in an aesthetic, but are more technologically adept at manipulating software, because that’s what photography has become. 

Photography Without Limitations I

Open Door,

The Hasting Building, Port Townsend, WA

The fewer choices you have, the easier your life becomes. Waiting on a four year old to decide on their meal at a fast food restaurant illustrates the paralytic response to even a small number of choices. The number of choices facing a photographer today complicates the decisions surrounding the creation of a photograph.

In the ancient past when I learned photography, technical limitations of wet process photography dictated subject matter and print size. Once the shackles of the analog world were broken by digital technology, the restraints in place since the beginning of photographic craft disappeared. Subjects that were not photographable because of technical limitations became fair game. We are no longer limited by print size and color reproduction. The tools available to today’s photographers are the most advanced the craft has ever seen. At least until tomorrow when something new and even better will be invented.

The technological bonds have been shattered and we now have almost unlimited technical alternatives. How do we use them?

To be continued…

An Open Door

Open Door, The Ark, Durham, North Carolina

Open Doors are a photographer’s friend. A long time ago I participated in a photographic group that met on the campus of Duke University. One afternoon before I left campus, I walked over to an old building and pulled a door handle. The door opened and I walked in. The building was the original gymnasium for Duke University and was repurposed as a dance studio. It is still called “The Ark” because of a mezzanine running track just wide enough for two people. I was the only one in the building. There is something about walking into an empty building the size of a basketball court. Footsteps echo and vanish quickly into the large open space. You wonder if there is anyone else is inside the building because the door was open. You make small, quiet steps and try not make your “Hello?” too overpowering, because you want to identify anyone else there with you and not scare the bejesus out of them. You also don’t want to make too much noise because you’re not really sure if you’re allowed to be in this empty building. You walk slowly and softly straining to hear a sound other than your footfalls.

Once you are almost sure that you are alone in this large, empty room, you think to yourself, “How am I going to photograph the quiet?”

The Flame of Recognition

 

Dead Tree and Rocks, Washington Coast

Photographically, Edward Weston is one of my artistic heroes. Reading “The Flame of Recognition” when I was in college was the key event that made me understand photography could be much, much more than the snapshots I had been making. Weston’s “Flame of Recognition” lit my fire for creative photography (sorry about the word play) and his clean compositions (“the strongest way of seeing”) have been a guide for my photographic compositions ever since. I have fallen short of achieving his brilliance many times, but I continue to ask myself, “What is the strongest way of seeing the scene in front of me?”

What made Weston such a good photographer? The question was answered in the film, “The Photographer” by Willard VanDyke (a film maker and member of the f/64 group). In the film, the narrator ascribes Weston’s success to:

• An intense love for the world around him
• A sharp eye attuned to the values of the mind behind them
• Constant search for significant form, the need to find order in what first appears to be chaos
• The discipline of technique the painstaking skill of the master craftsman

In the handy list provided by the narrator there is not a single reference to anything specifically photographic. The characteristics are strictly mental and can apply to any art form. In fact, I would suggest that these four points are essential to living the creative life.

Here’s a link to the  entire film on YouTube. Spend about twenty minutes and learn about a great photographer.