In a recent trip to Eastern Montana for a family event, we spent a lot of time driving from one town to the next. It’s easy to do in Montana because there is a lot of space between towns. We were passing through a small valley, and I noticed a wonderful scene. Because we were on a schedule, we could not stop to make the photograph.
I thought maybe I should come back the next day and make that photograph.
Then I thought to myself, “Why?” Would I be willing to spend an hour and a half driving to make one image and some variations? The killer question was simply, “How would this image fit into a past, current or future project?” In the past week I have driven past many wonderful scenes of Montana, and I was faced with a whole series of questions., “Do I really need another ‘one of’ landscape photograph? Where does this scene belong in my oeuvre? Do I need another western landscape as part of my photographic life, or do I need a new project? How can I interpret this scene in a way that is beautiful, meaningful and revelatory about life? What is an oeuvre anyway?
I didn’t have an immediate answer. It may take a while to figure out what the answer should be. We continued driving to our destination.
PS. That's what part of Eastern Montana looks like.
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