A beautiful and serene read. More so than other mediums photography is an art form that seems to attract more people due to the technical aspects as opposed to the art of it. I certainly found that appealing initially. It almost frames taking a photo being a solvable problem; which although a seemingly appealing concept, removes a lot of the meaning.
Love this piece, meditating on the philosophy of photography - asking what emotions do a set of images evoke is more satisfying than delving into the technical specs
Thanks Jim - new subscriber. I am always impressed by people who can articulate what is happening in a photo, what it makes them feel, even if its not their photo. It's an invaluable skill. My experience of being in the woodland (which for me is generally temperate rainforest) is quite differnet - I feel serenity and a sense of being encompassed by life. Perhaps it's the books you read - LOL.
Totally agree on what you have written. Sometimes there is a feeling, thought or idea about something you see or just saw and it is hard to put it in words when you are lacking the vocabulary. All what’s there is a sense of beauty and importance. And even more difficult when that glimpse in your head will be quickly overwritten while you are busy searching for the terms to describe it.
I really enjoyed this piece and your images. The Adams silouhette of the women in the window is a favorite of mine!
It’s truly hard to find a critique group that can get beyond the likes and technical details. My photography mentor challenged a group of us to state the “question” that drives our work this week…many had a hard time doing that and I feel that question very much aligns with the “what and why” you speak of in this essay. Aligning the question to the resulting work often involves a lot of wash, rinse and repeat in my experience. I am currently studying the work of Luigi Ghiri who somehow manages to elevate the banal through his vision and examining what it is to really see.
Anyways, thank you forgiving me something to ponder and may you make the most of the last days of early spring!
Thanks for the comments. Adam's image is just so perfect. I've been lucky to see it in two museum shows over the years. You know, his prints are all fairly small. Especially by todays standards where photographer seem to need to make work that is as big as a 70's color field painting.
This was a very good essay. I am drawn to the work of Adams and Soth for the same reasons. The is a sense of loss, longing and even sadness in their pictures which really speak to me. Your work is often on the same level. You say you try find words to describe your works, but I think you did a very good job here. I often fail to write about my own work, describing why I took this or that photo, because sometimes I really can’t say why.
Your essay resonated with me on many different levels. Thank you.
I did a re-edit (something I often do) of the first two paragraphs and spoke more directly about this issue of vocabulary. It occurred to me that in art school critiques (in the 70s!) we really seldom talked about technical stuff but instead focused on the meaning of the work - I think because we all knew the work, and usually looked at 5 or more of one student's paintings at a time. It was easier to compare and contrast...and less likely to lead to negative feedback. When I try to post a set of works, a selection from a project, on social media, no one ever seems to click through to look at the set. But the compare and contrast is where the action it! Setting up 5-10 works to look at also makes thinking "where am I going with this?" much easier to see, and explain.
I agree that a set of photographs can often tell so much more can one photograph can. Especially if it meant to be part of a series. Social Media like Instagram isn’t the right place for something like this. People there want content that is fast and easy to digest. Your photos are more the ones to look at and contemplate on.
I'd also like to add that, the Alec Soth on Loneliness in Silicon Valley piece really hits home, as somebody who spent the majority of his life in the middle of it. I recognize exactly what he's talking about.
Alec has a video series on the web that's very good. We love Alec here and saved for two years and bought a large photo. He talks a lot about his own feelings of lonilness and depression in a lot of videos. I find his work, both photos and videos, great resources for my own journey.
Excellent post, and that's a great Adams video you've imbedded. He's 100% on point for me, and does a great job of explaining. fwiw, my own pretty pictures bore me, except for the memories they might provide me of having been there.
I don't begrudge photo groups who look at technical details - it's part of growing as an artist. An understanding of technique is helpful to have in a person's toolkit. But being a slave to sharpness, classic composition, etc. is not an especially evolved way of thinking about art. Much more is available to each of us.
Yes, I just edited the beginning of the essay (I often see mistakes a week later and re-edit!) and added some things about those groups - which I belong to. Without them, my camera, some days, wouldn't be working. But there is a real fear, it seems, to talking about the meaning of a photo on line. It's purpose. I think its a lack of vocabulary. Someone needs to publish a short cheat sheet of photo-talk vocabulary.
What sort of vocabulary are you wishing for... I.e., what type of things are you thinking should be explained specifically as regards photo-talk?
It's always worth remembering that the person who makes an image has their own, deeply personal experience from two things: Being there in the moment of capture, and from the process of creating. The viewer has neither, but they do have their own, deeply personal perspectives. The viewer has their own life experiences which are drawn from as they view anything in the world, whether it's familiar or not, and whether it's art or anything else.
The viewer who wants to "fix" or change somebody else's work is often reflecting where they are as an artist themselves. (Not always, but often).
Eventually that person may grow beyond that stage of artistic development to where they simply reflect on what they are seeing, or they may never get to that stage.
We all carry a substantial set of bags with us as we walk down the road.
A beautiful and serene read. More so than other mediums photography is an art form that seems to attract more people due to the technical aspects as opposed to the art of it. I certainly found that appealing initially. It almost frames taking a photo being a solvable problem; which although a seemingly appealing concept, removes a lot of the meaning.
Love this piece, meditating on the philosophy of photography - asking what emotions do a set of images evoke is more satisfying than delving into the technical specs
Thanks Jim - new subscriber. I am always impressed by people who can articulate what is happening in a photo, what it makes them feel, even if its not their photo. It's an invaluable skill. My experience of being in the woodland (which for me is generally temperate rainforest) is quite differnet - I feel serenity and a sense of being encompassed by life. Perhaps it's the books you read - LOL.
Hi Jim,
Totally agree on what you have written. Sometimes there is a feeling, thought or idea about something you see or just saw and it is hard to put it in words when you are lacking the vocabulary. All what’s there is a sense of beauty and importance. And even more difficult when that glimpse in your head will be quickly overwritten while you are busy searching for the terms to describe it.
I really enjoyed this piece and your images. The Adams silouhette of the women in the window is a favorite of mine!
It’s truly hard to find a critique group that can get beyond the likes and technical details. My photography mentor challenged a group of us to state the “question” that drives our work this week…many had a hard time doing that and I feel that question very much aligns with the “what and why” you speak of in this essay. Aligning the question to the resulting work often involves a lot of wash, rinse and repeat in my experience. I am currently studying the work of Luigi Ghiri who somehow manages to elevate the banal through his vision and examining what it is to really see.
Anyways, thank you forgiving me something to ponder and may you make the most of the last days of early spring!
Thanks for the comments. Adam's image is just so perfect. I've been lucky to see it in two museum shows over the years. You know, his prints are all fairly small. Especially by todays standards where photographer seem to need to make work that is as big as a 70's color field painting.
This was a very good essay. I am drawn to the work of Adams and Soth for the same reasons. The is a sense of loss, longing and even sadness in their pictures which really speak to me. Your work is often on the same level. You say you try find words to describe your works, but I think you did a very good job here. I often fail to write about my own work, describing why I took this or that photo, because sometimes I really can’t say why.
Your essay resonated with me on many different levels. Thank you.
I did a re-edit (something I often do) of the first two paragraphs and spoke more directly about this issue of vocabulary. It occurred to me that in art school critiques (in the 70s!) we really seldom talked about technical stuff but instead focused on the meaning of the work - I think because we all knew the work, and usually looked at 5 or more of one student's paintings at a time. It was easier to compare and contrast...and less likely to lead to negative feedback. When I try to post a set of works, a selection from a project, on social media, no one ever seems to click through to look at the set. But the compare and contrast is where the action it! Setting up 5-10 works to look at also makes thinking "where am I going with this?" much easier to see, and explain.
Btw. The last link you share to the second video seems to be wrong. It leads you to this essay…
I agree that a set of photographs can often tell so much more can one photograph can. Especially if it meant to be part of a series. Social Media like Instagram isn’t the right place for something like this. People there want content that is fast and easy to digest. Your photos are more the ones to look at and contemplate on.
I'd also like to add that, the Alec Soth on Loneliness in Silicon Valley piece really hits home, as somebody who spent the majority of his life in the middle of it. I recognize exactly what he's talking about.
Alec has a video series on the web that's very good. We love Alec here and saved for two years and bought a large photo. He talks a lot about his own feelings of lonilness and depression in a lot of videos. I find his work, both photos and videos, great resources for my own journey.
Excellent post, and that's a great Adams video you've imbedded. He's 100% on point for me, and does a great job of explaining. fwiw, my own pretty pictures bore me, except for the memories they might provide me of having been there.
I don't begrudge photo groups who look at technical details - it's part of growing as an artist. An understanding of technique is helpful to have in a person's toolkit. But being a slave to sharpness, classic composition, etc. is not an especially evolved way of thinking about art. Much more is available to each of us.
Yes, I just edited the beginning of the essay (I often see mistakes a week later and re-edit!) and added some things about those groups - which I belong to. Without them, my camera, some days, wouldn't be working. But there is a real fear, it seems, to talking about the meaning of a photo on line. It's purpose. I think its a lack of vocabulary. Someone needs to publish a short cheat sheet of photo-talk vocabulary.
What sort of vocabulary are you wishing for... I.e., what type of things are you thinking should be explained specifically as regards photo-talk?
It's always worth remembering that the person who makes an image has their own, deeply personal experience from two things: Being there in the moment of capture, and from the process of creating. The viewer has neither, but they do have their own, deeply personal perspectives. The viewer has their own life experiences which are drawn from as they view anything in the world, whether it's familiar or not, and whether it's art or anything else.
The viewer who wants to "fix" or change somebody else's work is often reflecting where they are as an artist themselves. (Not always, but often).
Eventually that person may grow beyond that stage of artistic development to where they simply reflect on what they are seeing, or they may never get to that stage.
We all carry a substantial set of bags with us as we walk down the road.