I was quite surprised to go back and look at some personal favourite images over the last couple of years, with the Dali 'St John' image fresh in my head. Hadn't looked at in probably 20 years, yet the same pieces seemed to run through many of the images I've printed out or kept on my desktop. Don't quite know what to read into this. I'm intrigued and maybe somewhat frustrated at the same time.
The question about influences came up at a workshop I did back in September. I sat and thought about what those pictures were and the paintings in the previous two posts came through pretty strongly as times I remember being in awe of a painting or piece of art. I hadn't really given them much thought in the last decade or more, at least not much conscious thought or making an effort to look at them. One other thing that Susan showed us was that for many artists these initial pieces or favourite pieces of art appear all throughout their photography. She showed artist after artist, first what they'd claim was their favourite influence, then the artist's own work, mirroring those themes. I went home that evening and had a look at some of my favourite photographs from the last couple of years and was really quite amazed by what I saw. I'll post some of those in the next day or so, but I recommend that if you answered the question with some thought, that you go and take a look at your recent images, with this in mind. You might be surprised.
The other style of art that I think has had an impression [sic] on me is that of Claude Monet and others. Their use of light and color certainly had a profound effect that I've tried to capture with my camera. I remember seeing the wheatstacks in snow image at the Getty Center in Los Angeles and being amazed by how vibrant and alive it was, in person. The darker images, like the houses of parliment and gare Saint-Lazare images have also resonated over the years.
What was the first two dimensional piece of art that really had a strong influence on you?
I thought about this for a few minutes, then one image came really strongly to mind. I remember seeing it in a gallery in Glasgow - very well positioned right at the end of a long hallway. You come around the corner and there it is - Dali's Christ of Saint John of the Cross. Had a strong impact on me at the time. Has stuck with me ever since, on some level. I only really give it much conscious thought again after being asked the question above, in a workshop. Then I actually went back and looked at it and took in the themes.Reading a couple of posts by Paul Lester and Anita Jesse triggered this. I'm going to be light in details in this first post, deliberately. This is part of one of the more eye-opening exercises I did on a recent workshop.
What was the first two dimensional piece of art that really had a strong influence on you?
You might need to sit and think quietly about it for 5 minutes to really get back into your past and think about the first image that got under your skin. It might be a photograph, a painting, it might be a 'cat in the hat' book you loved, or that caterpillar with holes in the pages. But if you give it some quiet thought there is probably one image back in they dusty places in your mind that stands out as the early moment of revelation or awe.
The second thing to consider is what would be the first photograph that really clicked with you and made you want to pick up a camera.
Give it a bit of thought. You certainly don't have to post here. This is not a test and there aren't correct answers. No point in trying to come up with some impressive response. Just think about it and maybe write down the one or two sources that come to mind.
Lots of things been going on in the last month or so. I finished up the images from the Ironman triathlon project. Well - I finished taking the pictures. I've done the basic editing too, but haven't really looked at them all as a set. Part of the delay has been I've wanted to get a bit of distance from them, but also that I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with them. Initially I was shooting them with the idea that there would be a book, and that may still happen. Then I've been kicking around the idea of a small gallery show or end of season party and show, but that would probably need some sponsorship to pay for several larger prints. I did get one image accepted in the Texas Photo international competition opening next weekend, which is a thrill, but still not really the focus of the project. I'd also been contemplating putting something together for the SlideLuck PotShow coming up here in November.
Things fell in to place a bit more on Thursday night here, when I was at the Gathering of Photographers meetup in Austin. I hadn't been to this group before and had a great time. There were several very accomplished photographers there and I got some interesting ideas. In particular, I spent a while picking Julia Robinson's brain and seeing some of her multimedia slideshows. She was kind enough to put up with all my stupid questions and point me in what seems to be a good direction. I've always really enjoyed the sort of work put out by mediastorm, and the general mixing of still images along with audio. I'm a bit of a 'This American Life' and Ira Glass junkie as well. One thing I've realised in the last couple of years is that I want to try and tell stories with my photography, rather than just being happy with a series of greatest hits or one off images. I think the multimedia format has a lot of potential for that. Not really interested in video yet and there is a lot of power in looking at a still image, with audio that increases or expands upon the information in the image, without going to moving pictures.
Of course, that now means I need to work out how to put all that together. I've taken the pictures, but I didn't record any audio. I have a small Olympus WS-110 digital recorder that I think will be good enough to pick up the audio I need, but I have to go record it. Which now means I'm having to consider doing interviews, recording background sounds and arranging some instrumental backing music. Then I need to learn how to mix all those bits of audio together and sync it up to the images. The prospect of learning all this new stuff has really lit a candle under me - it's exciting! Reminds me of all the book structure and design that I absorbed for the first SoFoBoMo.
This evening, I was at Piercarlo's gallery show CHAN-CHAN. He did it in conjunction with another artist - a painter - Luis Abreux. Combined, they had paintings and photography hanging together. The images were all related to Cuba in various ways, and there was a live band playing music from the region too. It struck me that this was an even more engrossing multimedia presentation of the work. The band really evoked the feel of the area and helped transport you while looking at the images.
On the way home from that show, I ran into a friend of mine who's a great musician. Woode Wood is a fixture on the local running trail, playing his music and working on his videos. Things are picking up for him and he's putting a band together now. We hung out for a while and I was lucky enough to get my first guitar lesson from him. My fingertips are still sore. I was also able to arrange to license some of his music as the backing score for the slideshow - things are falling into place already! Check out his videos and vote for them on YouTube.
Sad to hear this week that Bill Jay died in Costa Rica a couple of days ago. I always got a great deal from his End Notes in Lenswork magazine. He seemed to have a more grounded, sensible approach to the art and craft of photography than many. The book he co-authored with David Hurn, "On Being a Photographer: A Practical Guide" is also a classic, full of useful experience (available again soon from Lenswork publishing but out of stock for now). I spent a bit of time today going through the many essays available on his site - well worth taking the time to look. In particular, the piece titled life/work struck a chord for me. It seems like the best advice I've heard on finding a subject. Worth a read.
Well, Amanda and I have been on the Engine 2 diet now for almost a whole week. I'm continually surprised about how good the food tastes and how full I feel. So much so that it provoked me to make a self-portrait - something I haven't done for a while now. Inspiration is everywhere...
Some links for now. All about magazines in PDF format and I realise my book isn't a magazine. Interesting to look at for the design aspects (more than the content) of how or if they adapted print magazine conventions to PDF display.
A thought-provoking podcast from Brooks Jensen on PDFs, over at Lenswork. Brooks pitches the PDF as the next big thing for publishing and the medium where photographers who are interested in working on the cutting edge should be publishing their work. I've heard Brooks talk about PDFs in the past as a great means for publishing but he seems to be going further this time. I assume that's the experiences he's gained with the Lenswork Extended product. Typically photographers think about the published, physical book as the ultimate end goal, but here the PDF is put forward as a better option, particularly as a means of distribution. I've produced a few PDFs and it is a good experience to go through, making the selections, doing the layout and editing. It does always feel home-made - without that stamp of authority that a publisher, other than yourself, gives to work.
But here the argument is made that the PDF is worthwhile goal in of itself, which certainly matches well with the goal of SoFoBoMo. Even there, the PDF decision often can feel like a forced compromise - we'd all really like to have it be a 'real' book, not an electronic file. But perhaps the PDF can be thought of as a higher goal than a printed book. More opportunity try new things. Perhaps even mix in audio with the images. Also, thinking on last year, I was able to see over 50 photographic books, that I'd never be able to see if I had to buy them - because of the cost, and the physical space required to store them. PDF certainly enables more people to see the work. Given how few of my pictures see print, PDF probably makes even more sense. There is the downside that the resolution of a PDF isn't currently as good as physical book. Also you've got the issues of controlling the viewing environment - you have no idea what sort of screen or calibration is being used to look at the end product.
At the same time, photography always feels like a successive series of disappointments, or reduction in quality. The images in your head aren't often as good as the image on the back of the camera. Those small images on the back of the camera often don't live up to the full size version on a screen. Once it's been processed, the prints are always one step removed from how it looked on a screen. Each stage reduces the quality of the image, real or imagined. PDF removes one of those levels of transformations. Maybe it can even be a truer representation of the image than a print, if we can sort out these resolution and calibration quandaries.
So what do you think? Is a PDF a good end in itself, or just something to settle for when you can't make a real book?
You can't just dance or paint or write or sculpt. Those are just verbs. You need a tangible idea to get you going. The idea, however minuscule, is what turns the verb into a noun - paint into a painting, sculpt into a sculpture, write into writing, dance into a dance.
- Twyla Tharp, The Creative Habit
Jeff Curto just posted the second part of his Camera Position series on project planning. The first in the series really just sets the stage for what he plans to talk about. This second installment is more interesting and starts to talk about what kinds of projects you might want to work on. He provides some pointers on the ways to excavate project ideas that will be useful to photographers in general and also for SoFoBoMo in particular. Doug Stockdale is running a workshop with a similar goal in Long Beach in April. If you are interested and can't go, maybe you could let Doug know in the comments over there and he might provide a podcast.
Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.
Howard Aiken
A while ago, I pointed towards a link suggesting ways to become a successful entrepreneur by having lunch with people who've already done well in business and listening to what they have to say. I took the idea and started applying it to my creative development. Over the last few months I've taken a few friends and acquaintances out to lunch and pestered them with questions about 'how they do it'. So far it has been great and well worth the time. I've had lunch with a couple of writers and photographers and received some really valuable perspectives. I also explored some of the projects I'm working on with them and got some great feedback.
One of them did ask me if I was concerned about sharing my ideas before the projects were finished. I think there are two approaches to this; one is to treat everything as a secret. The other is to shout the ideas from the rooftops and let as many people give you input as you can stand. I've found every time I involve another person in my work, I learn something new or get some insight that I'd never have thought of if I'd kept it all to myself. Often I think we are worried that someone will steal our ideas—but really the ideas aren't what is valuable, it is the execution of the idea that matters. Getting help there is what you need. There is a great creative energy that bounces back and forth when you get another person involved in your process. Also I've found that sharing your hopes and dreams with other people can often help you towards them. Someone will know a person who can help you, make a useful connection for you, move you forward.
All for the price of lunch—good value if you ask me.
This shot continues a theme or merging of influences. I've found I really enjoy images shot totally out of focus. This is a technique that seems to sharply divide viewers. Some love it, some hate it, few are left ambivalent. There is a touch of impressionist painting in the back of my mind when I take these images, in fact trying to emulate that painting style is where I started shooting out of focus in the first place. Given Monet's many images of the houses of Parliament, this one seems particularly apt and was the reason I started shooting that way in London. This particular shot is also heavily influenced by a Keith Carter image, of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, shot through winter trees, with very selective focus. I've been down this path before, with the Zilker Christmas tree in Austin.
For a while I've been bothered about copying or appropriating ideas from other places, thinking I needed original ideas, or new and novel concepts of my own. Over time I've come to realise that borrowing or being influenced is the way the world works. I saw this earlier in the week, looking at a self-portrait of and by Rembrandt, in the National Portrait Gallery in London. Other paintings in the same room listed out wholesale lifting of compositions and poses from other older works. There is nothing new under the sun, after all. But if you take it and make it your own, you can't fail to find something new in the old ideas. Twyla Tharp talks about how any creative idea just needs two simpler ideas to be put together in an new way, to make a big idea. It doesn't have to be created out of thin air.
Was lucky enough to catch the latest show at the Austin Museum of Art today. In the past I've always been slightly disappointed in the exhibitions I've seen there. Never quite reaching their potential. Thought provoking and stimulating, but always missing something. Today was easily the best pair of exhibitions I've seen in that space.
Damian Priour makes chairs. Small chairs, constructed from limestone and glass. Hundreds of chairs. He had the idea of sending one of those chairs to 100 of his favourite Texan artists, that agreed to return to him a chair that they themself had made, that would fit in the 8"x8"x8" box he had originally sent their chair in. The exhibition shows the myriad of responses he got back. Constructed from a wide range of materials and in a variety of styles, the results are exciting and surprising. Photographs, paintings folded and packed into the box. Snow, globe chairs, repurposed Tecate cans. Dollar bills and gold painted toy soldiers. Works in intricate detail from wood, neon chairs, a great array of different styles and approaches, within such a narrow set of constraints. That's the key for me in this - the end results were interesting themselves, but the concept was fascinating. A good example of how such a narrow constraint can let the imagination and creativity soar. I also really was inspired by the collaborative aspect of the project. Rather than working alone he involved many other people and the results from each are so much greater when combined than if they were considered individually.
This was paired by an exhibition of Sebastiao Salgado's Workers series of documentary photographs. Calling these images documentary is almost unfair. They were a lyrical and dazzling array of beautiful photographs, of some of the harshest conditions I've seen people working in, in the present day. Photographing for 7 years around the world, these images show fishermen and pig slaughterers, ship breakers in Bangladesh, Gold miners in Brazil, oil workers in Kuwait. The photography is great, the images harrowing and the spirit of the people really shines through the conditions they are found in. I was moved and inspired in equal measure. The power of still photography to show these situations and hopefully even effect change is unmatched.
Also really enjoyable was the audio tour, which for a once presented the artists talking about their own work and process, rather than being interpreted or explained by a curator. I much prefer hearing about it in their own words and learning about the struggles they faced or what they feel the work represents.
The current exhibition runs until February 9th, 2009. Good value for $5!
Amanda surprised me with a night out watching Frankenstein. The Trouble Puppet theatre make puppets from found objects, trash, anything they can get their hands on. The puppets are expressive, beautiful and dramatic, particularly given their origin. As a date I thought this was a particularly inspired idea - all day I thought we were going to the Dame Edna Experience but Amanda kept it secret. Overall I was happy to see the puppets! A small production in a strip mall in East Austin but such a magical evening. Haven't seen a puppet show for a long time - and those were always Punch and Judy seaside affairs. Things have moved on quite a bit since those days it seems, even though there was a traditional sock puppet up first to tell us to shut up and switch off our cell phones. A nice touch.
At first I was perhaps more interested in the mechanicals of how the puppets are animated. The puppeteers were on stage, dressed head to toe in black. There were a couple of people per puppet and it was usually obvious who was doing the voice acting too. Then, ever so subtly but very quickly, the puppeteers faded into the background and the puppets came to life. Just the same when I watch a great foreign language movie and realise that I'm not even noticing the sub-titles anymore, I was transported into the world of Frankenstein and the French revolution (they took some liberties with the original text)
So this is a photography blog and why am I twittering on about an albeit great date with my wife? The thing that struck me thinking back on this was I was initially caught up in the technical aspects of how the show was presented to me. But the strength of the story and imagery quickly distracted me from those technical issues. I didn't care that I could see that the sets were cardboard or not - I could easily enjoy what I was seeing without being worried about how it was presented. Great photography works the same way for me. I only care about the technical issues of sharpness, or lens resolution or tilted horizons and all those things people obsess about, when there's nothing interesting in the actual images. Technicals only really, really, critically matter when there isn't anything interesting in the image - at least for how I look at photographs. A little bit of blur, a little bit of softness - who cares; if the imagery is compelling.
I've felt a bit lost in my photography recently. Surgery and recovery have no doubt not helped, but I don't feel that I'm making the progress in the directions I'd like to move. Problem is I'm not sure what those directions are. Often it seems easier to define what I want to do by looking at the negative spaces. I can more easily describe the areas of photography that I'm not interested in doing, than clearly point towards what I do want to do.
The one thing I do know, is I _do_ want to do. The enthusiasm is there. The itch is back with a vengeance. Reading about photography, looking at photography, thinking about it. All there, just not so much of the doing for now.
Someone recently asked when was the last good picture I'd taken and looking back over the year, it is clearly the SoFoBoMo images that I turn to as my favourites. But that was back in March and April. Have I really not done anything satisfying since then? There have been a few shoots that I enjoyed - the red nose portraits, the creative lighting class, but mostly I feel like I've been cooling my heels and not heading in the direction I want to go (wherever that might be).
So I feel lost in a maze of twisty passages, all alike. Clear ideas of where I don't want to go but no ideas for where I do want to go. Anyone have a map? I think the differentiating thing about SoFoBoMo was that it was a cohesive body of work. The project helped the images hang together, at least in my mind, making them more interesting. The closest similar shots are the red nose portraits. Funny each in isolation, but stronger together due to the common element.
I have several project ideas floating around, but I seem to be unable or unwilling to commit the time required to find out if they are any good. Not sure why - typical artistic fear? Or maybe I just haven't got a well enough defined idea of what they should be. I feel like I'm waiting for something to land in my lap, rather than pushing forward towards... something... that I don't really know what it is.
My brief foray into sketching has brought me to some interesting blogs and websites that I wouldn't have looked at before. A couple of articles worth reading on finding inspiration or generating ideas, for example.
Next step would be finding the courage of my convictions and shooting something for more than a day or two. Maybe I need something like SoFoBoMo to push me onwards. Anyone ready for round two?
We had our first almost cool days in Austin this week. A window open during the day, a cooler breeze. I seem to be waking up from the summer back to wanting to take pictures too. I can feel that old, familiar itch in the finger. My brain has started picking over project ideas, finding inspiration here and there and wanting to start putting some pictures together. I don't think I'm quite ready for another SoFoBoMo sprint, but I do feel the motivation coming back. Perhaps it is part of getting better and the promise of more mobility, or maybe just that it isn't so damn hot outside.
I've been fascinated by projects that get the subjects to share something of themselves to the viewer. Often this takes the form of a tablet, mini-white board or sign that gets attached to the portrait, or held in the hand. I don't really know why these capture my imagination so much - you are given a very tiny window into the subject, beyond just how they appear in the portrait. It might be true, it might be false, but that extra insight feeds the nosiness and curiosity about people that I have. At the same time, I wonder if it is more of a gimmick than an insight. Perhaps something more straight up, direct and honest is called for. John Setzler has used this approach to good effect, with his Tell The World SoFoBoMo project, and others. The I Am project for Art City Austin (some shots above) was another enjoyable project to view.
At the same time, I just watched this 5 minute documentary on Avedon's portraits. Nothing clever here, just great portraits, cleanly done. Then, at the end of the documentary, a link to another. An interview with Frank Warren. More food for thought. People sharing secrets, anonymously via the mail. But would these people share so apparently deeply, with their picture attached? A quick search found Frank's blog where he posts some of the more interesting secrets he receives. I now realise I've seen this before, but maybe needed to see it again, now. Even if this doesn't go anywhere, I'm at least thinking up ideas. I may even dust off the red nose this weekend and take some portraits.
