Postcards from the Creative Journey

974 “Wouldn’t It Be Sad To Die With No Uncompleted Art Projects?”

That was kind of maudlin thought that came to me a recent morning when I was enjoying a sauna. There are artists that passed on with paintings uncompleted or symphonies unfinished or authors having partially written novels. Creating unto the very end, that is truly inspirational. In my post career life, I spend my time creating photographic art, sharing my thoughts, and generally not doing things I had to do for forty some years in the work force.

A year or so ago I heard the term, “retired artist.” That does not make sense to me. I am no longer working as an engineer/consultant, and I spend my time creating art. I facetiously think, what would a retired artist do? Sell Insurance, be a Real Estate Agent or take up accounting? I think being an artist is a lifestyle and I can’t see how that can easily be changed. I get the impression (right or not) their creative process passed away before they did.

That is very sad. As I age, I hope I do not outlive my creativity.

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I borrowed Brooks Jensen's fisheye lens, and photographed the Stonehenge Memorial from a supine position. Just tryin' to keep the creativity going.

973 If You Have Never Seen it Before… First Published 6/7/2020

It’s like finding something brand new. I like finding authors and musicians after they have established their careers. That way, if I like them, I don’t have to wait for them to create their work. I guess it’s the upside of being a late adopter. For instance, I was late to the Bosch series of murder mysteries, the Jack Reacher and Mitch Rapp novels to name a few. Growing up in the 60’s I favored music of the British Invasion, psychedelia and Motown. A few years ago I discovered jazz and really like it. It’s been there for a long time waiting for my discovery.

That’s why I republish blog posts on Thursdays. If you’re new to this blog, you get something new to you twice a week.

972 Yes, You Should Go Back

The question arises should you go back and photograph the same location again, or the same thing again or generally try and revisit a topic you have already photographed.

The answer, in short is “Yes, you should.” Here is why.

You have changed since the last time.

What else has changed?

Your approach to life. Hopefully, you are more mature, not just older.

Your aesthetic has evolved from where you were the last time.

Your technical skills have improved. 

Other things have changed. The technology has improved. If you have a newer camera, it is more technologically advanced, the software you use to process images has improved and your printer, inks and paper have improved. 

The place you are revisiting has changed. Nothing stays the same and your destination probably changed since you last visited.

So, go back and take advantage of the changes in everything,

971 The Future Is Software First Published 6/28/2020

I guess my current camera is obsolete because it is not the latest model in the product line. I don’t worry about that too much because I used a view camera for thirty some years and technologically speaking that camera was obsolete about a century ago. I think there are very few opportunities for affordable upgrades to cameras from this point on. Yes, camera manufacturers can make better sensors, better electronics and better lenses, but it cannot be done at a price most people can afford.

So where does improvement come? As the title of post says, the future is software. It takes a major investment to create a physical object. A company needs lots of people, facilities, raw materials and a means of distributing physical products. This takes lots of time and money. To upgrade software, all that is needed is a computer and a lot of imagination. It is much more economical (and profitable, I might add) to make software work better than it is to introduce a new camera.

The folks at Adobe figured this out a long time ago.

970 Technology and Worthiness

Tech is great but we still must decide if the subject is worthy, look for the depth and breadth of the composition and always, always work the edges. Once we make those decisions, we can turn loose the Tech to complete the work of art. It’s a concept I’ve blogged on before and it’s a topic worth remembering. Creating art is the goal. Technology serves the artistic goal. The type, amount, and level of sophistication of the technology used is dependent on the result one wished to achieve.

It is easy to spot art that relies on or depends on technology to achieve its goals because the image just shouts out the name of the functions used in its creation. Drawing attention to the technology is not great art. It might be useful as a technical or learning exercise to find out how the technology works, but if you can tell what and how much technology was used in an image, the tech was overdone.

Sorry about this, folks.

Typepad is having massive problems displaying images on their blogs.

Not having photographs on a photographic blog is really not the way to run a business.

969 Photography Without Limitations, Part II First Published 6/28/2015

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.

968 Commercial Photography Is Really Quite Different

A Photograph with No Commercial Appeal

My approach to photography is most likely practiced by a very small number of people. I wind up doing everything myself. Capture, processing, and distribution of my images on the web are all accomplished by yours truly. The people that truly amaze me are the high-end commercial photographers. I’ve followed Howard Schatz ever since I saw his photo book, Pool Light. His he inventive, creative, and prolific. How does he do it? He’s the photographer. He thinks up projects makes photographs and has people to take care of the production details. Recently, I was introduced to another commercial photographer, Tim Tadder. He functions in pretty much the same way. He’s the instigator and has a staff to bring his ideas from his camera to reality.

I look at these high-end commercial photographers, (I think they are more accurately called image creators) I’m jealous, inspired and a little bit sad I don’t have a staff to take care of all those messy technical details.

967 Photography Without Limitations Part I, First Published 6/21/2015

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…

966 Lessons Learned from Photo Safari XXXVIII

It’s time for the Lessons Learned. Every day is a learning experience and as long as Brooks Jensen and I have been out photographing in the world, we always learn something new, or maybe relearn something we forgot from an earlier Safari. So, here we go:

1. Yes, you can go back. In fact, you should go back to a location. (See Blog # 783  June 3, 2021 Stepping Foot in the River.) In our case it was the Klickitat River and it paid off big time.
2. You never know what you will find in a small town that no one, and I mean no one, has ever photographed.
3. Respond to a situation, capture the images and then worry about what they mean later. When you start discussing your reaction to the situation, you will begin to understand the meaning of the images. This may not happen right away, but hang in there, you will find their meaning.
4. Don’t worry about not being able to find images immediately. It takes some time to warm up to the task at hand. Athletes always warm up before a game. This also applies to photography.
5. Don’t be afraid to drive down a dirt road.
6. Google Earth in satellite view is a great way to plan where to wander about. You can get directions based on visual clues and being a photographer you know how to respond to these visual clues.
7. Google Earth will answer the question, “How can I get to that road at the bottom of that canyon?”
8. Interesting things to photograph are out there, you just have to look for them.
9. It’s tough to concentrate on photography when you are hungry or thirsty. Snacks in the field are important.
10. Look for the interesting, off beat and peculiar. Be prepared to spend some time with these places, and more importantly, spend time with the people in these places. The interesting, off beat and peculiar offer more substantial subjects that the spectacular “one shot” opportunity. Depth is more productive than width.