“Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” George Eastman
Brooklyn. 2010.
Brooklyn. 2010.
Leucadendron 3.13.2010
“Many an object is not seen, though it falls within the range of our visual ray, because it does not come within the range of our intellectual ray, i.e. we are not looking for it. So, in the largest sense, we find only the world we look for.” - Henry David Thoreau
“…the eye and the camera see more than the mind knows.” - Nathan Lyons, Distinguished Photography Educator
Geometry 2.11.2010
Untitled, 1.31.2010
“My true program is summed up in one word: life. I expect to photograph anything suggested by that word which appeals to me.” - Edward Weston
“To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same field, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before and which shall never be seen again.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Seeking balance is a normal. One might suppose that it is a given, but some suspect balance is a practice- one needing constant vigilance. And as it is with other things, it is with photography, as well. Composition, light, color, texture and density all conspire to balance or not to balance. As a photographer, my role is to orchestrate this ‘dance’- to allow it to happen, so to speak, from frame to frame, from subject to subject.
And I’ve learned many ‘dances’- each one having it’s challenges. Weaknesses witnessed (in myself) include impatience, ignorance, and egotism. Strengths that have helped are doggedness, commitment, and humor (some might doubt that- but I’ve had some good laughs).
Today I’m smokin’…this beauty of a smoker was given to me recently. It was co-designed and built by my three sons as a surprise birthday gift.
Being able to smoke and grill on this professional rig is pure cooking enjoyment, but what’s even more rewarding is to feel the love and care built into it. You can taste the love in the meals that have been produced in the chamber. I can be accused of being biased and of having a fruitful imagination. In my own defense, I attended a few days of Steven Raichlen’s Barbeque University last summer (admittedly, I did not graduate, as I was very busy photographing- I missed the final exam), so I have acquired some knowledge about this craft. This smoker leaves all others in the dust!
BT
What and extraordinary day! Parade on the Circle happened earlier today. The parade is the ultimate expression of our community’s commitment to the individual’s right to create for no other apparent purpose other than to use one’s free imagination and share the result with an audience ready to embrace all levels of accomplishment. The audience is also an experience each year and today was no exception, especially since the weather was a number ten- 75 degrees, dry and clear.
By the way, I couldn’t ’shoot’ the end of the parade, as my camera lost power and I forgot extra batteries…and, of course, they saved some of the most interesting participants for the end.
We did, however, visit the Ansel Adams exhibit at the CIA afterwards and what a delectable dessert that was after the full course meal of impressions served up by the parade! Adams’ prints on display, all made by he himself in the 1970’s, are a stunning collection that compels the viewer to love the earth unconditionally. The work’s power to communicate Adams’ passion for nature and his fellow human beings (portraits are included) is achieved by the rare balance of an intelligent and sensative eye plus the strictest adherence to technical impeccability. These are attributes for which Adams was very well known for during his lifetime and his influence on photographers, both then and now, is so profound that almost any attempt to photograph seriously in nature is considered by many to be derivative of his work. Those who look upon photographing nature and people as being unoriginal, or in any other way lacking in creativity, are misinformed as to what creativity is in the first place. For whoever may be interested in exploring creativity in photography, discovery is possible in any moment, at any time, in whatever situation and with whomever one happens to be with.
BT
One hundred and nineteen images printed by Ansel Adams and from the collection of Lynn and Tom Meredith of Austin, Texas, go on exhibition May 20, 2007 at the Rienberger Galleries, Cleveland Institute of Art. Through August 19, 2007.
BT
Recently a group of Tri-C photography students lead by Greg Hildebrand visited Taxel Image Group for a studio tour and q&a about the photography profession. Although I’ve hosted this forum and similar ones many times in the past, I found this evening particularly rewarding. You know how sometimes someone asks just the right questions at just the right time that jog thoughts and associations that are touching in a particular way?
After the usual introduction and brief history of the company, the first question was: How have you weathered the changes in the (photography) industry?The changes we’re talking about, of course, are the switch from film , paper and chemicals to digital technology. These changes hit the photo industry slowly, at first, but by the year 2000 they were at full throttle, and by 2003 there was not anything in the photography field that could not be achieved digitally that was previously accomplished with the ‘old’ techniques and at a comparable price point (we’ll talk about how that works in a future blog).
The weathering of this ‘storm’ of change has not been easy. At first it took a vigilance for knowing when was the right moment to jump in with investment in new infrastructure (cameras, computers, and software) and education. The fact is, digital photography is a new media, requiring different skill sets and solutions to achieve similar results as traditional techniques. Then there was the challenge of putting together the financing to literally replace the equipment that had been accumulated and relied upon for almost 30 years.
BT
