Sure Took Ya Long Enough!

True, it took me somewhat longer than I thought it ever would, but a couple of years ago, I finally was able to gather up all my strength and walk away from a corporate career and live as an artist full time. Better late than never. So true. You see, I've known more than a few individuals who have departed this mortal coil, leaving behind a corpse in the office. What a way to go! Whatever life has in store for me, at least I managed to avoid that particular fate. 

So, fellow traveler, on this special anniversary edition of Albus & Fergie, I wish you the best of luck in following the art path. Cheers!

Framed

It took us three hours to get into the city and we were over an hour late for our assigned time, but thankfully, the guards still let us in to the museum. It was a bit over crowded inside for my tastes, so I spent a good deal of time leaning on the perimeter wall and looking out at the expansive view of Washington, DC. Kind of like staring out to sea, the existential gaze. 

Tasting notes: Contax T, Ilford FP4+.

Equivalents??

 

…I also know that there is more of the really abstract in some 'representation' than in most of the dead representations of the so-called abstract so fashionable now.

                                                                                                                                                    –Stiglitz

Has the medium of photography been mined of its artistic potential? Sometimes it seems as if it has. A series of images of the sky certainly doesn't impress the way it once did, it's safe to say. But I also think that if the medium were indeed past its prime, folks would abandon it for something else, something that yielded more interesting results.

Losing the Thread

Sometimes when I'm watching a movie or television show, I get transported by the imagery on the screen and lose the thread of the plot. I guess I am subconsciously inventing my own mini-narrative. At those times I'm glad to have a camera nearby.

Painful Concerns

A favorite book on my shelf is "Stems" by Lee Friedlander. The book's introduction begins, "... in the throes of aching knees and painful concern about them, I decided I had better prepare myself for a sedentary life..."

As a photographer, how would you prepare for a sedentary life, a radical reduction in mobility? My in laws live in a retirement community, a land-based cruise ship of sorts. What would I photograph if I were living in such a place? Frankly, I've never seen anyone documenting life in that place, so I guess there is an opportunity waiting. A chance for a famous photo essay, should I only be brave enough to seize the opportunity. Stay tuned. In the meantime, would I be up to the challenge? I'd probably start with still lives, as I wouldn't want anyone to know I had been shuffled off to a 'home'.

 

Gone and Forgotten

Albus & Fergie World Headquarters contains a few hundred photobooks collected over the years. No overt rhyme or reason for acquiring a particular volume, just stuff that catches my eye at the time. Not kept in any particular order, either, unsurprisingly, which can sometimes be a problem. On the positive side, though, random encounters with old photographers happens pretty often. The other day, for instance, I came across a copy of "American Horizons", work by Art Sinsabaugh. Well-respected in his time, professor at a large midwestern university, more or less forgotten these days as far as I can tell. Most of the so-called "landscape photography" I see these days seems like it has more to do with Bob Ross than it does with Art Sinsabaugh anyway.

Wall Eyed and Painless

Remember when Flickr was a thing? Me neither. Its been a minute after all. But seriously, back when I was active on that early social media site, going on twenty years ago now, I was a member of any number of "wall photography" groups. And, people were engaged, and supportive. Art for art's sake, baby. I still remember the day a moderator invited me to submit one of my photographs to the "Motherwell" wall sub-group. You guessed it, wall shots that looked like Motherwell paintings. If I had persisted, perhaps I could have become Flickr famous. What I realize in retrospect was that I was getting my eye in, practicing my craft. With a dash of fun.

Insomniac Photography

Although it was pitch black outside, I decided to go check the mail. So, I strapped on a headlamp, grabbed my camera and headed out the door. It is a five minute walk down the hill to the street and I grabbed a few shots of the yard and flower beds, using the beam of light from the headlamp to illuminate things. That is one way to isolate your subject, I suppose.

Hope your weekend is full of good light, fellow traveler. 

Elbows Out

My wife recently attended a quilt conference. Interestingly, there was a meeting website where one could view all of the exhibited work in one place in the form of a grid. What struck me right away was that most of the work was loud, boisterous, clamoring for attention, turned up to eleven. Elbows out. So much so, that the quieter pieces were somewhat lost in the mix. It would appear that nuance has never been more out of favor than at present. 

How I Chunked Out During the Pandemic

Like countless others, I suppose, I got into sourdough bread making during Covid. It seemed like such a perfect pandemic pastime to me. And it sure was fun, since I had always wanted to try. Soon enough, though, things spiraled out of control a little bit as they are wont to do. Somehow, the ole lizard brain concluded that discarding a little bit of the starter when adding more flour was a wasteful thing to do, and so, in due course, my morning sourdough pancake ritual was born. In the beginning, I just fried up a little bit of starter and ate it as a snack. Over time, things became more and more elaborate. First, cheese became involved, lots and lots of cheese. Naturally, meat and eggs soon followed and within a few weeks, I was consuming a fourth meal.

Clouds Go By

I had to act quickly because it was so windy, but in the end I got a workable image. These days, I'm happy with the person standing in the frame. The bench, on the other hand, kind of bothers me, but I think I'll live with the image a while before doing any serious Photoshop work.

Pocketable

On a recent stay in Washington DC, I decided to take my Contax T camera and some Ilford FP4+. As fate would have it, the temperature plummeted and the battery-dependent little camera struggled a bit. It took a little coaxing to get any outdoor shots at all. It was quite windy down at the Tidal Basin and I enjoyed photographing there, as I don’t visit often. I’m always pleased with the results I am able to get with the tiny T. It would be amazing to see a digital version of the T.

Heavy Metal

Slowly, and maybe a little reluctantly, I'm learning to allow some humans to make their way into my photographs. It was easy enough to compose the shot in a way that the worker was hidden behind a piece of sculpture, and just as easy to allow him in the frame. In this image, I waited until the broom was just visible so it would look like the sculpture was being pushed. In the end, I think I prefer this version of the shot. I wonder what this person thinks about as they sweep the floor each morning.

A Couple of Old Drunks

 

When I was in my early teens, the family traveled from Southeast Asia to the United States by cargo ship. There were a total of twelve passengers on board, including two older retired gentlemen traveling together. As evidenced by the trash can placed outside their stateroom each morning, they consumed a fifth of vodka per night. That sure was a revelation to my brother and me, as was their habit of referring to the Buddha as ‘buddah’. They’re both dead by now, I reckon.

Abstract View

Just a pleasant view from where we had lunch the other day, but I find a good frame within a frame pretty hard to resist. The only thing I don’t really love is the iPhone’s overcooked processing.

Heavy Metal

After a number near misses, we got to see this Richard Serra installation at Glenstone today. We had the space to ourselves for 15 minutes. Such a great experience. 

Starting the Day

A guy named Craig once told me that he does a drawing of his hand every day as a little warm up. As a way to ease into a day of thinking like an artist. I forgot to ask if he keeps the daily work or not. As a photographer, I thought it might be interesting to try the same exercise for a while.

Early Blooms

 

I thought the forty mph gusts of wind would keep the tourists at home, but no such luck. The city was overrun with them. Where we did get lucky, tough, is spotting a few early cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. In a few days, it will be a madhouse down there.

Shattered

Most of the time I find the iPhone’s tendency to focus on the closest thing to be reasonable, except when shooting through a screen or glass, when it can be incredibly frustrating. In this image I tried to exploit this characteristic of the phone’s camera to get a shot through shattered glass from a few millimeters away.

Lenten Rose

The floor of the woods was carpeted with Lenten roses, close to the earth, heads bowed. The sun was setting near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Everything converged for a pleasant photograph to be made.

Motion Blur

You know you’re in trouble when a technique becomes an acronym. Like when you move the camera during the exposure to create a motion blur. These days that’s called Intentional Camera Movement, or ICM. Perhaps someone thinks they invented it or something. And you can read an article about how to do it, as if that’s what you need. The point is to always be experimenting, ABE. 

Polaroid, Ugh

It's not 'roid rage so much as it is serious disappointment, but the last several boxes of film I've shot through the SX-70 have left me feeling pretty cold. I was so pumped when my wife gifted me the classic instant camera a couple of Christmases ago. My parents could not afford such a luxury item when it first came out, and I was really looking forward to doing some instant photography with a classic camera. Here, I moved the camera intentionally to get an atmospheric effect. Ellipsis. Fingers crossed that the quality of the materials will improve some in future. In the meanwhile, Instax seems like the only real game in town...

Dancing on the Head of A... Bass Drum

One of my favorite concerts of the year is without a doubt the children's concert. I always hope our performance inspires at least one 5th grader in the audience to take up music in some way, shape or form during their life. Anyway, as fate would have it, I was positioned in front of the bass drum on stage and I noticed that the structure of the membrane was revealed by a spotlight shining through it. There's a saying that the best camera is the one you have with you. So, yeah,  my iPhone was the best camera today.

Impressions of Spring

Don't know if it is due to the warm weather, but there sure is a lot of wisteria in bloom this year. Although it is an invasive species, wisteria has been around a very long time, and many of us living in the South are used to seeing it make an appearance each Spring. Speaking of invasive, the unique rendering of the catadioptric lens has long been a fascination of mine, but it is quite difficult to get pleasant images with one, at least in my hands. I mainly use it as an inexpensive stand-in for a telescope, but I've once again been experimenting with it as a regular lens of late...

Tasting notes: Reflex-Nikkor 500mm f/8.

Spring Training

A couple of years ago, my son took an old film camera and a couple of vintage manual focus lenses with him on a trip to Peru. When he got back, I developed and scanned the film for him. I was a bit shocked at how crisp all of his images were. His eyesight is so much better than mine. It ain't getting any better, either, my eyesight... It's still good to break out the vintage lenses from time to time and practice your basic photography skills. Sometimes practice is an important part of your practice, ya know? Kind of like Spring Training.

Tasting notes: vintage Nikkor 85mm f/2 shot at f/5.6.  

Favorite Lenses

As lens based artists, it is probably no surprise that we photographers gravitate to certain lenses in our collections. The Olympus 75mm f/1.8 is one of my favorite chunks of glass, for example. I still remember the first time I shot with this lens over a decade ago. It is the main reason I keep an old Olympus camera around, if I'm honest. Anyway, enjoy some store bought roses on a Monday morning.

Ports of Call

I've been on two cruises in my lifetime, and frankly, for the moment anyway, I 'd like to keep it that way. What I tend to remember most from these experiences is the time at sea; the various ports of call, can be a rather mixed bag. A circumnavigation with no stops, perhaps I'd consider a cruise like that. 

Letting the Days Go By

I don't know why I looked up, but I am glad I did. The birds were gathered in silence, not sure why. But, in a few moments they were gone, dispersed.

 

Abstract Food Photography

Back in the early 2000's, I seriously thought about starting a photographic food blog. The fact of the matter is that I was a damn fine cook back in those days, with the extra pounds around my middle to prove it. Indeed, my paunch protruded sufficiently when seated to form a convenient 'shelf' upon which to rest a glass of wine or a bottle of beer. Alas, I was not very good about documenting my work in the kitchen as my focus was on the food. These days my cooking chops have dropped along with about 60 pounds. It's a compromise I can live with.

Good light to you this weekend, fellow traveler.

A Rather Pleasant Encounter With A Couple Of Old Friends

I was rearranging some of the clutter in one of my studio cabinets the other day when I stumbled across an old lens I haven't used in literally ages. Somehow or other, I acquired a copy of the Nikkor 25-50mm f/4 zoom, a lens from the height of the film era ('70s -'80s). I can no longer remember why the heck I picked this thing up, but copies are in the $100 range these days. I used it in combination with my only Nikon digital camera, the venerable and also pretty long in the tooth D800 from over a decade ago. I guess it would also qualify as a classic, at least in digital terms. At any rate, I was using this combo to document the recently completed renovations of our house when I saw that one of our redbuds is in bloom. Shot wide open at f/4... Not bad for a 40+ year old manual focus optic and a 10+ year old camera. Pretty nice way to get into landscape photography for not a lot of money, it seems to me.

Anti-Epic (2)

We had a very pleasant hour-long hike through some undisturbed forest yesterday morning, ultimately coming to a spot with a nearly 180 degree view of a local lake. It is a piece of protected land, so there were no man-made vistas to be had. The view of the lake was veiled by the dense woodland growth. On the other hand, the lake itself is man made, so that complicates matters a little bit, I suppose. Well, anyway...