Sources Of Inspiration

As visual artists, it of course comes as no surprise that the natural world is a major source of inspiration for our work. Looking at the patterns of these leaves more closely, I think I'd say the same about our local baristas and their latte art. Cheers!

Quote of the day -- Maya Angelou

 All great achievements require time. -- Maya Angelou

I'm going to try to put in some time behind the camera today, how about you?

Turn around

I was reading through some Sibeleus the other night, and as I put my instrument down to take a short break, I noticed some pretty interesting reflections in the window behind me. I recalled that often repeated nugget of photographic advice that reminds you to turn around and look back at where you've come from as well as where you are going. Once I discover a location that offers interesting photographic opportunities, I tend to return multiple times to get as much out of it as possible.

Creating images in people's heads

Which of your images tend to have the greatest impact on your viewers? Is it the ones that are the most overtly political, too clever by half? Or do you find that the more open ended images actually communicate more effectively? I mean the ones that invite the viewer to linger within the picture plane. Which of your photographs tend to entice folks to create images and narratives in their heads?

Good light this weekend!

Life line?

The dappled light coming through the trees slashed across the surface of the wall in a manner that reminded me of the canvases of Clyfford Still. With that notion flickering in the back of my mind, I composed and recorded an image, but only a single exposure because I didn't think the photograph was going to 'work'. But when I converted it to monochrome, I found myself liking the image more and more. I can't find any evidence that Still's marks were directly inspired by nature, but perhaps the influence goes the other way around. Maybe the slash of white is a kind of life line creeping into my photographs?

Two books to lift your spirits

I've been on a bit of a book acquisition kick lately. Mostly older books that are long out of print but that can still be found for not a lot of money from used bookstores and online auction houses. I typically find out about these books in a completely random way, which adds to the overall sense of enjoyment. I generally prefer to pick up a well worn copy of the book first, even if a few pages are missing or if there are a marks or even an inscription, just to see if I bond with the photographer. If there is no synergy, I can just pass the book along to someone else.

One of my favorite acquisitions this year was "A World Through My Window" by Ruth Orkin. The collection of photographs is exactly what you'd expect from the title, but you have to bear in mind that Ruth had a pretty amazing window on Central Park West. So the views are generally pretty spectacular. But still, documenting the goings on over a period of several decades resulted in an impressive body of work that should inspire any one. I found out some interesting things about the photographer, such as the fact that she bicycled from Los Angeles to New York in the 1930s.

I'm far from the madding crowds of NYC, but several of our windows are interesting to me. The first image was taken with the Polaroid SX-70 using their currently available black and white emulsion. Expensive, but the results can be very lovely indeed.

A schtickle of dish soap

When I was rising through the ranks as a young martial artist, I remember thinking that many of the senior black belts were essentially retired in place, no longer actively sparring or pushing themselves very hard in training. The coveted black obi was often just decoration, a status symbol, or a means to support their growing bellies. When I earned my black belt, I went in a different direction, and decided to start training in a different martial art. In other words, I went back to being a white belt again, which, if I'm honest, required a major attitude adjustment. 

Recently, I stumbled upon some images on Instagram tagged #filmsoup. This turns out to involve taking an exposed roll of film and cooking it on the stove in the broth of your choice: salt water, beet juice, vinegar... you get the idea. Of course, my first reaction was to roll my eyes since, of course, stuff like this has been tried before many times. 

Yet, why not come at this with more of a beginner's mind? So, I put my ego to the side and prepared some delicious film soup of my own. I boiled a roll of exposed Bergger Panchro 400 in a mixture of salt water, black tea dregs, and a schtickle of dish soap for 10 minutes. I let it dry in a sunny part of my studio for a week and then I developed the negatives normally in a 1:25 solution of Rodinal.

The roll of film I chose to process had been sitting around for a while, and I had forgotten what I had shot. Not the family Christmas photos in other words. The first image is of a door jamb I must have thought was interesting. Boiling water had the effect of warping the film emulsion in addition to the other effects. Visual research...