Function over form

I've never heard of a street department before, but, as you can see, they have one in Lincoln, Ala. I sure am glad that I don't work for them, though, not only because there are not that many streets to manage, but because if I did, I would have to spend so much time in this building 'complex'. It's such a beautiful part of the country, I think I would prefer working for the parks department. 

Shot with the Pentax KP and the 20-40mm lens. The lens is terrific. I admit that it took me a while to appreciate the value of such a short range of focal lengths, especially in the modern era of lens design. I've come to think of this optic as essentially a 30mm lens with fine adjustments to the perspective.

If resolution and sharpness are important to your aesthetic, then the Pentax sensors and lenses would be right up your alley, I think. The files are pretty crunchy right out of the box, and it is taking me some time to get used to working with them. My tendency right now is to alter them as little as possible. In this case, I liked the monochrome version the best.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

A front came through yesterday, bringing cooler weather and some spectacular atmospheric conditions to our neck of the woods. As the late afternoon sun dipped below the distant tree line, the tops of the taller pines appeared to be on fire. This happens every once in a while and I never tire of seeing it. But the scene was particularly memorable last evening. I happened to be pruning some maples but I had the relatively ancient Canon Powershot G11 with its groovy little CCD sensor in my pocket. I captured some 10MP raw files at an ISO of 800. The combination of the older CCD, the low resolution and poor dynamic range, produced a file I am especially pleased with.

Give me a break

I'm not a smoker, but there is something familiar and vaguely comforting about the places we go for our breaks, even if we choose to spend the time alone with our thoughts. Our ten minutes of peace and solitude in the (fingers crossed) fresh air and away from the helter skelter of work. As an outside observer, these places often look pretty shabby, but who among us wouldn't choose to sit in a rickety chair or pace around a loading dock if given the chance to escape the drudgery of work for a few minutes? I wonder what the architect had in mind for this little space. I don't think it was a planned smoking zone. I'm pretty sure folks smoked in their offices when this building was constructed.

 

Savoring the quotidien

I'd never been to Lincoln, Ala. before I made this photograph, and honestly, I have no current plans to return any time soon. But, I sure am glad I was there yesterday and was able to take in spectacular views like the one show here. It was a longish drive, and we were just stretching our legs. It was the first day in over a year when I kept the N95 in my pocket all day, enjoyed a meal out in a restaurant, and viewed some art hanging in a museum. On the one hand it is just an image of some grass, old oak trees, and kudzu. But trust me, it was much more than that. Pentax KP, 20-40mm lens.

Dreamscape

This image was shot on a roll of Washi film, and at first I had a hard time reading the negative. Once I inverted the negative scan, my initial reaction was, 'meh'. Over time, the image as well as the aesthetic have grown on me. All of the Washi stocks give interesting looks, though they are not always repeatable. In addition, the trouble with exploring so many stocks is that you don't spend enough time with one to really get to know it. On the other hand, particular film stocks do work well for certain projects so it is worthwhile being familiar with the available choices. In terms of defining the parameters of an aesthetic, I mean. Everything is a compromise. Just gotta shoot more, I guess.

A tantalizing lack of clarity

I took a walk through a familiar place yesterday. It was hot and the afternoon light made dappled patterns on the path. I had my copy of the Smena 8m loaded with some Kodak XX film. Turns out that the Smena has a shutter cocking lever on the outside of the lens barrel, and that lever can bump up against fat sausage-like fingers after the shutter release button is pressed. This slows down the shutter closing and introduces a lot of motion blur to your photograph. I was a little disappointed. Later, though, I saw an obituary in the NYT. The sculptor Richard Nonas has died. The Times published part of one of his poems and it made me feel better:

I start with memories of how places feel. 

The ache of that desert, those woods, that room opening out.
Places I’ve been, places I’ve seen and felt.
And felt always with some component of unease,
apprehension, disquiet, fear even, discomfort certainly.
Memories of places that seem always slightly confusing, slightly ambiguous.
Places that tantalize, tantalize by their approach to — and lack of — clarity.

An Eye for Walls

Picasso is well known for his 'blue period', and much ink (real and electronic) has been spilled in discussing the works produced during that time. Likewise, I think that many photographers experience a 'wall period' as a way of working through their thoughts on photographic composition. Many critics are dismissive of this kind of work in general, believing it is too easy to do, as everyone has access to these public spaces. The basic ideas are already out there and have been adequately covered by those who came before us. I take their point, but I've recently been looking at the work of Keld Helmer-Petersen (Photographs 1941-2013, Strandberg Press) which has caused me to reevaluate my position. Much of Petersen's output comprises this type of highly graphic and abstract urban exploration photography. To see a lifetime's work presented in a single volume really establishes Petersen's mastery of composition in a pretty undeniable way. Being first is not the only important factor. The individual artistic vision revealed by the sum total of the work also matters. In the case of Picasso, the artist moved on to other 'periods' soon enough. Petersen shows the value of focus over a long period of time.

The image above was captured on a Canon Powershot G9 CCD imager back in 2008.