imagist – Page 82 – Imagist Blog

See more intensely

“It is part of the photographer’s job to see more intensely than most people do. He must have and keep in him something of the receptiveness of the child who looks at the world for the first time or of the traveler who enters a strange country. Most photographers would feel a certain embarrassment in admitting publicly that they carried within them a sense of wonder, yet without it they would not produce the work they do, whatever their particular field. It is the gift of seeing the life around them clearly and vividly, as something that is exciting in its own right. It is an innate gift, varying in intensity with the individual’s temperament and environment.” – Bill Brandt

(click image for larger view)

A photograph is not what is photographed

“…the fact of putting four edges around a collection of information or facts transforms it. A photograph is not what was photographed, it’s something else.” — Garry Winogrand

My good friends at the Leica User Group have created a tradition called Friday flowers. I offer these in the spirit of that tradition. The blue flowers are a mere 5mm in diameter. Both of these were photographed with a 20 – 30 year old 65 Elmar lens on an M8.

(click image for larger view)

Last week I walked to the mail box and found five of these walking about in my front yard. This one seemed to be saying, “dude – like back off!”

Fall has arrived and new forms and colors delight the eyes.

Click this link to view additional images on these themes in a flash slide show

The great lake Michigan and sculptural gates

“Adopt the pace of Nature; her secret is patience.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

(click images for larger view)

A week or so ago I had the opportunity to return to a subject I’d photographed last spring. This gate, created by Dan Nauman, fits so well into its environment that photographing it becomes very difficult during daylight. The natural surroundings seem to absorb the organic forms of the metal. We created these night photographs in an effort to separate the organic metal forms from their natural environment (for an upcoming magazine article). If you open and drive through this driveway gate you will arrive at the residence, above the great lake Michigan seen in the black and white photographs above.

As fresh as food can be

this morning on the porch
a tomato the moment
before biting into it
tasting
every bit as good as it looked

Lasting impressions

What does it take to leave a lasting impression in this noisy world of excessive and often false hype? Some few man made objects possess qualities which cause the objects to remain useful and/or admired for their aesthetic appeal. I have 60 year old cameras which still produce stunning images. The camera manufacturers designed and built them to last, and work, for generations. The materials chosen; the machining of the parts; the ergonomics in use; all reached a state-of-the-art point. We can find similarly useful and beautiful objects in numerous fields of products. It seems appropriate to suggest that our own products: the words we share; the food we prepare; the work we produce; even our thoughts; would benefit from giving such close attention to aesthetics and usefulness; especially if we’re concerned with leaving a positive, lasting impression. I found these, last week, along the road, less travelled (click on image for larger view):

Poetry, Pictures ‘n Politics

Headline about sums up my life. Forty (or so) years ago poet Philip Whalen wrote:

Our main difficulty: fear and distrust of freedom

In America we’ve been fighting each other 100 years
We pretend we’re unimaginably rich
But we’re poor and afraid of the poor who must become
The Army to defend us against right and wrong

The real shame of America is the lack of an anti-clerical
Movement or party. All parties try to compound
With invisible State Protestant Church that theoretically
Doesn’t exist. Rubes who think of themselves as
Members in good standing are bilked and robbed

When did the dumb-bunny bomb first hit U.S.A?
How come everybody appreciated it so much?
Almost all Americans aged 4 to 100
Have the spiritual natures of Chicago policemen

Singer/songwriter Shawn Mullins performed at the historic Pabst Theatre Sunday, 9/21/08 (with Dar Williams headlining). Shawn reinforced my belief in the power of a talented story teller with a deep heart and a guitar. His character sketches bring to mind the people we’ve all met along life’s highway.

Selected “photographic” lyrics from Another Look by Shawn Mullins

Another look into her might just free me now.
I feel the drowning pounding of her pain
and her dreams like eyes,
as she looks into my sin.
So knowing where and why she’s looking through my window.
The cameraman wants to take her picture.
Now words spill out of hearts onto the stone,
and her image ties the knot of never knowing
the whole truth from lies.
Feels like I’m just now showing pictures to the man
whose dreams are realized.
He’s older now but he’s got newborn eyes.
Another look into her might just set me free.
I took her like a shot into my arm