I have been to Sicily numerous times, and each time I arrive in the capital of Palermo, I feel inspired to make photographs. The city is alive certainly; but at the same time, shows it age and history through the layers you can find simply by walking down the street. Here are a few images from my latest trip.
167
Hey there friends and followers! A quick note to let you know there is a new series on the website today. Click here or on ONE SIXTY SEVEN on the main page and check out my recent wandering in New York City, prism in hand.
“Caution: Albuquerque” 2024
Back To The Streets
It has been a while since I grabbed a camera and went out with the specific intention to make photographs. So much time in my own head, in my studio, using my hands and my head… but maybe not so much my eyes…
Albuquerque… it is not New York or Paris or Tokyo…for sure… but it is my city and it is a place I know well, even if it confuses me, or frustrates me, or scares me (sometimes, it’s true)…I feel safe in a place I don’t know well, in all honesty (not recognizing threats, perhaps, or ignorant to them, or maybe Albuquerque is genuinely more dangerous than other places???)
Grabbing a big, serious camera and my trusty prism, I headed downtown yesterday for a few hours of wandering. At least during the daytime downtown’s bark is worse than it’s bite. And as is the case for as long as I’ve lived here, things are generally deserted during the weekend, as most storefronts are vacant and the government offices are empty of weekday workers. Add a cloudy, windy, threat of rain sky and conditions were right up my alley.
Using the prism has rejuvenated my enthusiasm for shooting in the streets… it bring a nice degree of serendipity and happenstance to the process, while still staying anchored (albeit very loosely) to reality. I find that complete abstraction ends up being of passing interest to me, in a photograph, anyway. And the truth of the matter is that an image made with a camera does in some way stay connected to the “real world.” Which ultimately is fine with me, as I myself need to stay connected to the “real world,” too.
A view through a prism; May 2024
a report from the studio
I spend most of my days in my studio. This is the benefit of remote working. As long as my laptop is open, emails rolling in, numerous Zoom meeting, etc… I am “on the clock.” The advantage of having all of my art supplies readily available is a blessing and a curse. My studio space resembles my brain in many ways. Sometimes I need to turn it off, which in this case means randomly pulling “work in progress” off the walls, so I can stop thinking about THE WORK for at least a little while. The upside of working in this environment is that I can dabbler with an idea at anytime, and garner quick results, via Lightroom and my decent Canon printer. Case in point, I got a bug up my ass yesterday about my ongoing boredom with “straight” photography. At the same time, complete abstraction seems too easy sometimes, or just a plain, self-indulgent mess other times. The problem (not really a problem) with photography in general is that it seems so intrinsically tied to the real world (broad generalization, I know.) Somehow, someway, reality need to peek it’s head into the camera, and onto the subsequent print, or else it drifts into something else, something (primarily) non-photographic. I’ve taken to shooting through prisms lately (as seen last year in full effect in Paris) and I think what I like about the approach (when it works…and often it doesn’t…) is that it breaks just enough from reality, and falls into the territory of “uniqueness.” Reflections and transparency wielded in a barely controllable manner, with a heavy helping of serendipity. It reaps non-repeatable results, for sure. Images that are only by me, for better or for worse. Even dabbling in the studio becomes a journey into unknown territory, and as the above image can attest, sometime the results are magic.
Treasure From Trash
From time to time, I spend a few hours in a community darkroom here in Albuquerque. Though it open to “select” members of the community, the nicest thing about it is that when I book time there, I have the entire darkroom to myself. No fighting over when to turn on the lights, and I can use multiple enlargers at the same time. I like to experiment with expired papers, odd exposure techniques, and often times, found negatives.
One a recent visit, I found some “failed” film on the ground, stuffed in the corner of the darkroom, covered in dust and dirt. A few rolls that someone had obviously loaded incorrectly into the developing tank, it had chemical marks, streaks, and plenty of evidence that the film stuck to itself during the processing. The creator obviously discarded the film, seeing no value in it. On the other hand, I find these kinds of mishaps intriguing. I sometime distress my film intentionally to get the kinds of random results that this artist clearly distanced themselves from. I rolled up the forgotten film and brought it back to my studio. I eventually got around to scanning it an manipulating it in Lightroom. I like the unrestricted chance to play with this film, allowing for panoramic abstractions that are more about the medium itself than the need for any recognizable image. I love the results. I suppose I should give credit to my anonymous collaborator. One person’s trash is another’s treasure, indeed.
New Zine Release: Réfracté
Excited to share the news about the release of my new zine. It is the result of a whirlwind week in Paris. I took to the streets, with a camera in one hand, and a “secret weapon” in the other. Voilà! Here is a teaser video to get you excited. You can order the new zine now via my BigCartel shop, click on the button below.
PLEASE NOTE: These will not ship in time for Christmas arrival, but consider it instead for
a New Year / 2024 gift for yourself or someone you know who loves Paris.
Smoke and Mirrors
Another family obligation visit to New Jersey this week. Thankfully, I was able to carve out time for a visit into New York City. They say that it’s easier to photograph in NYC… there is certainly no shortage of subject matter, and the cacophony and chaos of the urban environment is a never ending sensory overload. That being said, I also find it challenging to make photographs that aren’t trite or cliche. It is a fine line between the best and the worst of “street” photography. I wanted my photos to have some unique character to them, so I brought along a pocket-sized mirror to play with while I shot. Pushing my lens up against the mirror allowed me to combine reflected scenery within the same frame as scenes directly in front of me. The juxtaposition of front and back merging into one exposure, for me, captures the complexity and energy of midtown Manhattan in a unique way. I’ve been toying with this approach for a little while now, but I now believe it is tailor made for the city streets. This might be the start of something new for my work. We’ll see if the novelty wears off, or if creative horizons broaden… reflected or otherwise.
I-40 West; Grants, New Mexico
Doldrums tend to strike if I sit idle for too long. Such was the case this weekend. A full tank of gas and a new camera to play with was enough motivation to get me out of town, for a quick day / road trip. Jump on the Interstate and head west, and all sorts of things await discovery. Even old haunts that I’ve tread through numerous times can yield new images. Especially when the weather takes a sudden, dramatic, turn for the worse. Desert rain is usually a cause for celebration, even on a day when photos are on the docket. The roads might get treacherous, but the views through the camera were worth the moments of white knuckle driving.
Making Contact
Over the past few years, I have moved further away from straight photography in my creative practice. Any follower of this blog will have known that I have taken various drastic departures in pursuit of image making. At the same time, I’ve struggled with the fact that a “photograph” by is intrinsically representational.
Regardless of whatever manipulation one does: with lens or camera choices, post exposure manipulation (both analog and digital) there are still the fingerprints of some direct representation of the world within the image. This continues to be a quandary for me to deal with creatively. I have been revolting against the stream of similarity of images on social media: the impermanence and banality of even the most technically proficient photographs. Interesting subject matter or interesting concepts represented in a straight photographic manner for one reason or another has lost its appeal to me.
And yet. As I wrestle with this paradox I am looking for a detente of sorts. One small step I have recently taken is to carry around a small point shoot some camera with me. Through my daily obligations and travels I’ve been snapping photos of anything that happens to catch my eye at a certain point. I try not overthink the relevance of the subject matter, nor the technical approach. At the same time I am creating straight still photographs of the world around me.
This week I developed two rolls of the film I shot and it is still curious to me that even the most throwaway images seem to possess some kind of extra power when locked forever in silver halide on a roll of film. What might become of these images? Nothing, most likely. However, spending an evening developing, then scanning and studying his images has served some form of emancipation from my internal struggles with the work I create. There is still something quite alluring about seeing 36 images lined up on a sheet of paper. This current practice of mine, resulting in a contact sheet to meditate upon, is well worth the time invested.
2022: 29 Film Swap / Destruction
Last year I participated in a film swap, sponsored by the great folks at Lomography. They connected film shooters from all over the world to collaborate on a film sharing project (you shoot a roll of film and then send it to the assigned person to shoot the roll again in their camera…double exposures!) Last year’s project was so much fun I decided to throw my hat in the ring again this year.
My roll of film arrived this week from Perth, Australia(!) so I was excited to run it through one of my cameras as soon as the grips of Covid released me from being homebound. After shooting and processing, I noticed the doubles didn’t come out as prominently as expected. The iso rating / underexposure approach didn’t yield clear double exposures. Having been granted permission by my shooting partner, I decided to inflict my (soon to be patented) creative destruction approach to the processed film.
Bleach, flame and dirt was inflicted on the negative strips. I took a fairly haphazard approach to this destruction, not really caring if I went too far with it. The results are very much to my liking and my Aussie friend was pleased as well. Some traditional shooters may cringe at this approach, but I find it liberating to succumb to the happenstance of pouring bleach onto of a strip of film. And one thing is assured, this definitely creates one of a kind images.
