2022: 37 Black Hole Sun

I often think about the status of the art of photography. Is it diminishing in value? Is it more ubiquitous, hence less important? Is it a means of expression that is less relevant than it once was? Has it been tarnished by its sheer omnipresence? Many of us who use this medium as a mode of expression probably wrestle with these questions. Yet, we continue to toil away at our craft, ignoring the change in the weather (metaphorically speaking.)

Daido Moriyama, a photographer I greatly admire, once released a body of work titled “Farewell Photography.” One could interpret the title as his own personal goodbye to the medium, and a look at the images from this series would certainly validate that opinion. Grainy, overly contrasty, scratched, water damaged and generally abused, the photographs felt like an extreme that could not be returned from. We know from history that Moriyama did indeed return from this precipice in his personal work, still photographing to this day. However, if we look at the title as a broader statement, I think its relevant to consider the idea of saying farewell to photography as something that still resonates today.

The image above is a film leader from a roll of 110 film I shot earlier this year. A simple, throwaway strip of film stock. But when I scanned it, I saw other things emerge. A sky, devoid of the brightness of the sun. Ab scorched landscape. The universe in a smattering of dust. An existential landscape. The end of straight, photographic representation? Is this even a photograph? It is a piece of film, exposed in a camera, and contextualized by my eye, my brain. Is it nothing or is it everything? Perhaps both? Is it a wrench thrown into the mechanisms of the forever churning, social media fueled, torrent of images? I’ll leave that for you to ponder.

Kick In The Eye

KICK IN THE EYE

My new self-publishing project

After a few pauses, I am a thrilled to announce the release of my new self-publishing project. “Kick In The Eye” is a multi-format photo book. I will be releasing three different formats of this collection of photographs. The body of work is from a trip to Japan in 2019. The book layout is a continuation of my desire to depart from a reliance on and the sanctity of the “single” photograph. Each page of the book is a grouping of images meant to work as a whole. These pages I then envisioned as “visual songs.” I followed this quasi-musical approach to the packaging of each format. Being a vinyl collector, I wanted to replicate the 12” LP format, which seemed an appropriate way to package the main book. I then created a smaller “CD” version of the set of photos, as a small booklet in a CD jewel case. Finally, I produced a small number of “cassette” versions of the work, creating a deck of smaller cards that come encased in a classic cassette case.

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ABOUT THE PHOTOS

How well can one prepare for a place they have never been, where none of the words make sense, where activity never ceases, with all senses on hyper-alert? In Japan, you either surrender to it and let the flow take you where it wants you to go, otherwise you could easily be pulled under the current. As much as you could hope to be a traveler and not a tourist, there are some hurdles that are not so easy to overcome. Weeks of being completely adrift in a never-ending maze of commotion and confusion are sure to shift one’s comprehension of what is predictable... what is recognizable... what is understandable.

EXPLORE THE DIFFERENT FORMATS

GRAB YOUR COPY NOW

All three formats are limited editions, so once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Don’t miss out, order your copy today.
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Buy Photo Books, Not Photo Gear

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A camera is a tool. A lens is a tool. More cameras and more lenses may give you more options to explore and capture the world. However, more important than any piece of equipment are your eyes. And no fancy pants, ultra high megapixel device is going to make you a better photographer if your eyes (and your mind) aren't functioning photographically. With the relentless torrent of images bombarding us everyday off of computer monitors, smart phones or other screen-based platforms, it is even more important to devote time to the tangible and the tactile. Investing in photo books will bring more lasting value to your life as a photographer than any new shiny piece of glass and metal (and plastic.)

There really is no replacement for seeing photographs in print. Many of us don't have the time or the access to a museum or gallery on a regular basis to view photos hanging in a frame on a wall. And not to diminish those opportunities, but the photo book format is, in many ways, the ultimate way to consume photographic images. You can spend as much time with each image, studying and contemplating. You can delve deeply into the sequencing of the images, which is a key component to a true body of work, as opposed to a single image that pops up on your Instagram feed. Books have permanence, and they will most likely increase in value. Try saying that about the latest mirrorless camera you just dropped a grand on.

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I recently added a few titles to my photo book library. I was thrilled to hear that the earliest books by the black and white master Ralph Gibson had been reissued in a new compilation. "The Black Trilogy" highlights the surreal, dreamlike work that Gibson soon became highly recognized for. What I find most striking about this body of work is how prevalently the vertical format is featured. I remember hearing once that Gibson felt that shifting to a vertical format subconsciously unsettles the viewer by a small degree, moving them away from the expected and more familiar horizontal presentation of an image. Combined with the inherent qualities of black and white, this helps push the work further from reality and deeper into the viewers psyche.

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The second book I'm featuring is by the great Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama.  "Record" is a hardbound, slipcased book that complies his work that was originally released in a series of self-published magazines. The work spans almost thirty years, and highlights Moriyama's are-bure-boke (“shaky-blurry”) style. It is a bit difficult to comprehend how revolutionary this style was when it first surfaced in the late 1960s, especially considering how many contemporary photographers now ape Daido's look. As the work progresses chronologically, it becomes perhaps sharper and clearer, but never any less provocative. 

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Click on the image to find a copy for purchase

The last book up for discussion is a fairly obscure title, called "Meta Photographs" by Richard Gordon. Now before you go thinking this is some "johnny come lately, post-modern hipster, internet age" cash in, please note that the book was originally published in 1978. I had never heard of it, nor the photographer Richard Gordon, before I happened upon a set of images from this book on view at SFMOMA. This book falls squarely in my wheelhouse, as it is strictly photography about photography. Or more accurately, photos of items or environments that include some photographic representation in them. Photos of celebrity portraits on a wall, photos of people using cameras, photos of people being photographed. What I love the most about this book is how a simple undercurrent unites the whole project; how a photographic image can be recontextualized; how something that at first glance seems mundane, can actually be infinitely thought provoking. 

What are some of your personal favorite photo books? Feel free to share your thoughts.