Over the past few days I had the chance to have a significant amount of my “A” list Hudson pictures looked at and evaluated by two professional photographers. One is more theory/fine art/academic while the other is more journalistic/documentary. Both published and very well-respected. I very much appreciated their feedback and, in general, they had similar responses to much of the work. However, on one sequence of shots they completely disagreed.
One said that these were my best shots. They “revealed your soul” and you could “feel your presence” in them and while the framing was slightly off it didn’t matter, this was the work and where my focus should be.
The other said they were well framed but the lighting was bad, they were flat and I should re-shoot.
I think that is why it is called art and not science.
Art for art’s sake? I should think so, and more so than ever at the present time. It is the one orderly product which our middling race has produced. It is the cry of a thousand sentinels, the echo from a thousand labyrinths, it is the lighthouse which cannot be hidden … it is the best evidence we can have of our dignity
The first weekend of January 2012, Katherine took me for a weekend stay at the Saugerties Lighthouse. It juts out into the Hudson so you can imagine my pleasure. An insanely beautiful, thrown back in time to the 19th century abode (only 2 rooms available, book many months in advance. A spectacular weekend and an excellent present.
I go to PT twice a week these days for iliotibial band syndrome…Spell check does not like Iliotibial …
I had never heard of such a thing until I was diagnosed with it but, 3 yes three, of the people who work at the clinic have had it…who knew?
When I go I pass by this work. I don’t know what it is, why it is there, or if it is supposed to be an ad, a piece of art, a landmark, a happy happy joy joy…
One of my favorite places in the five boroughs is 5Pointz. It is a worldwide graffiti mecca that has been in existence since 1993, I believe. The work on display there is incredible. The building covers a full city block near PS1 and just off the 7 train line. However, if you want to see it you may need to move fast. Currently this 8th wonder of the world is scheduled for demolition – Landmark set to be demolished – in 2013 in favor of yet more upscale condos …just what New York is begging for…
If you live in NYC, please contact any and all of your local politicians to see if they will commit to help save 5Pointz!
Today I want to recommend two bloggers from South Carolina.
One I have written about before, Andra Watkins, The Accidental Cootchie Mama. She has a series this week that I suggest you take a read of and then dip back into her past oeuvre.
The second is a new discovery (for me). Arley Seth was kind enough to visit and like the Quotidian Hudson and I followed the link back to him. He has recently started a blog called Shootabout. It is a photography blog and I think you will enjoy his work.
I took my own walkabout in the neighborhood today and realized that in all the time I have lived here, I have never consciously taken a picture of Tom’s aka The Seinfeld restaurant so here is a little touristic snap.
The other day someone asked me how I choose the shot or shots I put up. I have talked about it before but that was a while ago so…Monday through Friday during the school year, late at night I whittle down what I have shot that day to 10 or 15 favorites. The next morning, before she heads off to school, I show them to Abigail and while we talk or chat, depending on what is going on, she chooses 3 or 4 of the shots. Then, after I have looked them over and thought about what I want to write, I pick one (or more if it is a walkabout).
She and I both agree that sometimes you don’t pick the “best” shot, the one with correct color balance and composition etc. Sometimes a “bad” shot is more evocative of the day and the way you feel and I always go with that. I have had some photographers tell me that is a mistake, that I will look unskilled or like an amateur. So what? Photography is a craft, an art, a reflection of the photographer, in other words, it is like any other art or form of self expression.
When I was a grad student, teaching beginning theater undergrads in theory and acting sections, they would have big ideas about how to blow the stage apart and set the world on fire and I always encouraged them but I also always told them to learn the rules. You can’t do a good job of blowing something up and rebuilding it if you don’t know where/what it is.
End of soapbox.
A church with barred doors seems a contradiction to me but …see my note above…
Some things are beautiful and transitory and very much a snapshot of their moment. Some things mellow and deepen with age.
Wild rivers are earth’s renegades, defying gravity, dancing to their own tunes, resisting the
authority of humans, always chipping away, and eventually always winning. Richard Bangs, River Gods
Today was the first day of winter. At least that is how it felt. Wind gusts of 40mph, temperature in the low to mid 30′s. Very few people were at the river running or biking today. Some very brave people on The Circle Line Boat were on the top deck as it headed back to its home base. I shot for about an hour. Four very different views. This post has two of them.
The wood art-man worked hard last night. I had not seen any new pieces in almost a month but there were seven or eight up today and several of them were excellent.
However I prefer the look of nature’s window box today. At some point the river belched this block up and then the earth took over. We throw the crap away and if it can, nature finds a way to use it.
