Below - wait, above, are a series of Blackberry photos taken yesterday at Lido Beach on Long Island.
Candace recently asked what camera I used. Lately I use my BB. I had intended to buy a high end cannon and got distracted by electric guitars and amercan girl dolls, imported beer. I have a pocket Nikon with a zoom and I took it to the beach yesterday, but it stayed in the cooler all day.
All this got me thinking about what I photograph. I used to shoot subjects, then I started shooting colors, and then motion and now life's dance. Musical chairs. Slow dances, fox trots.
I have a constant struggle making photos not blurry - yo can see it here, above, where I attempt to freeze life ala Edward Steichen. My photos imitate painting sometimes, and this is was Steichen, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams all guarded against.
An anonymous comment I discovered recently stated that I had found "my niche" and that you could almost hear the "heavy breathing." I will not remove anonymous comments - good and bad and indifferent. I do want honesty...there are art blogs I stopped visiting on because I felt I was not being honest in my comments.
I consider this blog where I learn - my semi private laboratory where I meet others and share interests.
I recently had a new follower and I went to her profile and then viewed other blogs she follows. There are blogs for all interests and one genre I had not imagined involves lifestyle and personal fashion. There are women who document what they wore, bought, etc. Here are three examples - each with quality photography. I particularly like the photographs of vintage clothes for sale next to the antique frames.
I guess I am am rambling here. Sometime I must use models to avoid the pointed finger of heavy breathing, although that will remove the fast dance spontaneity in my candids.... models would photos of subjects, again. With colors and feigned motion.
Have a great Saturday...make art. Live it.
6 comments:
Niche or not, on the path or off, clear of blurred ... it's all part of the journey. Are you getting impatient to have your work settle somewhere, John? Just curious.
No, I am content with progression, in my rambling I noted that years of technique have created patterns.
I know the basic rules and once you do you can and should selectively break them.
The "heavy breathing" comment bothered me a bit since it implies a niche of lechery.
I can live with it though...click.
Your outdoor shots are incredible, John. Your artistic savvy really shows through. I'm completely transfixed. All the more incredible that you’re using a BB (took me a moment to accept that). There is a larger audience out there waiting for them.
Also re “heavy breathing” comment, hmmmm, never would have thought that. But I like how, instead of a simple negative response, you see the honesty a comment like that represents. Wise attitude, especially for an artist.
ah - One of the problems a friend of mine had with her portraits of her children was what others brought to the party.
She is a viewer, she wasn't inviting voyeurs, but it hadn't occurred to her that we can't choose who views our work or what they do with it. We can't define what others will think about it when we have made our mark. She objected to the thought of others slavering over her pictures of innocence and - maybe too late for her own comfort - had to change the way she portrayed her children.
Maybe your heavy-breathing anon is the heavy-breathing lecher.... transference is the term, I guess.
Don't be disturbed by it - if someone wants to be insulting, they can at least be out in the open.
Apart from that - these are beautiful pictures. Sea, sky and sand, what better. Happy child, even better.
Now I am going to go back and look at the pictures that caused your pervy commenter to breath heavily. Hugs
Good to take it all in,
do some back and forth,
but in the end our own voice is the one we must hear.
Just when I think something is clear,
I am back to the struggle.
What is clarity anyway, if not a blur of ......(fill in the blank, I'm rambling as well!)
Great purple sky and expressive eye.
I must say that I would be rather p'd off if someone left an anonymous comment like that but didn't have the gumption to leave a real name.
I think your photos are respectful of other people and not at all intrusive. You see something worthy where ever you go and there's no harm in sharing that.We are all caught on camera many times in each day, big brother watches everything and when in public that's just part of the deal.
Interesting to note the cycles your art moves through. Sometimes the seeds of a future exploration are planted long before we use them and we may not even notice.It will be interesting to see where this one leads.
I do love todays photos, especially Mariana and her oscar t.shirt. Good on you proud papa!
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