Motivation

What is it that drives us to create, to discover something new, or just want to keep learning? I go through periods of intense creativity and then long patches of the doldrums where noting seems to inspire. You would think after many years of making photographic images I would have a better understanding of the creative cycle and be more accepting of it, but I am not. I am sure most creative persons has asked themselves these types of question many times. How do we balance this cycle of the creative process? I think sometimes we need to step away from what we are doing and clear our minds of the pursuit we are on. Sometimes we are simply over trying and making ourselves frustrated. Second we all have the tendency to compare ourselves to others. It is easy in the current social media world to ask ourselves why do some people get all the attention and our work gets overlooked. That is another trap that will completely engulf you if you put your focus there. But then there is another aspect creatives all deal with. You ask yourself, "I've created so much stuff what is the point of making anymore"? Just yesterday I was going through some of my many archival boxes of my darkroom prints that were fully matted and ended up putting them in the trash can. Then today I am putting together this above image in a matte and a frame, and the haunting question came again, "why make more"? After so many years what is the point, no one is going to buy it, and it will end up in my closet with a bunch of others. But a voice in my head asked me "do you enjoy it"? and my answer was yes. So the voice said, then keep doing it. In life we need to focus on the journey and not the destination. As artist we are always looking for the completed piece but in our minds it is never truly completed. There is always something we could add or change, and that is ok. Just keep doing what brings you joy.

Death Valley 2011

We have made many trips to Death Valley and each time I find it a fascinating place to explore and photograph. I like going back in my files and find new images to work on that I previous overlooked. Certainly the process in Photoshop has improved greatly since I made this image. This is another sleepless night for me so I decided to work in my modern day darkroom (photoshop) to help clear my mind of events of the previous day. I enjoy the quiet time in the middle of the night. The quietness takes me back to my darkroom days where I spent thousands of hours standing alone in the dark to make my images. The work of the darkroom process is a difficult one but renders the most satisfaction for me personally when doing photographing printing. This image was made shortly after sunrise out on the Dunes. Death Valley is a special place to visit and you might consider making the trip yourself one day

Time

Time is a thing we take for granted and it is always slipping away, but in our youth we can squander it freely without thought. When I visit an old structure such as this fallen down church I get a sense of time and it's passing. At one time it was the pride and joy of a small community but now it is abandon and the people are gone. I look out over the empty land and there is not a home or a town for miles. I am curious how this church was build in this far off place. The advent of the railroads bought people and productive farms to remote areas of the Midwest Plains in the early 1900's. Small towns grew up quickly with the influx of people, but eventually most died out when the trains stopped running in the last couple of decades. So as I sit in these quiet places and listen to the squeaky door hinge as the wind blown against the door, I feel the sprit of the place and have a sense of the people from long ago.

Uncertainty

We all experience it at some point in our lives. Here I am the night before I take off for another road trip of photography and primitive tent camp in the Plains states of America and Canada. It is an area that I have avoided traveling to and photographing my entire life. So I ask myself why at the age of 75 do I want to go to a barren land and sleep on the ground in an area that is void of scenic value? In the process of trying to answer my question, I realize that my soul feels barren and my desire to create has vanished from my being. Is it due to my age knowing that I can now "see the end”, or is it that I am out of touch with what creative photography means to me in the world of AI. I am uncertain of that answer as I write this. Have I lost hope in my pursuit of my passion? No! But has technology and the means to create a meaningful image shifted so far that I am no longer relevant to the current trend? I am beginning to thinks so. I suppose it is a natural progession of an aging person that has dedicated their life to a dream and vision that suddenly fades without them being aware it. I will make my trip feeling in an exhausted state, and hope the stark barren landscape can offer me something in return. To find a place of balance in life, you need to experience the extremes.

Tower Studio

Off the coast of Newfoundland is the island of Fogo. It has long been a fishing community and that is the main livelihood of the island for centuries. In the past few decades the fishing industry has been on the decline because of over fishing, but in the past couple of years it is showing signs renewed growth with the fishing regulations that were put in place to bring back the fish population. If you visit the island there are some interesting artist studios to visit with working arts. This one is called Tower Studio and is an oddly shaped building positioned in coastal landscape. I find doing an architectural study of these various odd shaped buildings gives me a new insight in how an abstract structure can be a place of quiet and peacefulness due to their unconventional design. We usually think of things in architecture as form over function. That concept is clearly apparent with this structure of making a creative space for artist to work . The building in itself it an expression of art.

Majestic Cypress Tree

I am fortunate to live in Florida and near a large lake that has numerous old growth bald cypress trees. These majestic trees have weathered hurricanes and lightning strikes but continue to grow in the lake over the many years. Sadly most cypress trees were harvested by the logging industry years ago, and they cut nearly every cypress tree that could be found. It is a valuable wood and I have seen some very beautiful tables made from huge slabs from a giant cypress trees that once stood tall in the swamps. I have a great affection for these trees because each one has it own unique character about it. Occasionally on hot days I will anchor my small boat in the shade of these trees and listen to the sounds of nature around me. They provide a secure nesting place for the Osprey and other birds native to the area. The Bald Cypress Tree is the only tree that losses it leaves for the entire winter in Florida. Winter time is when I usually prefer to photograph them, because without the leaves you can see the true character of the tree. This particular tree with it’s Spanish moss looks best in the summertime. I called it the guardian tree because of it’s strength and status it portrays .

Traveling in Iceland

I am still finding new and interesting images from a trip I made to Iceland back a few years ago. That appears to be the case with most of my photographic outings. When I first get home from a trip I dive into the images that capture my attention the most and make a small collect of prints. Then I find myself moving onto other projects and abandoning the process of working on image from my recent trip. I find that after a few years of having a large group of images packed away on a hard drive, I find many inspiring images that I overlooked on my initial review when going back through the files. It is exciting to bring new life to old memories and add to an existing body of work. Sometimes we are so excited to cull out what we think are the best images from the trip that we bypass others that may hold a deeper meaning. This above image was taken somewhere in Iceland but I can't remember exactly where. That is because it was a scene that I just happen on when traveling to a more popular location that might have been photographed more but other's. I like the quiet and subtleness of this scene and the emotion I get from it of being in a far off land in a remote area with no other travelers around for miles.

Learning to wait

Learning to wait is a struggle for everyone. It rarely exists in a young child, but as we mature we hopefully develop an increased ability to wait and be patience. Living most of my 74 years in a very small town, waiting was seldom a concern because dealing with crowds and traffic was never an issue. My little town didn’t have a traffic light, and waiting in line to buy something was a rare event. Now living my retirement years in a community with a high density population, I have to learn to deal with waiting and the frustration that comes with that. It is a certaiinty that humans have little capacity to wait. I see it in nearly every situation I am in when out in public. Rude people are people who have no capacity to wait, and sadly as the speed of our lives quicken there will be more rude people to deal with in our lives. So how does all this refer to photography and the process to create? As photographers the more we learn to wait and be patience the better our work will become. Unlike other artist, we have to wait on the light, the weather conditions, and the potential obstacles to get to the location of where we want to make an image. Looking through the many years of the images I have made in various locations I think about the time that was required to get to the location and then wait for the good light to hopefully appear. I sort of equate photography with fishing. You buy all the right equipment. get up early and head out with great expectations for the day, but more times than not you come home empty handed. No fish or no photographs. In my early years this use to frustrate me as a wasted day with nothing to show for it. But as the years passed I realized that the special images, the true keepers, was well worth the wait an effort. Just like fishing, you always remember that big fish you once caught, and when heading out, that is hope and goal. You learn over time that if you come home empty handed it is all part of the experience of pursuing your passion. I made this image in Newfoundland on Fogo Island. I rolled out of my warm comfortable bed on a cool morning and drove out in the early morning light only to find a dense fog at the location I wanted to photograph in. A bit discouraging, but I waited as the sun started to rise over the North Atlantic ocean and burned through the fog. The image I was hoping for was turned out better than expected and it is all because I was willing to wait at the location.

Winter time and bare trees

I always enjoy photographing trees without leaves. To me a tree with just bare branches has more presence. Certaily tree with their fall corlors make for a beautiful photographs, but I find bare trees have more charactor and therefor a more interesting subject. I made this image during the winter months in Florida when the Bald Cypress trees loose their leaves.

Another 3am image

The older I get the less I sleep.  At times it is frustrating dealing with insomnia but I find that the wee hours of the morning gives me the quiet time to work on an image without any distractions.  I think back of my many years working alone in the darkroom and it was a space of little noise or interruptions.  Once I entered the space I had a mind set and focus of working on printing an image.  I knew I had maybe three to four hours of a good concentration level before I tired out. After that I would mix chemicals or do other mundane task the darkroom work required.  The digital darkroom is much harder to maintain a steady concentration when working on an image.  There are frequent distractions that come with being on a computer and doing photography.  A simple notice of an incoming email message will take me out of my processing mindset and I end up just saving the image off to work on later.  If you take your photography seriously you will need to find a way to work without frequent interruptions.  The steps to processing of an image takes analysis, execution, and finalization in order to achieve a satisfactory image.  A disruption in any phase will most likely end up with falling short of achieving a successful image.  So, do I like working on my images when I should be sleeping? No, but it does help me produce some of my favorite images. 

Seeking quiet in a noisy world

 

We just returned from a road trip that took us nearly 6,500 miles of traveling backroads through parts of the U.S. and Canada.  We took our camper so we could spend several days in an area to explore around and learn some history of region.  Making a trip like this would usually require a lot of planning, but we decided to just drive and see where the road would takes us.  We met many fine people in our travels and received a lot of good tips on where we might want to go and what to see in those locations.  The most enjoyable times of our trip were spent in the quiet and open spaces.  For nearly a month while in Canada we had no internet, cell service, or TV, and soon realized how much our lives have become reliant on that technology.  When we returned to the States with being connected again we sort of felt like we gave up something to be back in the flow of digital information.  The freedom from noisy ads, news, and all the other stuff thrown at us each day was refreshing.  I realize few of us are going to be separated from the hustle of the busy world around us, but a roadtrip taking the backroads can give you a little break. 

Give life to your dreams

I recently came across this writing I did a number of years ago and at first I didn't recognize it as something I wrote.  I found it inspiring as if I was reading someone else's words.  I will turn the age of 74 in a few days and reading something from my past creates a stirring in me. I question myself if I dream as much as I did now that I am much older. Probably not,"but" I will be celebrating my 74 birthday on a two week tent camping trip to the N.W. to do some photography. 

"Give life to your dreams"

We start life on a fast and rigorous pace with school, work, family, and community. We all dream but where do they take us? If we learn to make our dreams into actions we will have a fuller satisfaction in life. How do we take a random thought or dream and make it a reality? It first begins with taking the time to dream and visualize. Try to imagine yourself doing the very things where your thoughts are taking you. Second you need to find your special place to dream. It may be a quiet and secured place or a favorite place from the past that brings you a sense of peace. Next you need to keep your dream personal until you are certain this is something you truly desire to do. Rushing out to tell others will dampen or destroy your dream because they will influence your thoughts, and often you will toss it off as only a whimsical dream and at that point you will become defeated and losing belief in your dream. I had a place where I did most of my dreaming. It had a long distance view where I would look out over a vast landscape. In my spare time I could sit there and dream about far away places and actually could see myself doing it. I knew at the time it may be years before I could eventually do what I was dreaming about but in my mind I knew that I was going to do it. The next step in planning and learning what actions you need to take to make your dream a reality. This is the work action that needs to happen to keep your dream alive. Write down a list of the steps that you need to do to start the process. With this you will start to realize you are bring your dream to life and that is when the excitement begins. Refuse to listen to the naysayers and others around that will dampen your enthusiasm. Life is full of negative voices and don’t let those voices steal your dream you have started. You will know that your dream is right when it is your own, and the only way to achieve that is limit the outside influence that can rob you of your hopeful thoughts. The next step in living out your dreams is to get up and go do it. This requires a bold and daring move to commit to something that was just a thought in your head a few months ago, but if you visualized your self doing it and made the basic plans to carry it out, then it is the time to move forward. Here is a few saying that you can apply to your motivation for bring a dream to life.

“ Analysis Paralysis” Failure by default (over thinking something)

“Winners take imperfect actions, while losers are perfecting their plans” (Make a plan and take an action)

My dreams that started in my favorite place has taken me to several countries in the world and to explore off the beaten path. I have hiked, camped, and met wonderful people along the way. I have a lifetime of memories and many inspiring photographs that take me back to my original dreams. Time is precious so don’t just dream it away, give life to your dreams. 

 

The Melting Building

Architectural photography is something I have never done a lot of.  I mostly have concentrated on landscapes and abstract subjects for most of work.  Recently I was in Las Vegas and visited the arts district. That is where I came upon a wonderful abstract building,  The Lou Ruvo Center for brain health designed by architect Frank Gehry,  and is often referred to as The melting building.  It has to be one of the most artist designed buildings I have seen.  Certainly it is a one of a kind and the abstract quality makes an interested building to photograph.  I always try to show a presence of light in my final image and it all starts with analyzing the light in the field before making the exposure.  Once I have an image with the proper light and composition then the real work starts to produce an image worthy of representing this wonderful structure.  It can take me days of working on a single image to get the desire look I am after.  Sometimes I am rewarded with an image I feel represents the inspriation I felt when in the field with my camera. 

Ebb and Flow

 I will be 74 years old next month.  My interest in photography started in high school when my small school built a darkroom and started a photography class.  In the first year the class was offered there were only two of us who were in the class.  I remember clearly the first time I watched a plain piece of white paper turn into a photograph in front of my eyes in the darkroom.  It was a magical life changing event for me.  I instantly connected with the process and the possibilities photography held for self expression.  So here I am 60 years later still pursuing the photographic process. During those years the equipment and process has changed numerous times requiring a re-education to stay current with the process. The changes always had a period of ebb and flow to the creative aspect of photography. New techniques and to be learned and equipment exchanged. It is more costly and time consuming in the electronic world of photography with hardware updates and digital procedures constantly changing. I still have the desire to create and explore with photography but miss the process that I fell in love with in the darkroom.  The AI technology that will soon be unleashed on the world will probably spell the end of the creative process of the individual and will usher in the the computer generated art that has very little heart and soul. 

Fogo Island

 It was a foggy morning as I searched around Fogo Island in Newfoundland for a pleasing scene to photograph.  I came upon these three boats and at first I kind of dismissed them for making a pleasing image.  Mainly because there were so many other interesting structures with boats around area that held my attention.  That was four years ago and recently I was going through some files of that trip and came across this image.  I was intrigued by the simple quiet composition and could see potential in the image.  It is strange, but I usually find these lost and forgotten images during a period of sleeplessness in the middle of the night and immediately start working on them with enthusiasm.  The stillness in the scene represents the stillness of the night and completes the creative cycle. 

Book Projects

I have spent the past several months sorting out and editing my photographic images I have made over the past five decades.  My photographic journey has taken me down many paths of creative interest.  As I go through the tens of thousands of images made on film or with a digital camera, it becomes apparent there are numerous images that can be grouped together according to theme and style.  I can clearly see how my interest with certain subjects grew while others faded.  My efforts with this project is to products books of images that I pulled from my files and organize them to be viewed as a theme.  This is a time consuming project that takes discipline to complete.  My first completed book is titled "Street Portraits".  It contains about seventy photographs of people I randomly met and photographed in their environments.  It is satisfying to see a complete body of work represented in a book format.  Currently I am sorting through images that contain a theme of what I refer to as visual rhythms in nature.  These are images that have common patterns with form and movement found in nature.  I first went through my plant life images, and then as the project grew, I found similar images of tree roots and rock formations.  As I work on old and forgotten images I became aware of how my photographic pursue developed a rhythmic visual style.

Style

 We all develop our own style in photography if we stay with it long enough.  We first start out trying to mimic other photographers whose work we admire. There is nothing wrong with this but at some point we need stop trying to reproduce another photographers work and create our own look.  It starts with an awareness of things that we are drawn to and putting together a body of work that represents our emotional response to what we see. There is nothing mystical or magical about the process.  It is simple seeing and putting your inner person into play. We all have jobs and commitments we have to deal with everyday, But deep within all of us is a hidden person that can create and present something that has meaning to us. The source of this creativity ebbs and flows with intensity and sometimes is not present at all.  It is not that is is not there, but because we have stopped seeing and listening to the things inside of us and take on other duties of the day,  Somedays I walk though the day and look for nothing. My eyes are shut because of negative news and other outside forces that occupy my mind.  Then for no particular reason I wake up and find everything has the potential of creating an interesting image and my mind is flooded with wonderful ideas.  I guess this is a normal and healthy way that the creative minds works.  The down times are frustrating but are periods of rest before a rush of new creative energy comes flooding in. Often my moods follow the same path as my creative and non creative periods.  The above image was made in Mexico of some banners hanging in a small church, 

A mule in front of a mural

 I was traveling around in the wonderful state of Nevada recently and came across this scene of a mule standing in a gravel parking lot in front of a large mural painted on a building.  I did my usual photographer's u-turn in my vehicle and went back to take a photograph.  The mural itself was an interesting subject but the mule added the element the photograph needed.  These mules were orginally left by the miners in the 1800's and their offspring roan free in the area.  After I made my photograph he came over for a hand out, so I gave him a few pretzels I had with me.  These types of images occur spontaneously and it is fun when they happen. 

Transition

Transition is the change from one state to another.  I prefer to photograph when the day is transitioning to night.  The last few minutes of daylight provides a soft glow on the subject and eliminates the harsh shadows caused by the midday sun.  During this time the winds cease and a quietness falls on the land.  In the stillness you become aware of the the changes in nature as the birds fly overhead to roost for the night while the bats come out of their resting place.  When alone in the wildness locations I feel the eeriness of the approaching night as a coyote yelps at the rising moon.  I stay at the location as long a possible before the darkness over takes me and I need to make the trek back to my vehicle or campsite.  These are special times and some of the most rewarding in making photographs and to experience the transition of the day into the night.  The above photograph was made in Nevada. I visited the location during the day to scout around for an evening photo session.  I am always amazed how different things look when I return after the sunsets. 

What makes a good photograph?

 Photography is a medium that offers many choices in how we want to use it.  What makes a good photograph?  It really depends on how you use photography.  For most people it is to record family events and create a history of cherished memories.  The ability to freeze a moment in time is unique to photography.  When I look back at old photographs of past family members, I can appreciate the true power of photography when use to record important people and events in our lives.  Photography also can provide a way to express a desire within us to create and explore the environment we live in.  This is the expressive side of photography that can make us stop and think when viewing an image that inspires us.  These types of images help us to connect to an object or scene in a way we couldn't have otherwise.  The stillness of photography lets us view and examine the object with great detail and emotion.  We all quit seeing as we grow.  We develop a learned recognition of things so we really never have to look at it in detail again. Such as looking at a tree or a chair.  Once we have imprinted our minds at a young age to recognize a tree we only need to glance at a tree a know what it is.  In a sense we stop really seeing and rely more on our sense of recognition. The gift photography can provide a way to persevere the cherished memories of our lives and to awaken our true sense of seeing.  So the good photographs are ones that impacts you the most.