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. 

Nevada Ghost Towns

 In our recent trip to Nevada we searched out old mining ghost towns in the state.  Nevada has a rich history in mining that sprung up in the late 1800's when silver and gold was discovered.  Most of these mining town flourished for a few short years while the mines were productive.  Today there are plenty of the remains of these old ming camps and small towns scattered around the state.  One town we visited was called Berlin, and it is now a state park left in a state of arrested decay.  As is with most of these mining towns, Berlin is located in a remote area.  Another great little mining town and one of the best we found was Gold Point.  It is a well preserved town with a lot of left over mining shacks and equipment laying around to investigate.  The town has six full-time residents and we only saw one while we camped out there.  His name was Walt, and he and his partner own the town.  It was a cool place to hang out for a couple of days.  We pitched our tent out back of the saloon that had 60's music playing 24 hours a day.  It was sort of a surreal feeling because of the emptiness of the town and hearing the music from our youth coming from the old saloon.  As I was out photographing the night sky I would hear in the distance a song I had long forgotten about, and with it came a flood of memories of that time in my life.  Traveling these dusty old back roads and exploring is always rewarding.  The quest of "what's is up around the next corner" leads to discovery of new and exciting places, and a fulfillment dreams.