Bridge 5

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Some of the negatives in my bridge series fall into the abstract.  Oftentimes we use the term “abstract” to indicate a situation where we do not recognize the subject of the image.  I am thinking more along the lines of, “of or pertaining to the formal aspect of art, emphasizing lines, colors, generalized or geometrical forms, etc., especially with reference to their relationship to one another.” (from Dictionary.com)

This definition works with the idea that the image has become something beyond the substance that forms the image.  In this case I stop thinking in terms of “this is a picture of a bridge” and fall into the mixture of lines, forms, and light, moving throughout the frame examining how each of these elements work with one another.

There are so many elements in this image that I get lost in my exploration.  The pieces work together because the structure works together, and I see how each form fits with the others.  When done, I step back and notice that it is a picture of a bridge.

Bridge 4

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I have returned to my bridge project. The working title is now Strength And Beauty – The Bridges Of Baltimore. I have shot about 50 large format negatives for this project and am at the point where it is time to make serious prints. These are being done in the darkroom and I am seeing the advantages of having shot them on sheet film. What I mean by this is that when getting ready to expose the image I am looking at the scene upside down on the camera’s ground glass. Doing things in this way takes away the feeling that I am taking a picture of “something,” but this procedure results in abstraction of the scene.

When photographing a “thing,” the object becomes the item of prime importance. In this project I am going less for a replication of the “thing” I see before me, and more for the feeling of the scene. In this particular instance, I was struck by the awesome structure combined with the flow of the road. The roadway here appears to be so delicate, but its delicacy is protected by the massive structure supporting it. As is the case with many of the prints I have made to date, there is much to explore within the image. One can take the scene apart and examine portions of it, with the result of increasing abstraction and differing feeling. This is something I hope to explore with the next couple of images that are offered.

Swans

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This past Sunday was Worldwide Pinhole Day, a day where thousands of pinhole photography enthusiasts take a picture and upload it to the Worldwide Pinhole Day website. Since I will be offering a Pinhole Workshop on June I decided to use what my students will be using, Harman Direct Positive Paper. I have a love-hate relationship with this paper, but the good part is that after building cameras the students will be able to use this paper to make their own prints without having darkroom experience.

A while back on Lake Kittamaqundi it was decided to offer paddle boats to travel on the lake and I have always felt that the decision to make these in the shapes of swans and dragons to be rather bizarre.  What better use can be made of them than to take a long exposure pinhole image?  The Harman paper is like regular photographic paper in the respect that it is slow – probably in the ISO 2 range. This means that on an overcast day the exposure time is in the four minute range. I asked the woman working the dock if I could get some pictures of the paddle boats and was given permission – I am sure she thought I would be there one or two minutes, but I stood for about half an hour making paper and film exposures.

Photographic paper is thicker than film, and after exposing one of the sheets I did not realize that after inserting the dark slide back into its holder, the slide did not go into its intended slot, but slide outside of it. When I removed the holder from the camera, one end of the paper was fully exposed to the light. I had carried my film holders in a black plastic bag that had previously held photographic paper, so I tossed the holder in there, as properly positioning the dark slide would require opening the slide further.

In the darkroom I removed the paper from the holder and dropped it into the Dektol, allowing the paper to develop. The results were expected in the regard that there was a problem with the over exposed side, but unexpected in the respect that I had actual solarisation. I have intentionally used the Sabattier effect when making prints in the past, but this was the first time I had encountered it during the course of exposing a scene. This is something that needs to be explored a bit more fully. My plans are to expand my Pinhole Workshop into a class in the future, and if I can find a way replicate this in a controlled manner then it will definitely become part of the course syllabus.

Seamus At Home

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In the post Seamus And Friend I offered an image taken on the Aran Islands of the animal my wife decided whose name must be Seamus.  After taking the picture we continued on our walk, finally turning around and returning.  Eventually we came to Seamus’ home, so it was mandatory that I recorded him once again.  This is a Bromoil print of him at his abode.

Welcome To Madrid

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As the warmer weather starts coming back, I will be getting back on the street more often.  I admit that when the weather gets cold, I prefer to find projects within the darkroom that need to be worked on.

When talking about shooting street photography I oftentimes get asked about whether or not there is animosity from the people I shoot.  For some reason there is a perception that I’ll get punched out if I take someone’s picture.  This really is not the case, as usually people either do not notice me taking the picture, and when they do they continue on with their lives.  Of course, a little discretion goes a long way.  For instance, years ago I was shooting on the streets in Brooklyn and decided in a number of situations to allow promising shots to remain in my head.

I offered an image of one person who was annoyed with me in my post What! You crazy?, and have decided to offer another one I shot in the streets of Madrid in 2003.  This one was rather surprising to me.  He was obviously there to be seen, but when I went to take his picture he offered me a gesture that indicated his preference.  After taking the picture I smiled, waved, and moved on.

Voice of America Article

I got some good press about my show at the Greater Reston Arts Center.  The Voice of America interviewed me and offered an article titled Small Town USA Struggles to Revive Itself.

Seamus And Friend

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While on Inis Meain we did quite a bit of hiking, and came across very few people.  One encounter was that of Seamus and friend as they wandered past.  We wondered what work they had been doing, but the intent within the eyes look told me that work was not over and there was no time to stop and talk.

By the way, Seamus was the name of the donkey.   I cannot tell you that that actually was its name, but my wife had gotten into the habit of giving names to the various creatures we saw, and the donkey was given the name of Seamus.

Synge’s Cottage

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John Millington Synge was one of the great Irish playwrights at the turn of the 20th century.  After suffering his first attack of Hodgkin’s disease in 1897, he spent his summers on the Aran Islands (Inis Meáin), publishing his book-length journal, The Aran Islands, in 1907.

I’ve referred to my visit to Inis Meáin as “when we got there, no one was home.”  The day we visited the only people I remember seeing was a group of children, two men in a store the size of my living room, a lady, and a man walking with a donkey.  I think I will offer that image next week.

Fence

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Just as everything is built of adobe in the American southwest and slate in Blaenau Ffestiniog, since the Aran Islands are basically three large rocks off the west coast of Ireland, everything there is built of rocks.  For miles into the distance one sees fences that have been constructed over the centuries made entirely of stacked rocks.

Celtic Crosses

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My wife and I are going to go to the Aran Islands this autumn.  We were there in 1995 and loved the place, as it has so many unique features.  I took many pictures at the time, but since we only spent couple of days on the islands I have always wanted to return to do it properly.  In preparation for my visit, as I know that I will create a number of Bromoil prints from that visit, I decided to print some of the 18 year old negatives as Bromoils to get an idea as to what might work well with the process, and what does not.

This is a 4×6″ print of Celtic crosses in a graveyard.  When I look at this print I remember taking the picture and thinking about the people who lived in this remote location long ago.  These were people who truly had nothing, and who lived in an incredibly difficult place.

As far as this small print is concerned, as most of my prints are larger, I learned how difficult it is to create a small Bromoil print.  I will be making larger versions of this and the following prints I will be offering, and know that the increased options available for printing will actually make it easier to get what I am after.