BLACK SANDS BEACH, HUMBOLDT COUNTY

Theses three images were taken at Black Sands Beach, Humboldt County, California, on November 3, 2012.

Dead Pelican

(homage to E.W.)

Equus Reclining

Found Composition

ARCATA, CALIFORNIA

 The images below were taken the same day as the previous post, in Eureka, California. It was a few days after Halloween and some of the window displays were holiday-themed. Others were surreal. With the exception of the veiled doll photo, all the photos were taken in black & white. In one instance, I preferred the color RAW file and processed it. In the last image, I  chose to show both versions. In that case, I think neither of them is better than the other, just different.

As to the titles: sometimes I get the urge to channel Manuel Alvarez Bravo and offer up obscure referential titles. Some make sense, others are private jokes. Part of the process of informing the photographs...

Cherub with Infantry, Arcata, California – 11.2012

Woman with Red Purse, Arcata, California – 11.2012

Homage to DeChirico, Arcata, California – 11.2012

Chemistry, Arcata, California – 11.2012

Veiled Doll, Arcata, California – 11.2012

Brain offering, Arcata, California – 11.2012

Sirens, Arcata, California – 11.2012

Skull and Crossbones, Arcata, California – 11.2012

Woman in Tile, Arcata, California – 11.2012
(monotone/color)

EUREKA, CALIFORNIA

The previous post was called "reflections." In it I mentioned that the subject is one I keep going back to. I found some interesting subjects in the windows of Eureka, and later, in Arcata, California. This one appealed to me because my wife and I have three pet ducks (among myriad other creatures). None, however have two heads. I shot it as a monotone, but when I reviewed the files, I also liked the RAW color version. It isn't as somber. 

Zoltar, Eureka, California- 11.12

The two images above are also, like the reflections, representative of unconscious themes; boarded up windows and doors. The door was taken in a picturesque sounding locale: Snug Alley.

REFLECTIONS

Within the very general category of locations I like to photograph, there are the sub-texts. For example, I like to take photos in the woods and I like to shoot in the city. One of the sub-text categories in the latter is store window reflections. What's interesting to me is that I don't primarily seek out the store windows, as much as come upon them within the general, bigger location. As with a lot of what I photograph, and have posted here, the trends and directions of my photography only become clear to me after taking the photographs. Having a body of work that spans some 40 years, I do have the luxury of looking back and assessing images that although taken years apart bear strong connections. In a sense, it is not too far removed from what Minor White described as "found photographs."

Below are three photos of store windows. The first one was taken a little over 39 years ago, on Kodak Ektachrome. The last one, 2 months ago, digitally, with a Canon Rebel Xsi and Tamron 17-270mm zoom lens.

Retail District, Boston–8.1973

Out of the Closet, Atwater Village, Los Angeles–4.2007

Dreamless, Salem, Oregon–8.2012

On previous posts, I've mentioned that I try always to limit post work to what can be done in a traditional darkroom. Usually, I'll reveal anything I have done otherwise. And, if I photograph something in monotone (black & white), I almost always process and display it that way. This is one of the exceptions. I shot this as a monotone jpg. with a color RAW file. When I clicked on the RAW file I realized I liked it better. But, as I say, minimal Photoshop work was done. except dodging and burning, and some exposure control. I've entitled it Dreamless as a bit of a private joke having to do with my sleep habits. 

Oregon State Fair

I took a bunch of snaps the night my wife and I went to the Oregon State Fair. I don't go on the rides and the fair food is deemed unsafe by cardiologists. We go every couple years. It's a great place to people-watch, see a lot of animals and experiment with light.

Hooded Sheep, 8.30.12

Along the midway, 8.30.12

Cotton candy. Cold drinks. The tilt-a-whirl... the inferred influence of Ferlinghetti, Robert Frank and Bruce Springsteen are all over this one. From the Coney Island of your mind to the boardwalk in Asbury Park. Strangely, this, to me, is a timeless, American image.

The Zipper, 8.30.12

Ferris Wheel, 8.30.12

Kilowatt Smile, 8.30.12

So much of photography is simply a matter of timing and luck. This is the second of two exposures I got of this couple about to be spun. The first is dark. She's not looking at the camera. When she saw me, she beamed. Amazingly, I got it.

Are You Going to Heaven? 8.30.12

4 selects

Turner Memorial Tabernacle, 9.5.12

If you've followed this blog, you know I very rarely "manipulate" my images. I try to limit my Photoshop work to basically what could be done in a darkroom, i.e., dodging and burning, exposure control, contrast, etc. So this one is a bit of a departure. The building and the angle seemed to lend themselves to an "antiquing" process. My little watermark is also kind of dated.

Daisies, 9.15.12

This one is a case of the camera ensuring I get the shot! I originally took this in monotone, but with the setting for a large jpg file, plus the RAW file. When I saw the muted palette of the RAW file, I decided I preferred it. I did nothing else to it.

Fading Flora, 9.15.12

This one was taken the same day as the one above, but I left this one in monotone. I used my Canon 105mm macro lens, giving it that extreme depth of field. A great lens!

Broken Window with Wasp's Nests, 9.29.12

This one reminds me a little of a Minor White image, which, to me, is never a bad thing.

10 Little Images

I am exhibiting the following images at the last installment of Project Space 2012, in Salem. I refer to them as "10 Little Images" because, due to the limited space afforded me, I printed the images each about 5"X8" on Moab Entrada Bright Rag 190 gsm Archival  fine art paper.

This is from the artist statement: The theme for Project Space 2012 is “Works in  Progress.” The 10 images exhibited here were all taken during 2012, with most taken prior to June, when I had surgery. Two were taken as recently as two weeks ago. I deliberately use the word, taken,in the spirit of Minor White and his writings on “found photography”: The photographs were there, I simply found them... and “took them.” For the most part, these images display an absence of human artifacts or influence. There are no people in them. With the exception of the two images from August (”Prayer with Shroud” and “Bouquet Remnant”) the images were taken exactly as I found them.

(August 20, 2012)

Passionate Kisses, South Salem, Oregon

1.2012

Walnut Trees, Evans Valley, Silverton, Oregon

1.2012 (previously posted)

Barlow Road, Yoder, Oregon

1.2012 (previously posted)

Dead End, Canby, Oregon

3.2012 (previously posted)

Late Snow, Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

3.2012

Willamette River, South Salem, Oregon

4.2012

Hidden Spring, Breitenbush, Oregon

5.2012

Joyous Figure,  Mindful Dog

Breitenbush, Oregon

5.2012

Bouquet Remnant 

8.2012

Prayer with Shroud

8.2012

The last two pieces were "found objects" (dried plants or weeds) and photographed on a white sheet, in natural light. 

THE OBITUARY PROJECT

Every morning when I get up, I read the obituary page. If my name's not there, I shave. George Burns.

I've been subscribing to Mr. Burns' philosophy for wuite some time. Once, years ago, I saw my name in the obits in the Los Angeles Times as I was waiting to board a plane. You can bet I visited the Mutual of Omaha kiosk before boarding.

* * *

For nearly five years, I have cut out obituaries from The Oregonian (and, in the instance of two of the finished montages, from The New York Times). What I found fascinating is the way the deceased–or their family members–choose to be remembered. The obituaries that catch my eye are the ones the feature a photograph from the person's prime.

At about the same time I began clipping and scanning the obituaries, I took a half dozen or so close-up photographs of stapled and nailed surfaces of the wooden power poles along Hawthorne Boulevard in Portland. 

Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 2008

They stood on their own, as studies of tactile surfaces converging in graphic compositions. I cannot say what compelled me to bring the obituaries and power pole close-ups together. 

Obituaries, 2008

The first montages were more a visual/graphic experiment, developing the integration of the various elements in a cohesive composition. As the process unfolded, it revealed a direction — a relationship between words and images—a narrative on both the life of the subject and the way we choose to remember loved ones and how they want to be remembered.




As with the majority of my photography, these digital montages celebrate impermanence. I often refer to my photography as “fugitive,” and so it is in focusing on the end of one’s life. For what is life if not fugitive? 

* * *

The Salem Art Association (in Salem, Oregon) has sponsored what they call "Project Space" for four of the last five summers, utilizing a vacant storefront downtown for studio, exhibiting and performing artists. I have been involved each year of its operation. In fact, I exhibited the first obituary compositions at the first Project Space, during the summer of 2008. For the 2012 Project Space, the theme was "works in progress." Of the two proposals I submitted, the obituary project was chosen. For the exhibit, I showed the following six photo-montages, along with other unrelated montages. Other than the emphasis on the narrative, there is another big difference between these pieces and the original two, shown five years ago. I did Internet searches on each of the subjects. All of the searches revealed some additional information, but none so comprehensive as for Maggie St. James...

Elena Mimi Casals

Molly

Tessa

Grace

The Two Lina Romays

Maggie

Maggie’s obituary revealed a fascinating story. When I researched her, it was her mother, who kept coming up. Ruth was a legend in Portland, having been an abortionist, performing over 40,000 illegal procedures. I certainly did not want Ruth’s notoriety to overshadow her daughter, who is, after all, the subject of the piece. The style was dictated by the choice of words available and the wording determined the size and relationship of images. It was influenced in part by film noir and pulp fiction, particularly, James Ellroy’s LA Confidential.

The Two Lina Romays began with the obituary of the Mexican singer/actress. A Spanish gore/porn actress took the name, one of many she had used in her life and career. I found the juxtaposition fascinating.

Elena Mimi Casals was a Cuban poet and songwriter. Grace, Tessa and Molly led more private lives. Faces in a crowd, a family picture... or an old snapshot staring up at you from the obituary page of the paper.

note: I do not consider the obituary pieces photography. While each of them have as a basis an original photograph, they are not photograph. They are digital montages, owing as much to the collages of the Dadists as they do to Adobe Photoshop.