Tag: Photography

I create my photographs but I do not interpret them. That is not my job. I let the observer do that. 

It is the observers’ job to discover their own interpretation. It is my hope that the viewer will emotionally connect with the image.

Today, we are visually saturated and I am concerned that the public does not really look at an image and try to discover what it is about. Simply indicating a social media “like” is not enough. We need more observers who are sensitive to aesthetic qualities in photographs.

I am also concerned that many of today’s photographers do not make images that go beyond the superficial surface of the subject whether it is animate or inanimate. Visually, many of the current images that I see lack depth and do not require anything more than a cursory glance. I subscribe to Aperture magazine and have noticed that the old adage that “a picture is worth a thousand words” should be changed to “it takes a thousand words to describe a photograph.” I now see many photos that cannot stand alone or even in a photo series without needing a lengthy critique which may vaguely explain or try to explain the significance of the work. It seems to me that photographers and writers are trying very hard to impress with their images and writings. Perhaps photographers lack the “vision” to create exceptional images and the writers use a lot of mumbo-jumbo to make themselves sound knowledgeable. We need more creators who see beyond the visually mundane.

There should be a visual relationship between the creator and the observer. The best photographs should create a spell on the observer.

Kant wrote the following about creative talent and genius. The talent/genius “does not know himself how he has come by his ideas; and he has not the power to devise the like at pleasure, or in accordance with a plan, and to communicate it to others in precepts that will enable them to produce similar products.”

There are photographs that I am unsure of how I created them and certainly will never be able to replicate. The technique of photography can be taught but the talent arises from the inner being.

The observer may experience similar emotions when viewing a photograph. The French have a phrase je ne sais quoi that refers to something that cannot be adequately described or expressed. Sometimes an image will leave the observer speechless and stir emotions and aesthetic senses.

The source of this emotional stirring and the connection to an image may be elusive and unexplainable. There are times when as an observer I relate to an image in such a way that verbal expression is neither possible nor necessary. I like numinous images-those that contain an element of mystery and appeal to the aesthetic sense.

It seems that the world is becoming more divided into creators and observers-those who make images and those who passively look. Unfortunately, there seems to be a dilution in talented creators and a diminished visual awareness of viewers. Some of this can be blamed on the barrage of images that the public is exposed to through modern technology but also blame can be directed to a lack of emphasis on visual literacy.

John Banville in his book April in Spain uses the phrase “looking at the world at a slight angle.” It resonated with me to the extent that I jotted it on a small scrap of paper and ruminated about how many of my best images were created when things were viewed at a slight angle. This does not mean that you walk around with your head cocked to one side to change your angle of view but that your skills of perception are sensitive to something unique, maybe an unusual juxtaposition, or “something never seen before”—a challenge that I assigned my photo students. Of course, this concept of “looking at the world at a slight angle” is not something that can be easily turned off and on.

As I have previously written in essays, I believe the unconscious plays a major role in this ability to see at a slight angle. As a photographer, the term I use when my vision blends with the deep layers inside my brain is the “period of intensive perception.” This is where I experience being in a state of mind that is momentarily removed from reality and my visual sensitivity reaches a new level. Everything seems to slow down and there is an increased level of clarity. I see things that I did not see moments earlier. This is when creativity is elevated which results in some of my best work. Unfortunately, it is elusive. It is easy to talk and write about but most difficult to execute.