Chester
Two things this summer that have really helped me with the photography. First, I've been traveling around a couple of states doing some research for my dissertation. This inevitably requires me to approach strangers in a strange place and ask them for something (in this case, their time). I've managed to develop some pretty good skillz (I know, Napoleon would be jealous) in this area over the summer, but that doesn't mean that it gets easier. It's really like an out of body experience still. When it's happening I feel like I can see myself doing this and I think, "That's not me. I don't do that." And while this kind of self-consciousness is strange/unhealthy for me, it's pretty much the only way I can make this work, so I practice it in small doses. Okay, so approaching stangers, that's number 1.
Number 2. I've been reading a TON about photography and have come to realize the importance and utility of being intentional. The idea that a photograph can be an artistic commentary AND a social document AND an aesthetically pleasing work of art has finally become clear to me. It is not the case, as so many have tried to suggest, that photography does any one thing better than any one other thing. Some photographers do certain aspects better than others, but the medium itself is powerful and unique precisely because it can do all of these things. The issue then is finding places/people/images that are strong in all of those components.
This all came together for me when I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone the other day and found myself saying that I'm only really concerned and interested in photography to the extent that it puts me in relationships with other people. But I'm not satisfied really with taking pictures of mountains and being in relationship with someone who thinks that the mountain picture is pretty, just as I'm not really interested in photographs that operate as artistic commentary, but is not socially engaged with the real world or a photograph that is aesthetically pleasing but has nothing to offer beyond itself. I'm interested in taking pictures and developing relationships that operate at all of these stage simultaneously. I need images that are powerful enough to put me in relationship with the subject, the viewer, and other photographers because it is a social document, an artistic statement and visually pleasing. I think I took one big step toward that just the other day when I took the following picture of Chester and his 100 year old hat. Like all of us, Chester has a story, and I think he may have been there to buy his hat new. It was great to have this experience with Chester on the streets of Minneapolis and while it wasn’t completely satisfying, it was a step in the right direction for me, maybe the first step. Thank you, Chester.
Number 2. I've been reading a TON about photography and have come to realize the importance and utility of being intentional. The idea that a photograph can be an artistic commentary AND a social document AND an aesthetically pleasing work of art has finally become clear to me. It is not the case, as so many have tried to suggest, that photography does any one thing better than any one other thing. Some photographers do certain aspects better than others, but the medium itself is powerful and unique precisely because it can do all of these things. The issue then is finding places/people/images that are strong in all of those components.
This all came together for me when I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone the other day and found myself saying that I'm only really concerned and interested in photography to the extent that it puts me in relationships with other people. But I'm not satisfied really with taking pictures of mountains and being in relationship with someone who thinks that the mountain picture is pretty, just as I'm not really interested in photographs that operate as artistic commentary, but is not socially engaged with the real world or a photograph that is aesthetically pleasing but has nothing to offer beyond itself. I'm interested in taking pictures and developing relationships that operate at all of these stage simultaneously. I need images that are powerful enough to put me in relationship with the subject, the viewer, and other photographers because it is a social document, an artistic statement and visually pleasing. I think I took one big step toward that just the other day when I took the following picture of Chester and his 100 year old hat. Like all of us, Chester has a story, and I think he may have been there to buy his hat new. It was great to have this experience with Chester on the streets of Minneapolis and while it wasn’t completely satisfying, it was a step in the right direction for me, maybe the first step. Thank you, Chester.
1 Comments:
Glad to hear you're figuring it out. Also, great picture--I'm guessing you didn't use the small Canon like I have. By the way, I think I'd have to go with the T-shirt over my left pinky.
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