What is the hardest thing in photography, or any art for that matter?
The ability to convey a mood, to get the viewer to look past the obvious subjects in the photo and look for a deeper meaning or representation.
A recent visit to the Museum of Fine Arts inspired me to discuss the idea known as "Equivalence". Coined by Alfred Stieglitz in the 1920's and carried over by a few other photographers, Equivalence has no real definition, or in other words, is only defined by the photographer or viewer. It's a sense of place I guess, in my interpretation of the word, and it's a concept that I've unknowingly practiced from day one. When I moved to North Carolina in the early nineties, I found the natural beauty of the area almost hypnotizing. It gave me a sense of peace and happiness, but the only way I could express that was through a simple photograph. Looking back at those photos makes me smile, because I remember the exact moment it was captured, but to another viewer, it's just a landscape, or still-life.
I told myself that I wanted others to see the beauty the same way I was seeing it, but how could that possibly happen when we are all different and perceive things with different emotion? At times I was almost hurt that others would simply say "Oh, that's a nice photo", because it had a story behind it. And until now, I didn't feel it necessary to provide a deep explanation behind every photo I've taken.
A recent student of mine told me that she couldn't believe that I'd been teaching photography for 13 years because I didn't look that old, and that maybe it was the photography as a stress-eliminator that kept me that way. I thought about that and would have to agree. Photography, with the intention of forgetting the negativity and pain in this world is a great way to at least reduce stress. And looking for a deeper sense of something positive within the everyday can make you appreciate things that are often taken for granted.
I was also surprised to see a series of clouds photographed by Stieglitz in the 20's and 30's. I myself have always turned to the skies for artistic inspiration, either waiting for an impending storm or staring into a sunset. My recent cloud series has been making the rounds here in Boston, and even though the clouds have no geographical location, I can tell you where each one was viewed and photographed, and sometimes why.
As I have recently begun the arduous task of cataloging my negatives and images, I have come across many old photos and would now like to tell the story behind the eye. Thanks to blogging, I can do so with relative ease, and I hope that some of you enjoy the photos that I share.
See you soon...
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
The End of Kodachrome
Over the holidays I learned that the one and only lab in the world that processed Kodachrome slide film had ended the process, thereby putting an end to one of the most beautiful films in history.
For those of you who don't know the history of the film, it was the first mass-marketed color slide film produced by Eastman Kodak in the late 1930's. Amongst professional photographers it was highly regarded as one of the most accurate color films and was used primarily for magazine publishing and advertising.
When I think back on my career as a photographer, I think of the thousands of rolls of film, both negative and slide, black & white and color, 35mm and medium format, that still clog my desk drawers and negative albums. I was extremely hesitant to enter the digital photography market until the market demanded it, but when I did, I still continued to shoot film and still do today. I often read articles of how many professionals still shoot film for various reasons, mostly for it's characteristics. Yet most of the photography world predict an end to film production in the very near future.
The strangeness of this is that I consider myself a techie. Not one of those geeky types that stand in line to buy the iPod 12 or take out a second mortgage to buy the top-of-the-line Canon DSLR, but someone who truly appreciates the advancements in technology and how they relate to my chosen profession. I have embraced the digital photography world and teach digital photography to many fledgling photographers, yet I strongly oppose the end of film and will argue until my teeth bleed that film will never die.
I hope it never does.
The comforting factor in this can be related to the end of Polaroid film. It took less than a year and the cries of thousands of hobbyist and professional photographers to bring it back, and it is back, along with services to rebuild those old Polaroid cameras and make them useful again. I believe the same will be done for Kodachrome. All it takes is someone with a lab who can first reproduce the chemicals for developing the film, and then dust off the dip and dunk slide-processing machines to develop it. Oh, and someone to actually make the film and distribute it, oh, and we need a store willing to purchase and sell it............
For those of you who don't know the history of the film, it was the first mass-marketed color slide film produced by Eastman Kodak in the late 1930's. Amongst professional photographers it was highly regarded as one of the most accurate color films and was used primarily for magazine publishing and advertising.
When I think back on my career as a photographer, I think of the thousands of rolls of film, both negative and slide, black & white and color, 35mm and medium format, that still clog my desk drawers and negative albums. I was extremely hesitant to enter the digital photography market until the market demanded it, but when I did, I still continued to shoot film and still do today. I often read articles of how many professionals still shoot film for various reasons, mostly for it's characteristics. Yet most of the photography world predict an end to film production in the very near future.
The strangeness of this is that I consider myself a techie. Not one of those geeky types that stand in line to buy the iPod 12 or take out a second mortgage to buy the top-of-the-line Canon DSLR, but someone who truly appreciates the advancements in technology and how they relate to my chosen profession. I have embraced the digital photography world and teach digital photography to many fledgling photographers, yet I strongly oppose the end of film and will argue until my teeth bleed that film will never die.
I hope it never does.
The comforting factor in this can be related to the end of Polaroid film. It took less than a year and the cries of thousands of hobbyist and professional photographers to bring it back, and it is back, along with services to rebuild those old Polaroid cameras and make them useful again. I believe the same will be done for Kodachrome. All it takes is someone with a lab who can first reproduce the chemicals for developing the film, and then dust off the dip and dunk slide-processing machines to develop it. Oh, and someone to actually make the film and distribute it, oh, and we need a store willing to purchase and sell it............
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)