Palm Springs and 11AM Light

Rough

We are on a vacation - our first since August 2008 where we aren't visiting family . We are staying four nights in Palm Springs, CA. I will not bore you with all of the travel tales or photos. The latter will take a few days to edit down to a select few.

Today's treasure was finding the Palm Springs Art Museum. I was shocked at how big and complete it is. They have a great exhibit called The Passionate Pursuit: Gifts and Promised Works from Donna and Cargill MacMillan, Jr. It contains the history and many great examples of post modern and pop art since the 1960's. I am very impressed by the collection by the breadth of it and also the willingness to have sexual/nude content for a big mainline museum.

The museum has a great outdoor sculpture garden, while I appreciated the layout and displays of everything, I was saddened by seeing it with the 11am sun. I've always disliked the light from 9:30am - 1pm. To me, it is ugly, unflattering, has washed out colors, and feels awkward. It is like looking at everyone's faults for a few hours. It makes me feel like I do when I look at a Diane Arbus photo, awkward, uncomfortable and ugly. It feels like that pimple growing on your back that you feel when your shirt rubs on it, but you can't reach it.

Yesterday, we were in Joshua Tree National Park (which I will write about more in the next few days). It was mostly overcast with dramatic clouds. That is the only way I appreciate the 9:30-1pm light. It was truly beautiful there.

With those complaints behind me, I do appreciate that sometimes the world needs this awkward, ugly light to show us reality. Not everything is a botoxed, surgically enhanced, image photographed through a polarized filter. It can be really ugly. Maybe with that mindset, I can finally respect an Arbus photo, even though I don't like looking at it.

A Young Brooklyn Going for a Sunday Outing

Diane Arbus, 1966

PHOTO Note: Taken while I am typing this post. Forgive the quality, I used the camera on my Mac Laptop. I am sitting in a lounge chair by the pool at the fantastic Palm Springs B&B, The Rendezvous. We are staying in the Crooners Room. Next to us is the "Pretty in Pink Room" with a Marilyn Monroe theme. She actually stayed in that room in the 1950's. I am not attracted to blond hair, but there is something about Marilyn and Mae West that floats my boat.

I am smoking a fine cigar (a semi-annual treat) and drinking a fine red. The sun is setting over the mountains and the desert is looking magic. Life is good.

Twas the Two Days before

122309-1 - A Different View of the Banner

Last day in the office and I am ready to say "adios" to 2009.

It is time to start a new decade, maybe THE decade. If it is to be THE decade, what will it be THE decade of?

My growth,
my love,
my death,
my art,
my departure,
my start.

Ten years from now, will it have been enough.

122309-1b - Closer - A Different View of the Banner

Photos note - Obviously same image. It is me turned 90 degrees from the image of Katie you see under my blog title.

Gluttony of Visuals - Conference Presentations

Vintage Berkeley

On the Friday night of the conference, I listened to Robbert Flick talk about Looking at Then and Now. He talked about two themes of current photography and his art, the difference between photography in the 70's and now, and how he uses the ideas of time/temporal themes as well as geographical distance in his photo compilations. For today's post, I will expand on the first point.

There are over 10 billion (10,000,000,000!) images on the internet. The population of the world is around 6.8 billion. That is 1.4 photos for every person. I am probably responsible for a few hundred of them.

Flick mentioned this number to make a point. With the over saturation of images by anybody with a camera, the meaning of each image is diminished. It is like how Christmas carols lose their specialness since every year another performer has to give their special rendition to the songs. I sometimes think this is also true about pornography. The first time I saw it, I felt shocked, aroused, squeamish, and many other emotions. Now I don't really notice it because of the flood of it around me. Sometimes seeing images of people clothed feels like the rarity.

Prior to the internet, our only opportunities to view photos (other than the photos we took) was in magazines, books, and galleries. The only photos we touched were our own taken by us or a family member. Almost no one had a dark room so it was very rare to actually create, manipulate and edit the print into the desired final product. Those days are gone.

I can get a good digital camera for under $500 and be able to manage the images on a multi-use tool (the computer). I can use Photoshop Elements (about $100) to greatly manipulate and edit the image. After I get it to where I want it, I can publish it in my own book, prints, blog, Flickr, and multiple other venues instantly. It is very easy to be prolific with imagery. (The notable exception though is the art gallery. It is still a pain in the butt to get into those.)

It has always been stated that everyone has a great photo in them, but great photographers are able to create a body of excellence. With that said, some of these images in a master's body of work become iconic while others fade away. If I mention Pepper Number 30 by Edward Weston or Piss Christ by Andres Serrano, we can probably visualize them. Has this ability to create important single images been taken away by the gluttony of photos?

Sprout

With this gluttony of the visual stills (and home videos), our individual photos lose their individual power. Robert Frank took over 28,000 images for his series, The Americans. He chose 88 of those images for his final cut. In our current world, we would be tempted to post most or all of these images online and flood the market even more.

Maybe it is time to look at the single image as just a part of the grander single portfolio. With this view, we can have each image transfer a bit of conceptual richness to a greater whole of the series. Maybe we have been struggling too hard making each photo contain deep conceptual context to avoid didactic messages. If I create fifty didactic images of various aspects of a theme, together they can be taken and discussed as a whole, refined product. The message of the sum of the images is greater than the whole.

Maybe we are getting to a point where a single image is not enough. We need to incorporate subtlety in communication throughout the span of many works. This though could increase the gluttony of images around us instead of creating the rare gems.

Seeing the True Light (and Color) - Conference Presentation

Katie 110809 - 1
A fine print or an out-of-date style

On the first morning of the conference, Stephen Johnson, a bay area digital landscape photographer gave a presentation called, The New Photograph. As a pioneer of the digital medium, he has been in the front seat of the digital-over-film revolution. One of his core beliefs on digital photography centers on the new definitions of color, saturation, and tonality. Many of these views will challenge how we define the fine print. Through this new "silicon" view(his term for digital), we will create photos that truly represent what we see, not the limitations of "silver" (his term for film).

Johnson's main premise was that we have deeply ingrained definitions of art and photography because of the characteristics, and flaws, of film. Film has been around for over 150 years. It defined how we created photography. Over the decades, a common vision known as the fine print has become the standard. We see the rich colors, the deep tonalities, and the true blacks as part of the recipe for a fine print (especially in black and white photography).

Back in the early 90's an engineer (sadly, I forgot his name) created a special digital scanning back for a 4X5 camera. Instead of being the photo sensors we are familiar with in our digital cameras, this device scanned the image focused on it from side to side, like a photocopier. These images could take minutes to create. In the end, the image was about 140+ megapixels in size. This engineer went to Johnson and wanted him to photograph different things with film and the digital back. They were both astounded by the experiment.

The first discovery was how sharp and detailed the images were. All grain was gone. Every possible detail was visible and only limited to the resolution of the monitor. This is much like how we see through our eyes. If our vision is good, we can see great detail and clarity. We don't see grain. On the other hand, many feel that film images are "truer" and "correct" when the images have grain and distortion. What we have seen as detail in "silver" photos is seen as real while the extra-fine "silicon" detail seems unreal. This is part of our historic photographic vision as defined by "silver."

They also discovered the greatly expanded range of hue and tonality. Film can only capture so many variations of hue. Digital can capture shades of hues so much subtler than film that when viewed, many feel they are not real. This disbelief, once again, goes against what our actual eyes see. Our eyes can tell shades, hues and tonality so much better than film. We can see the slow evolution of hues shifting in the scene. Even though we see that way, the ongoing definition of the fine print shapes our view.

I listened to all this and saw his images that were examples of his points. The point that resonated deeply in me though came to contrast and tonality. There are no true black tones as we view things with our eyes.

This point deals a blow to Ansel Adam's zone system. If you look at his work, there is always a deep black somewhere. Hell, if you look at my black and white prints, you will find that too. Now, look out your window during the day, or even night, do you see anything that is truly black? I mean a black that has no reflectivity and is truly the absence of light, do you see it? I don't. While this is true, we are conditioned to create a true black in our prints due to the definitions created from the limitations of film. Film will lose detail as the scene approaches black. If you try increasing exposure to increase details in the shadows, you will blow out your highlights. With the new digital technology, we can capture great detail in shadows that shows what we truly see with our own eyes.

Lines to Her Heart
(Morose??? Too much black???)

So, I have a great digital Nikon SLR, how is the definition of the fine print affecting my work. The first thing I do is increase saturation and contrast. I want strong colors, deep dark tones and rich highlights. I am trying to make the image match the old definition. If you take a moment to look at Stephen Johnson's photos. You will see true tonal range and hues that are so beautiful and subtle they feel like they were painted.

Kenai Glacier
Stephen Johnson
Note: look at all the different hues of blue in this photo.

Some of the photographic educators there mentioned after the lecture that the 2000-2010 photos will be defined by rich, saturated colors and contrast. They also think that in the next 10 years, we will have a saturation and contrast revolution that will rein in both. Johnson commented that if art, psychology, sociology, and other scholars in the distant future looked at the great photos of the 20th century, they would think we lived in a depressed and morose time due to all of the darkness in our images. We did not capture true visual reality, only the realities that film would let us photograph.

Moonrise
Photo by Ansel Adams
Way too morose and dark?

It has been a few weeks since I experienced Johnson's presentation. I am still trying to figure out what I believe in it and how it will affect my art, if at all. If you look at the before and after images of Candace below, you can tell I punched them up. In the first two, I am starting to feel that the original image is better, before I doctored it. The second set though, I feel the hyper-saturation adds to the narrative of surreal dreams. It is interesting that by making colors "unreal", I feel I am capturing a bit of my dream world.

Johnson believes photographers should use what makes their art best for them. His message though is that it is time to accept and use the true gifts that digital has to offer us and it is fine to have photos that are true to what we see, not what has been defined as art.


Please take a moment to look at his website and see his amazing images. Also look at his book about his new photographs of US National Parks using super high-resolution digital imaging.

Toward the Light - Original

Toward the Light - Heavy Saturation and Contrast

Dali and Nirvana 2 - Original

Dali and Nirvana - version B

A Big Conference

Down and Out at Mare

A few weeks ago I attended the Society of Photographic Educators (SPE) West conference in an idyllic conference center outside of Oakhurst, Ca, just miles from Yosemite National Park. This conference was very powerful to me for so many reasons. I think I found a bit of my soul there.

Part of the joys of having a community college nearby is that I can take classes for cheap ($26 per unit) and use great equipment. The downside is that almost all of the students are photographic hobbyists. I greatly encourage everybody to learn how to take better photos, but that is the end goal for the bulk of the students. For a few though, it is about art.

Richard and I are both students in that class. We are both college graduates with degrees in psychology. We both are trying to find our artistic voice and are toying with the idea of heading back to get Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) and teach. Fortunately, we were both invited by a former instructor to the conference.

The first night we had dinner and then started a series of presentations on various areas of art in photography. I soon found that the more conceptual the better.

I've been slowly digesting what I learned. A few key nuggets I gained were:

• It is invigorating for my soul to be with fellow artists to talk about photography and what makes it important.
• There are so many different theories about art and the world - feminist, post modern, environmental, queer, feminist-queer, and many other interesting areas.
• Some take themselves too seriously.
• Some are truly mentors, many are very supportive and want to help artists grow, and a rare few are willing to empty both barrels into a photographer and photo if they are offended.
• Artists are sexy as hell.
• It is easy to feel like a minor minnow when you look at others' art and compare it to your own naive attempts.

I want to thank David from Speaking Truth for sharing this blog post about the Post Workshop Re-entry. I am taking some of those lessons to heart.

Over the next few days I will share some of the key things I learned about art and myself.

Coffee and the Conference Pond

One Year On

It Started with Leila

December 15, 2008 Mission and Vision of the blog

I am pulled to simple messages, photos, images, sounds, and art. Sometimes the simplest things say the most things. The sensual world around us is so sweet and simple, yet will mess with our mind for days and make us wonder "what the fuck was that?" Those are the delicious moments I live for.

I am going to post my writings, photos, thoughts, moods, or whatever is needed for the time. My spelling is nominal, my grammar is almost acceptable. That will not be my point. I will also share works of others (and of course cite them) that I find important for the moment. This will not always be a daily blog, but I hope to contribute things that took some time to create or find and not just post something to show I posted.

What it was and what it became:
I was searching for clarity about what I wanted and desired in my art, creativity, sensual needs, and tried to create an outlet for all of these. I wrote some half-baked, long, sort-of haikus, sort-of poems, and rambled on about being randy. Now it feels like it focuses more on art and less on other life stuff. It has kind of reversed over the year.

I look back to the early days and see an edginess that I really like and kind of miss. It was much more raw. My writing had a yearning to express things I had never shared in my life. I also was trying to find my writer's voice. I dabbled in everything, especially sex and art. I am not sure if I regret the evolution of this blog to where it is now. I miss the old reckless abandon of the early posts though. I wonder if these changes reflect my efforts to avoid alienating readers with unpopular topics and imagery or just said all the wild things I needed to say?

Some of my most personal blogs shared a story of a friend's suicide, my bi-sexual curiosities, and a certain erotic story from Galicia, Spain. I still feel a bit raw when I read them and wonder of their value.

One of my favorite series of posts came from a comment someone left disparaging Katie's beautiful abundance of underarm hair. Dr. L wrote some great posts about it and that issue kept creeping back a couple of times. I hope some good came out of that discourse. My preference for women and body hair, if you are happy with it shaved or fully grown, then I am too. Both are sexy because the woman hopefully feels sexy with or without it.

I noticed many posts were inspired by reading others' blogs. Some of these bleed-over topics included censorship, sex, artist's anguish, and erotic imagery. I want to thank those who helped me carry on a conversation they started. I hope my additions pushed the topics further or in new directions.

Thanks to this blog and the many appreciated comments, I am starting to understand my artistic voice. I am not sure what the future of this blog holds. I appreciate the outlet and the many readers I've learned from. You kindred spirits are very important to me.

Resting

By the numbers:
Posts: 308 started, 281 published
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First photo of mine uploaded: 1/25/09 Leila and Hana (Ying and Yang)


Date of first comment: 1/24/09 Chris St. James Also first follower!
Date of last comment: 12/10/09 Dr. L.
Followers: 20

Holding the Precious

Not here, over there, and kind of everywhere

Ubehebe Crater - Death Valley National Park
Photo by Karl

“Ambition is a lust that is never quenched, but grows more inflamed and madder by enjoyment.” Thomas Otway

“Lust is the craving for salt of a man who is dying of thirst” Frederick Beuchner

I am in the final week for my class, my work life is speeding to the end of the year with many tasks that must be finished, and every weekend is booked with a "holiday" party. I plan to be back in the writing saddle next week.

I learned and experienced some truly amazing and awesome (in its original meaning, not its current watered- down) moments at a photography and arts conference over the weekend and plan to share some of that as well. All I can say for now is that I know I am an artist.

This week, I will mainly be posting a few photos and maybe a quote or two as I wrap up. I am hoping to have big things next week.

karl

WTF???

Lost in London - 2004
Photo by Karl

Most translate that as "What the fuck?" Lately, I've read it as "Why the fuck?"

Why the fuck would you say that?

Why the fuck would you suggest that?

Why the fuck are you thinking I would do that?

Why the fuck don't you get it that it is my photography, not yours?

Why the fuck do you care?

Why the fuck don't you shit or get off the pot?

Why the fuck don't you just do it?

Why the fuck are you still with him/her?

Why the fuck do you still work there?

Why the fuck did he/she think I would change, care, or want to hear that? (Chose any combination?

Why the fuck did you do that?

Why the fuck did I do that?

and as of earlier today -

Why the fuck did I say that?

WTF?
Photo by Karl

What is too far and or too soon? Part 2

Iteration 7
Photo by Karl

In a previous post I asked how does society and culture define when a subject is too far "over the line" or is "too soon" after a major event. In these two posts, I am not giving an answer since I am an individual, not the society. I could tell you what I think is too far or too soon, but you can disagree.

I wrote this lengthy post the same day I wrote part 1 from this series. David from Speaking Truth gave a response the next day that applies to both days' posts. Dave wrote:

Your question: "What is too far, or too soon?" is as vague a question as, What is art and what is porn?, or What is art and what is crap?
Each of us has a set idea in our heads.
One must go back to the basics. If it is created by someone to spark an interest, be that a good or bad interest, it becomes art. I don't seperate art from porn. I have my own ideas about what I consider porn, but is also art. So I take things, whether I like them or not as being art. But there is poor art as well. Art does not cease to be because it was done poorly, it just makes it bad art. And as an artist I feel that other artists have the right to create anything they want. There should be no limits set on what is too far as long as others are not hurt in the process. If you want to create an image of a woman being raped (and she is not actually being raped) go for it. It is not hurting anyone. If some person thinks it is terrible, they don't have to look at it.
Too soon?
Well, you can't hurt Michael Jackson's reputation so I say there can't be too soon with that one. That may have been a poor example, but once again the creator of a joke is somewhat of an artist also and why should that person be put under restrictions. There were more jokes around my hometown about Michael Jackson years before he was dead than there is now, so why should we have a moment of silence just because he died?
If you are going to say it is too soon, or too far, you are putting a restriction on something based on what someone else thinks is too soon or too far and that makes no sense to me. If you want to put a self restriction on your work as the artist based on your own feelings, then pick what is comfortable for you.
And to hell with what others think.

Some groups would say my photo of Candace is too extreme because of the nudity. They may also say the photo of Leila and Hana kissing is wrong because it shows homosexual content. We wont even go into what they may think of the more graphic photos of Leila and Hana.

Leila and Hana - The Kiss
Photos by Karl

Others may find these photos no where near any line and not edgy at all. This other group may even think it is tame, cliche and boring. They may think that the edge of erotic art is what most consider porn and/or BDSM and other "extreme" activities.

Getting There
Photo by Karl
(Note, photo take in May, 2004, well before March, 2009)

Which of these two groups are right? From where you stand, you don't think you are "in the extreme." You may know you stand away from the crowd, but you feel your beliefs are correct. Most groups believe the others are the ones that are over the line or are wrong.

Almost There
Photo by Karl
(Note, photo take in May, 2004, well before March, 2009)

I've shown my erotic nudes and artistic nudes to various people. I've been praised by many for both and have been looked down upon by a few as well. I wont get into what each group believed about my photos or their motivation for their beliefs. That alone could take pages of analysis. What is important is both groups believe they are right.

There
Photo by Karl
(Note, photo take in May, 2004, well before March, 2009)

Now, how do we, as a society decide what is right or wrong. I know that overall, most citizens of the world will agree on the same boundaries. Murder, rape, child abuse, starvation, genocide, and child slavery are easy examples. What is difficult is defining an overall consensus for everyone as a group. In my opinion, that overall consensus on gray issues is impossible.

I work and live in the San Francisco area. In my office, there are three gays and lesbians that are married to their partners. There are many other openly gay employees. While I can't speak for everyone in the 100+ group of employees, most people are supportive and are happy or don't really think about it. How would those same couples be viewed in an office in Bakersfield, CA? How about Billings, MT, New York City or Tallahassee, Fl?

I used to hunt when I was a teenager. Even though I haven't hunted in almost twenty years, I do believe in the environmental need for it and understand how it is a part of the culture I grew up in. The few times I've shared these views with the people around here, they seem to feel uncomfortable and awkward at the least and upset in more extreme cases. I guess the reason they feel that way may be due to the lack of exposure to the culture I grew up in. If they grew up where it is common to be a hunter, they may be more comfortable with it due to a familiarity with it.

Just Two
Does it stop being porn if it is in black and white?
Photo by Karl

This familiarity maybe a key to my question, how do we define too far or too soon? The SF area may be more accepting about gay/lesbian culture because we are exposed to it regularly and it is becoming an accepted part of our geographical culture. The same is true about hunting and my Montana upbringing, familiarity helps things become normal.

Ok, that is just peachy. Through building familiarity we can build tolerance. What if we build a tolerance to pollution or racism or other social ills because it is part of our culture and is familiar, is that wrong? Yes. Through this, you can see how both the supporters and opposition to nude photos and other "edgy" art can feel their way of life is threatened. I am not saying it is right, just that you may be able to see why they feel threatened.

I feel threatened by the heavy hand of 2257, the Patriot Act, and many other scary laws. I feel those are threatening what I am familiar with and feel is acceptable. To the supporters of those views, they feel the opposite threat.

Now for the final question for this series? What is either one of the purposes or the purpose of art? Part of the post modern art movement emphasizes that the content is more important than the artistic or technical qualities of the art. With this belief, Robert Frank showed us the alienation and loneliness of the USA through his book, The Americans. Andy Warhol created art that made us look at the everyday mundane things like a soup can and by twisting our perception of it, change how we view these things. Diane Arbus, definitely not one of my favorites, showed us that portraits of people did not have to be pretty. She made us feel awkward looking at her photos. Her art evoked emotions from us by emphasizing the subject and the message, not how beautiful the print is. I could write about the beautiful and agonizing work of Salgado, the inflaming works by Mappelthorpe and Andres Serrano, but you get the point. Isn't one of the main purposes of art to push our boundaries?

"When People look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice." - Robert Frank

So, to come back full circle, what is too far or too soon? If I am an artist and I want to push the viewer's boundaries, how far can I go? I guess I can always find some niche group that will accept my photos and praise them (or despise them), but to make a big change, I have to be willing to take heat and derisive comments when showing my photos beyond the culture I am familiar with. As David said:

If you want to put a self restriction on your work as the artist based on your own feelings, then pick what is comfortable for you.
And to hell with what others think.

So, I am starting to think about where I want my art to go. In the future, not all of them will be pretty or easy to look at. Maybe I am feeling a post modern need to get messages out rather than beauty.

I like it when somebody looks at my art and it makes them think. I bet most artists like that.

What is too far and or too soon? Part 1

Learn Me

Photo by Igor Amelkovich

I recently saw a series of photos showing erotic, sensual romantic love, passionate erotic sex, aggressive controlling sex, and violent domestic abuse with possible rape. Many agreed the content in the last photo illustrated the horrors of domestic violence.

In another venue, I saw someone joking about Michael Jackson's death. That person was chastised by the audience members shouting, "Too soon!"

At what point does culture decide that something is appropriate or has stepped over the line? In the same way, how does culture decide that enough time has passed that we can look at an event more objectively and maybe even with humor?

In a recent photography class, we had an assignment to photograph veterans. During the critique, we all gushed over how stoic, anguished, powerful, heroic, and great each photo was. Some of the subjects were in current service, others older and retired. There were men and women of different races and ages. We all gushed.

At one point the instructor, a Vietnam War veteran, asked, "Is it because of the subject matter that we can not criticize the photos?" He had a point. Were we afraid to criticize the quality of the image, the subject, the composition, and other aspects because we may fear it would reflect our inner beliefs about veterans? Are veterans so revered that we must soften our attitudes out of deference to their sacrifice and service?

Their was an episode of Seinfeld where Jerry and his girlfriend could never find time alone. The only time they could was while at a movie. They made out during Schindler's List. The girlfriend's family found out and were disgusted by the lack of respect for the movie. For a show about nothing, they brought up an interesting point about freedom of thought and speech. Can the holocaust, September 11th, or any other tragedy be joked about? If yes, when, how, why, and by whom?

Now, let us talk about sex. What is too far? We know the old statement about porn, "I know it when I see it." Some see erotica and art, others see porn. I may be a freak, but I've seen erotica that was not art and porn that was.

Her Favorite
Photo by Igor Amelkovich

In a relationship, what is defined as right for the couple may be defined as "too much" or "too far" by culture. Which is right? At what point is bondage abusive? What if I put a blindfold on my lover and then kissed, massaged, tickled, and pleasured her with my mouth? What if I did that same thing but she was blind folded and softly tied up with silk bows? What if I pinned her arms under my hands? What if they were leather straps? What if I was pinching? What if she wanted and desired this? At what point does the transfer of power in a relationship, sexual or not, constitute abuse? Let us ask the same questions if the roles were reversed and I was the submissive one? Is it OK if the submissive is male?

Kinbaku
Photo by L0chai

This then brings up the question, why does the submissive partner want to be treated like this? What is his/her history? If their was prior abuse, does that make it absolutely wrong to act on it? If there was no abuse, just curiosity and desire, does that make it right?

Let us look at the roles of the stripper and the client. Men going to a strip club are seen as "dogs" at the worst and "shallow" at the least. Bachelor parties with strippers are looked down upon, but are understood as a "traditional objectification of women" right of passage. Married guys going once, or continually to strip clubs are leches and unfaithful.

How about the reverse? What are the perceptions of women seeing male strippers? How about the bachelorette party? Married women going to see the Chippendale dancers? Some say it is wrong and disgusting. Others celebrate that women can finally celebrate their sexuality and desires. It brings equality to the misogynistic history of the men going to see strippers. At that point though, isn't it misanthropic?

Restrained
Photo by D Photos

I am a libertarian on most of these issues. What floats your equally accepted and desired boats is your business. That is true for most things, but I have to take issue when we delve into the reasons we desire such things. At that point, when is it OK to go too far or when is it too soon or soon enough to go into taboo areas?

Up Time
Photo by Dee Selaris

I've posted a gamut of photos here, one mine, most not. Some may seem tame and some may be defined as violent or abusive. At which point did they cross the line? I know I have my own definitions for that line, but how do we as a society decide where to put that line?

That Time
Photo by Karl

Ode to the Contact Sheet

Katie Contact3
Photos by Karl

Busy day ahead for me. I've got a ton of job-type work to do, which is not fun on a day off. It needs to get done though.

If you have not viewed it yet, go to this link at SLATE to see an ode to the old contact sheets.

I always thought of contact sheets as a useful tool, not art in themselves. I have played with making small pictures though and using them in a collage. I may need to play with these ideas some more.

PHOTO NOTE - Above is a contact sheet from my session with Katie.

"That is the Worst it Will Get. I am Free"

Power Projection
Photo by Karl

I stayed after photography class to help put gear away. While chatting, I asked my photography instructor about his Vietnam experience. I learned an important lesson.

He was drafted at 19 and served over there in the late 60's. He served in the infantry for a year, but after they discovered some of his cartographic and design skills (Part of his artistic background., who says a liberal education is a waste?), he served his remaining time in Saigon helping lay out maps.

He was in his early twenties when he was honorably discharged. He had an epiphany. He told me he realized, "That is the worst it will get. I am free."

He realized that after living through the hell of war, nothing in his life could be that bad. He knew that he could be successful in the arts because no matter how poor or big of a challenge of being an artist is, he had been through worse.

Now he is in his sixties. He doesn't regret it a bit. He is not rich, but he is successful. He teaches other photographers and helps them grow into their own vision. He has been divorved three times and has been through therapy. He is kind and gentle when needed and gives a good kick in the ass also when needed. He also can laugh at himself. I would say he is a success in ways that few rich people can achieve.

A Satisfied Mind
Johnny Cash

How many times have
You heard someone say
If I had his money
I could do things my way

But little they know
That it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten
With a satisfied mind

Once I was waitin'
In fortune and fame
Everything that I dreamed for
To get a start in life's game

Then suddenly it happened
I lost every dime
But I'm richer by far
With a satisfied mind

Money can't buy back
Your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely
Or a love that's grown cold

The wealthiest person
Is a pauper at times
Compared to the man
With a satisfied mind

When my life has ended
And my time has run out
My friends and my loved ones
I'll leave there's no doubt

But one thing's for certain
When it comes my time
I'll leave this old world
With a satisfied mind

How many times have
You heard someone say
If I had his money
I could do things my way

But little they know
That it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten
With a satisfied mind

,

n

I never get tired of finding new gems from my time with models of years past.

Out of Expediency

Just Seconds Before Lines
Photo by Karl

It is funny how work is careening forward into the end-of-the-year wall to get stuff done that we should have been doing all year long. I am putting in long weeks to get stuff done before 2010 graces our calendars.

So today, out of expediency, it is another blog version of the clip show. All of these images should be new, but repeats may occur.

I miss writing good (in my mind) stuff. Here are some flowers for the ladies.

I Never Remember the Name of a Flower
Photo by Karl

2
Phot by Karl

Front Passenger Side
Photo by Karl
Berkeley "Exhibitionist" and Voyeurs
Photo by Karl

Avedon Bonus Post

Here is a good documentary titled, American Masters - Richard Avedon: Darkness and Light divided into 9 parts on YouTube.

Here you go.

Here is a link with all nine videos.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mikebridge#p/u

Goodbye Mr. Avedon

Richard Avedon - Self Portrait

Photo of photo by Karl

Last night I went to the SF MOMA to see the Avedon exhibit one more time. The exhibit ends November 29th. Since it opened early last summer, I've been to it five times. The first time I saw it was my favorite since the Robert Frank - The Americans exhibit was up at the same time.

It has been a good year at the SF MOMA for photography. They started with an Ansel Adams/Georgia O'Keefe exhibit, then the Frank and Avedon exhibits as well. They also have a great exhibit of post WW2 transgressive Japanese photography that is amazing. This is on top of all the other exhibits, including their permanent collection.

Los Angeles
Photo by Robert Frank

A few more words about the Avedon exhibit. His photos are amazing, but it is his story that adds so much more. One thing I learned about portrait photography from watching a documentary about him is, don't piss off your portrait photographer.

Duke and Duchess of Windsor
Photo by Richard Avedon

In this famous image of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, you can see he did not capture their elegant royalty. He felt they were anti-semitic, and elitist. Earlier in the session, he took traditional photos of them and their dogs. He learned they were very close to their dogs.

When he was focusing on them and about to take a shot, he told them he apologized for being sad because on the way to that shoot, his taxi ran over a dog (a lie). He then took that photo a few seconds later showing their reaction.

In the same documentary, he talks about the role of the subject and the photographer.

I am in control. You are there. I can't do it myself, but it is my view.

If you look at his portraits and watched him work, you could tell that was his philosophy. Don't piss off your photographer, if he was Avedon.

Another Avedon quote:

Photographers are the new writer.

Are we capturing the new literature through our lens? Interesting idea. For me, photography can document something, but the room for individual interpretation is too great. Written communication is far more precise.

Zampa Bridge
Photo by Karl

How Do You Take Suggestions About Your Art?

Dali and Nirvana - 111909

Photo by Karl

One of the blessings and challenges of being in a photography class is the critique session. Every Wednesday, we put up our photo assignments on a big cork board under gallery lights. They are divided into the various assigned genres. We take a few minutes to get close and look at them and then sit down. We then begin the critique.

Last night, I presented photos of a veteran, painting with light, and experimental ideas. My photo that I was most excited was the experimental image of Candace Nirvana with a Salvador Dali painting projected onto her (see below). Due to reasons I can only guess about, that photo was the first chosen for critique.

Dali and Nirvana 1
Photo by Karl

My instructor pushes us to seriously critique photos. He discourages us from giving useless comments like, "I like it." or "It's fine." We need to discuss what works and doesn't work in the photo. He doesn't want the photographer to share any back story, we just judge the image by what is in front of us.

I've found three common areas of criticism, the quality of composition and exposure, the quality of the message and intent, the mixture of all of these for creating a finished or refined photo.

As you can imagine with a class of twenty-eight students, some are silent, some never shut up, and most are in between on sharing their impressions. You also get tons of praise and suggestions. One of my challenges is filtering the suggestions for my growth.

All of us have preferences on content, technique, and other elements. I appreciate hearing how others would have accentuated or minimized elements, cropped differently, and other changes. I also appreciate how others interpret my image, or tell me how it is doing nothing for them. Some have suggestions on tangent ideas based on my images. These are tough for me to absorb.

The words I cringe hearing are , "You know what you should do, you should... " Sometimes they have a really good suggestion. Most of the time, they are sharing their own photographic desires and visions that are neither areas that I want to do, or I even understand. One suggestion was "You should try projecting the same image onto nude men and women of various ages, shapes, and colors to celebrate their beauty. " I just nodded and listened. In my mind I thought about it and quickly realized, "That is not why I picked that image to project on this certain model. I wanted Candace in these photos because of her shape, skin color, poses, attitude, and many other intangible qualities.

When I hear these suggestions, I become offended because I wonder if they even appreciated what I created. It seems they instantly find ways to improve them. Did they even look at them beyond the first impression?

As I heard that suggestion and thought about it last night, I had a small realization. My photo may have been a spring board for them. I often see some photo and instantly have a big idea of where I want to go with that concept. The difference though is that I realize it is my inspiration, not necessarily a suggestion of where they should go with their art. My inspiration stemming from their art is a springboard into a new avenue of exploration.

Painting With Light - Mollee
Photo by Karl

After we critiqued all the work, I put my photos into the "turn-in" bin and gathered my stuff. The photographer who made the suggestion approached me and asked about the technique of using an LCD projector to do this type of photography. I told him about my experience and I hope he goes with his ideas. Maybe my photo may be a springboard for him to create some great art.

So, I guess I need to accept criticism and ideas for my art while recognizing when the shared information is more about their art. If my art is inspiration for somebody else, that is pretty good as well.