Signs we exist in a time of adversity.
The Majestic. By Coastal 2008
Done public talk today and decided to look at the old classic By Coastal, made in Scotland around 2006. It was a time when I felt like a Fine Art Photographer wanting to do something more meaningful than the fancy American landscapes I had been doing. The trip was brutal, but my determination to get something eventually paid off. I wanted to talk about working through adversity and how good things often come out of something bad. In this case it was recovering from spinal surgery and how the actual walking around with a big camera and focusing on something else became part of the healing process, physically and mentally.
A Thursday in April.
A few months ago I had made my first trip since the Thursdays by The Sea project made way back in the early 2000’s. It was a bit of a washout with continual rain, flat light, and not a whole lot going on. An anti climax for sure. Last week however was very different and it felt like it did twenty years ago, including the feeling that I wasn’t going to get any shots and that I should just pack up and go home. The 20 minutes of magical light allowed me to get some good shots despite the lack of material from a place that was once an abundance of stories telling material with old motels, diners and old cars.
The tree above was something I remembered as it marked the sight of my best known image from the Salton Sea, The Red Chair. I never photographed the tree back then as there was a hotel in the way (you can still see the steps in the background).
Not sure I will return to the Salton any time soon. the place has changed so much and doesn’t have the stories it used to.
Old ways of seeing..
The old ways still haunt me as a weekend printing session reminded me of my days in the darkroom back in the 90’s. The Red light, the smell of chemistry (which I still hate), and the solitude (which I still love). Nothing like a batch of prints to keep one satisfied with images from New Mexico, Arizona, and California.
Always the Night
No matter where I go, or what I photograph, there always seems to be room for Night Photography. It’s been with me right from the start when I managed to somehow produce an image by resting my Canon AV 1 on a railing and open the shutter overlooking a freeway. Some forty years later, the technique is pretty much the same, only the camera is bigger.
The night often hides distractions to an otherwise cluttered landscape, in turn spotlighting certain objects, like cars, signs, and the odd tree. When people see me out with a big camera, the reaction is always the same… What on earth is he doing. Sometimes I wonder if they are referring to the content, or just the making of the image. Chances are its both…
The experience of photographing, in my opinion, will always be better than the photograph. Take the above image for example, a rocket launched last week in California for releasing new satellites up above us. It was an unexpected surprise and one I was fortunate enough to witness from my balcony, but the image is pale in comparison to the actual event. Very often, particularly with sunsets, I wont make a photograph, but rather just enjoy the moment. Photograph will record, but often only serve as a reminder of what you witnessed.
Not allowed.
Jetty, Scotland 2006
In a vain attempt to produce some kind of American credibility, I recently became a member of a photo organization. How joining these makes you a credited professional is beyond me, but I thought I should at least be part of something photo based other than a gallery or agent.
As with most organizations there are yearly competitions, so naturally I had a look at the landscape category. Having been aware of the organization for some time I was surprised to read this;
“It is NOT allowed to add or move elements by cloning, healing, patching, content-aware fill, liquefy, or similar tools. No in-camera file stacking will be allowed. The originally captured image (in RAW or jpg) must be available if requested”
Although perfectly suited to one such as myself (as all I do is scan a negative and correct the color), looking at the past entries its pretty clear to me that every single image has one or more, if not all of the forbidden do-not. And therein lies the problem with the future of photography. Every photo lies, as does the photographer. Don’t get me wrong, I have no issue with any of this removal, cloning, whatever, and have on occasion done just that, albeit with digital files. But I also have no problem with admitting it either. But in the end, who really gives a stuff.
To make a point that it can be done, the image above was shot on a large format camera using film and hand printed (around 2006). The scan was made from the work print which was 8/10”. Nothing was added or taken away…. So there!
Looking back..
I have no problem with nostalgia and believe its often what drives us to make photographs. We cannot photograph nostalgia, but we can certainly create it. Often people are criticized for being too nostalgic in their work, but so what. We all try to cling on to the past to some degree, be it mindfully, spiritually, or physically. I also have no problem with cliche. After all, its a cliche for a reason, usually because it looks good and people like it. The image above is both a cliche and nostalgic, at least for me. Just because there are many photographs of sand dunes, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t photograph them.
So that happened..
It’s hard to imagine a world without the internet, but I still hold on to the belief that the world was better off without it. As foolish as it may be to dwell on the past, reminiscing about photography in the 90’s is something I do often, probably because it was the beginning of my career in photography and a world of film and smelly darkrooms, which I loved (and still do). My Forte of Fine Art Photography changed with the introduction of online sales. Many galleries paying rent could not compete with online competition with their lower prices and little overheads. Thanks to the internet and digital photography, you could now have images online in minutes (seconds now). You could also click and print which in turn affected the hand print, (color and black and white) which I was also part of. The prints got cheap, but the work got big, and expensive.
As for teaching photography! Having gone from fully in-person to eighty percent online, I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth. Admittedly, mentoring Masters students works quite well, but actual teaching online really sucks. There’s this idea that teaching photography online is efficient, something I can only imagine comes from those that know nothing about photography. Things that take a couple of minutes in person, like showing someone how to compose an image, read an exposure, hold a camera, hold a print, now take hours. Establishments will have you believe there are so many benefits to teaching online; “The Students can be mobile” actually they are still in bed. “The students have access to so much information online” That’s why there’s so much plagiarism….
I think the saddest part of online teaching is that It will bring an end to the black and white darkroom. I was fortunate enough to have a darkroom at school and made my first black and white print as a teenager. Had it not been for that darkroom, I would never have gone to college where everything was hands on and in person. Yes, Photography was better in the 90’s.
A to the I
Antelope Valley 2024. Shot on film and processed and printed by hand.
I had an interesting chat with a friend about A.I the other day. As an actor he was worried that one would one day he would be replaced with an alternate version of himself, or a digital entity that worked for free (as he put it). After a sip of his espresso he asked ‘Alexia’ if it could turn on the fountain in his garden, which was nice. Moments later the (smart) doorbell rang and he looked to see who was there through his iphone before telling the delivery guy to leave the package. Then, both being English, we talked about the Royal Family and how Princess Kate was being criticized for photo-shopping her child’s hands while his cleaning robot glided silently across his wooden floors. Then I told him that everything that had happened in the past few minutes was done using A.I.
A little bit of ‘before and after,’ found during some recent research. The Photograph was made 2015, the postcard early 50’s.
I have always been drawn to areas of decay and places that were once something.
Can’t imagine anyone sending a postcard from the Salton today.
Juniper Hills 2020
I made a drive out to Juniper Hills recently to an area devastated by the Bob Cat fire of 2020. Despite the tall grasses and bushels, the Joshua Trees were nothing but charred remains never to recover. It was a reminder of how the environment changes over time in a natural way (fire caused by lightning strike), which although natural, is still sad to behold in a area that was once so green and lush.
“All we can do is capture the past, anything else, in time, won’t last. “
The Great American Dream
Slab City 2024
So much has changed in America since I first moved here in 2002. Traveling around back in the early 2000’s seemed so much more simple. Just a map, an old truck, and a dog called Piglet. There was always a cheap diner, or motel ready to accommodate after a dusty day of shooting. Gas was less than a dollar a gallon, a tire puncture cost five dollars to fix, and you could always find a shop that sold film. Today, Diners are few and far between, charging fine dining prices. A tank of gas is as much as a hotel, and a motel is more than a hundred dollars a night. A puncture will set you back fifty dollars, unless its a run-flat and then its a new tire. And of course there are no shops selling film. But despite this inflated lunacy, some things never change. The calling of the open road continues and the American Dream, although now too far out of reach for most younger Americans, still remains.
The Stories we tell one another.
Very often, good photography has an air of mystery around it. But revealing the mystery can often deflate the response, just like revealing a magic trick. As a photographer its good to keep something back, but not just visually. Countless times I have ventured out only to be ravaged by weather, attacked by dogs, charged by cows, or falling down hillsides. But as entertaining as these incidents my be, they should never be used to prop us a photograph as it will often outdo the image. Indeed, there have been times when people have sat around a dinner table talking about the baldy northern photographer who made an image while having his leg chewed on by a Pit Bull (Gas Station, Salton Sea 2004). The image then became all about the dog gnawing on my bones, and not the an area of the Salton Sea as originally intended. Of course there are times when a story and the image go hand in hand, but for now I will keep those to myself..
These three things.
Salton 2024
It’s nice when things fall into place. A interesting subject, good light and of course, being there, wherever there is. Thankfully my last trip had all the goodies I needed and now there is a nice foundation with which to continue. Going back to the Salton Sea after all these years was like seeing an old school friend; A little older, a little slower, and perhaps a little wiser..
Note to self.
A toilet in front of beautiful sand dunes, 2023.
For me there are three types of photography; The first is visually pleasing, (usually minimal in its appearance and appealing to both artists and layman). This kind of imagery is mostly instinctive often with no other reason than, “because I liked the look of it.” The second is a lot more complex. Usually not so appealing, but carries much more significance and meaning. (This kind of image was thought about before or after the shutter was released). The third is a combination of one and two which, from experience, does not happen often. I think we are duped into thinking some photographers deliver a strong one-two, when really its just because someone else said so. Its all just so subjective.
Photography is like an actor. They might be beautiful (visually appealing), or offer something no one else has, or, be a combination of both. Then, for whatever reason, like photography, the right people agree they should be popular for a while. But, like photography, that person can be quickly made unpopular, should the others decide.
Like it or not, this is the way photography, and the art world works. Remember, you can take all the beautiful, meaningful images you like, but it will always be up to someone else to decide your photographic destiny.
Doubt in the Desert.
Mojave 2024
Despite spending so much time in the Mojave, there is always something waiting to be photographed, especially when, like me, your work consists of mans interaction with the landscape and the things we leave behind.
The Sonoran Desert on the other hand, has a different feeling as nothing there feels familiar. Despite venturing out to the Salton Sea last month, a place I have spent a fair bit of time, everything felt different. A lot of this may have been down to the weather as it was the first time I had experienced rain there. But I think it’s more that that, or the difference in the landscape, climate. There is also a feeling of trepidation with the Sonoran being ‘part two’. Will it be as good? Will it even work? Am I wasting time and money? With last months trip being a bit of a wash out, feelings of doubt now fill my mind.
After one of the worst years on record, things would seem to be on the up moving through the new year at rapid pace. I have always thought that good things often come from adversity, especially when it comes to creativity and often remind myself that no one goes out on a warm sunny day and produces something thought provoking (others of course might, but I certainly don’t).
Ever since I picked up a camera, I never photographed what people would consider nice things discovering a nuance for the mundane, rusty and derelict. Be it a bad smell, an awful mood, or a place you wouldn’t want to go, photography can filter out the bad stuff and present us with something pleasing to look at.
Soggy bottoms and the boredom of perfection.
As a landscape photographer the weather has always played the biggest part in my work. Anyone who knows nothing of photography will tell you that a bright sunny cloudless day would be ‘perfect’ to go out and take pictures, and of course for some people it would be. But generally speaking, cloudless blue skies are not really for me.
Jura, Scotland, 2006
In 2006 I ventured around the Scottish coastline making work with an 8/10” camera. For an entire month I was as moody as the weather and the sun did not shine once. There was not a single day when I wasn’t soaked through. But that soggy adventure was one that brought about some of my best work.
There is a boredom that comes from perfection. If something is considered perfect it cannot be changed.
THE ITCHY FINGER
Some time ago a good friend and photographer told me about his itchy finger. It was a term he used when all he wanted to do was make a photograph but didn’t have a commission, or even an idea. He would head out with a small hand held camera and just walk around. Although this may seem an obvious thing to do, many photographers need an idea and a purpose to make work. But in fact, the act of going out without rhyme or reason, is an idea, and lets not forget that just going out and looking for something to photograph is often how photographers become photographers.
A rainy day in Palm Springs, 2024.
Long ago I wrote a thesis for my photography masters on photography and memory. As much as my tutors hated the idea,“because everyone does that.” They were right, but there is a reason why so many photographers make images based around memory because its part of who we are.
Photography and memory will always go hand in had. Not because we can recreate memories using photography, but because we can make photographs that help us remember.