New Encounters

November 22, 2019

The opportunity to try something different lingers right outside our consciousness, a bit like a quiet little cat by the backdoor. Come say hi to me anytime, it says, as we walk past taking the same worn path to making an image. How about today, it asks, patiently waiting because the opportunity-cat never leaves.

I recently made some new composite images and am enjoying a creative opening and fresh approach to what’s possible for me. I accepted the ever-present invitation to experiment, reach out a bit, take a different route on the way to work. In doing so, I feel freer to make images that I had not considered and refine how I am seeing light and perspective as i make new photographs.

You too may have noticed your own opportunity-cat hanging about. Maybe it is time to say hi, and have a new encounter with what’s possible to do.

The image “Encounter At Fenwick” is in the 9th Annual InVision Juried Photo-Based Art Exhibition in Bethlehem, PA

All Zebras Have Stripes - Just Like Me

November 3, 2019

Have you noticed that all zebras have stripes? At least all those that I’ve seen have this same basic attribute that distinguishes them. And while there may be differences between zebra herds (tribes?) that experts may detect, bottom line there is a commonality that all zebras share.

I bring this up because of the current conversations around immigration, race and gender preference. I’m not an activist but I feel as an artist that I should bring something to the conversation. Are we not all human beings, like zebras, sharing common feelings and desires? I believe nearly everyone wants a better future for all of us, for our children and families. And everyone has both love to give, and makes mistakes or gets angry sometimes. I feel there’s is so much more in others that is just like me, human being John, than different. Our “stripes” that makes us human are to me the more important details than what country we or our ancestors came from, or who we love, or the color of our skin.

I created the image “Outside Inside” to contribute to this conversation. This print is in the Transformations exhibition at the PA Center for Photography in Doylestown, PA.

NYC4PA Secondary Colors - 1st Place Purple, Juror Selection Green, HM Orange

October 8, 2019

I’m a bit over the moon after getting the results of my submissions to New York Center for Photographic Arts competition “Secondary Colors: Orange, Purple, Green”.

My image “Purpled Room” was awarded First Place in “Purple”. Another image, “Peter Pan 2” submitted for “Green”, was given a Juror’s Selection prize. And a third image, “Pretty Elusive” in “Orange”, received an Honorable Mention. Woohoo!!

The competition had over 800 entries…..I’m overwhelmed by the news. And just delighted too!

Say Something New

September 3, 2019

Can we say something new, something fresh, with our words or our images? It is an inquiry that at first seems a bit daunting, if one looks across Instagram or googles nearly any topic. I have found myself asking this way: what revealing insight do I have that really hasn’t been expressed before.

Heading down that twist of trail leads to feelings of defeatism and loss of interest and energy. Oh well, guess its time to mosey along to something else, is a conclusion that has popped up. While I’m not the only one with these kinds of low energy doubts, I’m going a different direction now.

I’m beginning a new look at what it means to have something new to say in photographic work. This is not necessarily the same as creating a totally “never before seen” image.

i am finding that making an image which is “out of character” for me can deliver a delightful sense of discovery that carries on to better new work. I’m heading toward saying something that I haven’t said before, even if someone else has a similar expression. My voice carries its own timbre, and it colors that “said before” to a shade of new that satisfies me.

I’m learning the distinction between finding a fresh view for my own personal work instead of expecting to originate a never-before. Few of us ever touch that rarefied space.

Today I finished making an image that I did not anticipate, “Coercion By Arrow”, and I feel like I’ve said something new.

Depend On Dialog

August 19, 2019

So much depends on getting in dialog about what you are working on. I’m finding more and more that when I have inner doubts about an image or am struggling with a concept, resolution comes when I communicate. Talking over the technical issues helps clarify everything from what’s too bright or poking into the frame (doh - sometimes I furiously overlook the obvious in pursuit of a subject) to how to balance elements in the composition.

I find that when I start talking through an issue with my photography, it often leads to something deeper and more meaningful in my life. I was working on this image taken at the Vessel in NYC and just couldn’t bring out the interesting pieces that first caught my eye - hats and strong contrast in lines and shadows. As I worked with the image, my frustration grew. Talking through this with a friend brought a realization that I was trying too hard for perfection - as if my own “image” was tied up in this composition. My ego was simply pushing away any creative fun I tried to have.

From engaging in dialog, it came out that the shadow was perhaps much more interesting than the hats. Turning the image upside down opened up a new possibility. For me, it suggested that what we are talking about in words often has a subtext in structural language, the shape of our hands, the intensity of expression. The shadow perhaps reminiscent of a cartoon balloon with inner thoughts and feelings that is as solid as hats on heads.