Blogodocious ramblings of a landscape photographer living in Maine.
Pyroglyph party and art opening for J Aaron Mitchell at Atlantic Art Glass
Picture of the Week
"Quietside Seascape" July 14, 2012
Friday night brought us all together at Atlantic Art Glass to check out my buddy Aaron Mitchell's crazy painted on glass almost graffiti like Picasso in Maine could care less about you lobster eatin mofo's modern art and it was a fine time indeed. For once it was cooler inside than out and there were lots of interesting people to this or that with and we burned up some paper drawing with hot glass which was cool.
"Untitled" J Aaron Mitchell
Atlantic Art Glass and Linda and Ken Perrin http://atlanticartglass.blogspot.com/ (by the way that's my dog in the picture on the their blog), pretty much saved my life at least once I figure, as when I met them I was contemplating giving myself full time to hard labor and leaving behind the virtues that my Mom had taught me about creating and embracing my Dad's life of working for someone else. I can't say enough good things about Linda Perrin and Ken who have become almost my brother and sister that I never had and I'll talk about them and glassblowing more later some other time, but for now check out this pyroglyph making extravaganza accompanied by The Talking Heads that was so cool that even the kids got in on it. Have a good one and thanks for stopping by -Nate from Maine Usa.
For more J Aaron Mitchell go here: http://www.facebook.com/jaaron.mitchell
Photography inspiration from Youtube
"Surface" July 1, 2012
Hey there fellas. So I've been totally digging enjoying watching Youtube interviews and documentaries about photographers lately when trying to have some relaxing time lately after a busy day, and if you're anything like me then you'll love these two that I watched the other day. The first one is a documentary about Edward Weston made in 1948 and narrated in classic Walter Cronkite meets "Victory at Sea" fashion. It's absolutely interesting to see his demeanor and nature and the way he conducts himself in the field behind his huge camera, which is entertainingly ported about for him by a suspiciously attractive female assistant. And to see shots of the interior of his home and the things he surounds himself with is also amazing. Note the perfect bowl of still-life subjects ready to go on the kitchen table.
The next one is a "National Geographic Live- The Life of a Photograph with Sam Abell", who's mantra acquired from his photographer Pa is "compose and wait", and the window shot sequence throughout the day in Red Square in Moscow with the pears on the windowsill complimenting the onion domes on St. Basils Cathedral @38:00 minutes is freekin awesome! But his considerate and thoughtful approach to making images is what struck me as well here. Good stuff, good stuff indeed. Check it out, unless you really have something better to do, then make sure you email yourself a reminder to watch it later.
Right then. I hope that helped you as much as it helped me.
And since we're on the topic, check out Guy Tal's latest post regarding landscapes as art here: http://guytal.com/wordpress/2012/07/the-case-for-landscape-photography-as-a-fine-art/ and that'll be a good weeks worth of homework.
What are your favorite inspirational photographer vids? Lemme know, I'd sure appreciate it- have a good one, -Nate.
Words of Wisdom a' la Henri-Cartier Bresson
"Light is like a perfume" 6/22/12
Check this out! Great content! Here's an interview I watched the other day with Henri-Cartier Bresson (August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004) here:
Within which he enormously claims that the image he made of the man jumping over the puddle:
of which may be seriously considered one of the most important images ever made in photography, was produced solely "pas hazard", -by chance!
"In between planks I tipped the lens through but I couldn't see anything through the viewer", Henri-Cartier Bresson explains as he shot the image above through a fence behind the train station Gare Saint Lazare, in 1932, the year my father was born-
He goes on to say, incredulously, "it's always luck, it's luck that matters, it's all a matter of chance."
interviewer say's: "that was lucky."
H.C.B. "You have to be receptive, that's all."
So, this was one of the most impactful images I had ever seen when I first came across it while i was first studying photography, and to think that he is claiming that it was "all a matter of chance", as if by some reflex action he irresistibly thrust his lens unknowingly through a gap in between worlds and for just a moment, for just a brief 1/100 of a second depressed the trigger- is completely b.s.! Totally hogwash! But that's just me editorializing, so take it for what it's worth.
But it gets better: he say's "You have to be receptive, that's all. It's a matter of chance, if you want it you get nothing. Just be receptive and it happens."
Then he goes on to talk about geometry within the frame and the divine proportion [golden mean].
H.C.B. "Intuitively I know how it sits, but that's all I can say. It's the physical rythm. We know how it sit's, a compass will tell you, but it's in the eye."
Love it! To hear the original street shooter talk about composition is absolutely priceless.
He goes on to say: "I go for form more than for light. Form comes first. Light is like a perfume for me."
Which is such a beautiful way to put it, but,
tell that to Mitch Dobrowner: http://mitchdobrowner.com/!
Anyways, all that talk makes me think about when it's picture making time. When it's picture making time we have a plan, and we have a goal, and we have a location, or we are "Sunday driving" looking for what we might find- and how often, at least it seems to me, that isn't it the light first that we are seeking and then to make it a composition we "look for a foreground", like- but isn't it that Henri is saying the opposite?
Personally I am pretty iffy on the topic of perfume as it's not my favorite thing- I'd rather smell the clean sweat of a woman's being then something cloaked in aftermarket expense, but there is a time and a place. But that's neither here nor there.
Most certainly the gist of the conversation was feeling and balancing a composition, just his excellent French accent made it seem all so much more intentional and artistic!
Right then, now go make some pictures people! And have a nice day -Nate from Maine, Usa.
H.C.B.\
For any New England photographers: completely amazing Ansel Adams exhibit: Peabody Essex
My friend Eyal Oren (http://wednesdaysinmhd.com/), clued me in to what looks to be a "don't miss!" Ansel Adams exhibit where 100 images in the theme of "At the Waters Edge" will be shown from June 9 through October 8, 2012: http://arthistorynewsreport.blogspot.com/2012/05/ansel-adams-at-waters-edge-eloquent.html. I will definitely be attending at least once, even though I'll have to drive 8 hours to round-trip it from my home. I want to go see not only just to enjoy in-person a whole bunch of works created by my first photography hero, but I want to try and study the prints closely to refine my concept of the fine-art print. A learning trip as it were, a real field trip of the highest caliber! Here's some juicy details:
Ansel Adams: At the Water's Edge, Eloquent Light
This summer, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) will unveil an exhibition shedding new light on one of history's most iconic and beloved photographers. Ansel Adams: At the Water's Edge features more than 100 photographs combining famous images with extraordinary lesser-known works that focus on the artist's treatment and exploration of water in all its forms. Full of energy and dynamism, Adams' photographs of seascapes, beaches, bays, tide pools, clouds and waterfalls provide a fresh perspective on the artist's celebrated career. Ansel Adams: At the Water's Edge was organized by the Peabody Essex Museum where it will be on view for its exclusive U.S. engagement from June 9 through October 8, 2012, and will then travel to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, UK.
"Throughout his life, Adams was drawn to the water for its visual potential, exploring where elemental forces meet," says Phillip Prodger, exhibition curator and PEM's curator of photography. "As an innovative Modernist, he explored seriality, motion and time, using a range of techniques to capture a definitively fluid and elusive substance."
In this exhibition, drawn from the Ansel Adams Archive at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona and other prominent private and institutional collections, viewers will have the opportunity to see the pictures that Adams made for himself. Both grand and intimate at turns, these personal, and sometimes experimental images express his thoughts about the natural world, and often push the boundaries between realism and abstraction. Ranging in size from 3 x 5-inch prints to 10 x 12-foot murals, many will be appearing publicly for the first time at the Peabody Essex Museum. Adams was one of the first photographers to work in the large-scale mural format which has now become standard among contemporary artists.
At the Water's Edge provides a fresh look at Ansel Adams, as well-known and beloved pictures of rugged mountains, desert landscapes, and rocky cliffs blend with sparkling, spraying, whirling waters in all of their flowing power and reflective nuance. The undeniable attraction of water as a photographic subject captured Adams at an early age. The very first photograph Adams ever made, shown at PEM for the first time, features a watery pool at the Panama Pacific Exhibition of the 1915 World's Fair, made when Adams was just 14 years old. Over time, his lens claimed the territory between Yosemite National Park and the Pacific, as well as Hawaii and Alaska, where he shot images shown in this exhibition.
Notably, he made a powerful group of photographs of New England, the only coastal location outside of California that Adams photographed steadily. Over a course of decades, he explored the coast from Connecticut to Maine, especially in Massachusetts, making repeated trips to Cape Cod and Boston's North Shore.
HIGHLIGHTS
Visitors will have the opportunity to see rarely-viewed objects, including the print of Golden Gate before the Bridge that used to hang over Ansel Adams' desk, and which he considered among his very best photographs. At the same time, stunning, oversized exhibition prints of iconic photographs including Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite, Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park and Stream, Sea, Clouds, Rodeo Lagoo, Marin County, California will be on display, among others.
One of the surprises revealed in At the Water's Edge is Adams' interest in using sequential imagery to freeze motion in time. An especially powerful example is the majestic surf sequence, San Mateo County Coast, California, 1940. Adams was possibly the first well-known photographer since Eadweard Muybridge to attempt to use photography in this way, employing seriality and sequence to create a cohesive narrative. Another series of photographs of Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, shows a different approach to sequentiality. A poignant exploration of form, movement and time, they can be viewed as Adams' version of Monet's haystacks. As with Monet, Adams visited Old Faithful at different times of day, photographing in varying light and changing atmospheric conditions.
Another unexpected addition is the exceedingly rare Japanese-style screen, Grass and Pool, 1948, dating from a period of tremendous creativity in Adams' work. Standing on round metal feet, it was designed to be shown directly on the floor in a domestic environment. In subject and treatment, it was inspired by Asian painted screens in which picture planes are flattened and perspectives tilted. The three articulated panels can be angled to catch the light differently, the rhythm of the fold cleverly mirroring the angular pattern of the exposed grass.
For Adams, part of the appeal of creating such a work was thwarting conventional expectations about what a photograph might look like and where and how it could be shown. Like many modernists, Adams considered photographs not just as images but as objects - the craft and sheer physical presence of the work reinforced its significance as a work of art and the focus of contemplation.
HIGHLIGHTS
Visitors will have the opportunity to see rarely-viewed objects, including the print of Golden Gate before the Bridge that used to hang over Ansel Adams' desk, and which he considered among his very best photographs. At the same time, stunning, oversized exhibition prints of iconic photographs including Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite, Tetons and the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park and Stream, Sea, Clouds, Rodeo Lagoo, Marin County, California will be on display, among others.
One of the surprises revealed in At the Water's Edge is Adams' interest in using sequential imagery to freeze motion in time. An especially powerful example is the majestic surf sequence, San Mateo County Coast, California, 1940. Adams was possibly the first well-known photographer since Eadweard Muybridge to attempt to use photography in this way, employing seriality and sequence to create a cohesive narrative. Another series of photographs of Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park, shows a different approach to sequentiality. A poignant exploration of form, movement and time, they can be viewed as Adams' version of Monet's haystacks. As with Monet, Adams visited Old Faithful at different times of day, photographing in varying light and changing atmospheric conditions.
Another unexpected addition is the exceedingly rare Japanese-style screen, Grass and Pool, 1948, dating from a period of tremendous creativity in Adams' work. Standing on round metal feet, it was designed to be shown directly on the floor in a domestic environment. In subject and treatment, it was inspired by Asian painted screens in which picture planes are flattened and perspectives tilted. The three articulated panels can be angled to catch the light differently, the rhythm of the fold cleverly mirroring the angular pattern of the exposed grass.
For Adams, part of the appeal of creating such a work was thwarting conventional expectations about what a photograph might look like and where and how it could be shown. Like many modernists, Adams considered photographs not just as images but as objects - the craft and sheer physical presence of the work reinforced its significance as a work of art and the focus of contemplation.
Reflections at Mono Lake, California, 1948; Photograph by Ansel Adams; Gelatin silver print; David H. Arrington Collection; ©2011 The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
ABOUT THE PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
The Peabody Essex Museum presents art and culture from New England and around the world. The museum's collections are among the finest of their kind, showcasing an unrivaled spectrum of American art and architecture (including four National Historic Landmark buildings) and outstanding Asian, Asian Export, Native American, African, Oceanic, Maritime and Photography collections. In addition to its vast collections, the museum offers a vibrant schedule of changing exhibitions and a hands_on education center. The museum campus features numerous parks, period gardens and 22 historic properties, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200_year_old house that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture on display in the United States.
Amon Carter Museum Exhibited Ansel Adams Photographs in 2010
The Peabody Essex Museum presents art and culture from New England and around the world. The museum's collections are among the finest of their kind, showcasing an unrivaled spectrum of American art and architecture (including four National Historic Landmark buildings) and outstanding Asian, Asian Export, Native American, African, Oceanic, Maritime and Photography collections. In addition to its vast collections, the museum offers a vibrant schedule of changing exhibitions and a hands_on education center. The museum campus features numerous parks, period gardens and 22 historic properties, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200_year_old house that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture on display in the United States.
Amon Carter Museum Exhibited Ansel Adams Photographs in 2010
Ansel Adams (1902–1984) Leaf, Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska, ca. 1948. From What Majestic Word, In Memory of Russell Varian, Portfolio IV (1963) Gelatin silver print ©2010 The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust
Works by one of the world’s most widely recognized and celebrated photographers was on view in 2010. Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light featured 40 photographs by the artist and ran from May 29 through November 7, 2010. at the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth , Texas
“Ansel Adams was the last major artist to subscribe to the romantic tradition of American landscape, an artistic lineage that included Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, William Henry Jackson and Carleton Watkins,” says John Rohrbach, senior curator of photographs. “This exhibition, comprised of prints from the museum’s holdings and a private collection, spans 50 years of Adams’ spectacular career and gives museum visitors insight into his vision of inspiring beauty.”
Adams’ uplifting images have helped define landscape photography, fulfilling an ideal of a glorious American West before tourism and development marked the land. A hallmark use of light coupled with an affinity for grand gestures yielded his trademark oversized prints. This exhibition, however, also showcases his lesser-known, non-landscape work and his initial devotion to Pictorialism, a photographic movement (in vogue from around 1885 to the early years of the 20th century) that subscribed to the idea that art photography should emulate — through soft focus, exotic printing techniques, and other methods — the more established art mediums of the time, particularly painting and etching.
Early in his career, Adams aimed to reveal the character of a landscape through the balance of light and dark. By limiting his photographs to contact size (the size of the originating negative) and printing them on matte-finish papers, he made works that delivered the intimacy of fine etchings. The exhibition shows how, in his later years, Adams sought to broaden his audience by publishing finely crafted portfolios of original prints that, along with his signature landscapes, included portraits, close-ups and even industrial photographs.
“A trained pianist, Adams often used musical analogy to explain his artistic practice — calling each negative a composer’s score and each print a unique performance,” Rohrbach says. “He visualized his results at the time he made each negative in order to better reflect his psychological experience of his subjects.”
An educator and a leader among West Coast artists, Ansel Adams (1902–1984) led photography workshops for years around Yosemite National Park. A strong advocate of environmental causes, he served on the board of the Sierra Club from 1937 to 1971. Among his many honors, he won three John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowships, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1980 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Adams was a consummate and ardent admirer of the natural world, and he traveled the country from the national parks of Yosemite and Big Bend to the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. From Mount McKinley (Ala.) to Death Valley (Calif.), he searched high and low, sharing his vision through exquisitely rendered prints bound in hand-crafted books and portfolios. His longstanding goal — “to rekindle an appreciation of the marvelous” — is evidenced here in this exhibition.
Works by one of the world’s most widely recognized and celebrated photographers was on view in 2010. Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light featured 40 photographs by the artist and ran from May 29 through November 7, 2010. at the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth , Texas
“Ansel Adams was the last major artist to subscribe to the romantic tradition of American landscape, an artistic lineage that included Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Cole, William Henry Jackson and Carleton Watkins,” says John Rohrbach, senior curator of photographs. “This exhibition, comprised of prints from the museum’s holdings and a private collection, spans 50 years of Adams’ spectacular career and gives museum visitors insight into his vision of inspiring beauty.”
Adams’ uplifting images have helped define landscape photography, fulfilling an ideal of a glorious American West before tourism and development marked the land. A hallmark use of light coupled with an affinity for grand gestures yielded his trademark oversized prints. This exhibition, however, also showcases his lesser-known, non-landscape work and his initial devotion to Pictorialism, a photographic movement (in vogue from around 1885 to the early years of the 20th century) that subscribed to the idea that art photography should emulate — through soft focus, exotic printing techniques, and other methods — the more established art mediums of the time, particularly painting and etching.
Early in his career, Adams aimed to reveal the character of a landscape through the balance of light and dark. By limiting his photographs to contact size (the size of the originating negative) and printing them on matte-finish papers, he made works that delivered the intimacy of fine etchings. The exhibition shows how, in his later years, Adams sought to broaden his audience by publishing finely crafted portfolios of original prints that, along with his signature landscapes, included portraits, close-ups and even industrial photographs.
“A trained pianist, Adams often used musical analogy to explain his artistic practice — calling each negative a composer’s score and each print a unique performance,” Rohrbach says. “He visualized his results at the time he made each negative in order to better reflect his psychological experience of his subjects.”
An educator and a leader among West Coast artists, Ansel Adams (1902–1984) led photography workshops for years around Yosemite National Park. A strong advocate of environmental causes, he served on the board of the Sierra Club from 1937 to 1971. Among his many honors, he won three John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowships, was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 1980 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Adams was a consummate and ardent admirer of the natural world, and he traveled the country from the national parks of Yosemite and Big Bend to the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico. From Mount McKinley (Ala.) to Death Valley (Calif.), he searched high and low, sharing his vision through exquisitely rendered prints bound in hand-crafted books and portfolios. His longstanding goal — “to rekindle an appreciation of the marvelous” — is evidenced here in this exhibition.
Photos from exhibit:
Ansel Adams (1902–1984) Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, 1944 Gelatin silver print, before 1975 ©2010 The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas Anonymous gift
Ansel Adams (1902–1984) Vernal Fall, Yosemite Valley, California, ca. 1948 From What Majestic Word, In Memory of Russell Varian, Portfolio IV (1963) Gelatin silver print ©2010 The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
Ansel Adams (1902–1984) Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend National Park, Texas, 1947 Gelatin silver print, 1975 ©2010 The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
Peabody Essex Museum
East India Square
161 Essex Street
Salem, MA 01970-3783 USA
Phone: 978-745-9500, 866-745-1876
For the Hearing Impaired: 978-740-3649
Program Reservations: ext. 3011
What's with the blog anyways>?
"Calling All Cars, Calling All Cars!"
Well the simple answer is they said that it was better for the SEO- search engine optimization, as the Google web crawler doesn't do images, and it doesn't do flash, so all that was left was text. And after I got going it was a great space for me to ramble- like I would rather fill up the space under the Facebook post or the G+ post with way more words, but people don't like too many words on the social networks- not appropriate for the typical attention span there, but here I can do whatever I want! I can say "Huzzahuhwallawalla!" and nobody can tell me that it's out of context here. I'll keep that to a minimum though-
And what's with it but every good landscaper or photographer other has, it seems, left words behind, like Ansel would write or nap or teach in the noon hours and it wasn't just to beat the heat, it's cause he figured the light sucked at that time and he was a creative of the highest order. Which makes me feel like a scab (American term for a picket-line breaker) (which means someone who would go to work when the real workers were striking to get better wages or insurance or working conditions)) which is to say that if I feel like I can walk in the footsteps of Ansel Adams just by converting to black and white and writing a blog- I got a long way to go sucka! Maintain the modesty, find strength in humility, everyone can do it better, it just comes down to are they?
So check this out: last week on Thursday night Sophie and I got dressed up to go to the MDI Bio-Lab "Where Art Meets Science" show that I had 6 prints hanging in, in this brand new real big and snazzy new laboratory building that was just opened recently and the show was the first happenstance to celebrate the pomp and circumstance of the thing, and I was kinda psyched thinking that some pretty heavy hitters may be about to appreciate my action and all and indeed at one point it was pointed out to me that a couple was admiring one of my images and gesturing at it so I went over to say hi and talk about the work. That was a long sentence. Not two minutes into my interaction with the "potential buyers" and this older gentleman who is by all appearances distinguished and put together, sidles in and interrupts (literally) and starts to debate the virtues of film and digital with me and they.?! He say's he has just printed this very morning, that he only shoots film, that he suffers more then I do to get the shot somehow, and I'm totally put off by this douche so I begin to react as rudely as I can muster as having been raised as well as I have, and long story short- they all ended up walking away, leaving me with my print and a wall.
Therein that's the most important thing I learned last week: how to succinctly present my pitch and!... here's the thing, both of those guys walked away, but maybe I should have focussed more of my energies into the photographer: asking him "are your images hanging here as well?", "why not?", offering him advice into digital post processing workflow options through scanning et al perhaps. Maybe I could have harvested a much better client through teaching then through simply a one-off print sale? Who's to know, all I know is that it's back to the drawing board and writing a bit on my bloggy while I drink some beers and mull it all over.
And here's another thing: I'm doing the Google Analytics bit which is everything you wanted to know about how unpopular your website is from soup to knuts. And if I post something new that's texty, I'll get 20 times more visitors then an ordinary day- which is good because maybe one of them is the art director. So who's to blame me, until I find something better to do, I'll be back, and rambling more.
Thanks for stopping by, H.a.n.d. -Nate.
© Nate Parker Photography