Here's a thought…

HT2523 - The True Selfie

Here is a great quote from one of my favorite anthologists: "To see ourselves we have to use a reflecting mirror — for example, art." Take a moment to think about the questions that pop up in the art life. What do I want to produce? Why do I want to produce it? Why is it important that I produce it? Why is this meaningful to me? What difficulties am I willing to endure to produce it? And these are just a few introspective questions off the top of my head! It seems that art can be as much about our inner-directed questions as it is about our outward-directed expressive statements.

HT2524 - The Connection

It's often said that the greatest challenge in photography is learning how to see. It's been my experience that seeing — deep seeing — is a function of connection. The great challenge of photography is not learning how to see but fostering, encouraging, developing, surrendering to, recognizing a deeper connection that engulfs us in the moment. Making a record by clicking the shutter is less important than having the connection to begin with. I think this is precisely what Wynn Bullock was getting at when he titled his monograph A Way of Life.

HT2525 - The Thread That Binds

The Achilles heel of multiple-image projects is the risk that viewing the work devolves into a popularity contest. Instead of looking for threads and connections between the images, viewers search for the one image they think is the best or at least touches them deeply. Overcoming this subconscious winnowing project becomes one of the great challenges of presenting a body of work rather than a single "greatest hits" image. The best technique I know is to sort of force-feed the connecting idea.

HT2526 - Different Signatures

An astute observer has noticed that I have two different signatures. I have one signature that I use for business, check writing, my non-art life. It is an attestation of identity. I have a different signature that I use to sign my artwork. It is a testament that I'm happy with the artwork as completed. I developed this strategy 40 years ago and still think it's a pretty good idea for a couple of reasons.

HT2530 - Photography Is Fundamentally an Act of Sharing

A case could be made that a photograph without an audience doesn't exist. Think the proverbial falling tree in the forest when no one is there to hear it. "Yes," you might say, "but I just photograph for myself." I understand because most of our photographs will never be seen by anybody but ourselves. But isn't that still fundamentally an active sharing, at least with our future selves? This seems to imply a few questions. What is it we're trying to share? What is the most effective way to accomplish sharing? How does thinking about that audience influence what and how we photograph?

HT2531 - Earth-Shaking, Mind-Blowing, Breath-Taking Photographs

Must we? Does every photograph have to blow our socks off in order to be worthy of our attention? Are we so addicted in our entertainment that everything must be a car chase that concludes in a massive explosion? When did art become so connected to an adrenaline rush? When did subtlety, sensitivity, a quiet connection, a moment of insight or understanding fall out of favor with artists? Not everything has to be cranked to 11.

HT2532 - Twelve Significant Photographs

I'm not sure if this assertion by Ansel Adams is apocryphal or true, but I know I've heard it my entire photographic life. "Twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop." In light of today's realities, is this still valid? It's clearly not valid from a technical point of view. So what did he mean? What are the implications for photography if it's now possible to produce hundreds, perhaps thousands of good prints per year? What's the difference between significant and good?

HT2533 - Congratulations On Your Photographic Skill

Do we admire Dickens for his extensive vocabulary? Do we admire Beethoven because of his chord progressions? Do we applaud the work of Ansel Adams because of his masterful use of depth of field? I've thought for years that if someone compliments my photographic technique the photograph has failed entirely. Tools and techniques are not supposed to be noticed accept perhaps by students and academics.

HT2537 - Recognizing Excellence

I attended my first workshop 40 years ago. I did so because I wanted to learn the specific techniques that were being taught by the instructors. Looking back on that experience, I realize the most important thing I experienced was seen hundreds of wonderful prints by the three instructors. The techniques I learned back then have been replaced during the digital revolution. The way I learned how to see and recognize excellence in a photograph is still one of the most valuable lessons of my creative life.

HT2538 - Recognizing Excellence, Second Attempt

"Even those who fall flat on their face are at least moving forward." In the spirit of true confession, yesterday's Here's a Thought was not my best effort. Let me try again from a slightly different point of view, hence "Recognizing Excellence, Second Attempt."

HT2539 - The Medium That Encourages Your Productivity

Simply said and factually undeniable, the medium you choose for the production of your images will either support and encourage more work or it will erect barriers that can make your work more difficult, more expensive, more discouraging. It's a matter of balance. We need a medium that challenges us, but not too much. We need a medium that allows us the freedom to create, but is substantial enough to require our sincere effort. We need a medium that allows us to connect with the audience we value.

HT2540 - There Is No Favorite

I received an email I had to think about before responding. The writer asked if out of the 180 projects I've published in Kokoro, did I have a favorite? I couldn't help feel this was like asking which of all the breaths I've taken today is my favorite? The answer, of course, is the next breath and, no doubt, the next project. This did have me thinking, however, about what work I choose to exhibit, publish, submit, or produce as a digital publication. As the producer, I may value the most recent work, but our chronology of production may have no impact on how others select their favorite work of ours.

HT2544 - Famous or Decor

I may be wrong about this and I'm more than willing to admit that, but I think photography on the wall divides itself into two fundamental types. There are photographs we frame and hang for their value as decor (goes good above the couch) or it is a photograph that is celebrated for its maker (often a collectable master). This is the main reason why I so rarely frame my photographs for display on the wall. My work tends not to be decor because it is too personal and I'm not famous nor collectible. Worse, I'm not interested in chasing fame nor chasing those kinds of images that make great decor.

HT2545 - On Long-term Survival

Just as a thought experiment, let's assume the long-term survival of your artwork is a concern to you. What could you do that would increase the odds of your artwork surviving into the long-term future? Would it be making prints with the most archival materials and techniques? Are you sure?