You don’t have to abandon the process you enjoy

In response to this week’s alarmist articles about film’s allegedly imminent demise, Blake Andrews posted on his blawwg: “I must live in some film bubble timewarp because virtually every photographer I know in Portland still shoots film. My photogroup Lightleak has eight to twelve members depending on what month it is and who shows up, and every one of us is a film shooter.”

If you have asked about this, or paid attention to conversations and posts, you already know that most of the following is reasonable. Nonetheless, this article by Ctein…

…makes long-term planning clearer: http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2011/06/film-photography-future.html

2011/06/10
Categories: Darkroom, Either/Or, Tools & Materials . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: Leave a comment

Advice from Wendell Berry

“How to Be a Poet” by Wendell Berry        (to remind myself)

I

Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your poems,
doubt their judgment.

ii

Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.

iii

Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.

2011/06/06
Categories: Parallels, Words of Wisdom . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: Leave a comment

Putting Things into Perspective; or, I Second That Emulsion

Associated Press has become the latest entity to ring the death knell for film, citing that manufacture is down from a one-time height of almost a billion rolls a year to only five million (about half of which, apparently, is shot by those of us at BFHS). Two comprehensive and lucid responses put this into perspective:

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2011/06/discontinuous-demand.html

http://blakeandrews.blogspot.com/2011/06/8000-rolls-under-sea.html

Consider that roving paper-cutting profile potraitists were replaced by daguerreotypists (http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/jaic/articles/jaic41-03-001.html); squadrons of hand-colorers were made redundant when color film became practical, followed closely (“closely” in this context meaning within ten or fifteen years) by the failure of some ubiquitous paper emulsions (resulting in a class-action suit brought in several Midwestern states); and that everyone is periodically cautioned to back up files, with the knowledge that many digital archives at risk of corruption in 5-10 years.

As deep background, refer to this:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/02/04/133188723/tools-never-die-waddaya-mean-never

Lastly, look at the banner on the Badger web page: https://www.badgergraphic.com/index.html

2011/06/02
Categories: Information, Media, Tools & Materials . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: Leave a comment

Mr. Threadgill on Continuity

“You know, you don’t play for one week, your wife or your girlfriend knows; two weeks and you know; three weeks and everybody knows.

“I have friends who can do both. I can’t do both. I have to do one at a time. I write, and then I go to my instruments. I can’t keep up with the instruments if the writing becomes too demanding.

“I figured out a long time ago that going back for me is always a mistake . I mean on every level: personal life, everything – going backward does not work for me, it’s destructive.  All of my mistakes have been made going backwards.”

These are excerpts from a huge interview by Ethan Iverson. Dig it all at http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/interview-with-henry-threadgill-1-.html

2011/05/31
Categories: Parallels, Words of Wisdom . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: Leave a comment

Who’s your audience?

We are.

Not your parents, nor your siblings, nor your grandparents;

not your teachers, nor your dean or principal or counselor, nor your future college;

not your pastor, spiritual advisor, personal trainer;

not the government, nor some credit bureau, nor whoever is surveilling.

You, and we, are your audience: photographers.

2011/05/31
Categories: Artist's Statement, Exhibition . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: Leave a comment

Art Department Awawds

Mike Cygan is the AP 2-D Design Studio Student of the Year!

Molly Hendrickson is the Photography Student of the Year!

More to come…

2011/05/29
Categories: AP, Hah Thkoo . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: Leave a comment

Twyla

I’ll say this once: acquire this book. It’s difficult to select a short & coherent portion to excerpt for our purposes here, but this’ll suffice:

“When I walk into the white room I am alone, but I am alone with my:

body

ambition

ideas

passions

needs

memories

goals

prejudices

distractions

fears.

The last two—distractions and fears—are the dangerous ones… Let me tell you my five big fears:

  1. People will laugh at me.
  2. Someone has done it before.
  3. I have nothing to say.
  4. I will upset someone I love.
  5. Once, executed, the idea will never be as good as it is in my mind.”

2011/05/17
Categories: Words of Wisdom . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: Leave a comment

A Public Service: Links to Online Magazines

My preference runs to the experiences of gallery shows, monographs, and artists’ lectures; still, what a smooth way to investigate so many current portfolios (at least in this online format: see https://photodevoto.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/best-weblog-disclaimer-ever/). Brew a pot and take the phone off the hook.

http://www.1000wordsmag.com/

http://www.ahornmagazine.com/home.html

http://www.americansuburbx.com/

http://www.didemag.com/

http://www.fstopmagazine.com/home.html

http://www.flakphoto.com/

http://www.fractionmagazine.com/

http://www.landscapestories.net/

http://www.lapsusmagazine.com/index.php

http://www.lensculture.com/

http://www.loom-mag.com/

http://www.mooncruise.com/

http://www.photo-genetic.com/ (almost too clever for its own good)

http://www.positive-magazine.com/photography/

http://www.purpose.fr/

http://www.seesawmagazine.com/

http://www.squaremag.org/

http://www.unlessyouwill.com/

http://www.urbanautica.com/

http://wecantpaint.com/wassenaar/index.html

(Take the phone off the hook?)

2011/05/15
Categories: Information, Media . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: 1 Comment

“…there’s this treMENdous MESS… and it’s ALL REALLY THERE.”

Richard Feynman talks about light. Con gusto.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjHJ7FmV0M4

2011/05/14
Categories: Uncategorized . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: 1 Comment

W. o’ W.: Ira Glass

Every PhotoDevoto/composermusician/writer/chef/dancer/architect/et alii should make a needlepoint sampler of this text.

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners. I wish someone had told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase; they quit. Most people who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know that it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you finish one piece. It’s only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You just gotta fight your way through.”

Source: http://artistmotherteacher.com/index.php/2011/05/nobody-tells-this-to-beginners/

Thanks, H.

2011/05/11
Categories: Words of Wisdom . . Author: mrdplus . Comments: Leave a comment

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