The use of the photograph on the left for a recent post got me thinking about a thread I started some time ago but haven’t had the time to pick up again. So here is round 2 of Vernacular vs. Fine Art. The image on the right is by Ansel Adams, the image on the left by my 5 year old daughter. 

Adams talks about this image in his book “Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs” and gives a technical reason as to why film (or sensors) under really intense light will actually reverse itself, resulting in the black sun. However, I can’t remember the explanation. I do have a recollection of some half-hearted attempts to replicate the effect in my early days of black and white landscape, but none were successful. In that respect, my daughter seems to have succeeded where I failed.

As the father of one of the photographers above, I won’t pretend to be able to render an even vaguely objective comparison of the two images, but instead will leave it up to you. However, if we judge solely on the basis of who was able to push the effect farther, Emma’s got Ansel beat. The sun in hers is a solid black, the sun in Adams print merely a dark grey. Nice job, Emma, now consider quitting while you’re ahead!

Jen Bekman was quick to respond to my last post.  After mildly and humorously berating me for my cynical attitude, she assured me that I was still on her radar and would stay there. It’s always nice to get reminders that people really are paying attention, even to those of us who have not yet “made it.” Thanks for the perspective, Jen!

I discovered yesterday that I didn’t make it to the next level with Jen Bekman. Every winter, she takes the 40 “Hotshots” from the previous years and selects 4 “Hotshot Ultras.” I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see that my name was not on her list. I was a little bummed however, that I wasn’t able to get my web updates completed before I fell off her radar. Hopefully I’ll be able to get her attention again in the future, as she is needless to say a great person to be associated with. In the meantime, I will be keeping my eye open for other opportunities on the New York scene. I have really enjoyed the various opportunities I have had to show there.

 If there’s one thing my alma mater, University of New Mexico does well, it’s getting teaching jobs for its graduates. Of the classmates that I have kept up with, at least 80% of them are sitting in tenure track positions, and most found one within a year or two of graduation. Schools like SVA and Yale do an amazing job getting their graduates into galleries, but I don’t think anyone beats UNM in getting their graduates into academia.A few of my classmates/fellow academicians are also fellow bloggers:

Dennis DeHart: Blog

Myra Greene: Demo Disaster

Kathleeen  Robbins: funny-peculiar: a southern photograph blog

They’re making nice work, so check out their web sites as well. 

I am in the final editing and sequencing phase of a project I have been working on called The Histories Beneath. Have also done some significant revisions to My Somewhere in Middle America series. Look for a major update to my site in the next week or two.

I’m happy to report my my work was accepted into Critical Mass. There are many familiar names on the list, a lot of talent, and an impressive list of reviewers. Im not sure whether my work will really stand out, but at least it’s another opportunity to have it seen. There are also several names I was very surprised not to see on the list. For those who didn’t make it, the one consolation prize is not having to pay another $250. Yikes. I’ll look forward to getting the cd with all the entrants on it.

On a less positive note, I didn’t make the cut for the Aperture Award this year. 800+ applicants, 5 winners, no big surprise. I was however happy to see fellow Michigan photographer Cynthia Greig was one of the runner ups.

I’m working this week on getting my application together for another long shot- the Center’s Project Competition. I think this will be my 7th year applying.

By now most people with even a passing interest in photograph have probably seen the Newsweek article from last month about the death of photography. This argument is really quite tired, having been around for 15 years or so, and in my mind, misses the point. If its truthfulness is the cause of our love for photography, how do we explain our love of cinema, closely related, yet bearing not even a superficial relationship to any notions of truth?

One of my daughters’ favorite presents this Christmas was a kid digital camera.  They have been running around with the thing, which is pink (an added attraction of course) and takes pictures of about the quality of a three year old cell phone camera ($75 well spent), ever since they opened it. With every picture they take, they immediately look down at the LCD screen. I don’t have to observe them very long to realize that their fascination with photography has absolutely nothing to do with it’s “truth value.” I think  this observation is emblematic of the true heart of our fascination with the medium. When have we as a society ever been particularly interested in “truth” to begin with? Without even getting into the issue of what a hollow notion the idea of truth is to begin with, we seem to for the most part believe what we are told, and not spend a huge amount of time verifying its validity or analyzing the agendas that might lie beneath the surface. I am of course grossly over generalizing for the sake of argument…

I really think our collective fascination with photography comes simply from the particular set of languages it uses to portray the world in front of the lens. These languages (one-point perspective, indexicality, relationships to time) provide a unique intersection of ideals going all the way back to the renaissance. They are deeply engrained in our culture, and until those values change or we find something that represents them better, photography isn’t going anywhere.

As an academician, I have to add a footnote here. My thoughts on this subject were heavily colored by Geoffrey Batchen’s essay “Ectoplasm: Photography in the Digital Age.” It’s a great essay, and well worth reading, especially if people are going to keep obsessing about the death of photography.

I’ve been and bad blogger recently. I’m going to do my best  to get back, but I have myself spread mighty thin these days.