Over the last few years, as I transitioned to digital cameras and a Photoshop/Epson printer “darkroom”, I began to explore the ever softening boundary between photography and painting.
Read moreSome thoughts along the road from Bolsena
The road from Viterbo to Bolsena passes through a lovely landscape, about an hour north of Rome. In early April the trees are leafing out. The foliage is a myriad collection of greens of every hue. The air is clean and sweet. As the road twists and turns, there are broad views off to the left of Lake Bolsena, glimmering blue under the spring sun.
A tiny parking lot appears off to the side of the road. It has barely room for two small cars, with a stone wall into which are carved the words “Bolsena War Cemetery- 1945”. No cemetery is in sight however, but only a long stone path descending through olive trees and a large field that is already in need of mowing. My visit left me pondering America's present day dark politics.
Read moreSally Mann's "Hold Still" - Some thoughts and reflections (Part I)
I have been an admirer of Sally Mann for a long time. I became aware of her photography just as my own love of portraiture was blossoming. While we have never met, we are contemporaries and my kids are the same age as hers. There are far more points of departure than confluence in our lives, but those intersections have had an impact on my view of Mann and her visual and written work. Beyond all that, I deeply appreciate much of her photography just as I admire much about her as an artist. Thus, when I learned that her autobiography (“Hold Still”) was about to be published I was anxious to read it. I found it to be entirely compelling and a great source of artistic wisdom. She is a strong writer and has a lot to say on subjects far beyond the controversy by which so many people know her name..
Read moreThe chemistry of portraiture
Successful portraits result from that instant of collaboration. That moment when the subject connects and addresses the camera is often electric. There is a non-verbal communication between us and for that short time we are alone in the world, entirely focused on the task between us. At that moment I feel an energy – an actual rush – that is unique in my experience.
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