We love to talk about process but we shy away from talking about why we shoot what we shoot. Sometimes I like to make mirror-selfies just so I can see, physically, and one step removed, how I'm doing. How I look to everyone else. How I fit into the spaces I find myself in. A detailed selfie is one of my best motivators to get my hair cut. Or to throw away a sweater that makes me look dumpy.
Many times I'll wake up when it's still dark outside, sit on the edge of the bed in my underwear, take a deep breath and think about why I'm interested in getting out that day with a camera. My usual answer is that I might see something that changes my mind about everything.
Someone hit the nail on the head in some comments yesterday. It was about the creative process requiring, in my mind, some bit of friction in order to make it work. That brain worm of a thought was with me all day yesterday, in every step I made with my camera.
Part of my ennui of late might just be a profound lack for friction. Living too comfortably inside the bubble. Too well fed. Too well taken care of. Too well off. When the upholstery gets too comfortable it gets harder and harder to get out of the chair.
But neither do I want to end up going through life as a tourist, just jetting by for a week or two to grab some trophies for whatever has replaced the boring slideshows our ancestors used to punish dinner guests with.
If we're actively looking for a project I think it means that we're so well off that we're starting to look for trouble in order to disrupt our complacent bubbles.
The circumstances that buffer you from the rough patches in life create the constraints keeping you from directly having diverse experiences. Maybe that's what I'll think about today when I go swim. Up and down the lanes thinking about whether or not I made the cocoon too comfortable and now hesitate to be....uncomfortable.
Everything is a balancing act...
11 comments:
Pretty fucking brilliant.
R.A.
Yes!!! So true so perceptive of living an active, challenging and satisfying life.
Since retiring 13 years ago I find it my daily work to find stimulation, or, call it friction in my daily existence.
So easy to sit back in that comfy chair and watch so many years fly by. NO !!!
By the way posing in front of a mirror won't catch that fleeting glance caught as you pass a window surprising yourself. Who is that handsome devil? Or for me, who is that old guy looking at?
Be a nice scene in a horror movie if the mirrored reflection three deep is of someone else. Be sure to check.
You haven't been at this semi-retirement so long already that you need to be worried about complacency, imo. Give it a chance. Introspective relaxation time isn't supposed to be high octane. And it won't help produce good photographs, I don't believe.
Your musings about whether or not to write this blog are interesting. Aren't you doubly glad that you don't rely on ads or subscriptions, that would just add more confusion to the decision.
The notion of “friction” in the camera-human interface that you’ve identified in a posting some time ago was what got me thinking about how my perceptions are affected by how I interact with the things around me and how this influences what I photograph. In the former case–on the equipment side–I suspect it’s what has drawn me to using rangefinder cameras over the years–having to think about what I’m doing. In the case of what I choose to photograph, change, new surroundings, a change in how the light falls on a building I’ve passed many times, all are things that create the sort of “cognitive friction” that attracts me.
As someone who has only within the last year retired, the change in day to day life has also created a kind of friction, but rather than the more literal, negative meanings or synonyms of this word, like abrasion, chaffing, conflict, etc., it’s been a positive force helping me see and experience things in new ways. In photographing things that appeal to me–capture my attention–I suppose I’ve also come to understand a statement attributed to Garry Winogrand (though not my favorite photographer): that of him saying that he took photographs of things to see what they looked like as pictures.
Since retirement in December, I’ve found quite a bit of friction in my daily life in terms of frustration with trying to get high-priority projects done. Every step requires a side project to accomplish. Sometimes more. But there hasn’t been nearly enough positive stimulation - despite the addition of an M240 to my kit. I’m hoping that will change as spring returns and I can get outside more often. But looking in the mirror has prompted me to embark on a serious effort to lose weight. :)
I am doing a project about gravel, mostly me trying to find the most ridiculous gardens i can, there's one neighbourhood just across the road that has all kinds of rockeries and all sorts, a lot of people up there are builders and I think must have had spare materials and the inclination to use them at one time.
The friction thing is a principal reason why film photography was more enjoyable. You attempt to recapture a little of that by choosing lenses that you have to focus yourself.
Kirk, if you are beginning to think about abandoning the blog because you don't feel you have enough to say, consider this idea. What about just posting photos like this, or a series of photos from your walks (with mannequins, of course), and perhaps add a comment or two if it feels right. That way you're not pressed to write content unless you want to, you have a showcase for photos that you take and like, and we all get to keep enjoying your work. Just a thought.
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Don't know how I missed this one, Kirk. It hit right where it hurts. Many times I have felt that we're twins because you keep on saying what I am thinking (although more eloquently than I can). That's likely not the case. I am probably just being too egocentric. I bet more that half of your readership feel the same way, as these comments show.
Anyway, thank you for so clearly articulating something that helps us enjoy our passion, because it has now become a conscious thought which can be explored and refined.
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