Soul

"If the artist sees nothing within him, then he should also refrain from painting what he sees before him."

--Caspar David Friedrich

Airshow Photography

I ran across Ryan Zoghlin's portfolio of airshow photography, and it reminded me of two good images I made at an airshow back in 1992 (before George Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert was closed down). Zoghlin's airshow images are very bold, featuring nice use of contrast to isolate form. My two images (the one above, and the other one here) have a very different look because of the richness of the clouds.

[ photograph above: George Air Force Base, 1992 ]

Seeing

"The camera sees more than the eye, so why not make use of it?"

--Edward Weston

Rainer Kuczinski: Black & White-Box

Rainer Kuczinski's Black & White-Box portfolio.

Strange Coincidence

So I'm watching this new show on The Learning Channel the other day, and it's a pretty cool concept: they follow the entire process of designing and building a "skyscraper" in downtown Los Angeles. Sort of a reality show for geeks, I guess. Fascinating to see everything that's involved in the process. Not too far into the show, I realize, hey! I know that building they are putting up!

A few days earlier I was downtown, in the Little Tokyo area, and walked past a building I had never seen before that was obviously brand new. The side of the building had some dark panels that made for an interesting--and unique--design, and the shadows playing across the facade created an awkward balance. So I made a few photographs, then moved on.

Of all the buildings in all the cities...what a strange coincidence.

[ photograph above: Los Angeles, 2005 ]

New Images: Pomona

Twenty new images have been posted in the New Work section of my web site (the top four rows of images on the page). These were all taken inside of the Progress Space gallery in Pomona in December 2004, in the slow times during the Visions and Perspectives photography show. As with a lot of my more recent work, it's more abstract and ethereal. I have a feeling people are not going to like my departure from more natural images, but it's a direction I feel I need to go in at this time. Plus, this is not an abandonment of more traditional natural subjects. In fact, I am planning on going out to Death Valley this weekend...

[ photograph above: Pomona, 2004 ]

Events, Not Objects

"As I became aware that all things have unique spatial and temporal qualities which visually define and relate them, I began to perceive the things I was photographing not as objects but as events. Working to develop my skills of perceiving and symbolizing these event qualities, I discovered the principle of opposites. When, for example, I photographed the smooth, luminous body of a woman behind a dirty cobwebbed window, I found that the qualities of each event were enhanced and the universal forces which they manifested were more powerfully evoked."

--Wynn Bullock

[ photograph above: Mens Room @ Starbucks, Los Angeles, 2005 ]

Brett Weston: Natural Details

From the Brett Weston archive, his Natural Details portfolio.

New Images: East Highlands Ranch

I just posted 10 new images in the East Highlands Ranch section. Most of them (the top two rows of images on the page) follow a theme I was exploring almost a year ago, and I have a feeling the majority of people won't like them. But I like them.

[ photograph above: East Highlands Ranch, 2004 ]

Disturbing

"Art is made to disturb. Science reassures. There is only one valuable thing in art: the thing you cannot explain."

--Georges Braque

Miguel Mealha: The Wreck

Miguel Mealha's portfolio The Wreck.

Ideas

"I am interested in ideas, not merely in visual products."

--Marcel Duchamp

Vision + Action

"Vision without action is a daydream.
Action without vision is a nightmare."

-- Japanese proverb

Ryuijie Web Site

Finally, Ryuijie has his own Web site!

[ photograph above: Kelso Dunes, 2002 ]

Miguel Mealha: Sand

Miguel Mealha's Sand: portfolio.

Focus

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."

--Ansel Adams

Marc Doyon: Vegetal

Marc Doyon's Vegetal portfolio.

Dynamic Events II

"I feel all things as dynamic events, being, changing, and interacting with each other in space and time even as I photograph them."

--Wynn Bullock

Eleven New Photographs

I made it over to the Claremont Packing House again on Saturday afternoon, and spent about 20 minutes photographing the demolition of the west addition. Check out the eleven new photographs posted here.

[ photograph above: Claremont Packing House, 2005 ]

Brett Weston: New York

From the Brett Weston archive, his New York portfolio.