A Parallax View

Showtime!

Tue, 21 May 2024 02:31:35 GMT

Lookit what I made!

With a Little Help From Our Friends

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 01:44:21 GMT

All Hail The Photo Assistants!

Years ago, I worked as a photo assistant. In the trenches. Schlepping gear, running errands, occasionally filling in on second camera or editing photos. I was paid a day rate, and the hours were often long and brutal. There were times you didn't start work until the sun went down and you didn't wrap until after the sun came up. You had to know the intricacies of the equipment front and back, regardless the make/model. Equipment would break, you had to fix it. Better yet - you had to keep the equipment from breaking to begin with. In a freelance environment in which you didn't have control of the equipment until you were on set.

It's not the size of the ship...

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 15:53:23 GMT

“The best camera is the one that’s with you.” - Chase Jarvis

Not to be judgemental but something I can’t stand - CAN. NOT. STAND. - is when a photography aficionado asks “What camera do you use?” This simple question, while likely originating with the best intentions, implies that the photographer’s artistry resides entirely within this little metal/ plastic/ glass doohickey. I mean, sure, you need to know things like managing exposure, framing appropriately, and timing your exposure so that you get “the shot”. But really it’s the camera that does the work. Right?

Wrong. For all of the electrical and digital magic baked into your typical camera, the device is really little more than a light-proof box of sorts with a hole through which light exposes a light-sensing thing. I phrase it this way because the “thing” can be a digital sensor or any number of light sensitive chemical emulsions. But the gist is this: light comes through this hole, enters the box, creates an image on the thing. It’s that simple. It’s a question of what one does with the hole-box-light-thing that is the art of photography. Hence, the quote above.

My first digital camera was an affordable model that served its purpose for a few years. This was early on, at a time when the resolution fo digital cameras surpassed scans from film. I’m not one to run out and buy the latest and greatest thing, mind. And this was one of the very few brand-new, out-of-the-box cameras I’ve ever owned. But over a very short period of time this camera became inferior . The resolution was surpassed by newer models and - in fact - my phone had better resolution than my camera did. So, for a number of years, I pretty much only used my phone for photos. I was practicing iPhoneography. It’s a thing.

This was around the time that Instagram started hitting the social media circuit. Does anyone else remember how the images were always square and you had to upload from your camera? You could use whichever app you wanted to finesse the image, but they all came from your camera. Eventually, of course, IG (as it’s called today) allowed people to upload from their computer. Instagram was no longer a photography platform, but I’ll save that for another rant.

I was practicing iPhoneography. And I was using Instagram to show my work. 100% of my feed originated from my phone while other users started posting memes and gifs and - eventually - videos. Some of my photos were crap. IG is, after all, a social media platform and not everything needs to be polished. Maybe I’d post a funny sign I found, or an unlucky rabbit’s foot left behind on the sidewalk. Or maybe it was a really cool looking landscape or some urban setting that needed to be documented in the moment. But it was all from my phone, presented in a journal format. Look what I can do!

I once went to St Maarten with my family and my in-laws. My mother-in-law was flabbergasted that I didn’t bring a “real camera”; I only brought my phone. I just didn’t see the point of taking my DSLR to another country so that it would sit in the hotel room while I played on the beach and drank rum. My phone was with me and - whenever I saw an image I wanted - click. Done.

I’ve since started using my IG to promote my shows or whatever but it’s still mostly phone photos. I bring this up because I’m proud of that process. Being able to say “I made these images with a phone - a phone! - as a means of proving to whomever that you don’t need a Nikon/ Canon/ Whatever camera to take pleasing photos. In fact, just last year my phone was the only camera I took to Burning Man. Why? Because I didn’t want to traipse through the desert with thousands of dollars worth of gear that would need extensive cleaning (best case) when I got back. My phone is compact, lightweight, dustproof, and has been known to offer the occasional fantastic photo.

All you need to take great photos is the knowledge of how to best use the closest camera. If you know how to use your equipment effectively, there’s no telling what you can create.

Be sure to check back for future posts, when you’re likely to see me using some of my other hole-box-light-things.

I guess I'm blogging now?

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 19:15:57 GMT

Welcome to the glory days of 1997!

That is when the term “blog” was first used, btw, for the Google-impaired. My goal here is to have a nugget every two weeks. More if I’m particularly inspired. But a posting every couple weeks sounds reasonable, discussing various aspects of my creative process. Most likely with a photographic lean to it, but definitely centered on art and creativity. This week’s topic: How I came to be in this particular place.

Over the past few years I’ve been pushing myself creatively. I’ve been exploring various means and methods while working toward a specific-yet-difficult-to-verbalize vision of where I would like my work to reside. Commercially, I am working toward more dramatic and impactful portraits while - with regard to art - I’m stepping away from the Laws Of Photography and creating work that is a bit less run-of-the-mill (no disrespect intended). I hope to keep these posts short-ish, yet entertaining and insightful. We’ll see if I can nail any one of those goals at any given time.

Currently, I am working on my upcoming EDGE Gallery show which goes up at the end of April. This show will be more of my mixed media work. Some of my past mixed media can be found here . For me, the process of mixed media scratches an itch that is rooted in the artistic process. It’s a piece that has been missing for me, with photography requiring so much computer-time anymore. I didn’t fall in love with photography so I could sit in front of a computer.

In the coming posts, you can expect to see some behind-the-scenes of my process as this next show evolves. Or images from other projects I’m working on. Or maybe even discussion of particular artists I’m following at the moment. Regardless, I hope these posts spark an interest for you.

-Jason