Artist's Statement

[Donald]

In this thread reference was made to an 'Artist's Statement' and there was discussion what that should be and what it shouldn't be.

That got me thinking - why don't we have a thread in which people could put their artist's statements.

There will be many people on here who do not bother with a artist's statement, but I am sure there will be many that do. Sharing them may inspire others to prepare a statement.

The intention is not to say this is how it must be. All it would say is, 'this is my statement and if it provides any help, then good'.

And since I thought about it, I better go first. This took me several months to develop and hone it down into what it is now.


Artist Statement



In the world of wine there is a French word - ‘terroir’. There is no direct translation from French to English. It means all the bits that, together, make the grape what it is – the soil, climate, location, culture, nature, even the people.

The same concept applies to my photography. I need to invent a word to describe it. It means that my photography results from the coming together of many factors. These are land, culture, nature, environment, people, history and political beliefs.

My attitude and approach to life and therefore my photography, is rooted in my history and my culture in the highlands of Scotland. A land over which the people who were born, grew up, lived and worked in it, had little or no control. A place where a colonial rule was imposed in the 18^th century and the native population was relegated to second-class status.

The images I create are not an attempt to present a realistic rendition. They aim to convey the mood and emotion that I experienced in making that image. My images are an artistic representation. To convey that mood, emotion and feeling, my images also have to be excellent from a technical point of view. That is why I hold to the belief that clicking the shutter is only the end of the first part of making an image. The second part is processing, or finishing, of that image. Finishing is when I realise the vision I had when I captured the photograph.

I acknowledge that all the technical stuff about photography and camera gear is hugely important and needs to be mastered. But mastering it is a means to an end. For me, the end is the way I can express emotion in an image.

There are many influences in my photography. Chief amongst them is Ansel Adams who was as passionate an environmentalist (before that term was coined) as he was a photographer. Adams’ writings on the interaction of humans with their environment is as relevant today as they were when he wrote them in the 1940s, 50’s, ‘60s and ‘70s. Others whose work I have learned from are too numerous to mention, but include Michael Kenna, Fay Godwin, Paul Strand, Hengki Koentjoro, Paul Gallagher.

Pushing myself to be better through study, peer review, mentoring and assessment of my work is key. The time to give up photography will be when the desire to learn and improve disappears.

[JBW]

Is there some way to keep this thread on top? I ask because if it took you several months how long will others (read me) take?

[Manfred M]

Good suggestion Brian. I've stuck this to the top of the list of responses. If the thread grows, then it can provide some thoughts and feedback to the members, but if no one adds to it, then we can "unstick" it and let it drift down the list.

[tbob]

Artist's Statement

When I was a child we had what we called "Show and Tell" on as needed basis at school. If you found something cool (a feather, a rock, a weird carrot, or whatever) , or brought something back from vacation, then you stood at the front of the class to show everyone else and maybe gave a short talk on why you thought it was so neat.

In my photography I have not progressed much beyond this. I want to share the amazing things I see. No great or glorious intent beyond that of my seven year old self saying "Hey; look at this thing I found; cool isn't it"

[Donald]

Maybe that's your Artist's Statement.

[JBW]

Hopefully I will need to re-write this as my journey goes forward.

Mysterium Tremendum Et Fascinans

Near the end of 2012 M'Lady bought me a Fujifilm S4200. This she did because (A) it was my birthday and (B) she thought I needed a hobby. She was right on both counts.

It is now 2018 and I'm awaiting delivery of camera number three. (outgrew the S4200 and the second one just broke)

Photography has become my way to explore. From the humongous magnificence of star clouds and galaxies to the hidden beauty of a tiny flower or insect.

My conceit is the belief that after five years of learning the craft, it is possible through the lens of my camera and the power of the web to share my awe of the universe with others. That this sharing will help others to feel the Mysterium Tremendum Et Fascinans that so enthralls me. Allowing us to find a commonality that will lead to more Wisdom and Compassion and quite naturally more Love and Peace.

A small aside:You will notice that most of my shots are on the dark side. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the universe has more darkness than light. Secondly, my life has been more of darkness than light.

Brian

[Manfred M]

I have problems with writing an Artist’s Statement as I could never consider myself to be an artist; I’m a photographer. For me, the more applicable term is “photographer’s statement”.

I have an interest in recording people and places around the world that I have visited. Some have been close to home and others in some rather out of the way and exotic locations. I am interested in how humanity has evolved and adapted to life in different parts of the world. The impact that we humans have made on our environment is also something I study with my camera. I’m especially interested in photographing places, people, animals and practices that are at risk of being destroyed or are dying out.

I also work in other forms of photography from time to time to give me new insights and skills that I can apply to other aspects of photography. Recently I have taken up studio photography of people, so I continue to develop my photographic knowledge and skill set.

I am an unabashed advocate of the photographic print. I have always enjoyed making custom, high quality, large format prints. They have a beauty there that cannot be replicated on a screen. My prints will probably be around a lot longer than any of my images that has been stored on my hard drives or uploaded to the cloud. No special hardware or software will ever be required to view them; digital rot will not affect them.

[mugge]

Artist's Statement

I am not an artist. I used to write when I was young but lost the gift fairly early. Discovered photography and I am learning that. I will not abide by rules of photography but will not break them recklessly either. I go to galleries and muse over paintings and photos and talk to my wife about what I see and unsuccessfully try to convey my feelings about what I see when a story about it would be much better.

I will use what I learn about photography but will reject much also, if an image just appeals to me for no good reason at all, which to my mind is the best reason of all, I will take it.

I want to operate instinctively, leaving knowledge about photography to be a very loose guide only.

[DanK]

I have great respect for people like Donald who have progressed so far in one or more genres that it makes sense to think about an artist's statement. I'm not one of them, however, and I won't ever be.

I'm writing this to suggest that some of the people for whom an artist's statement doesn't seem sensible are nonetheless serious about their photography. Manfred's post beat me to it. However, I'll add my own two cents:

I first started photography (B&W, doing my own wet darkroom work) 50 years ago. I went through a period of decades when I did nothing serious, for two reasons: I was too busy with kids and career, and I simply couldn't manage my own color work.

Once digital became practical and affordable, I decided to get more serious again. It was a nice mix for me: after decades of a technically focused career, I could do something that had a technical component but that was primarily focused on an aesthetic output.

One spring, not long after I switched to digital, I injured one knee, and that summer, I couldn't do my routine hiking, etc. I thought about what would be interesting to photograph within a few hundred meters of my cabin in the Adirondacks. One obvious answer: bugs. (Any of you know know the Adirondacks know that I mean LOTS of bugs.) I had seen a bit of bug macro photography and had been intrigued, but I hadn't decided to delve into it deeply. I started that summer and was soon hooked. I did a bit with flowers as well.

We have long winters, which means many months without bugs. One obvious answer: flowers indoors. That is a very different type of photography, with different opportunities (more control over lighting) and challenges (stacking). I was hooked again.

One summer, I saw some interesting wilderness night photography, so I did a one-day-plus-evening workshop with Mark Bowie, a night photographer who works much of the time in the Adirondacks. I was hooked again. However, I live in an urban area, and I have the good fortune of being in a photo club with a superb urban night photographer, so one thing led to another. Hooked again.

I do a lot of candids of people, which I started going partly because I enjoy it and partly because people who see my other photography ask me to. Hooked yet again.

These are very different genres, and I have very different goals in mind when I do one versus another.

One type of photography I have done for the entire 50 years and still do poorly is landscapes. One reason is that IMHO, to do it well requires a more finely developed sense of composition than I have. I simply don't have as good an eye or sense of composition as someone like Donald. When shooting landscapes, after all, one is shooting what everyone can see, so HOW one composes matters a great deal. One advantage of macro is that you are presenting people with something they haven't seen. Composition still matters, of course, but it's easier in that respect.

So, I'll never think of myself as an artist, and I don't have a unifying vision for the various types of photography I do. However, I am always looking to improve, and that's why I post here. (I haven't posted much this year because I have been too busy, but I hope to resume soon.)

[rpcrowe]

Donald’s statement got me thinking of why I love photography. I cannot put my finger on one specific reason. Rather there are a myriad of reasons why photography has been the one hobby, vocation and avocation that I have continued throughout my life.

Photography (including cinematography) is a vehicle that has brought me to places and has allowed me to become involved with things, people and events which I would, otherwise never have experienced.

Digital photography has freed me from the constraints of needing a darkroom to work with my images. Digital has also allowed me to keep and have ready access to years of my photographic efforts. My one wish is that I could have carried a small P&S digital camera throughout my life to document what I have done, where I have been and what I have seen. Most of those images of my life’s adventures are now stored on the hard drive of my brain. I have ready memory access to most of these images but some only pop into my present thoughts when I am reminded of them by something that I see, hear of, or experience.

I am gratified that, in my declining years, I can still make a difference with my camera. Sometimes I take the gratifying trip down memory lane and just view the images of the many hundreds of dogs for whom my photographs have helped to find “furever” homes. I remember some of them distinctly while I have to struggle to remember others. Yet, I know that I have helped every one of them.

Here are some of my dog images starting in 2013...
https://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Pets/MAL...UE-CALIFORNIA/