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Create

PBα

I often think of photographs in collections or series, linked to a single subject (e.g., an idea, place, time, experience). Given my preference for printed, physical photographs, I increasingly try to imagine a project in the form of an artist’s book. Artist’s books are not restricted by the format of a traditional book, sequential pages […]

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Out and About

Connections

The NY Times publishes a puzzle, “Connections,” that presents you with a grid of 16 words and challenges you to find groups of four that share something. In a recent puzzle, for example, “charcoal, ink, paint, pastel” form the group “Art mediums.” Perhaps I can think of photography in a similar way. Set out to […]

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Create

Series of Images

As I make more books and things (collections of postcards are in the works), I increasingly think of photos in series. I don’t deny the power of a single, amazing photograph, but there is a value in seeing photographs as part of a collection of related images. I have long appreciated the powerful work of […]

Categories
Create

Ashford Farm Photo Book

I make “limited edition” books, something between art books and photo books. They are often experiments that will never move beyond my work table, hence the “limited edition” label. I play with format, with layout, with folding pages or cut pages. Some are little more than pamphlets. I always learn something from these books. This […]

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Musings

An Unoriginal Photo

Just as I am rarely alone, despite how far I might venture into the wilderness, I rarely take an original photograph. Sometimes, my photographs are obviously unoriginal (perhaps not entirely cliché but certainly not obscure). I don’t care if some of my photography looks familiar because other people have been there before me and taken […]

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Musings

Photographic Legacy

John D’Arcy was a wealthy landowner who built this castle ca. 1818, just outside the town he founded. He and his family lived in it for about twenty years. After he died, his son inherited the castle and lived there until the family went bankrupt about a decade later. New owners. Renovations. Yet more new […]

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Musings

On Ceilings and Archives

“Digital Asset Management” is not my strong suit. I don’t consistently “tag” photos. My organizational scheme reflects more my experiences in making the photograph than the subject of any given photo — I tend to group images taken at a time and place. Consequently, I end up with digital piles of images in directories that […]

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Postcards

Postcard Archive: August 2021

With the new month comes a new postcard. This month I was inspired by the detritus I found on a local walk and recollections of Penn’s portraits of cigarettes. Let me know if you want to receive a postcard. A selection of cigarette butts from a local “nature trail.” I look forward to a day when the […]

Categories
Musings

In Praise of Snapshots

Snapshots don’t receive the love and affection they deserve. Snapshots, those quick photos dashed off with little thought or planning. They are often out of focus, not level, too bright or too dark, and poorly composed, if at all. Faded, bent, and torn snapshots fill equally faded albums and dusty boxes on the top shelves […]