There’s only one rule in photography – never develop colour film in chicken noodle soup.

- Freeman Patterson

My disdain for rules is no secret, and I got a good chuckle out of the way it was stated here. Well said, Mr. Patterson.

Freeman Patterson says a lot of things well. I read, and re-read, a couple of his books back in my early days of photography. They were of course written for film photography, but they’ve been updated for the digital age and re-released.

I found his work, and his words, to be very freeing and inspiring. It was unique and original… not caught in the usual ruts. Maybe you’ll agree.

Photography and the Art of Seeing: A Visual Perception Workshop for Film and Digital Photography

Photography for the Joy of It: An Introductory Workshop for Film and Digital Photography

If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.

Robert Capa

That’s probably one of the more famous quotes attributed to Robert Capa. Moving in on your subject, either physically or with a longer lens is certainly good advice in many cases. It’s something I practice more often than not. But maybe Capa was also implying a different kind of closeness.

Maybe he was hinting at an emotional closeness… a greater degree of intimacy… getting to know your subject matter. It’s no secret that the better you know your subject, whether it be person place or thing, the more depth and understanding you can convey with your work. You can dig beneath the surface, and explore facets of your subject that simply aren’t apparent at a quick glance.

Cameras are so prevalent these days, so compact and simple to use, so inexpensive that most anyone can buy one and call himself or herself a photographer. Much of the photography made is of the ‘drive by’ variety — a scratching of the surface. Sometimes it’s very well done, but often it’s lacking any real depth, and it’s often imitative. There’s no understanding of the subject there. I know I’m often as guilty of that as the next person.

To take the time to get closer, to develop an intimate connection with your subject, to dig beneath the surface can result in a richer experience both for you the photographer and the viewer.

My true program is summed up in one word: life. I expect to photograph anything suggested by that word which appeals to me.  –  Edward Weston

I started these bits and pieces posts, which are mostly my quick takes on quotes about photography, some time back, but have been a bit remiss in keeping up. This is a good time to remedy that and get back with the program.

This one by Edward Weston appeals to me more and more as the years go by. My photography isn’t about photography. It isn’t about cameras… it isn’t about subject matter… it isn’t about definitions or categories or fitting into certain boxes labeled ‘landscape photography’ or ‘street photography’ or ‘documentary photography’ or ‘abstract photography’ or any other genre. It’s about life.

There are countless definitions of art. Some are quite profound, others are little more than exercises in pomposity. I can sum up mine quite simply. My work is my attempt to translate my life into visual form.

How about yours?

I wasn’t planning on doing a post like this, but it was pointed out in a comment on an earlier post that it might be interesting for others to see what I would select as a few of my best images from the past year. So… with great gnashing of teeth, and for sake of discussion, here are four photos taken during 2011 here in LA.

palm bark

hinges -- koreatown alley

eucalyptus trunk

leaf abstract

There you have it. Four photos that I think worked out pretty well. Good?… not so good?… why?… why not?…

Say what you will…

homeless

We all have much to be thankful for. Not just on one long weekend a year when some of us gather for a feast of turkey, but every morning that we wake up.

I can’t help but wonder about the future of a society where the growth industries seem to be payday loans and car title loans… where selling plasma is seen as an income opportunity… where shopping carts are the vehicle of necessity for a growing number of people…

I hope your holiday is going well, but let’s not forget those, like this man, who are less fortunate. The line between comfort and catastrophe is a mighty thin one, and growing thinner for a lot of folks.

I’ve been spending some time lately reworking my other blog, buzztail, which I started back in July of 2006. A friend I worked with at the time gave me an old computer. I hadn’t done much with computers until then, and knew even less about what a blog was. I got myself an internet connection, discovered a few blogs, and being the way I am decided that hey… I’m gonna do that too. I think I’ll call it buzztail. Now, over five years later, it’s still there, and it’s still called buzztail.

It started out as a political blog — it was the ’06 election season — but soon started moving toward environmental activism which was my my real passion. A few months later I started a second one called pj finn’s montana photography blog, which went through a few incarnations and finally ended up as this one, photomontana.net.

Buzztail has been semi-dormant now for a couple of years. I’ve done little with it but post a few action alerts about threats to our environment, and to wild places in particular. I’ve even considered retiring it, but decided not to.

Lately I’ve been giving it a new paint job and changing the focus of it to be more of a celebration of wild places. There will of course be some activism and posting about the need to protect our wild lands, but most of that I’m passing along on twitter these days. For lack of a better term, buzztail will be more of a ‘literary’ blog — personal essays, opinion pieces — and the like. We may also be adding links to trail information and maps, and other resources for getting out there. And there will be links to some good deals on outdoor gear from some of the best equipment sources around. I’d like to build it into a go to resource for all the ‘wild hearts’ out there. We’ll see where the next five years takes us.

The most exciting thing to me though is that I won’t be working it alone. Many of you are familiar with Greg Russell and his fine photography blog Alpenglow Images. Greg has also signed on as an author on buzztail, and I’m thrilled. He adds another dimension to the site, and I think he is a very solid and worthwhile addition. I think you will agree.

So… stop on by, see what’s up, let us know what you think, and by all means tell your friends.

cheers,

pj

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

Ansel Adams

Sometimes I identify strongly with what Adams said here. I don’t know…maybe we all do. This is one of those times…