Monday, August 23, 2004

Direction

Cartier-Bresson (1908 - 2004) eventually abandoned photography for painting and drawing. Was he exhausted, or had he exhausted the medium? A conservative by today's lights, he would compose carefully (eschewing cropping) and would probably abhor creative abuse of the technology. His subjects were wide ranging but a deep humanism, and connection with the many people in the photos, runs through the work.

Reading his obits, and getting feedback from friends on Flickr makes me consider where I am, and what my criteria might be.

I have no fixed ideas, but, for me, a successful image is one which sustains interest for a range of people. I occasionally arrive at an interesting image, but by and large they might be thought of as cold and uninvolved with people.

Am I a two-dimensionalist? An abstract painter with a camera? A scientific specimen illustrator and documenter of mere optical phenomena?

I resolve:

- to take more photos, and more types of photos.

- to diversify my subjects, and look out for signs of obsession with "just" texture.

I promise not to stop abusing the technology when I feel like it.

You will be informed of the results in due course.