New Chihuly Museum - A Photographer's Dream

I was a sceptic when it was announced that a museum dedicated to the work of Dale Chihuly, the master glass artist, would be built in the shadow of Seattle's Space Needle. While I had enjoyed photographing within the Museum of Glass in downtown Tacoma, I had now particular intention of visiting the Chihuly Museum in Seattle which opened this past summer. But a perceptive friend invited me along for a photographic adventure.  And am I glad!  As I recall, there are seven interior rooms, each with a motif or theme, followed by a glass-enclosed atrium and then an outdoor glass garden. And each room and space has photo opportunities galore. 

   



This photo was taken in the first room, made up of tall glass tubes of varying colors. Fascinating and photo-worthy in itself, I experimented with zooming the lens at a slower shutter speed to obtain this color abstract.  The photo that follows was taken in the glass atrium with glass flowers hanging from the ceiling and framing the iconic Space Needle that seemingly looms overhead.  In three hours or so, I shot 200+ photographs and could definitely go back another time and obtain different images and just enjoying the artistry of Dale Chihuly and his artistic associates.  Check it out!



 



Zero In on Subject

Our eyes zero in on subjects without us really know it.  Its only when we take a photograph that we see all of the extraneous material that our "eye" did not see but our camera lens DID!  Sometimes it takes a while to fully comprehend what the subject is.  Or, just maybe, there are several ways of presenting the same subject - one in a more "environmental" setting and one that is close-cropped, centering on the "real" image. 

One of my favorite photographs from last fall's journey to Rajasthan and the Pushkar Mela was of a young girl, perhaps 10 years of age - though looking more wizened than that.  The daughter of itinerant salespeople, she naturally composed herself for this first image. The "environmental portrait" included the tools of the family trade and the jumbled surroundings of sand and litter.  And those "Raj Girl Eyes" always have drawn me in. 

Recently, in looking at the photo again, I realized that there was a second image - and I think a stronger one - that zooms in on the face and the eyes. The wizened beyond years look is more pronounced because our eyes are now longer distracted by the surroundings, but can zero in on the face. Both images are, in my humble opinion, wonderful.  Each has its place. And as you review and edit and view and edit some more, look at options to more tightly zoom in the the "meaning" and "subject" of your photographs. 



More Than an Observer - Witnessing

With a camera separating our eyes (and body) from the subject, its often easy to be a dispassionate observer of our world. Yet there are times when we become engaged not just in the creation of a photograph, but in the setting or event that we are witnessing.

Photographer Ed Kashi wrote the following about a funeral that he was photographing in a small Romanian village: "I broke down in the church, thinking of how beautifully this man's death was being witnessed. The tenderness, ritual and attention to detail (all the pallbearers had cellophane wrapped new shirts pinned to them as an alm from the family). ... We at least try to create a memory and belief that these acts will make sense and give meaning to it all." (PND News, August 2012)

Maybe when we photograph the Grand Canyon we are merely observers; but when we photograph a human interaction, be it a dance, a or child's music recital, or, yes, even a funeral, we become a formal witness to life. 

Salak's Four Corners - A Recommended Read

I've just completed reading what is, perhaps, my favorite travel narrative of all time - and that's saying a lot with well over 200 such titles in my personal collection.  Kira Salak's "Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea," is filled with personal tales of triumph and near tragedy, of pushing one's limits but being aware of one's vulnerability, of traveling solo (and as a woman) to prove something to one's self and of being open to the road less traveled, and of an understanding of cultures and different ways of being.  Full of serendipity and with the machete ever-ready, her travels are expertly relayed in wonderful, detailed, yet straightforward prose. 
Talking about a intricately carved canoe and paddle that she and a male companion purchase for an on-going journey down the Sepik River, she writes:

In the West, this might be called extravagance, a waste of time. If the purpose is to create a canoe, why bother with superfluous decoration? But in PNG, time is wasted when one makes something purely pragmatic reasons because then nothing is honored in the process; one creates an object without meaning. As the crocodile figures in all of the local creation myths, its carved presence on paddles and prows revels a reverence for the divine, which coexists closely with daily life. 

 And at the end of her journey, she realizes the world of travel is multi-faceted:

In the end, I see that there are many kinds of journeys, and one isn't necessarily any better than another - just different.   

*****

http://www.kirasalak.com/FourCorners.html

Artist Statement

If you are fortunate enough to have your photographs displayed at a gallery on in a magazine (print or on-line), you will likely be asked to include an "Artist's Statement." This involves writing down your photographic goals, either specific to the show or a more general overview of your photographic intent. My "official" version is four paragraphs in length (www.chuckkirchner.zenfolio.com - About) but boils down to two sentences at it's essence:

Chuck’s photographs have the ability to capture the season, the sensations, the memories and, most importantly, the spirit of place and of life. The tools of the trade involve technical acumen, artistic vision, patience, good timing, and, of course, a bit (or lot) of serendipity.

In the July 2012 edition of Photo District News (PDN), several "outstanding and undiscovered fine-art photographers" are featured, each with a brief statement that are generally to the point. While I won't go into the photographer's names, quotes range from

When these items are rendered in a traditional black-and-white format, the information that remains is merely an abstraction of its previous form.

to 

These are not real photographs of real things.

to

When capturing the still recordable milieu I am examining the parallel of a general tendency and personal stories: as resilient humanity condensing into symbolic destinies takes shape in the face of mortality. 

I personally find the last one to be something I might expect from an academic or a critic from a major newspaper, rather than from a photographer.  I believe that we, as artists, need to be accessible to our viewers, and that includes our written word.

Its All in the Sky

Common sights, like the Space Needle, are often the subject of lots of photographs taken on any given day. What makes one standout among others can sometimes come down to the sky.  Totally sunny, cloudless days can be mundane, while totaly cloudy days downright distracting (bright spot with no interest). But then there are the "partly cloudy" days, like this past Saturday in Seattle. Blues and wispy clouds of all shapes and hues can add considerable interest to a common sight. And having a friend point out the sky when our focus is so much ground-ward, well, that's even better.

Fortune-Tellers, Travel and Life

I have a weakness for travel narratives. Eighty-plus percent of what I read can be classified in this particular genre, ranging from William Least-Heat Moon to Robyn Davidson to Paul Theroux. And many many more. Most are pretty good, a few more than I'd like to admit are pretty mediocre.  And then there are the exceptional ones - the ones that are fully engaging, that take the reader in new directions (not just geographically), and one's that inspire or nurture the spirit of travel and of life. 

Tizian Terzani's "A Fortune-Teller Told Me" falls into this exceptional category. The author, an Italian journalist based in Southeast Asia, and with journalistic curiosity, visited a fortune-teller in Macao. The prophecy, if you want to call it that, was that something terrible was going to happen to the author in the coming year and he must not fly. A difficult proposition for an Italian journalist in Southeast Asia for sure.  And one, before the start of the year, Tizian decided to follow. 

The narrative following Tizian as he moved about Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Burma and then on to Europe via China, Mongolia and Russia, all the time consulting with other fortune-tellers - some close to the mark, others without a clue. Wanderlust, journalistic fervor, spiritual encounters of all kinds, and an overall sense of fascination fill the book and leave the reader to ponder the world that we see and the world that may be just beyond our vision and experience.

"Think of how many wonderful people we meet without realizing it, of how many  beautiful  things we pass every day on the way home without realizing them. It always requires the right occasion, a particular event, a person who stops you and draws your attention to this or that."