24-OCT-2005
Geometry, by Tim May, Guanajuato, Mexico, 2005
I was drawn to this odd sculpture of Don Quixote because of our similarities. We both are tall, skinny, bearded and often dedicated to lost causes. My friend and fellow pbase photographer Tim May (
http://www.pbase.com/mityam ) finds geometry in my stance: my elbows flare, and my legs form a triangle with the sidewalk. Tim, whose images often show dry wit, incongruously compares my geometric assets with those of my subject. I intensely study my composition, while Quixote, whose arms and legs form numerous triangles, plays hard to get.
16-OCT-2004
The intensity of a journalist, by Tom Talbot, Yosemite National Park, California, 2004
In his caption, Tom Talbot says "I couldn't resist posting just one more of these shots of Phil composing his photos. I took this shot of Phil at Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park. When he showed his resulting photograph at an evening get-together, it was truly inspiring to see how in a national park where everyone is looking up, simply looking down for a moment can reveal some of the most beautiful sights the park has to offer." Click on the thumbnail at the bottom to see the photograph that I was composing when Tom took this shot of me.
I like the shot because it expresses how absorbed I become when I am making my photographs. I also love the scale incongruity of this image -- it gives the viewer an excellent idea as to just how big those trees are, and how small man's efforts can be when weighed against nature's accomplishments. Ironically, the image I was shooting was also about scale incongruity. That's why I named the image I was making, "The Large and Small of it." Tom is a pbase photographer. You can see his galleries at
http://www.pbase.com/tomtalbot
26-AUG-2004
The Street Photographer, by Harry Chittick, Kinsale, Ireland, 2004
I never saw Harry when he made this shot. Harry Chittick is an LA photographer and fellow passenger on a European cruise. I was waiting, as usual, for a picture. I liked the contrasting colors of the building just across the street, but needed a figure to make it work. A few minutes after Harry grabbed this shot, I found my own -- you can see it by clicking on the thumbnail at the bottom. What I like about Harry's image of me is the sense of patience he brings out, and also the sense of solitude. Street photography is not a matter of walking down a street and firing away at what you may find. Rather, it often involves finding a setting, and then waiting for people to interact with that setting, or with each other. Street photography, like most other forms of imagery, is an individual activity. Harry's photo of me makes this clear.
15-MAY-2004
Closeup, by Linda Saunders, Phoenix, Arizona, 2004
Linda was working with me in a tutorial session at my home. She told me that she was shy about photographing others and usually made her images from too far away to be effective. I made her photograph me as close as she dared -- and in the process bring out the details that define my appearance and character. I told her not to use a telephoto zoom -- but rather move in and make a deeply personal image at close range. It was hard for her at first, but she gradually found that a close up portrait did not bite. In the process, she makes a image that brings her viewers into intimate contact with me -- closer than they may ever come in life. That is part of photography's lure -- it can take the viewer places they could otherwise never go. She comes so close that she crops off much of my head, bringing the viewer right into the eyes. As a portrait, Linda's image gives us a picture of resolve, patience, and thought. Not to mention being "up close and personal." I don't think she will ever be shy about taking people's pictures again. She shot this picture in color, but found the skin tones so startlingly real that the image made her uncomfortable. When we converted it to black and white, the skin tones vanish, and the image becomes more universal and less real, as much a symbol of the subject, as it is as a description.
12-NOV-2003
In thought, by Peggy Hammond, Phoenix, Arizona, 2003
This portrait was made by Peggy Hammond, a student in one of my tutorials in basic digital photography. She wanted to improve her portrait skills, and I asked her to throw a bunch of tough questions at me and then photograph me trying to answer them. She took many shots over a ten minute period. This was her favorite. And mine, as well. I use it as my pbase profile page portrait because it most accurately depicts me in action. Her portrait nails both the mission, and the man.
09-SEP-2003
Equine indifference, by Tim May, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2003
I was trying to explain an image I had just made to this horse on a Santa Fe ranch. It was part of an assignment that Tim and I were working for a course in digital photojournalism taught by the photojournalist Nevada Weir at the Santa Fe Workshops. Tim caught us at the decisive moment. My attempts at communication fall on alert, but deaf ears. Yet Tim manages to imply that I won’t give up easily.
