Janet Worne - Thoughtful Photography

How Does it Make You Feel?

When you create a photograph, what is it that urges you to click the shutter at that moment? When purchasing a photograph in your favorite gallery, what is it about that image that called out to you and stopped you in your tracks?

Many people simply don’t know. It is that indefinable something that whispers in your ear so softly that only your subconscious can hear. Is it the composition or colors? Perhaps you felt a special connection to the subject of the photo. Whatever reason you come up with, it can probably be drilled down to the very core of what makes a great photograph. How it makes you feel. And because we all look at art through a different cultural and experiential lens, a single image can elicit a different visceral response from everyone who views it.

Take this photo, “Shaker Dreams”, as an example. What feelings does it evoke in you when you look at it? Does it make you feel nostalgic? Scared? Hopeful?

I’ve had a variety of responses to this photograph. Some people find it a bit scary. They don’t want to know what’s behind the door and the last thing they would want to do is climb those stairs to find out. Others are filled with hope and anticipation. They are bursting to know what is behind a door with such glorious light spilling through its window.

How does it make you feel?

Henri Cartier-Bresson Quote

“A photograph is neither taken nor seized by force. It offers itself up. It is the photo that takes you. One must not take photos.”

                --Henri Cartier-Bresson

The Dawning of a New Year

It begins with a gentle lightening of the horizon. No more than a hint of what is to come. So subtle and gradual is the beginning that it is not always recognized for what it is. It could be the lights of a nearby town or the harsh beacons of a highway. It couldn’t be the dawn. Could it?

There is something magical about the moment when night changes to day. That precise moment is calculated and published in newspapers. The longest and shortest days are celebrated as solstices. Even birds become silent in reverence for that moment. 

Then it pounces. Minute by minute the sky evolves and suddenly a new day is born. Each one begins in a different way. Sometimes it’s a symphony of light and shadow blending brush strokes of crimson and pink over a dark, dusky blue. Always changing, never waiting until the camera is in the right place, never hesitating for “just one more picture”.

And sometimes the dawning is cold and dreary. Black drains from the sky to reveal a gray, monochromatic world, as if it were veiled to the eye. Trees float into focus as the minutes silently pass.
When enough of the new light filters through, the day begins in earnest. The wind picks up, birds begin to sing, and people move about. Suddenly, it’s another day.

The dawning of the New Year has always been a time of hope, a new beginning. There is the feeling that no matter how dark and dismal the past has been this day is the first day of the rest of your life. It is a chance to start fresh. Past mistakes don’t count.

But why this day? Why do we not celebrate it on the first day of spring? Or on the day of the first new moon? The fact that different countries and religions celebrate it on different days tells us that it’s not the particular day that is important. It’s the feelings we associate with it. So wouldn’t it be nice if we made a fresh start every morning as the sun slips past the horizon to banish the dark corners of our lives?

Happy New Year. Happy new day.

Last Call for Entries

Time is running out. You must act soon to enter your favorite photographs in the Albuquerque Photographers' Gallery's first Juried Show, “In the Mind’s Eye”. The theme allows for a variety of interpretations. What is your vision of the world? It could be surreal or authentic, fantasy or truth—or it may include elements of both. Here is your chance to exercise your creativity, manifest your vision and have it displayed in Albuquerque's premier cooperative fine-art photography gallery.

Selected entries for “In the Minds Eye” will be exhibited in our February show at The Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery, Feb 3rd through the 29th.
 
Important Dates:
 
January 5th          -   Submission deadline
January 10th        -   Artists notification
Jan 28-30th          -   Deliver artwork to APG
March 1st-3rd       -   Pick up artwork from APG
February 3rd        -   First Friday opening reception

Contact Information:

Albuquerque Photographers’ Gallery
303 Romero Street, NW, in Old Town @ Plaza Don Luis
Gallery phone:  (505) 244-9195

www.AbqPhotographersGallery.com

Juried show contact person:  Mellany Herrera….(505) 917-9016  mellany@mellanyphoto.com
Visit the APG website for submission guidelines and entry forms.

Susan Sontag Quote

"...the most grandiose result of the photographic enterprise is to give us the sense that we can hold the whole world in our heads—as an anthology of images."

-Susan Sontag

Living With Photography

You have acquired a stunning collection of photographs. Now what? There is nothing more paralyzing than facing that blank wall and wondering how to begin. The good news is that there are a few guidelines and suggestions that will help you make that commitment, hang the pictures and still keep the “Wow!” factor that drew you to the images in the first place.

Start by studying your collection and looking for patterns or themes. Are they mostly Black & White? Do you prefer color landscapes? Or is it an eclectic mix? How about your room décor? Is it traditional and formal? Or do you lean toward casual and unstudied? You can choose an arrangement that complements the space.

If you have one large eye-popping image, your job is a little easier. But a small or medium sized photo can look lost on a large wall. Grouping a collection of photos can have more impact than dotting them around the room. Group photos by topic (architecture, landscapes, rusting cars, etc), style (black & white, color, dark and somber, etc), or by frames (black metal, brown wood, barn siding, etc). And sometimes the unifying theme is its diversity.

This process is highly personal and there are no right answers, only results that make you feel good. Here are a few tips to get you started:

-Use newspaper or brown craft paper cut in the size and shapes of your art and try out different arrangements by taping them on the wall. Or lay the artwork out on the floor to help you visualize the result.

-A grouping of photos works best with 2-3 inches between frames, you can tack strings on the wall using a level to keep a consistent space between photos.

-For a graphic, traditional look, arrange photos in a precise grid pattern:
-For a more informal look, organize a collection of random-sized photos along a unifying horizontal central line:

-Framed photos can be grouped on shelves.

-Step your photos above a stairway. Have the center points of the frames follow a line parallel to line of the stairs. They can be touching, frame-to-frame or spaced a couple inches apart: -Arrange smaller pictures around a large anchor picture.

-A row of photos hugging a chair rail emphasizes the architectural detail.

-Anchor your art to a large piece of furniture. As a general rule of thumb, a large grouping of pictures over a sofa should be about two-thirds of the width of the sofa and about 6 or 7 inches above the back.

-When not anchoring to furniture, hang at eye-level.

-But the most important thing to remember is; always follow your gut and break the rules when it feels right.

New Mexico is Burning

Living in the high desert has it's pros and cons. What is great about it is also what is dangerous. It is dry here. I love the low humidity but it seems we are now on the extreme low side of dry. The latest update on the New Mexico Fire Information website is: "The entire Santa Fe National Forest, encompassing 1.6 million acres, is under Stage II fire restrictions due to severe drought conditions and extreme fire danger."

We went camping in the Pecos Wilderness on Saturday. We, of course, knew that the dry conditions meant no campfires but we did not expect to have to actually flee smoke from a wildfire. I took this photo of the Pacheco Wildfire heading our way just before we packed up to go home. Five days later the fire has consumed 5,500 acres and is only 10% contained.

Henri Cartier-Bresson Quote

“Thinking should be done beforehand and afterwards—never while actually taking a photograph. Success depends on the extent of one’s general culture, on one’s set of values, one’s clarity of mind and vivacity. The thing to be feared most is the artificially contrived, the contrary to life.”

                                    --Henri Cartier-Bresson 

Palm Sunday Parable

To some people this may be just a funny picture: a recalcitrant donkey steadfastly refusing to enter the church on Palm Sunday. No matter how the altar boys pushed, pulled, tempted and teased, the animal refused to budge. In fact the more they tried, the harder he resisted. They never got him in.

To me, however, this image is more than humorous. I see myself in that donkey. I can be very stubborn and the more someone pushes or pressures me, the harder I dig in. I can, however, be talked into something with kindness, respect and reason.

Another thing I see in this is the embodiment of one of my biggest pet peeves: the idea some people have that everyone must think and believe as they do. I consider myself a spiritual person. I have attended and belonged to churches. As a former anthropology student, I am convinced that religion plays an important role in all societies and serves to fill voids and/or needs in a person’s life. But I see no value in a one-size-fits-all religion that is sometimes forced upon others.

Other people, looking at this photo, may see something totally different and that’s great. I remember a writing class I attended, where the teacher passed around a book with nothing but photos—no text or caption information at all. We were supposed to close our eyes, pick a page, and write a story about what was going on in the photo. It became very clear to me how diverse our interpretations are about many things in our lives and I think that makes our world a lot more interesting.

What do you see?

 

Robert Frank Quote

“Above all, I know that life for a photographer cannot be a matter of indifference.”

                                    --Robert Frank