#pwau12

While listening to Camille Seaman I am thinking about how where she came from—her culture, the elders she learned from—has such an impact on her photography. And I wonder about how my past impacts my photography. It’s something I hadn't really thought about. Quotes:

“It’s really important to know as a photographer what makes the way you see and experience the world different from the way another person does—whether they’re a photographer or not…when you know what your own unique way is: that’s called your voice or your vision…People want to see your unique vision – not that same tiger they saw in National Geographic”

Maggie Steber: talking about the realities of the life of a photo-journalist, the things you give up, like having a family. I haven’t lived the kind of life she has, but I reflect in a somewhat similar way—the choices I've made, the wonderful things that have come as a result, and the things I have given up in order to pursue my vision and dreams… Here are some of the quotes that were significant to me:

“I prefer to have a very uncommon life, and photography provides that…”

“You can’t expect to have it all, but what you do have is pretty spectacular—I guess because of the intimacy that you find with strangers, and the opportunity to see great acts of humanity and things that are so brutal that it changes you, and changes you from being a happy-go-lucky person to somebody who is perhaps a little bit depressed because of what you see in humanity over time…”

“It’s not an ordinary life but it can be a remarkable life and it can be a life that is kind of what you make of it…it’s a life that you get to shape a little bit more. And that’s worth not having comforts or certain kinds of things that we might treasure or feel are important in life…It’s a remarkable life, and I certainly wouldn't change a thing about it.”

Michael Robinson Chavez: I wasn't familiar with him before this course. I love his work. I watched his audio piece about the gold mining in Peru and looked at his photos from the Egyptian uprising, too. Very powerful work.

I love Camille Seaman’s interview question: What would you like your descendants 100 years from now to know about you – and your experience in this life and on this planet?

She did it with members of her family. I think it would be fascinating to do it with all kinds of people. I've started working on a photography project about elders that I know. I've taken some photos and have a little video, but something was missing. This gives me an idea of how I might add some of the depth that I’m aiming for.

I’m so intrigued by Lee Miller’s war images. Even though I feel a strong pull to make a difference, I can’t imagine placing myself in those kinds of situations. I do think it’s true that we all do our part, and not everyone’s place is on the front lines…

It’s fascinating that the collection of her photos her son, Antony Penrose, found helped him learn who his mother was. What a gift. So many children of alcoholic parents don’t ever get to know who their parents were before the alcohol got hold of them.

I found Penrose's comments very moving, especially when he spoke of the link between her alcoholism and her disappointment/despair after the war:

 “She tried to continue as a fashion photographer – the spark, excitement, purpose were no longer there…she had regarded photography and her contribution to it as being a means of changing the course of world events…and suddenly the brave new world that everybody had fought for was not delivered…she became very depressed…began a cycle of depression and alcohol abuse that really almost destroyed her, but she was actually too tough for that.”

I often think about the kind of effect seeing these kinds of things has on photographers (and so many other people, too). Maggie Steber talks about it in Week 7, also. I had the opportunity to meet Colin Finlay recently. I was so moved by his words and images, and by what he says about the responsibility he feels to the people he photographs. He has seen such horrors, yet he seems to have something inside—a core strength, a way of looking at the world—that enables him to move in and out of situations like that.

I think that you have to have a way to help you deal with seeing these kinds of things—either a spiritual practice, a religious belief, a strong community, ritual, ways to express and move the energy of the trauma you have been immersed in. If you can’t, then you’re so vulnerable to things like drugs, alcohol, suicide…

I know that traditions like Buddhism can be helpful. Joanna Macy speaks about the importance of “sustaining the gaze,” and practices that can enable you to do that without becoming paralyzed.

Favorite quotes from Doug Menuez:

I feel like I’m on a mission sometimes… I’m the messenger in a way…sometimes I’ll make a picture…  and I feel at that time a belief in a god or a higher power… If you’re receptive to that, to the photograph, you become the instrument – you become the messenger.

 …Whatever strength that that picture has, I was just an instrument to deliver that.

 I pray not to do a disservice to the story…I pray that I will be able to serve the story with grace and get a damn picture that will be useful - to somebody.

Well, it’s only the first video and I’m inspired already. I love hearing Camille Seaman talk about learning to see the trees as individual beings. And clouds, too: “When I look at that cloud I’m seeing Sally or Susie… I’m seeing a unique expression of being –in just a slightly different state than I am - and so when I’m looking at an iceberg I know I’m looking at a very ancient  soul.”

This brings tears to my eyes. It is what I feel when I’m doing the portraits of wild animals: my aim is to create portraits in which you can look into the animals’ eyes and see the soul of the world looking back at you. I have heard very few (if any) other photographers speak like this.

This segment is reminding me about what I love about photography. The past few months I've been watching lots of training videos about how to set up a photography business, set pricing, market yourself… There is certainly importance and value in that, but for me the heart of it—the reason I was drawn to photography in the first place—was being lost. This course—reconnecting with photography with the purpose of making a difference in the world— is bringing me back home. I am grateful for that. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

While reading about Anne Wilkes Tucker I was excited to discover that WAR/PHOTOGRAPHY: Images of Armed Conflict and Its Aftermath will be coming to the Annenberg in the spring, so I’ll get to see it. I’m interested not just as a photographer, but also as a peace educator. This kind of photography gives me an opportunity to bring my educator and photographer selves together. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

While reading the article about Malcolm Daniel and seeing a 19th century photograph of a tree and some rocks, right away I thought about that individual tree, its being, its soul. I wonder if it is still alive today, 150 years later. If so, she must be a fine old oak by now. 

Some of my favorite quotes from Malcolm Daniel:

  “… I think photographs actually do have some sort of magical power over most [people]… there is something about a photograph - say, a photographic portrait - that is different than a painted portrait, no matter how beautiful.

… But even the most humble snapshot of somebody you love has a quality that is hard to explain… somehow you feel that picture has a quality of the soul there.”

There's somebody who says, "I would rather have the most humble picture of someone I dearly loved than the finest work of a great master." … there's a spiritual connection there.. It's just in the nature of photography…there is a feeling of authenticity and of connection. 

Speaking of his exhibits: “I think - I hope - that when people come to this, they are moved. Their lives change. Their actions change. The world becomes a better place…”

For me that’s what photography and my work as an educator is about: moving people, changing lives, changing actions, making the world a better place. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

And.. snowflakes

Kenneth Libbrecht's snowflake book review led me to the video. My mouth dropped wide open. Good thing there weren't any flies around(!) I know I've heard about the individuality of snowflakes before but seeing them like this and knowing they’re photographs—it’s just staggering.