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THE SIERRA This photograph was taken on the spur of the moment, with a borrowed camera. Phil and I were eating breakfast in a Tuolumne Meadows campground when a splintered ray of sunlight found its way through the trees and highlighted this dripping brass faucet. More... |
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This photograph was taken on the spur of the moment, with a borrowed camera. Phil and I were eating breakfast in a Tuolumne Meadows campground when a splintered ray of sunlight found its way through the trees and highlighted this dripping brass faucet. |
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There was no planning, no calculation; only seeing. For a moment there was a juxtaposition of elements that evoked visual emotion. Its recognition was instantaneous and unequivocal. The value of water and sun to life. Its beauty, clarity and purity. The weather-beaten post; the polished, metallic hues of the faucet; the deep green of the trees; the clock-like timing of the drips, and more. Many years ago, following the publication of an interview by Backpacker magazine, I was chastised by a more technically oriented colleague for what he considered to be a haphazard approach to photography. The interview emphasized the spontaneous "point and shoot" nature of much of my work, and the reader concluded that spontaneity and technical know-how are somehow mutually exclusive. Understanding the complex interaction of light, camera, film, processing, presentation and publication is important for one essential reason; it helps the photographer to visualize the resulting image. This does not mean that photographs must be planned or calculated. My photography is neither indiscriminate, nor purposeless. It is what I see and what I feel. Without emotion photography is merely an exercise and not an art. |
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