For every artist worth his salt there is a moment in creation when all of the forces, skills and influences coalesce into pictorial perfection. It is a moment when the 2 dimensional plane becomes 3 and his or her senses and tributaries overflow with the full rush realization of a masterpiece. Wishful thinking for most of us practitioners, but as Sisyphean pursuits go it is still one of the best.
Henri Cartier Bresson referred to this coming together as ‘the decisive moment." Buddhists refer to it as Satori. It is slippery and elusive, yet really the only illusion worthy of a dance with the godhead.
The Masterpiece is the talisman that possesses magical and transformative powers. Under the right conditions it transfers that magic to the viewer. It is so rare and special that the word genius, so overly masticated by the media and the arbiters of the public taste, has been rendered almost meaningless to the point that the truly gifted have to constantly do battle with the painfully untalented.
I have been on this quest as a fine art photographer ever since I first picked up a camera with any seriousness 30 years ago attempting to explain the world through my medium of choice. It is an impossible task, but it helps if you approach it as someone mortally aware of being alive in the cosmos as it is considerably beyond the abilities of even the most Herculean.
Daunting to be sure ...We continually ask ourselves; Is this path to the Holy Grail too serpentine to negotiate? Possibly. Is it beyond our skill sets and knowledge to consider? Most likely…
The Masterpiece is a slippery bitch and not for the feint of heart, but if corralled yields a sublimity that cannot be duplicated by anything in commercial life.
When I am under the dark cloth and the interplay of shadow and light caresses this carefully composed compote of shapes and tones the artist KNOWS…that THE MOMENT OF ECSTASY is upon him…potential greatness is present and if I trip the shutter NOW and am in full command of my craft a Masterpiece WILL BE BORN! Well, at least, that’s my plan…always my plan…a masterpiece with every sheet of film I expose otherwise why do it?
When you photograph a person, a street scene or a landscape never forget, it is always about the light. You have to be ever vigilant and sensitive to this as the moments of ecstasy come and go with such providence it’s as if the Masterpiece is purposefully mocking you. It is there. It is always there, but when is appears, do we have the where-with-all and sensitivity to lasso it? We’d like to think that we are in control of its destiny, but sadly, most of the time we are not.
This is the crucial and great thing about photography. You are a photographer. You have a light tight box with a lens on one end and film on the other…a willing, naked person is before you. The light has agreed to anoint you with its presence in such a way that you might not ever see again. The model moves an arm, then a leg; the small of the back curls in such a way…your eye pressed against the viewfinder is witness to this magical confluence…
Henri Cartier Bresson referred to this coming together as ‘the decisive moment." Buddhists refer to it as Satori. It is slippery and elusive, yet really the only illusion worthy of a dance with the godhead.
The Masterpiece is the talisman that possesses magical and transformative powers. Under the right conditions it transfers that magic to the viewer. It is so rare and special that the word genius, so overly masticated by the media and the arbiters of the public taste, has been rendered almost meaningless to the point that the truly gifted have to constantly do battle with the painfully untalented.
I have been on this quest as a fine art photographer ever since I first picked up a camera with any seriousness 30 years ago attempting to explain the world through my medium of choice. It is an impossible task, but it helps if you approach it as someone mortally aware of being alive in the cosmos as it is considerably beyond the abilities of even the most Herculean.
Daunting to be sure ...We continually ask ourselves; Is this path to the Holy Grail too serpentine to negotiate? Possibly. Is it beyond our skill sets and knowledge to consider? Most likely…
The Masterpiece is a slippery bitch and not for the feint of heart, but if corralled yields a sublimity that cannot be duplicated by anything in commercial life.
When I am under the dark cloth and the interplay of shadow and light caresses this carefully composed compote of shapes and tones the artist KNOWS…that THE MOMENT OF ECSTASY is upon him…potential greatness is present and if I trip the shutter NOW and am in full command of my craft a Masterpiece WILL BE BORN! Well, at least, that’s my plan…always my plan…a masterpiece with every sheet of film I expose otherwise why do it?
When you photograph a person, a street scene or a landscape never forget, it is always about the light. You have to be ever vigilant and sensitive to this as the moments of ecstasy come and go with such providence it’s as if the Masterpiece is purposefully mocking you. It is there. It is always there, but when is appears, do we have the where-with-all and sensitivity to lasso it? We’d like to think that we are in control of its destiny, but sadly, most of the time we are not.
This is the crucial and great thing about photography. You are a photographer. You have a light tight box with a lens on one end and film on the other…a willing, naked person is before you. The light has agreed to anoint you with its presence in such a way that you might not ever see again. The model moves an arm, then a leg; the small of the back curls in such a way…your eye pressed against the viewfinder is witness to this magical confluence…
