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* Warning: Major 'drool'-in-progress*
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Ernst-Ulrich Schafer's iconic "All-American", my
favorite part of which is the optical collapse of depth
that we cognitively realize is there via tonal and textural
strategies, reminding the viewer of the illusory aspects
of the medium.
Lea Murphy's precisely composed and beautifully lit
Salt & Pepper shakers are a great example of photographing
things for "what else they might be". Her roses are a classic,
beautiful composition, but not dainty or evanescent/fragile,
instead, the one in the foreground is vibrant and strong,
a living roseate mandala, and in her photograph, will never wilt.
A mysterious landscape of trees and an old roadside fence at dawn
came from Rand Flory. The lines lead us to the light in this photo,
and I get a feeling of revelation every time I look at this.
Marilyn sent a still-life of a fan, beautifully composed. The
ethereal form of the fan has as much weight as its shadow. A
warm, quiet, contemplative picture.
From Karl Shah-Jenner, an architectural detail of a modernist
glass building, a silvery formalist exercise that shows
sophistication in its precariously balanced asymmetrical
composition. Almost abstract, this shows what wonders lie
when we "walk out of the film and focal plane" in our seeing.
Colette Molyneaux's daring image of a banister, its shadow projected
on a grid of bricks on the floor, a layer of water, a dock
and trees in the background makes me feel like I am there.
A complex, multifaceted, richly textured, asymmetrical composition, full
of repeating, yet varying, forms harmonizing & embracing one another.
The slices of space defined by the uprights, and the varying
perspectives of the circles imply time and multiple points of view, IMO.
Bobbie Blazy photographed what appears to be a bicycle graveyard,
showing bits of bicycles along the edge of the frame, almost pure
form, with a huge expanse of negative space, a wall in the background
with subtle, delicious mints, grays and contrapuntal rust stains.
There are many forms that echo and mirror one another here. A good
example of the old saw that sometimes less is more.
A beautiful scenic of a waterfall from North Carolina came from
Byron Yeiser. I have been in the area many times, and this
takes me back to the place...and makes me long for it.
Jeff Spirer's Unfinished Dream has an existential feel to it,
and before reading the title, the dream-like quality of the
scene in the room struck me. This has Jeff's signature daring
use of light and space, and in this instance, the risk paid off.
Like a sleeping dragon, a locomotive exhales at night in Angi
Turnpaugh's Iron Horse photograph. Beautifully lit, the reverse
flowing plumes make this an unusual picture.
Steve Shapiro's superb California shorescape is a classic. Printed
so that only the hottest highlights touch white, and the rest
falls into shadows that contain detail right into black.
One stirring image, a perfect blend of a sense of place and a
sense of being.
Achal gifted me with a diptych of twin architectural images of
a beautiful spanish mission-style building that brings to mind
Hotel California (!). One is "Jan-scan green", the other untoned.
Lustowner Andy's rendering of cracks in a fracture pattern made
for a gripping, contrasty abstraction.
The Wyndham Pinhole Project photo that Guy Glorieux sent is
amazing. It has a Gursky-like feel to it, but adds a sense
of insight...almost as if one is seeing an X-ray of the city.
I looked carefully, and with the lower diagonal of cars, I think
the 6th parking space, starting from the bottom right, had two
different cars in it during the exposure. Very eerie feel to it,
it has the in-a-dream feel that only pinholes seem to give...
Thanks to all who have sent me postcards, what a privilege it
is to own one of your photos ! To the rest, HURRY UP !!!!!!!
Oops, that means me. Ahem !
--- Luis
