Entry 1: Why?
Photos For One? Definitely a counter intuitive name since I am posting for anyone to see. Here is the story...
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| Centro Botin Auditorium, Santander Spain ©J Peters 2017 |
My first public photography display was at a local coffee shop, Ojai Roasting. I had put real prices on my work since I did not want to part with any photos without someone deciding that my work was good enough to put on their walls. I love friends and family supporting and encouraging my photography obsession. But they did not need to support it by purchasing a piece that would not fit perfectly on one of their precious walls. The prices would make it clear they did not need to purchase one just because. Those real prices with absolutely no basis beyond my own subjective valuing of the pieces, my sense of what the threshold of pain that would prevent the "being supportive" sentiment, and perhaps a little comparison to prices I saw in galleries or coffee shops or art shows.
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| Sunset Tepee, Ventura California ©J Peters 2017 |
Just before I was scheduled to take down the display, I received a call saying that one of the pieces had sold. It was one of my favorite pieces and I was quite happy. But it caused me to wonder at the critiques I'd received from some excellent photographers about some of the pieces I displayed. None of the negative critiques were out of line, in fact, they were almost all really good and would improve my work. But now there was one person for whom that piece was significant in some way. Was it purchased on a whim, was it love at first sight, was it a an interesting prop that would work for something? It did not really matter why they bought it, they bought it, it fit some need or desire. All I knew and all I was likely to know is that one person thought that one photograph was worth buying. It changed my focus from worrying about mass appeal and perfect technique to finding something in the pieces I show that connects with someone in a way that is deeper than just, "Nice photo." My goal is to find those elements that strike one other person in the way the scene struck me.
Just to be very clear, I do think it is extremely important to strive to make photographs that are technically excellent.
So, welcome to Photos For One, a blog about photography, art, books, and my own process of becoming a photographer, artist and writer. I have been doing and learning in all three domains for a while, but my process of development, invention, and discovery is really only just beginning. This blog represents an attempt to draw from and integrate the many roles that have filled my career; teaching, software development, project management, analyst, technical editor, and business person. My approach to the technical aspects of photography and presenting what I find interesting here is drawn from my approach in learning any new discipline, technical. It is relatively random, and thorough - eventually thorough. My approach to the artistic, more subjective side, of photography comes more from the non-technical aspects of my life; faith, family, friends, and the search for meaning. Okay, this blog won't delve much into the search for meaning beyond the occasional photo essay project. It won't be overly personal in one sense but entirely personal in another.
My stated purpose is to document the process, the books, the experiments, and the projects I pursue as a part of my quest to improve as an creative person. I will include what strikes me as helpful or interesting. But the approach is not based on what is popular or what would sell, it is based on my own process of discovery, whether it is a new photography technique, the solution to a problem, inspiring books, exhibits I see. It will address photographic gear only in so far as it affects my art.
And so, I begin...
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