Switching gears…….

Why such a switch?

Boredom, challenge, interest, a desire to capture a sense of history…….etc

Boredom.  How many streams, waterfalls, mountains, valleys, grand landscapes, forests, trees can you photograph before you get the feeling, “Been there, done that!”  I’m certainly not saying I no longer have any appreciation for those subjects, but just I have been there (a lot), and I’ve done that (a lot) !!!!  We all need change in our lives and out artist pursuits!

Challenge.   I’ve done the nature “thing” enough to feel comfortable with the approach and technique.  I’m not saying I’ve mastered it, but I am in familiar territory with nature work.   Branching out is expanding my use of the tools and techniques.

Interest.   I have always had an interest in history, it was one of my five minors in college.  I also like that the “things” I photograph, are attached, in special ways to people.   Several comments were made about the Auburn car in yesterdays post, the back story is the man that built it with his father, lost his father a year ago, I think he really wanted to share his car with others, we happened to be the lucky recipients of that kind gesture and we walked through t he cathartic journey for a little while with him, that makes the image a lot more meaningful!

Capturing a part of history.   I really enjoy photographing things that have an “attachment” to real people.

1.  Things as Art.  The panel at the top are my attempt to find inanimate objects and play them visually for color, design and my artistic statement.

2. Tools.  My youth was filled with people that used tools, I find comfort in picking up and holding the solid metal objects of my youth and the men that used them, these rusting tools used as a decoration really registered with me on several levels!

3.  Memories.  Sleigh riding as a boy, and parts of cars that have a great place in my recollections of youth, all are irresistible to me as subject matter.

4.  Airplanes and transportation.  These images represent three of my all time favorite airplanes, and the invention that made it possible to explore America!!!!

5.  Things that evoke memories.  My Dad’s Buick, (not actually  his, but one just like it at Old Car City, a vintage Coca Cola sign, once again my father’s profession when i was a young (manager of  Coca Cola Bottling plant), and rural fire departments, almost every boys dream in the fifties was to be a fireman or policeman…..

The images we make should be about more than something we find interesting or pretty.  Capturing and sharing what we find visually arresting is best mated with something that has meaning for us.  Photography is my occupation, and my passion, and my zest for life is inseperable from my visual pursuits!

Blessings,

the pilgrim

Photo Notes:  Nikon D3s, Nikon D800, Nikon D700, Nikon D7000 and  Fuji X-E1.