The retro gallery rewinds to earlier photo days of plus-x and tri-x films, long nights becoming early mornings, tongs and tray processing. Developers, acid baths, dual fixers, and print washers. Ilford, Agfa, and Kodak were the preferred printing papers. Sending Fuji and Kodachrome cassettes to processing labs or developing E-6 in bathrooms that became darkrooms. The anticipation of getting slides back to see what worked–or didn’t.
Retro is more that past techniques and strategies. It is belief that photographs mirrors who we were and still are
The Persistence Gallery displays images sampling my 1990 book published by the Museum of New Mexico Press. These photographs document heritage of the Catholic faith that still endures through the centuries here in the Southwest. Architecture, space, and light all combine to a visceral presence to theses dwelling built and maintained over the centuries.
We all do it. Chatting with our dogs, cats, bearded dragons, birds—you name it. Folks create conversations, back-and-forths — even lectures and arguments! Our cultural stories and legends give these creatures emotions, enviable characteristics, even hidden agendas.
Visually, it’s in their eyes, postures, and body language. In the history within any species relationships are building an accumulated knowledge. These one-on-one interface gestures create visceral responses.
An anthropologists may cite this as anthropomorphism. I however label these images Critters with attitude.
It’s seeking, it’s going, and it’s in presence. Some of our species are driven to tackle Mount Everest and some hazard a next terrifying step in a rehab ward. Sometime, it’s just breathing. But within our core is a wiring to discover what that unknown feels like. Could it be a pattern endlessly repeated or that sensation never before experienced?
So we develop itineraries and “bucket lists” that fuel our imaginations about places, cultures, and environments only dimly understood. And only by that doing and being can one’s imagination be quenched.
This collection of photographs is the humble beginnings into my personal investigation of a complex world. Out-of-the-box exploration fuels imagination and becomes adventure seeking. This going and seeking always lies somewhere else. It’s alway’s, you know -— outback.
A Museum of Natural History paleontologist tells a mixture of 3-year-olds and grandparents the evolutionary story of dinosaurs eventually mutating to feathers, then wings—then flight. That in fact, DNA evidence has come to surface that the mighty T-Rex evolved and took flight!
This collection will be an homage to those invertebrates that evolved both feathers and wings. Images of taking off, landing, foraging, flocking or even in portraiture mode. Wings are the tools of this elegance and majesty we call flight. Given a few more millennia maybe man gets there too. Certainly, we have always been envious of these phenomena. And if the T-Rex can fly…
Accumulated life experience on earth visually translates into persons, places, things, events, symbols, milestones, and accomplishments. Repeating it often enough, passing it on, or preserving it stores significance in society’s consciousness. It’s known as culture.
Living in New Mexico triad cultural mixes Hispanic, Anglo, and Native Americans. Relative access to indigenous and southwest cultures peaked my interests and exploration into ancient lands, habitats, and ongoing shared cultural beliefs. And exploring cultural markers does’t stop at state borders.
My hope is that this found imagery is both appreciative and respectful. And as for New Mexico; it’s rated the number two sunshine state with an average of 5,642 kilojoule/square meter average… It’s always sunny in New Mexico
Most likely you inhabit just one home, only live in one town and know only one region really intimately. Making just about every other place known as “elsewhere”. Adventure and travel is typically everywhere else we haven’t been to. And this adventure is why our seeing sharpens and our senses open up awareness and newness. Refreshing dormant wisdoms, reinforcing core values we can also exposes ourselves to some misconceptions if the heart allows.
So, these postcards are an attempt to capture a place in a way that illustrates a significance. Postcards are often used to give a context to those back home that are not present. Mostly they reinforce what is known, learned, or can be seen. Sometimes, rarely, —they open up our hearts to something unexpected.
We think differently. See things differently. We’re all just not wired the same. Some of us like in-the-box, some out-of-the-box, some just don’t like boxes period. This eclectic collection is for those folks. I labeled it Textures but I really see it as “etc”. These are the images are both tactile and photos that didn’t fit easily into the other collections.
These are images that used to be tossed into a digital closet rarely opened. Well, now it’s opened. It affords me the continued joy of keep making those pictures that don’t really fit. I think there’s a little “etc.”in all our lives. Enjoy.