The Way I See It

Back here, I presented a new gallery of the band Gibraltar. Unfortunately, I originally listed the venue at which they appeared as “Club 1136.” This is incorrect. The correct name of the venue would be, “1146 with the Red Olive Lounge.”

Hey, I’m a doof! The original blog entry has been corrected. Sorry for the error.

Slainte
Gareth—The Celtic Camera Photography

Seeing as I’m not above shamelessly stealing ideas, I suppose I should preface this entry with the admission that the inspiration for this post came from Dale (I believe his name is Dale) over at Rant’s, Inc. It’s kind of an older post, but I enjoyed his choices and comments regarding why he chose the folks he did. Of his ten choices, none made my list, but I did really have to struggle to not include Edward Norton.

Here’s my list, in no particular order:

• Minnie Driver Simply gorgeous. I’d prefer to travel back in time and do something from the “Circle of Friends” era, as I think she’s lost too much weight, but still. Something in the backyard of the house from that movie.
• Emma Goldman It would take forever to get the photo taken, as I’d be more interested in what she had to say. It would have to be a shot of her laying a wreath at the graves of the Haymarket Martyr’s at Forest Hill Cemetery, where she, herself found her final rest.
• Sean Connery Didn’t think much of him — looks wise — in his younger days but man, has that face gained character over the years. I’m thinking something with the long hair like he had in “Medicine Man,” but with the Bond tuxedo.
• Liz Taylor Hands down, the most beautiful woman to ever live. It would have to be in color to get the eyes, but very noir-ish, at the same time.
• Melissa Etheridge I’ve had a crush on her since she first burst on the scene…and no, I’m under no illusions that she’d “change” once with me. I like her just the way she is and just always thought she was a looker. I’d want to go for a courage type shot, from when she was recovering from the chemo, with one of her children in her arms.
• George Clooney If there’s a pair of more piercing eyes around, I’ve yet to see them. I’m thinking with that famous three day growth he sometimes sports, mussed up hair and black and white with a black background and a spotlight from above.
• Johnny Cash A face that screams, “Hey, I’ve lived it!” Black and white, behind the counter of an old time general store, by the cash register…kinda corny, but there ya go.
• Bernadette Peters Next to Liz, the second most stunning creature on this planet. This would be my first nude shot, but tasteful…very silent movie era in style
• Steve Hogarth Lead singer of Marillion. About the only thing more expressive then his voice is his face. I’d go for something with flowers in the shot.
• Marilyn “Nuff said…my second choice for nudes.
• Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Jimmy for that same Cash quality. Robert…I don’t know; his face has developed a sadness to it over the years that I just find striking. Somewhere in Marakesh with local instruments, singing and playing.

Dale’s picks seem to be a little more contemporary then mine. I’m showing my age here, aren’t I? It appears that I have a couple of dead people on my list as well. As there are no rules for this, I decided I could sneak them in.

Honorable mentions go out to the aforementioned Ed Norton; Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison; Alan Ginsberg…

…to be continued.

UPDATE:

More honorable mentions: David Bowie; Ingrid Bergman; Gary Oldman; Janis Joplin; Jane Russell; Lauren Bacall…

Slainte
Gareth—The Celtic Camera Photography

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I was reading a post called “Prejudices #3: Traces of Chaos” over at The Online Photographer where author Mike was discussing his active dislike for rectilinear perfection in photos, to wit:

“There’s been something that’s been nagging at me ever since [...] and it finally dawned on me what it is: personally, I do not like rectilinear photographs. I choose those words advisedly: I actively dislike rectilinear precision in pictures. I prefer the presence of a little tilt, a few skewed lines, a touch of perspective distortion—some trace of a lenticular origination. Why? Well, I really have never thought about it much…but I suppose it’s just because rectitude seems fiddly, formal, fastidious, picky, punctilious.”

Good points throughout the entire post. And I really do agree with him, but, it got me to thinking: If, like the author, I’m really attracted to and love these types of “quarky” photos, why is it I find myself constantly fixing (assuming I didn’t get it “perfect” in camera) these wonky features in my own work? Straightening horizons? Fixing barrel distortion? Making sure that fence post (see my post below) is as perfectly aligned with the edge of the photo as I can get it?

In my case, I think there are two factors at play. One, being a relatively “young” photographer (I’ve only been at this for about five years), maybe I have a fear, or lack of confidence in my work at this point in time to start “breaking the rules” of photography that I’ve to now spent so much time learning and at least trying to perfect.

The other might be that I’m trying to get my work noticed… I’m not doing this for it to remain a hobby, although if it were to remain so for the rest of my life, I’d still be happy. I’d like to someday have most, if not all, of my income be from doing this that I love. And that being said, how could I possibly think of presenting funky, quarky images out there to people who may be potential clients?

Again, I think it comes down to fear on my part.

And now that I think about it a little more, why is it that I’ve never had a problem with allowing my concert photography to be more free-form, but every other type of photo I present is so rigidly structured?

Thanks, Mike, for getting the wheels turning… time for reflection.

Slainte
Gareth–The Celtic Camera Photography