There are many reasons to celebrate the season, and I don’t intend to go into the “real meaning” of the holidays. To each his own, live and let live…
Category: ramblings
Juxtaposition x3
I‘m unsure as to who lives inside the shiny, trailer home. Perhaps the building superintendant for apartments closeby? I am taken by the juxtaposition of 3 perception points in these 2 photographs. There’s the trailer home, the new apartments just behind it and the skeleton of what appears to be a very large factory, literally a shell of its former self.
The Humphs…
I think I’ve seen just about everything this election year. It won’t get the best of me in spite of it. So, after conferring with my buddy, Humphrey, we determined that he is another option for the ballot. Humphs may not have fluency in diplo-speak and he doesn’t speak from both sides of his mouth [jaw?], but he will be honest about things…and you will know it.
Spread the word. You’ll feel in the dumps, if you don’t vote for Humphs!
The Specialty Bookstore
I love books. I also like e-books, but the operative word here is “love.” Celebrated poet Emily Dickinson said it best:
There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry –
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll –
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human Soul
I paused for a moment just outside this Brooklyn bookstore to appreciate the titles in the window. I couldn’t understand many of the titles, but I did recognize some authors and subject matter, the latter based on the cover image or illustration. There have been many articles defending the purpose if not the endearing qualities of paper-bound books. Others ask to use electronic reading devices more often than not. Both have advantages as well as disadvantages. I’ll leave it at that.
I’m glad to have come across this bookstore filled with all sorts of titles, fiction and non-fiction, written in Polish. There was something there for everyone, including people who don’t read or understand the language.
“Chanel-ling” Karl Lagerfeld
Self-Portrait April 2016, The Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute
I think plasmatic energy from Herr Karl Lagerfeld was coursing through the New England air….
Marketing Idioms in the Snow
Everyday life is filled with idioms. Sometimes I think of them as bridges connecting a concept, a service, a product, even a person. After a snowfall, the gates open and I’m at the mercy of a brain that works to find a metaphor, an idiomatic expression, a slice each of the expected, unexpected and infrequently, something on the order of the unimaginable.
My favorite type of snow is the dry, fluffy stuff. It may not pack well to create a snowball or a snowman, but it’s easy to shovel off a driveway or brush off a car. For many skiers, fresh powder is nirvana: how can this get any better?
This kind of snowfall encourages you to look around. The cars are covered like blankets. Flat, open fields are akin to a slice of white bread. The trees look powdered by confectionary sugar. This kind of snow is a visible version of a special aura. Whatever is under the snow takes on another quality. Attributes of beauty, protection, secrecy, purity, freshness are some that come to mind. “Use _____ soap because it’s as pure as the driven snow.”
In this case, snow isn’t all that bad now, is it?
“I could get used to this…”
Lexus is currently running a :30 second TV spot for their 2016 ES model. The tag identifier is, “I could get used to this.” The marketing inference being one can upgrade to the next levels of luxury, prestige and social standing.
We all have aspirations though many, I dare say, are with things material. I’m no exception. However, after awhile, there’s a point of diminishing returns. No one needs the biggest, baddest, coolest of anything. Marketing feeds our psyche, fuels our heart’s desire; then the new car smell and the “!@$!@ I’m-on-top-of-my-game feeling” validates our consumerism. After awhile, we all float back to terra firma. That new car smell is gone and feelings of euphoria dissipate into the the air.
These photos were taken at The Mount, the home of American author Edith Wharton, the first woman to earn a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The grounds and mansion are now collectively recognized as a historical site. It’s a favorite stop for fans of the gilded age, beautiful gardens and literature. Do I aspire to own and live in such a mansion? Do you?
Really now, on this scale I’m better off living vicariously; doing so precludes mortals like me from paying taxes, utility bills, hiring staff etc. Frankly, my “I could-get-used-to-this” license would expire within 5-6 weeks if not days. Some would welcome the possibility of having such a life, others would frown with disdain for the scale of the home and grounds, the sentimemt being that of excess. Besides, I’d have to get a riding mower just to do the backyard lawn! Do you have any idea how long that would take…?!
Remnants v3
MOMA has a photography exhibit, appropriately, Ocean of Images: New Photography 2015. It runs through March 20 and I hope to plan an escape some weekend. It seems that each year, this exhibition—like others that explore trends and new artists in a given medium—brings out the opposing camps: “No, this isn’t photography” in one corner versus “Of course it is, it’s a new, fresh look at photography” in the other. Time marches on so change is inevitable, good or bad. For now, I take a look back.
These B&W photos—like the ones in Remnant and Remnant v2 come from the same collection or year they were taken, which was sometime in 1973. I am particularly moved by this photo, a portrait of a teacher I had in high school. Mr. Dinsmore was his name. He had an emotional quotient [EQ] that was apparent long before EQ became a chapter in any number of business management books and case studies. First and foremost, he was a very good english literature teacher.
Sadly, I learned that Mr. Dinsmore passed away, a brain tumor taking him from the school and his charges. His spirit—and my memory of him—lives on.
Heaven Does Wait
In the 1978 movie, Heaven Can Wait, there’s a whimsical scene showing souls boarding a plane destined for heaven. They’re all adults, quietly and in orderly fashion waiting their turn to be checked on a list before taking the stairs. If I was to peer through a special window, one that would allow a real-time glimpse of say, a staging area, these 2 images represent what I’d see.
Why so barren? Nirvana has no time: no early or late or anything resembling the way we measure time passing. How can you measure a concept or notion that has neither a start nor an end? What I’m really saying here is that while heaven or Nirvana has no clock, we do, and the barren quality of these images can mean several things, each a statement to our genuine condition as human beings. To wit:
- Few reach Nirvana
- Nirvana waits for the few
- Souls are crowding another place, one quite incorrigibly different and likely perilous to reach
Frankly, if I chose another moment to peer through that existential, real-time window, I’d probably see children. They’re the ones who have the least amount of pretense. They are the real innocents of our civilization.
Using “obsolete” photo gear
Of late I’ve been using an “obsolete” system and getting some incredible results. To wit:
- Hasselblad 553 ELX
- Zeiss Sonnar 150mm f/4.0 CF
- Imacon Ixpress V16 digital back
- Imacon Image Bank [tethered hard drive to back]
This photo is an enlargement of the top left-hand corner. I was checking for focus and didn’t realize the scale of magnification I was using in post production. I was astounded to say the least. [click on photos to enlarge] Can you read what’s written on the Jersey barrier? Can you see the name of the front loader on the left? Notice the pile of stones to the right of the frame…
Instant gratification
Earlier this month, I took out my Rolleiflex 6008 Pro and took a few photos using Polaroid 679 pack film. For those old enough to remember, Polaroids were frequently used to check exposure, light quality, composition, subject focus, depth of field and so on. These are but a few samples I took; in each case, the texture, the feel and ambiance of the image puts me in a calm state of mind.
Blue Moon
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the summer are nights on a quiet beach.
I’ve seen people fish, practice yoga, walk or run—sometimes with a dog—but the one activity I enjoy is the calm associated with doing nothing. The “nothing” I savor has more to do with my surroundings. This may sound oh so simplistic, but you haven’t lived until you’ve spent a late night on a moon-filled evening, at a beach where the sounds and smells of ocean, the wind and even an open fire embrace you.
It’s even nicer when you share such moments with people you care about…
Carlo Centeno 