Reflection, Profile Lake, Franconia, NH  

     Life…when you break it down, it’s as simple and every bit as complicated as Decisions and Opportunities. So, in that spirit I write this month’s Story Behind Every Photograph. My Dad had two metaphors he would use as teaching tools to paint a picture for his two sons…My favorite, “It’s not the Arrow, it’s the Indian. Which reminds me of a more socially appropriate metaphor. Big city socialite hosts a dinner party, pro-photographer attends the dinner and is greeted at the door by the hostess who says “Your photographs are awesome, you must have a terrific camera”. Photographer thanks her and moves on to enjoy his dinner. The evening ends and in saying good night to the hostess says, “that dinner was fabulous, you must have a terrific stove”! So, in today’s fast paced world with advancing age why wouldn’t I expand my ability to create imagery that inspires me !

   In the infancy of this “expansion” I’ll share my reasoning and thoughts in this Month’s Story Behind Every Photograph. The B&W wet darkroom print has always been a passion of mine. The Silver Gelatin process most times the driving force behind a particular image. The challenges of large film cameras, particularly the time to capture a fleeting moment are contributing factors to broadening my image making approach. Including a cell phone or digital camera as a tool to make meaningful imagery only a few short years ago would have seemed incomprehensible to me. As time goes by and the singular focus of the process gives way to Seeing the potential in my mind’s eye, the tool to capture that potential simply becomes just that, a Tool, and an Opportunity ! 

      Back in 2018 on an October wedding anniversary weekend in the White Mountains we spent the time with one of the first real pro photographers I met in 1981. Tim, now retired living in the White mountains of New Hampshire, who I would learn 30 years after we became close friends, his wife Darlene is a distant cousin to me. Our families have vacationed together, so friendships have long been established prior to a family connection. Tim and I showed up at Profile Lake on a sunny and perfectly calm autumn afternoon. As we walked down a path approaching the water’s edge this composition was beginning to take shape in my mind. Families with young children playing and skipping rocks right to the side of me did not allow for the large film camera to be an option. I thought nevertheless this is a terrific image. I waited out the young children who moved farther away. The water returned to still and I simply pointed the Iphone down at my feet and made this color rendering. Not yet fully understanding that the image I made was indeed art, just not what I had been accustomed over the past 35+ years. Immediately to my right, mostly underwater was this month’s featured image, once again composed and captured in a matter of seconds. At the time seemed too easy to actually be art ?? But then it’s not the camera that generates the art…as my Dad loved to quote, “It’s not the Arrow, it’s the Indian”. A bit dated in 2023, nevertheless, don’t listen to the words, hear the message” !

     For the most part, the B&W image is much more in keeping with my aesthetic. This simple composition holds many powerful features of an exciting image. Diagonals create drama and tension, triangles provide a captive means to circle the viewer’s eye back around the composition several times with the benefit of multi-directional diagonals. The reflection from the overhead clouds overpowering the sand just below the water adds interest and texture to an image that clearly is all about textures. There are three main components with the two foreground triangular rocks and the triangular shape in the upper right of the image. Well balanced compositions almost always have a 2-1 or 3-2 odd number of elements generating interest. Add in a reflection to create a sense of depth in a 2-dimensional piece of art and the entire composition and the relationships within make for a lasting and peaceful take away, albeit with chattering young children only a few minutes removed.

       To further illustrate what a fleeting moment this would turn out to be, the following morning I returned before sunrise with Tim fully intending to make a B&W large film image exactly as seen in the color rendering above. The morning was cloudy and windy, no sun would not have deterred me to make an image, if not for the fact, the wind took away the reflection, and thereby removing all interest I had. Seen here in the closing Iphone image from the next morning ! I’m left to wonder, had I made a successful B&W image that morning, would the “cell phone art” thing / opportunity have hit me as quickly as it did ??

      Annie Leibovitz is likely the preeminent fashion photographer of this generation, now more than ever can I relate to her quote below !