What a journey this has been! Here is the final version of my Artist’s Statement:
For the first 6 or 7 weeks of this class, I believed my working theme was thus: “I intend to explore the related themes of thresholds and transitions-the places and times where people, things and events are in flux-neither ‘here’ nor ‘there’....”
This is a case of “it sounded like a good idea at the time”, but after 10 weeks I have to say that it has been quite a struggle to comprehend what this actually means for my photographic work. I believe some of the photos I have submitted touched on the themes of transitions and thresholds, but many did not, and as the weeks have come and gone, clearly there has been a movement away from the original intent of recording threshold moments and recognizing that something else was stirring.
My big “well, DUH” moment came when I admitted to myself that my photographs of landscapes and birds can be beautiful, perhaps even inspiring, but it is in the portraits of family, friends and even strangers that I discovered a deeper sense of genuine presence, connection, affinity, and immediacy.
The late philosopher and poet John O’Donohue wrote, “In a culture where most objects and modes of presence are either expression or functions of something else, in our times it is quite exceptional for a thing simply to be itself. The same is true of people…such direct immediacy seems almost innocent and unsophisticated, yet it is so refreshing and real.” (From Beauty: The Divine Embrace)
Going forward, the immediate task I have set before myself is to seek out those rare moments when sitting across from another person, camera at the ready, there is a certain spark, a crackle of connection and recognition of our shared humanity, and if the Spirit wills it, that spark and recognition continues after the camera shutter is released. The next task will be to discover how to make those moments less rare.
As for what comes next-I’m going to take some time to fully digest and reflect on this experience, but I am quite excited to continue making portraits, especially portraits of people that are not well-known to me. If you’re within an easy drive of Half Moon Bay, I would love to make a portrait of you!