Photographic Failure
That's a pretty dramatic title for this post. What I mean is much of the last few days' travel has been about the ride, not the photos. I took this with my iPhone and sent it directly to Flickr.
Moving at 60mph down Montana's open roads, with storms behind me, and mountains and sky far beyond human scale everywhere, it's simply not been something around which I can put a frame. The temptation is there, believe me. But as the Vespa dealer in Missoula said to me this morning, "we all have boxes of photos of mountains in our homes."
The impulse to make such photos is obvious but the results are a whole different matter. The postcard-making photographers wait long and work hard to get their images. The odds of stumbling into such a shot while bopping along the road are slim to none.
Make pix. You can't help it.
Moving at 60mph down Montana's open roads, with storms behind me, and mountains and sky far beyond human scale everywhere, it's simply not been something around which I can put a frame. The temptation is there, believe me. But as the Vespa dealer in Missoula said to me this morning, "we all have boxes of photos of mountains in our homes."
The impulse to make such photos is obvious but the results are a whole different matter. The postcard-making photographers wait long and work hard to get their images. The odds of stumbling into such a shot while bopping along the road are slim to none.
Make pix. You can't help it.
7 comments:
how long are you in missoula for, would love to buy you lunch and talk photography with you, i am working on a project for rocky mountain school of photography and it was inspired by you. thanks chad
My reply would be, forget about the post-card pictures, and well framed and composed images as a whole. Instead use your iPhone, or the handlebar mounted G10 and take pictures that convey to the viewer what it is like seeing, really seeing, the world as it looks like riding cross country on your Vespa.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7207667@N04/sets/72157611043281401/
I have been following your journey since I saw the post on strobist.com. I think it is great to realize that certain images are difficult if not impossible to capture. I just went through most of your slide show and there are truly awesome images in there, for me its great to see the process. Thank you for your openness and have a safe trip.
Hi Clay, maybe you would be interested in reading this forum thread of a guy called Wan, he came from South Korea to the US and rode across the country on a 50cc Honda Ruckus scooter. On the way he took lots of pictures, quite an inspiring read :)
http://totalruckus.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=67&t=12143
Hi Clay,
I hope your long haul today is going well! I just got in to work this morning and realized your phone charger is still here. Let me know if there's anywhere we can send it to. Good luck!
I say "What do Vespa dealers know?" I agree with christian, your photos carry a special...(hate to use religous terms because I myself am not very religous) spirit to them. A sense of adventure that not everyone can capture. As you already know, I absolutely love your work and hope to see it published into a book.
holy cow man, i've been reading your blog for years but I don't recall seeing so many comments. I was gonna leave a quicky, but it seems lame in comparison.
the strobist effect I guess.
anyway, As David Burnett observed (paraphrased) - looking back at your career the photos you forgot to take are the ones around you - family, life, and love.
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