Some things are so beautiful, they defy description by  spoken words.

This is why I generally carry a camera with me just about every place I visit.

The shutter’s voice speaks volumes in praise of the most beautiful things, and is far more articulate than I can ever hope to be.

So… enough words for today.

But then again, this begs the question: What is beauty?  Symmetry of form? Fitness of body and/or mind?  Color coordination?  Or is there some other, more mercurial aspect of beauty? Something undefinable, but undeniably pleasing to the human spirit?  Something that does not lend itself to discovery by means of the spoken or written word? Something that echoes the sublime grace of the Universe…

This lady has served as a subject for me several times. She has an inner beauty that, amazingly, competes with her physical beauty.

This is a graduation portrait of the daughter of a former coworker. I really don’t think she knows just how beautiful she really is…

This young woman has a beauty that can warm the coldest soul.  I met her father, and subsequently, her, during my first trip to Montreal.  The warmth of her smile contrasted starkly with the cold autumn air.

This woman is not only possessed of great beauty; she has an aura that exudes the warmth of all that is positive about the human spirit.

Even in death, the vessels that once carried life  echo the grace of Nature’s design.

More later.

After adding yet another 8×10 camera to my ever changing collection of photographic tools, I’ve made a decision to take my work in a new direction.

I have made a firm commitment; I’ve let go of three of my venerable Hasselblad lenses and my medium format film scanner.  This is quite a big decision for me artistically.  What prompted the change?  Simple. Whenever I make an image I’m pleased with using 4×5, 5×7 or 8×10 film, I end up wondering why I do anything else photographically. 

Hey, I’m all for new beginnings.  Change I can believe in…

Ok… my brief encounter with event/documentary or whatever the fuck you want to call it photography has proven to be a complete waste of time, money and other resources.  Guess it’s time to meander back to the real reason I like playing with cameras, making art.

I’ve developed a liking for wide angle lenses. I was the only nut walking around at the Obama rally in Detroit with a camera with a single, fixed, wide angle lens.  The 50mm seemed just the right tool to convey the notion that the Obama campaign is primarily about the people, and not the candidate.

And finally for today, the image I look at when I am ready to pack up all my photographic equipment and go back to teaching.  If I could only find people willing to participate in the making of fine art portraits, the thought of quitting would likely never cross my mind again.

OK, a few  more. Perhaps the magic will begin to return. 

Photography for beauty’s sake and that alone…

… a vain attempt at mimicking the artistic perfection of the Universe.

Jack Dejohnette peruses a play list prior to the afternoon’s performance.

Ravi Coltrane waits in the wings during a solo.

Brandee Younger, as beautiful as the music that emanates from her harp, shortly before the perfomance.  I have black and white images of her also, but this one demanded color.

Jazz great Charlie Haden prepares for the performance.

I don’t know how many times the words “transcendental” and “Coltrane” have been used in the same sentence, but, judging from this weekend’s performance, they are as appropriate as the pairing of the words “pancake” and “syrup.”   I was listening to John Coltrane (A Love Supreme) on the way to the festival, wondering why nobody was even trying to make such spiritually soothing music today.  The answer to my inquiry was made crystal clear, in no uncertain terms.  It was as if the essence of John and Alice Coltrane’s collective musical acumen was being channelled by the artists on the stage.  A truly magnificent performace, that cannot possibly be sufficiently conveyed through the written word.  My only criticism is that we were not able to hear the perfomance a second time, nor a third.

More to follow…

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Greetings and salutations dear readers, photo perusers, purveyors of fine art and surfers errant. As promised, I have returned with a few more images from the Detroit International Jazz Festival. The images displayed above were created digitally. I am an avowed purist at heart, however, and prefer greatly the volume, clarity and presence achieved by medium and large format film. Unfortunately, even though the scanning process is able to achieve a level of quality light years beyond that of digital capture, one cannot experience the true beauty of a well executed, black and white silver gelatin print by looking at a  low resolution image on the net. Inkjet prints, even though potentially very, very good, still fall short, in my slightly less than humble opinion.  The following images were created by shooting black and white film and digitizing the frames. For web images, I often use a mid-level flatbed scanner with a transparency adapter. This allows for a “quick and dirty” workflow, for the purposes of proofing and posting in ether.  To get files suitable for printing, I use the same process, but substitute a dedicated film scanner, a Nikon Coolscan 9000, for the flatbed.  The difference in quality is significant, especially when considering issues such as dynamic range and the ability to enlarge the image. My apologies for having to break geekster on your ass; but I haven’t done so in some time now. So, without further delay…

This is actually a severe crop from a 6×6 cm negative. I could have gotten closer to photograph Ms. Younger, but inserting myself between the stage and the mesh that was adjacent to it was just too intrusive for my tastes. Oh well, fortunately, Zeiss lenses provide a great deal of micro detail and contrast, even when shot from a considerable distance. Film used was Tri X, pushed to 1600 and souped in Tmax. Thus the grain.

Charlie Haden looks cool enough to freeze fire in the Sahara. I love making images of him.  Please pardon the dust…as indicated before, these are preliminary scans.  I refuse to spend hours cleaning up proofs! Again, for the gearheads: Hasselblad 500 CM, 250mm Carl Zeiss Sonnar, Tri X @ 1600 iso.

September 3, 2008

I almost left the festival after the phonomenal tribute to Alice Coltrane alluded to above. I was hot, dehydrated, and frankly, sick and tired of being bumped, stepped on and questioned about my equipment.  I shoot with a Hasselblad, a big, metal camera, as well as a dslr, and for some reason every gearhead wants to know why–when I am working. I was on my way out. Fortunately, I ran into an acquaintance who informed me that missing the Kenny Garrett perfomance would be a mistake.  I cannot tell you how much of an understatement this was.

Mr. Garrett during one of his (rare) less kinetic moments.

Kenny Garrett is one of the most energetic jazz musicians I have ever seen. Pardon the colloquialism, but they say pimpin’ ain’t easy; neither is photographing Kenny Garrett during a performance, especially with a manual focus lens.  Mick Jagger has got nothing on this brother.

As for the music…well…let’s just say I will be collecting Kenny Garrett’s music from now on. I was fortunate enough to be able to secure a copy of his latest cd as well as his autograph.  During the course of the day, I was able to photograph, meet, and shake hands with Ravi Coltrane, Jack Dejohnette, and Kenny Garrett.  I guess this makes up for not being able to see Miles Davis perform before his demise. And to think, I almost didn’t attend the second day of the festival.

As promised, more images from the 2008 Detroit Jazz Festival… and a couple from the 2006 Festival.

The lovely Ms. Younger once again…

… the inimitable Mr. Coltrane …

… the great Kenny Garrett …

… these three again…

… Christian McBride …

… Mr. Randy Brecker …

… unidentified drummer. I couldn’t resist, having taught 5th grade for more than a decade.

… From the 2006 Detroit Jazz Festival…one of the greatest musicians who has ever walked the earth, Mr. McCoy Tyner. His music, a bottle of wine and a canvas have contributed to some of my best work as a painter.

Also from the 2006 festival… Joe Zawinul.

Still more to follow…thank you for viewing.

No, it was not made with a Hasselblad. It was made with a $45 (I paid too much!) 35mm rangefinder. The park is located across the street from my high school (Cass Tech) in Detroit, Michigan. Blads rock…but so do Yashica Electros. After all, its the tool behind the camera that makes the picture. Ciao for now.

I just got some film, introduced some light by way of a simple floor lamp, and made pictures. 

Here’s another one. 

This was made using my first complete medium format camera outfit, a Pentax 645 with a standard lens.  I didn’t know anything about exposure compensation at the time. Had I known, I’d never have gotten the image to look this way. So, here we go again with the Pentax. I remember an episode of Kung Fu (I think so, anyway) where it was said: “I seek to be a cup, empty of myself, to be filled with the oneness of the universe”. Decades later, I finally get it. 

17, originally uploaded by silverglyph.

This image was created about 4 years ago, with my first (functioning) medium format camera. I had this strange habit of leaving a warm bed, and a beautiful woman, from time to time in order to prowl the streets in the wee hours after dawn with a camera. On this particular morning, the water was so calm, it reminded me of glass. I’d never seen the Detroit River so peaceful.

The gull reminds me of myself, venturing out alone in the semi-darkness, enjoying the peace and introspection that solitude sometimes brings.

Untitled-1, originally uploaded by silverglyph.

When I look at this image, I think about how tulips close when surrounded by darkness. A little light prompts them to open up again. It makes me think about how jaded we can become, and how the act of creation can creak open the door to one’s soul, so that light might have a chance to dance again.

While roaming the university grounds one day,  I came across the subjects pictured above.  The gentleman apparently spoke not a word of English, and I but one word of Chinese. Fortunately, a simple greeting in Chinese and a gesture with the camera was all it took to obtain his permission to photograph this precious scene.  I nodded a “thank you”, he nodded an acknowledgement, and I resumed my journey to no place in particular.

As luck would have it, about a week later, I ran across this gentleman again.  We recognized each other, and with a few gestures, I somehow persuaded him to wait at the corner near the building in which he apparently lived,  while I ran to my car, which was parked about a block and a half away.  Upon returning, I presented him with a printed copy of this photograph.  The look of joy upon his face was worth immeasurably more than a thousand words.