Chimney Rock, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico 2005 © Craig Varjabedian

It is with great pleasure that I return WAITING FOR THE LIGHT to the pages of Double Exposure.  I have been on a brief hiatus of sorts communing with the gods of silver and light; making and printing images.  While away I have also been putting the last remaining touches on an upcoming book I have been working on now for the last seven years.

During that time, in the process of caring, feeding and grooming this body of work that will be published in 2009, it took on a life of its own and somewhere along the way it stole my heart.  Over the next several months you’ll hear a lot about these pictures (and other things), made at a place known as Ghost Ranch. It is an almost mythic land located in northern New Mexico, and when I first saw it over 20 years ago, it took my breath away. It is a place that captured the heart of many people throughout the years, perhaps most notably the painter Georgia O’Keeffe, as evidenced by the incredible paintings she made of that beautiful landscape. Ansel Adams, while visiting O’Keeffe, made many images of Ghost Ranch.  One of his best-known photographs, a picture of Chimney Rock (titled Ghost Ranch Hills, Chama Valley, New Mexico 1937), was chosen by the master for the cover of the first edition of his book Photographs of the Southwest. It’s a beautiful image.
 
The creation of a body of work must steal your heart in some way for it to have power and authenticity.  It’s an important quality. If you are not in love with your photographs, why should anyone else be?  Being in love with what you are creating, in some ways, is the proverbial carrot dangling in front of the horse that keeps him moving; that keeps us moving, getting up again and again, sometimes in the worst of weather and circumstances making photographs that mean something to us and perhaps to others, too.

With the advent of Adobe Photoshop being available online (www.photoshop.com/express), I have been thinking a lot about the effect the technology of photography has on the images we make. Adobe Photoshop and software programs like it are incredible tools capable of creating wonderful miracles with our photographs and sometimes incredible resurrections of the images that might not otherwise make the cut. I often ponder how much this technology influences the images that are being created. Would many of the images we see even exist if the technology did not? Should technology drive creativity? Is the tail wagging the dog?  And, paradoxically, has it always been this way since the beginning of photography? I’m not sure where the lines are but I believe every photographer must be vigilant that the intention of our work (as we see it) is not being corrupted by the ever-changing technology available to us. Everyone finds their own line and their own way I guess.

I make a point of studying photographs a lot. One needs to in order to learn to become a photographer. I have always believed that art must begin with some stirring inside the artist to create.  An idea through some indescribable process in the brain/psyche materializes and through a strong communion with one’s tools and materials an image is born.  It’s almost a miracle really.  I encourage you to dig deep inside yourself and make images that are about you and what you think about the world, images in the end that you are head over heels in love with.  Consider next time whether adding the effect of some plugin or sliding that saturation slider for maximum colour is really necessary to convey the original meaning of your photograph. In other words just because the tool allows you to do it, should you? As William Shakespeare wrote so eloquently in Hamlet, “ to thine own self be true . . .”

 
NEW ON MY BOOK SHELF:
 
EDWARD STEICHEN: LIVES IN PHOTOGRAPHY by Todd Brandow and William Ewing  (W.W. Norton & Company, Publisher /April 2008 / hardcover / ISBN 978-0-393-06626-5
10 1/8" x 12 1/8" / 250 tinted and four-color photographs / 336 pages )

William Edward Steichen (1879-1973) is unquestionably one of the most prolific, influential, and indeed controversial names in the history of photography. He was admired by many for his achievements as a fine-art photographer, while impressing countless others with the force of his commercial accomplishments. The influence of his legendary exhibition, The Family of Man, first shown at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC in 1955, is still keenly felt.

Edward Steichen: Lives in Photography traces Steichen’s career trajectory from his Pictorialist beginnings to his time with Condé Nast through his directorship of photography at the Museum of Modern Art. Hundreds of his photographs are reproduced in stunning four-color to reveal the complexities and nuances of these black-and-white images. Essays from a range of scholars explore his most important subjects and weigh his legacy. Contributors include A. D. Coleman, Joanna T. Steichen, and Ronald Gedrim. With a full bibliography and chronology, this is the most complete and wide-ranging volume on Steichen ever published. This is an absolutely beautiful book.

Todd Brandow is the director of the Foundation for the Exhibition of Photography in Minneapolis. William A. Ewing is the curator and director of the Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland.
 


I’D RATHER BE IN THE STUDIO! THE ARTIST’S NO-EXCUSE GUIDE TO SELF-PROMOTION by Alyson Stanfield ( Pentas Press, Publisher / February 2008 / softcover / ISBN 978-0-9742725-8-0 / 6” x 9” / 264 pages )

I'd Rather Be in the Studio! offers practical approaches that help you sell more art and build an art career that lasts. Alyson B. Stanfield, an art-marketing guru, shares self-promotion tools that have enhanced the careers of thousands of artists. You'll learn how to: (1) Introduce yourself as an artist so people want to know more; (2) Nail your artist statement to discover the right words for all of your marketing messages; (3) Expand your mailing list and use it to cultivate collectors; (4) Create marketing materials that outshine the competition; (5) Become a media magnet so buyers come to you; (6) Take advantage of your Web site and blog to build a bigger audience; and much more.
 
Alyson B. Stanfield is an artist advocate, workshop leader, and art-marketing consultant who knows about self-promotion. She has helped thousands of artists develop their careers through her online classes, publications, workshops, and free weekly Art Marketing Action newsletter all available through ArtBizCoach.com. Very cool!

 

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The illuminated quotation by William Shakespeare on the Double Exposure home page was created by artist Gail Coppock. Through her art, she expresses a personal philosophy that wonders of the universe can be experienced as profoundly in the little things as in the grand conceptions.  You can check out more of her beautiful work at http://gailsart.com



See more of Craig Varjabedian's work at www.craigvarjabedian.com
Learn more about his workshops at www.eloquentlight.com

Let us know if you found this article useful, and tell us what kinds of articles you'd like to see in upcoming issues. Send your comments and ideas to Lynne Eodice.