During the course of a week I read a lot of articles and see a lot of videos like most of you do; some good, some bad, some silly...some unforgettable. What is odd is the fact that at times you see something and it only registers as interesting, only to find days later you can't stop thinking about it. Below is a video that has hit me that way this week. John Chiara has a very interesting way of photographing things. His is a choice most of us are not tempted to follow...but don't take my word for it. See if for yourself:
While I find his process fascinating and it instills in me a nostalgia for my film days, it is one of his statements that has haunted me ever since I saw this video. He says that when he started he looked for areas where he could shoot a beautiful scene, but as his art progressed, he learned to create images that appear to be more random and less purposely designed. Part of this, I suspect, have to do with the limitations of his camera rig, but he also alludes to the fact that his childhood memories are filled with similar images that are not well designed but memorable nonetheless. Clearly, this fellow is thinking along great lines, and his list of awards on his website testify to the fact that a lot of other artists agree.
Here's where it gets personal for me. I have been working hard to build the skills to create exceptionally beautiful images and to a large extent I have been successful. But I want more than that; I want to make exceptionally meaningful images. That's a very different thing. It's almost like starting all over; none of the skill I currently possess will assist me in this quest. At least, I haven't figured out how they will help. Chiara seems to have stumbled in a direction I would like to go. I don't know exactly where this will take me, but I have dusted of my old medium format camera to see what might be laying in wait.
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