Edited by James Turnley
peripheral – adj – relating to, or situated on the edge of an area or object.
This month’s theme is called “peripheral”. Lately I’ve been reading over and over Charles Harbutt’s essay entitled “I don’t take pictures, pictures take me.” I encourage anyone to read it if they haven’t already.
I’ve been fascinated about how he describes great photographs are made.
“This sense of quickness, of being alive on this earth, of simple orgasmic sense of perception, is the point at which great photographs are made. Photographs come from that moment in the process of cognition before the mind has analyzed meaning or the eyes design and at which the experience and the person experiencing are fully, intuitively, existentially there…”
“…there is a tremendous sense of stopped time, of the blinking shutter, of being alive and still there, of discovery(rather than analysis), of chance, not design, of quick emotion from an uncertain cause.”
“…but for me it has flowed from the realization that I don’t take pictures, pictures take me. I can do nothing except have film in the camera and be alert. My adversary, a photograph, stalks the world like a roaring lion. Pictures happen. One can only trust one’s sensitivity, the bounty of the world and the chemistry of Kodak. This is the photographic method.”
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What chain of events cause us to press the shutter. Is it our peripheral vision? Where in the corner of our eye we only see light, color and shapes which causes us move our gaze into focus? It may be…or maybe not. Either way it’s the starting point to how we frame photographs.
Continuing..I have also thought about Blake Andrew’s post about edges…or the peripherals and how important they are to making photographs. What stops short many photographs from being “great” is their inability to use the entire frame…they don’t let our eyes wander which ultimately leads to their failure.
With these readings I ask you to send me your selected few photographs that represent the truest, most simple observations you’ve made through photographs. The one’s where you’ve been aware of your own feelings, preconceptions and biases, but have not let them dictate the frame. As Winogrand puts it, “I photograph, to see how things look photographed.” Send me your best, this narrative is not for near-misses.
I know I don’t have lyrics, a story or a word that gives you much to go on…but let me worry about that. As I start to accept photographs into the gallery use that as a tool to know what I am after.
Submissions via Flickr or email – editors at lapuravidagallery.com
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