Personal Effects [pinhole photographs]
Dec. 11, 2005
(click in the image for a larger version)
A triptych from the previous two photos, as well as a third one of a key ring.
These images were not necessarily created with the intention of presenting them as a triptych, though at the time I was crouched on the rocks above the surging surf, I was conscious of the possibility that they might work well together.
Although I feel they are interesting images when viewed literally, as the objects and the seascape, I am, as always, interested in and intrigued by the metaphorical and symbolic associations conjured by the elements in photographs. A cellphone, a watch, a key ring...these are all items that tie us to the external structure of our lives in the here and now.
Yet, when seen as solitary artifacts in the timeless and primal surroundings of a rocky, windswept shore, tenuously balanced at the edge of terra firma, the known world, with the expanses of unknown sea and sky in the distance, they become symbolic and take on new meanings for me, causing me to reflect on ideas and issues beyond just the physical representation of those objects placed on the rocks at the ocean's edge.
While it is true that photographs can be seen as a factual representation of the scene before the lens, of what was, they can also be so much more, and that is one of the things that I find endlessly intriguing about photography, both as an art form and a means of personal expression. That even a simple image can initiate thoughts and reflections on the self, identity, the emotional landscape, relationships, the nature of time, history, or the human condition is, to me, what art is all about. Yes, it is true, that sometimes my photographs are just interesting (hopefully) images. But I am always on the look out for those vignettes that can be more, that can serve as a window or a doorway to another place, a ticket to a train of thought, or a mirror for a new reflection.
Happy New Year.
