Robert Watcher
Well-known member
Back in my groove in Rural Ontario, Canada. A short break from Central America.
-------
-
Please use real names.
Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed
Firstname Lastname
Register
We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know! -
Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!
Need central america?
- Thread starter Robert Watcher
- Start date
Back in my groove in Rural Ontario, Canada. A short break from Central America.
-------
Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Robert,
How on earth do you have such an affinity for the derelict! Yes it does radiate old fashioned charm. Anything with a patina seem to earn some respect, if just for holding itself together!
Asher
How on earth do you have such an affinity for the derelict! Yes it does radiate old fashioned charm. Anything with a patina seem to earn some respect, if just for holding itself together!
Asher
Robert Watcher
Well-known member
It's so funny you mention this Asher - I have friends who are visiting the Canary Islands right now, posting these images of colourful buildings - clean and perfect : friends posting their beautiful images from island tourist destinations, on Instagram ------ and while everyone is commenting on how incredibly beautiful they are and my wife Anne absolutely loves them - I find then uninteresting. I can't tell the difference between them and Disneyland and other manufactured towns and streetscapes that are created to entice people into an old world feel.
When I was in Nicaragua, I would let locals know that as a photographer I did not like that the buildings were being fixed up and painted fresh with the increase of tourism. That took all of the interest away for me. Of course I believe in not letting things get run down and believe in good upkeep - it is only the artist in me that sees this way.
And so on returning to Canada yesterday for a few months visit with family, I was determined to walk the streets of the small town we are staying in, and see if I could find any visual pleasure to photograph. I was curious if I was dependant on an old colourful, rough and ready culture - to take stimulating photos each day, at the level I have become accustomed to.
Fact is that this house isn't as derelict as it may appear. It is simply a small older house tucked away in a nice downtown area. But it does appear that my eye has become trained (from taking hundreds of photos every day in overwealmingly photogenic environments) to notice character as I am walking by - where others probably wouldn't see anything other than normal ---- and I isolate that. What first caught my attention was the little red flower vase in the window, then the yellow light bulb, and then the small section of weathered paint. It all fell together as I raised my camera and framed those elements. The rest of the house was not so unordinary.
Considering what I have just written - causing me to reflect on the way that even my professional portrait and wedding images have always had an unrefined non-slick grungy edge to it ---- I think that the best way that I can sum up my photography is that when I am shooting, it is not only a visual experience, it is also an emotional one --- or at least that is how I want it to be presented to others. But not done delibetately. It happens without really thinking that way.
When I was in Nicaragua, I would let locals know that as a photographer I did not like that the buildings were being fixed up and painted fresh with the increase of tourism. That took all of the interest away for me. Of course I believe in not letting things get run down and believe in good upkeep - it is only the artist in me that sees this way.
And so on returning to Canada yesterday for a few months visit with family, I was determined to walk the streets of the small town we are staying in, and see if I could find any visual pleasure to photograph. I was curious if I was dependant on an old colourful, rough and ready culture - to take stimulating photos each day, at the level I have become accustomed to.
Fact is that this house isn't as derelict as it may appear. It is simply a small older house tucked away in a nice downtown area. But it does appear that my eye has become trained (from taking hundreds of photos every day in overwealmingly photogenic environments) to notice character as I am walking by - where others probably wouldn't see anything other than normal ---- and I isolate that. What first caught my attention was the little red flower vase in the window, then the yellow light bulb, and then the small section of weathered paint. It all fell together as I raised my camera and framed those elements. The rest of the house was not so unordinary.
Considering what I have just written - causing me to reflect on the way that even my professional portrait and wedding images have always had an unrefined non-slick grungy edge to it ---- I think that the best way that I can sum up my photography is that when I am shooting, it is not only a visual experience, it is also an emotional one --- or at least that is how I want it to be presented to others. But not done delibetately. It happens without really thinking that way.