52 Weeks Photography Project

The August Edition.

The August Edition of the 52 Weeks Photography Project presents five open-ended concepts for inspiration. How would I visually interpret them? Let’s see:

31. Street Art. Graffiti, or not.

32. ICM. Intentional camera movement. Throw sharpness to the curve.

33. Out of Your Element. Go ahead, get uncomfortable.

34. Portrait of a Friend. Human or not.

35. Monochrome. Show off your Zone System skills.

So, let’s go…

31- Street Art

Tona is my favorite street artist. The German street artist has found the weathered and abandoned walls in southern Portugal to be the perfect place for his creations. His whimsical images of children are often found in delapidated abandoned buildings. They seem at home in those unusual locations.

32- ICM. Intentional camera movement

It was in the middle of summer of 1979. Empire Stadium was filled with excited fans. Supertramp took the stage as sunset dimmed. The first star of the night shone on the horizon. I slowed the shutter speed and painted with light.

Breakfast in America was a terrific tour. The band was at its peak. I loved that album and Supertramp’s live treatment did not disappoint. Fun night!

33- Out of Your Element

I ain’t no mariner. I’ve never owned a boat, but I’ve lived by the sea for most of my life. So there I was, on board a sailboat as the evening race was about to start. If you were to call me a crew member… you’d be lying. I was more in the way of the crew than actually serving any useful purpose.

I was totally out of my element.

The seas were choppy. The wind was howling. The air felt cool. Then it happened. A distress call from one of the boats. An emergency at sea. The main mast of a boat had snapped in half and dragged the main sail into the water. The weight of the mast and wet cloth made the boat list to one side.

We raced to help.

We managed to pull everything out of the water and tow the boat to port. The captain of that boat was the doctor who delivered my daughter.

34- Portrait of a Friend

I am not a portrait photographer. There! I said it.

Our friendship was young when I made this photo. That was 45 years ago. I liked him immediately. I grew to love him shortly after that. I learned to admire him in due course.

What does this image reveal? An environmentalist? A free spirit? A rebel? A self-guided character? An uncomplicated persona? An observer? All of the above?

Call him a good friend and leave it at that.

35- Monochrome

We gifted this easel to Lanta on our first Christmas as a new blended family. That was 30 years ago. It has held hundreds of canvases. It shows battle scars. It shows the Cerulean blue drips, the Burnt Sienna smudges, and the Yellow ochre traces that have merged to create so many wonderful paintings.

It has been a steady, solid, reliable friend. It doesn't ask for much. It just is. I light-painted it with a tiny flashlight to illustrate the introduction section of Lanta’s art book. I chose monochrome to try to convey the stoic nature of this apparatus.

The September tasks are:

36. Photo Walk. Take your box for a stroll.

37. Same But Different. Interpret that as you will.

38. Forever Young. Like Bob Dylan, or not.

39. Heavy Metal. Keep it light…

Feel free to jump in at any point. Share your vision.