Photography as magic act

According to the Internet (so it must be true!) the first human photograph was in 1822.

Dauguerre, the very first photographer, used a 10 minute shutter speed to capture the image below of a street in Paris. In the bottom left corner a man was having his shoes signed, and because he was sitting still long enough, he was captured in the picture.

And ever since the whole idea of photography as it means to capture reality has been more or less a given.

Maybe that’s why, in my Scorpio brain, I have gone to great lengths to take pictures that are so bizarre they look nothing like reality. I’m told I am contrary by nature.

So at sunset recently, I went to one of the local boat yards to see what I could find.

I walked around staring at oil slicks, rusted hulls, seaweed-draped pier struts and found lots and lots of reality, defying shots.

Shoutout to a fellow local photographer, Jeanne Carey. She showed some of her work at a local photo meet up with exactly the same vibe that appeals to me, and I knew I had to go out there myself to see what I could find.

Which brings me to an important role of doing this kind of art-oriented photography: in order to get someplace, you have to know where you are going. And where I am going is to capture a completely unexpected or strange but beautiful detail for juxtaposition in and otherwise dull boringly familiar world.

And sometimes, as in Two of these pictures, I manipulate the color or clarity or other details to bring out the final image that shocks of your into seeing something completely different and the imagination or emotions loose.

If, after looking at one of my (or anyone else’s) photos, you find yourself unexpectedly recalling a long lost memory or emotion or yearning… well, then I’ve succeeded in my goal.