The LMF Gallery + Darkroom

 

The F/8 Photography group show is still going on until September 3^rd. It’s an imaginative presentation of some amazing photographs. You’ll feel the real purpose of the work when you see it up close. And I mean that for all of the prints, not just mine.

The LMF Gallery + Darkroom
55 N. Baldwin Ave
Sierra Madre, CA 91024

Kinetic Ambiguity Project, Land Series, Vistas Segment, 113959, “Windmills”, 6/21/2024,

Kinetic Ambiguity Project, Land Series, Vistas Segment, 66008, “Old Guardian”, 1/28/2022,

 

California Poppies – Contemporary Art

That’s what I think; those poppies, flowers in general, are works of art created by nature.  To be clear, this is a secular blog so I’m not suggesting or hinting at anything.  I am pointing out the obvious, is all – nature has always been an amazing artist.  I spent a little time at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve yesterday.  There were a lot of people.  That was not a lot of fun, but the poppies were worth it.  And I need a lot of flower images for a project I’m working on so I will need to brave some other spots during the anticipated “super bloom”.

Abandoned Places as Contemporary Fine Art

I created some new images this past Saturday (3/9/2019).  It always feels good working with my camera in hand.  I did a few different things but the major focus were a couple of abandoned places.  They were not really that far off the beaten path but abandoned just the same.  The thing that is intriguing for me is how this type of work can be fine art.  It’s tough wrapping my head around how we package our work and discuss it will impact how well received it may be in the world.  Or not even noticed.  If I were wealthy, would I still do this work?  Of course, I would!  It would take up a big chunk of my day unlike now where I try to squeeze it in where ever possible.  I’m a photographist, after all and this is what I live to do.

I find a peculiar strength of character in those places long abandoned – I want to know the story of these humble structures.  But most I will never know.  And there is a certain disjointed charm in that knowledge.  I think it motivates my approach to the subject and directs my composition to some extent.  That must be the source of the contemporary fine art in these abandoned places.  But I didn’t show you any of those here today.  You can see one on my Instagram but today I am showing you the view of the regal San Gabriel Mountains as seen from the Victor Valley.  Why this image and not one of the abandoned places?  I haven’t edited that crop sufficiently enough for blogging yet – I just wanted to talk about it.  But this one, taken on the same day, is ready. 

When I’m done with the image creation for the day and packing up my gear, I have a since of euneirophrenia that swarms through my thoughts – that feeling of, “I know I have a winner somewhere in that group”.  I think this one is a winner.

Baltimore Museum of Art

Do you follow art news or the website artnet?  I have recently started to follow art news – it’s like a break from stories dominated by an orange dude who…  Like I said, a break from other kind of news.  I read this story about how the Baltimore Museum of Art sold some of their top dollar artwork by white guys (Andy Warhol, Franz Kline, and Robert Rauschenberg, for example) so that they could acquire some top dollar artwork by people of color and women (Jack Whitten, Amy Sherald [the artist who painted Michelle Obama's official portrait], Wangechi Mutu, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and a bunch of others).  The personally sad thing about this was that I did not know who these, people of color and women, artist were – and I’m a studio art major.  Hell, I graduated with honors on top of that.  I felt like a dumbass and I know I’m not dumb.  I know it goes without saying but I did know of all the white guys they mentioned in the article.  So, I had to look up a few of these artists whom I did not know.  I was really flabbergasted by one artist in particular – Isaac Julien.  This dude…  Wow!  Well his website says that he is a “filmmaker and installation artist”.  But he makes photographic prints too.  And “Julien was awarded the title Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s birthday honors, 2017.”  So like yeah.  Well, you never stop learning.  I need to hurry up and get my stuff out there.

The images below are some early work from 2014.  I have a lot more newer images that I need to finish up the post production on but the preoccupied state of subjects in these two makes them still very relevant today.  And I like them.

Extreme Art

Here’s the thing, I exist in, I think in, I work in the extremes.  For me, it takes daily effort – all of the time – to operate in the middle where most people are; and are comfortable with me.  It doesn’t help that I’m a little bigger than average.  Nor does it help that I’m black, an African American, a person of color, etc.  And I, if I’m not monitoring myself, can be loud – or say nothing at all.  Both ways make folks uncomfortable.  But I have been managing myself all of my adult life – I’m in my mid 50s now.  Unless you are like this, you may not be able to really grasp how this is not an easy way to live.

So, let me narrow in on my art.  As far as what I would like to do with my life – I just want to be a working artist – predominantly working with photography.  Why working artist?  I don’t want to do anything else – employment wise.  But I do have a fulltime non-artist job so I work on my art as time permits.  I go to non-artist work to help provide for our family.  We have kids, my wife and I, and we both work.  That’s good and I love my family.  It’s just the non-artist work part – I want my job to be an art job, not non-artist work.

So what does that have to be with being on the extreme? When I do work on my art, I push it.  I’m back in the extremes and I am comfortable working on my art that way.  I have recently joined Instagram and I push my art there too – working on exposure and learning how to make Instagram work for my art.  When I’m creating, it’s just me in my head so it doesn’t involve anyone else.  But when I’m doing the Instagram thing and trying to gain exposure, I wonder if I’m pushing too much.  I don’t know.  It’s obviously not too much for me but I don’t know if it’s too much for everyone else – I don’t get that type of feedback from Instagram (at least not that I’m aware of yet).  So, I will back it off a bit – put that Instagram thing in “the middle where most people are”.  Just saying that makes Instagram now feel like…

Well, I just had to write this down.

This image is my latest #montage, digital collage, #photomontage, photo conceptualism, “California Tree Dreams II”.  It is on the website too.

Cajon Pass Site Survey

On June 16, 2011, I was out and about again when I had to take a detour (of my own choosing) while travelling back up the Cajon Pass back to Victorville.  I was smack dab in the middle of the San Bernardino State Park.  It’s a really cool looking place and I was in no place in particular.  I used my PowerShop S5 IS on this and a bit of level tweeking (just a few moments ago) with Photoshop – because I like to tweek my shots.  This was basically a survey for a future model shoot but I have yet to shoot in these areas – though I have shot in the park.  Have a look.

On the road to SD

Interstate I-15, I travel it often.  Here we were heading to “mommy’s” on Mar 11, 2011, so my kids could spend the weekend with their mom.  We hit this parking lot a little more than half way there.  And I was lucky enough to capture this classic car stuck with us.

On my way back from dropping them off, I see what’s left of the “why” we were waiting.  This was all shot with my handy PowerShot S5 IS.

Palm Ave Site Survey

We are catching up!  Ok, back on March 9^th, 2011, I was scouting out places to do a photoshoot.  A fellow photographer told me about this place off of Palm Ave so I went to check it out.  I have since done two photoshoots there.  It may be fenced off now but it’s a cool looking place.  And I did this survey with my handy dandy PowerShot A540.

Oh, the sunflowers.  I’m always shooting those no matter what I’m doing.  Part of the “Sun Flower Project”.

These are not sun flowers but looked cool.

Library in Fontana

I have blogged about the library in Fontana before.  It was when I was waiting for it to open with my kids.  You can see that here.  A couple of weeks after that (February 4^th, 2011) I went back to drop off some books and decided to photograph the library.  This is what I did with my Canon PowerShot S5 IS.  This was kind of a line and texture exploration.  The building design and the layout of the grounds around the library are very creative.  I like it.  The library itself is very good too.

Snowcaps through the Cajon Pass

We’re still on January 5, 2011.  I’m heading back to Fontana on the 15 heading to the Cajon Pass.  And I’m snapping the shutter and taking photos!

If you have ever made that run from Vegas to So Cal proper, then this will look familiar.

Just past the summit heading down the pass.  Everyone was kind of enough to stop their vehicles for me so I could take this shot.

It is a magnificent view.  Most never notice though.

On the left side middle of the photo, you can see where the north and south bound lanes rejoin.  It is also the CHP’s favorite spot to wait for those unfortunate souls who are still pissed off from losing so much money and are not paying attention to their downhill speed – probably 90 plus.

And this is what happens when your auto focus decides the windshield is what you wanted to capture.  A dirty windshield doesn’t help.

These five pictures were shot in program mode and all shot with my Canon PowerShot A540.

Snowcaps from Victorville, CA

The next day, I rode up to Victorville to talk to some folks at Victor Valley College because I wasn’t sure if I was going to go to school there but knew we would be moving to Victorville.  Again, I had my workhorse in tow, my PowerShot A540.  All of these pictures were taken in program mode utilizing my patented “drive by” photography method I perfected in Iraq during my tenure in the war.  Wow, that just makes it sound cool doesn’t it?

This is what it looks like right before you make a right turn on to Bear Valley Road coming off of the 15 from the pass.

This is staring eastbound down Bear Valley.

After my fact finding mission at Victor Valley College is done, I’m returning to the 15 on Bear Valley westbound.  I’m shooting southwest at Mt Baldy.  Even in Victorville, the setting is idyllic – though most of us are still hustling for gas money.

Speaking of gas money, look at those prices from Jan 5, 2011.

You’d think this was some sort of resort town.  The dichotomy of life here – it’s kind of surreal, unless you’re on the low income side of the equation.  In that case it is very real.

As I said, all photographs were taken with my Canon PowerShot A540.

Snowcaps from Fontana, CA

It is Sunday, March 25.  On March 24, I had eight members on my page.  Today I have seven.  With so few it is easy to notice a change.  Such is life.

And by the way, I will photograph practically anything I can – with no regrets.  So we have arrived in 2011.  January 4^th to be exact.  I was out and about in Fontana (where we were living at the time) taking in the view.  We live in a paradise like environment but it’s difficult to recognize it when you’re hustling to make sure you and your family can eat.  But I wanted to capture it just the same.

I was using my “drive by” camera, my PowerShot A540, when I was doing this.  If you were me that day, you would be looking north towards the San Gabriel Mountains at Mt. Baldy from a parking lot off of Foothill Blvd in Fontana, CA.  I had the shooting mode on “Kids&Pets” – I haven’t a clue why.  The camera set the shutter speed at 1/250 and the aperture at F-8.  The focal length was 15.8mm.  I wonder, does this kind of photographic data matter?

This photo was shot in “Landscape” mode.  And I was at a light heading east on Foothill looking at the San Bernardino Mountains (Mt. San Gorgonio to be specific – I think).  California State University, San Bernardino, sits at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains – right along the San Andreas Fault which is why the mountains are here in the first place.  I don’t know, but that’s more interesting than shutter speed and F-stops.  But I was hustling that day and took the moment to capture this scene because I know I would not remember it years later.