When I drive to or from southern California I try to avoid the
interstate and follow blue highways through the Navajo and Hopi reservations. The vast emptiness of four corners country gives
me a bounty of new material each time I visit plus a fresh take on stuff I’ve shot
frequently. The images from my November trip with John Farnsworth were a case in
point as is this image taken exactly five years earlier.
I’ve been having a between the ears debate about the value of plumbing
the depths of familiar subjects versus the thrill of discovery and how each is
reflected in the photographic results.
Does the best work come from knowledge and examination of the tried and
true or from the immediacy of fresh and new?
The answer is yes.
But then there’s the feeling that you need to get
out of Dodge to get stoked; a feeling that is corollary to the more prevalent grass
is always greener affliction from which I suffer. This irresistible force mitigates for the theory that our art is best served by seeing absolutely new
things and seeing them frequently. At
least that’s my excuse.
More shots from the road to follow.
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2 comments:
Your words about photography and the need to seek the image in new and different places or even return to the sameness rang so true. A lovely piece of writing, along with a great image.
Thanks Daryl. I suppose it is a combination of new and familiar that drives us.
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