Good read, great pics, especially the finale. Re your uncropped approach to these photos, it really works. That's making me wonder if my constant habit of cropping for composition can make my photos seem less organic. And, I have to remember this: "So, when I wander the streets of a city, I try not to think in terms of photographic genres. For me, more to the point is the feeling I get from a scene." That's a very freeing statement. It perhaps means we don't have to be locked into a constant style or theme all the time.
Thanks very much for looking in Robert. I no longer 'hunt' for a particular picture. I try to remain receptive to what's actually in front of me, rather than what might be in my head. If that makes sense?
Another pleasant read, this time the theme of 'lyric documentary' (Walker Evans did do a lot for photography as an art form) hit home with me. There's something in the way you think about your photo before you press the shutter that is beyond anything technical or analytical. I have always thought of this as 'finding the most essential element' in a scene, but there may be more in it than that, at least in some situations, like the ones you photographed and put in this post.
Maybe a photographer needs a sense of interaction with a scene, so something less controllable than deciding what is the 'essential' quality of what he wants the viewer to see. I'm not referring to street photography with people in it; in this genre the action that takes place or the lack thereof is the decisive factor, to a greater degree than angles, closeness or surroundings. In quiet park scenes like these factors may seem more important, but seeing the 'quality' of them is still beyond the factors that contribute to what we see. That's my take on what you wrote and the way it reflects on the work you presented.
I like a lot of the photos for their rich tonality and their quiet character. In general, your 2025 photos seem to represent these qualities more than the others. I admire the fact you didn't crop your photos; that shows a commitment to getting it right and sticking with it. I tend to look for small framing adjustments afterwards that can make the end result better, but that may be related to the kind of photos I make at a certain moment (e.g. bird photography, in which the amount of control over the frame varies extremely).
Aah, that's such a thoughtful (and kind) response. I will have to think more about it and perhaps do a little more research on what Evans meant. But I think I know what he meant when he said it is achieved 'unconsciously'. I'm not entirely certain that I know what he means by that though. One thinks of Freud, Lacan, Levi-Strauss, Hartmann, Žižek and so on - thinkers who reference the unconscious in how behaviours arise. But an unconscious mode of aesthetic sensibility? Who has theorised about this? I am not well versed in this line of thinking. And perhaps I am drifting too wide.
Thank you, Tony! I saw you restacked my reply too, I wonder what the 'community' thinks of an elaborate reply like this, if people even read it, which I doubt. The things people like on Substack amaze me, but I try not to pay too much attention to it, which is at times more difficult than it seems, if I'm honest.
To reply to your thoughts about the unconscious playing a role in our aesthetic choices: there is a lot written about this, but it doesn't always translate to creative endeavors. The first thing that comes to mind is 'Concerning the spiritual in art' by Wassily Kandinsdy I was just putting somewhere else on my bookshelves yesterday. He approached the subject concretely, as in color choices and compositional elements in painting. I think Jung and Joseph Campbell also touched on it, the latter more from a cultural and religious perspective. It's good to read up on this and tell about what I find, starting with photographers and what they read of course.
Berlin is such an enigma. I’ve visited a couple of times, most recently shooting on medium format film: https://www.jonnichollsphotography.co.uk/projects/when-we-had-future I’ve always enjoyed Peter Fraser’s notion of smelling when a photograph is in the air, a subconscious sensation that a picture is nearby, waiting to be made. He talks about it in his Tate retrospective film: https://youtu.be/F8glmAtCnnU?si=GQIultolC8LXSWwG
Loved your website and photographs. Very interesting. I like Peter Fraser's notion of 'being available'.
Many thanks.
Good read, great pics, especially the finale. Re your uncropped approach to these photos, it really works. That's making me wonder if my constant habit of cropping for composition can make my photos seem less organic. And, I have to remember this: "So, when I wander the streets of a city, I try not to think in terms of photographic genres. For me, more to the point is the feeling I get from a scene." That's a very freeing statement. It perhaps means we don't have to be locked into a constant style or theme all the time.
Thanks very much for looking in Robert. I no longer 'hunt' for a particular picture. I try to remain receptive to what's actually in front of me, rather than what might be in my head. If that makes sense?
Another pleasant read, this time the theme of 'lyric documentary' (Walker Evans did do a lot for photography as an art form) hit home with me. There's something in the way you think about your photo before you press the shutter that is beyond anything technical or analytical. I have always thought of this as 'finding the most essential element' in a scene, but there may be more in it than that, at least in some situations, like the ones you photographed and put in this post.
Maybe a photographer needs a sense of interaction with a scene, so something less controllable than deciding what is the 'essential' quality of what he wants the viewer to see. I'm not referring to street photography with people in it; in this genre the action that takes place or the lack thereof is the decisive factor, to a greater degree than angles, closeness or surroundings. In quiet park scenes like these factors may seem more important, but seeing the 'quality' of them is still beyond the factors that contribute to what we see. That's my take on what you wrote and the way it reflects on the work you presented.
I like a lot of the photos for their rich tonality and their quiet character. In general, your 2025 photos seem to represent these qualities more than the others. I admire the fact you didn't crop your photos; that shows a commitment to getting it right and sticking with it. I tend to look for small framing adjustments afterwards that can make the end result better, but that may be related to the kind of photos I make at a certain moment (e.g. bird photography, in which the amount of control over the frame varies extremely).
Aah, that's such a thoughtful (and kind) response. I will have to think more about it and perhaps do a little more research on what Evans meant. But I think I know what he meant when he said it is achieved 'unconsciously'. I'm not entirely certain that I know what he means by that though. One thinks of Freud, Lacan, Levi-Strauss, Hartmann, Žižek and so on - thinkers who reference the unconscious in how behaviours arise. But an unconscious mode of aesthetic sensibility? Who has theorised about this? I am not well versed in this line of thinking. And perhaps I am drifting too wide.
Thank you, Tony! I saw you restacked my reply too, I wonder what the 'community' thinks of an elaborate reply like this, if people even read it, which I doubt. The things people like on Substack amaze me, but I try not to pay too much attention to it, which is at times more difficult than it seems, if I'm honest.
To reply to your thoughts about the unconscious playing a role in our aesthetic choices: there is a lot written about this, but it doesn't always translate to creative endeavors. The first thing that comes to mind is 'Concerning the spiritual in art' by Wassily Kandinsdy I was just putting somewhere else on my bookshelves yesterday. He approached the subject concretely, as in color choices and compositional elements in painting. I think Jung and Joseph Campbell also touched on it, the latter more from a cultural and religious perspective. It's good to read up on this and tell about what I find, starting with photographers and what they read of course.