(“A Photograph Exposed” is a series exploring some of my photographs in greater detail.)
This photograph is a personal favorite for a bunch of reasons related to how the photograph came about, the experience of making the photograph, associations with the place, and a print that pleases me a great deal.
I maintain the no photographer’s work is wholly original. What comes closest to being truly original is the personal vision of the artist — that particular way of seeing that the photographer develops. That vision is actually unique, but it is built from experiences and exposure to a visual world that includes the ways of seeing of other photographers and painters and more. I acknowledge and am grateful to a wide range of photographers whose work informs my way of seeing the world.
Among them is Charlie Cramer, who I’m fortunate to count not only as a photographic influence, but also as a friend. Charlie’s way of seeing light appeals to me a great deal, and among the photographs of his that stick in my mind is one of some very similar trees at this exact lake. When I’m in a place where another photographer’s photograph immediately comes to mind I often feel cautious about making a photograph that might look too much like their work — and this one may be an example of “influenced by” but “not like.”
Continue reading A Photograph Exposed: “Shoreline Reflections, Trees and Rocks”
