“A photographer solves a picture, more than composes one.”
Stephen Shore
Really, this photographer is toxic to me. I don’t understand WHY his pictures are so gorgeous.
I will probably write an article about it, very soon. My theory today is he has “the sense of place”.
What is “to have the sense of place“? I don’t fucking know! It is maybe, for a photographer, to know how to show, and when, and with a certain frame, a place.
The viewer is amazed and has to stop. Here. You plunge and you feel it too. You feel the wind. You feel the light. You can hear something. And it’s a fucking Californian parking!!!!
I hate him because I’m jealous, and I don’t understand. Is it the sky? The light? The frame? I love this work so much!
Then, I found this quote, yesterday, on a book I imported in the bookstore I work in.
“A photographer solves a picture, more than composes one.”
SOLVES
Darn it. There’s something here, right?
Thanks for reading!
People develop a “sense of place” through experience and knowledge of a particular area. A sense of place emerges through knowledge of the history, geography and geology of an area, its flora and fauna, the legends of a place, and a growing sense of the land and its history after living there for a time.
The feel of the sun on your face or the rain on your back, the rough and smooth textures of the land, the color of the sky at morning and sunset, the fragrance of the plants blooming in season, the songs and antics of birds and the cautious ramblings of mammals are environmental influences that help to define a place. Memories of personal and cultural experiences over time make a place special, favorite objects that shape to your hand or body with use, songs or dances that emerge from the people of a place, special skills you develop to enjoy your area–these too help to define a place and anchor you in it. Through time, shared experiences and stories (history) help to connect place and people and to transmit feelings of place from generation to generation.
T. A. Woods