The above images constitute most of my favorites centering on the wide-open spaces of the western U.S. from the past six years.
Perhaps I’ll follow this at some point with separate videos featuring people and passtimes.
12 Responses to “Photo portfolio from the western U.S.”
Comments (12)
the positive space!
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Greg Stahl Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 5:27 pm
You’re picking up what I’m laying down.
I’m anxious, too, to hear about the negative space, which we didn’t get around to the other day.
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staci Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
negative space was, well, negative. check out the piece, then we’ll talk about it…
it was a Great idea, and an elegant solution to a piece i’ve been trying to write for 5 years or so. but. remember in ZATAOMM how he discussed the difficulty of explaining certain concepts without doing it in terms of their own underlying forms? same issue here. will keep trying the exercise. i bet you could find some interesting ways to do it. in fact, i can’t wait to see what you do with it.
on the other hand, positive: you’ve managed here to convey, not only the magnitude of those western spaces, but a great number of the fine details that separate those spaces from those back east. i miss so many of those details. my western trips this year can’t come fast enough.
you’re talented. and so deserving of each of those moments you’ve displayed for us…
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Greg Stahl Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Do you remember one of the first conversations we had on cropping? A photograph of the universe, then cropped to be a solar system, then cropped to show a planet, then a continent, then a beach, then a log on the beach, then the wood grain of the log, then the cells in the wood grain, then the atoms that make up the cells, then the protons, neutrons and electrons that make up the atom … And voila, you’re back where you started because that very much resembles the universe from which you began cropping in the first place. The initial perspective has been cropped to the point where it shows the original perspective again.
I tried to show that in this video. Kind of wish I had a macro lens so I could have really done it. But … anyway. Fun.
staci Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
i DO remember that conversation, and how much fun has been had as a result of it!
you pulled this together well. you know, i was talking to someone at my exhibit opening last week about how each photographer is lucky to be gifted the opportunity to frame so many moments. OR maybe talented enough to see the moments that happen all the time to all of us. OR both. regardless, those of us who understand photography can appreciate the sharing of the moments by other photographers, and in so doing accummulate, vicariously, uncounted additional lifetimes of moments beyond what we can experience ourselves.
thank you for making this accessible for the rest of us. it’s a treasure-trove.
It’s a breath of fresh air to see all the fabulous photos that detail travels and the memories of those travels. Another long day when I am left wishing for the open road and no plan in place…however, with the car in the shop that might be a problem
Maybe another day…
Love the music…Ben was always talented musically.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
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Greg Stahl Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
The open road is never farther than a steering wheel away.
As for Ben, I remember him sitting down at the piano at about age 8 and just playing things he heard on the record player by ear. He’s one of those natural mathematical geniuses — he can actually hear frequencies (and tunes my guitar by ear alone).
You’ve either got it or you don’t. He’s got it.
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Michele Kissinger Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
I remember when Ben would play his guitar when he and I hung out in high school. It seemed to be part of his being, something that came so naturally.
Thanks for the reminder…However, the return of my steering wheel will not come without some cost, (in this case $4,000)..as with anything meanful in life that allows for freedom and exploration of something greater than ourselves and own backyard. This is when the reality of needing a means by which to support myself and provide for basic needs conflicts with the carefree spirit in my soul that says….f**k it and leave the world behind. Finding a way to balance one’s needs and wants is a continuous struggle. Perhaps the better one becomes at reaching that balance the more whole an individual he or she becomes.
There are two ways of being happy: We must either diminish our wants or augment our means – either may do – the result is the same and it is for each man to decide for himself and to do that which happens to be easier.
Benjamin Franklin
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Greg Stahl Reply:
January 19th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
I’ll amend my prior comment:
The open road is never farther than a pair of sneakers away.
More on happiness later, but I don’t agree with Ben on this one. Happiness has absolutely nothing to do with what you have or don’t have.
One Question: What is your conceptual framework of happiness?
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Greg Stahl Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
This is an important question. I think it’s important enough to write an essay. Early next week, perhaps. Thanks for the discussion, Michele.
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Michele Kissinger Reply:
January 20th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Anytime
Look foward to your essay!
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