Vastness! and Age! and Memories of Eld!
Silence! and Desolation! and dim Night!
I feel ye now – I feel ye in your strength.
~Edgar Allan Poe
I was about to start this post saying that 2018 had been a year of formidable challenges and deep reflection, when I realized that these describe just as well every one of my years to date. The common denominator is obvious. The difference, as always, is not so much the what as it is the why and how. And these, I confess, I struggle to explain even as I write these words. But I’ll try.
This is so far the fourth iteration of this post, and the only one that trusted friends did not suggest I refrain from making public. I may explain the reasons at some later time, if and when I feel more confident in my desire and ability to do so. Alas, it is my nature to find comfort in the fact that the great majority of my life unfolds away from public view. Also, I am of a generation (perhaps the last) that still values privacy. So, without going into detail, I will mention that in the past few years I’ve been struggling with an illness whose implications I am still learning and coming to terms with. Among other things, it has affected my productivity and my ability to work on a couple of projects (primarily books) I had hoped to finish this year, and that will be pushed into 2019.
Several people asked me when/whether I plan to publish another essay book. Rest assured, a manuscript is already written. There is still a fair amount of editing and design work remaining, but the text is nearly finished. I will, of course, provide updates as I have them.
Photographically, to my surprise more than anyone else’s, 2018 has so far been my most productive year. To give you a sense, I made almost twice as many images this year as I have in 2016, and just over 40% more than I have in 2017. Of course, volume is not necessarily correlated with quality, but I am cautiously optimistic that the reason I felt more motivated to photograph has to do with new treatment and medication I started around March of this year.
I find it odd to confine life events and creative evolution to the arbitrary boundaries of a calendar year, but, as I have noted before, I welcome the excuse to pause and examine the progress, trends, and implications of my experiences in the past months. I believe my work this year, perhaps as a result of dealing with some formidable setbacks, has continued to grow more intimate and expressive. I feel that I have also made progress in my studies of visual expression and in finding ways to apply new knowledge in my work.
This past year, I have also began to emphasize in my teachings such topics as creativity and self-expression. It is my sense that, as digital technology has drawn many people to photography in the past 10-15 years, and as many of these people have now reached the fabled “10,000 hours,” there is a growing interest in finding some “next level.”
I’m not sure when it happened, but it seems that I and some of my contemporaries have become sufficiently old (hopefully, also more experienced, perhaps even wiser) as to now be considered as the previous generation. I take it as both a sign of maturity, an affirmation that my path (random as it was) has been rewarding and useful, and as an indication that it is time for me to consider new priorities. Competition has never interested me much, not in business, not in art, not really in anything. With the privilege of having accumulated some knowledge and experience, I find interest in the works of some younger photographers, and I believe it is important to offer these photographers whatever support and encouragement I can.
Of course, I would be remiss to not also acknowledge my previous generation—those lions of photography who set for me and my contemporaries a truly honorable example, being paragons of outdoor ethics, conservation, promoters of photography as art, and pioneers in creating the very business I am now in. You (hopefully) know who you are. Thank you!
For what it’s worth, my generation has experienced the revolutions of the Internet and digital photography, among many others. Perhaps less obvious, but in my lifetime there has also been tremendous progress in art and science, much of which is relevant to photographers and that I believe is worth teaching. On the other hand, in my lifetime the planet has lost more than half its wildlife in what is now considered the sixth great extinction event in Earth’s history, largely attributed to the antics of my fellow hairless apes. Lest we forget or become too complacent in our intellect or beliefs, consider that extinction, arguably, is the most natural thing to happen to any species. Whether humanity persists beyond the next few decades or centuries may be a matter of some speculation, but that should not distract each of us from considering with great seriousness the unrelenting hourglass of our days and moments.
Last but not least, some of you have generously signed up as patrons of my work, using the website Patreon. I am neither wealthy enough nor vain enough to turn down financial support offered in good faith, and I am sincerely grateful. I am also grateful to all who took the time to read my books, to express thoughts about my work, and to subscribe to the publications I contribute to. Whether your support is financial or other, please accept my thanks. I hope I can continue to earn your interest.
You may browse my work from 2018, along with hundreds of previous works, using the Image Stream feature on my website. Additional changes, new collections, and new writings are in the works.
I wish you a peaceful rest of the year, and a wonderful New Year.
