Tangled Banks

I'm reading Rebecca Solnit's "Storming the Gates of Paradise - Landscapes for Politics", a collection of 40 essays with an activist perspective on place, space, land and landscape. 

In "Tangled Banks and Clear-Cut Examples" she explores the parallels between the pinup calendar and the kind of conventional nature photography that fills calendars and coffee table books. She writes: "Both are usually portrayed in a kind of photography that calls attention not to its own status as representation, but to what is represented, and like much such 'realism' wishes to function as a transparent window onto what is supposed to be presented: the real. Yet what one sees through these windows is a vision of perfection from which death, time, decay, action have been excluded as flaws. Both are souped-up, sleek, flawless, passive; in both the orthodoxy of beauty has produced a curious homogeneity of visual reference to pleasures that are not altogether visual. The chaos of thought and action has been replaced with a stale vision of delight ..." 

In another online column, she asks "how will we get back what we've lost if we are too busy to notice it's gone missing?" And she goes on: "The four horsemen of my apocalypse are called 'Efficiency', 'Convenience', 'Profitability' and 'Security' ... These marauding horsemen are deployed by technophiles, advertisers and profiteers to assault the nameless pleasures and meanings that knit together our lives and expand our horizons." 

These two short quotes summarise what has been going on the last couple of years in photography. Just as the industry and their army of acolytes (reviewers) convinced us 15 years ago that the CD format was in every way superior to the vinyl disc, we are now told that digital images trump film in every way. Well, just as we can now verify with our own ears that the delicate movements of a miniature diamond needle in a plastic groove generate more dynamics and a vastly more truthful and humane aural experience, I am quite sure that in 15 years time connoisseurs will feast on the subtle qualities of emulsion-based images: the naturalness, the honesty, the waywardness, the micro-unpredictability emerging from the irregular crystals in the film.  

Some may think that debate of digital vs analogue has been dead and buried, but I think it is not. The debate has to be kept alive because we are, for the sake of convenience, throwing away the baby with the bath water. And indeed, "how will we get back what we have lost if we are too busy to notice it's gone missing?" 

It is heartening, therefore, that Jean-Christophe Béchet from the French magazine Réponses Photo (October issue, p. 168) argues for a little pause from the digital rush, a little slowing down in order to take the opportunity to dig up our old stuff and be surprised by the quality of the materials, mechanics and finishing, the clear viewfinder, the pleasure of looking at a nice, luminous chrome. 

A few pages further a reader extolls the virtues of having unclassified boxes full of negatives: it's like having an unkempt memory garden in which you can stroll, follow unexpected leads, or decline invitations to explore. Digital files have a chimeric existence. They can never quite enter our lives. 

These calls won't, of course, stop the digital tsunami. Digital aficionados will smile at so much vaporous quaintness. But for us, who still are standing with two or at least one feet in the old world, it may strengthen our resolve to hold on to our analogue assets and to keep them alive. 

'kina fever

Today I spent the day at the Photokina fair in Cologne. In an odd kind of way these buzzy shows always have a faintly depressing, nauseating effect on me. One does see a lot of bad photography on a day like this. The marketing hubbub surrounding the new introductions borders on the infantile. One has to wade through an ocean of trivia to find an occasional piece of genuine interest. And the king-size Krakauer Wurst doesn’t help ...

Anyway the big theme, it seems to me, is the conflation of medium-end digital markets. The full frame 15 to 20 Mpixel DSLR is becoming a standard for the semi-professional user, closing the gap with the digital back/medium format segment that starts out at 16 Mpixel. The new Leica S2 (now on display but likely available only summer 2009!) promises to bring high end DSLR even more firmly into medium format territory. So a ferocious competitive battle is breaking loose for the lucrative market of the advanced amateur/semi-pro/mainstream professional photographer. Nikon, Canon, Sony, Leica, Hasselblad, Phase One and Mamiya will vie for critical mass in their market shares. Personally I am not tempted. I spent some time today at the Hasselblad booth, looking at the HD3-31 and the CFV-II back. I like the latter’s concept – a 16 Mp back with a sizeable sensor to fit the good old Hassy bodies and lenses – but in practice I must say it has “compromise” written all over it. The 1,5x elongation factor is one big minus. And there are all kinds of fiddly issues – related to hardware and software – that seems to make it rather cumbersome to operate. With the SWC there is even more fiddling as the synchronisation between shutter and button is not 100% (hence the notice on the website that this is combo is not recommended for critical applications). But maybe that’s just a matter of getting used to. Question is, of course, to what extent a 16 Mp back @ 8000 euro, even taking into account the bigger sensor, is still competitive when 3000 euro DSLRs are routinely pushing the 20Mp limit. Then, as regards the H3, I’ve never taken a liking to the Hasselblad H-series and that didn’t change today. I don’t like the plastic, the grey colour, the general shape and design of the thing. Nice viewfinder, though. But there is no doubt that the H3 does not have the appeal for me of a well-crafted instrument such as the Alpa, Linhof of Arca-Swiss, all of which I had the pleasure of fondling today.

I didn’t pay any attention today to the new crop of DSLRs, not even to the 5D Mk II. True, the 22 Mp and the ruggedised body are a selling point, but I couldn’t care less about the Live View and the Video functionality and the other tiddlybits. From my point of view a good example of the trivialisation of photography. Some people now claim that moving images are going to compete much more with still images. Well, so be it. I wish the videographers good luck. From my point of view they are two very different media and I see no reason for conflating the technologies in a single package (because, even if I were interested in both still and moving images, it would be for very different reasons and would require very different technological solutions as well).

But that’s not all. My mindset when I went in this morning was one of being quite open to digital. We’re getting used to the idea after all. But now, having in the space of a few hours seen maybe hundreds of prints from digital cameras, my belief in the merits of film has once more been strengthened. There is an awful lot that is downright shamefully bad in digital, there is a lot that is good too and there is some that is spectacular (in its resolution, colour and tone), but at the end of the day it simply is something different. The images have a different feel. It may be stupefyingly accomplished but very often there is no real life to it. That is what I could not help but noticing today. My recent musical experience serves me very well to articulate this difference: today we have very sophisticated digital sound recordings. Bit rates have ratcheted up to 20, to 24 bits. We have SACD. Sound engineers are able to capture a symphony orchestra at full throttle with uncanny precision. One can listen in awe and STILL not forget for a moment that one is listening to an sound recording. Compare that to the visceral effect of a vinyl disc. Purely technically it is less than perfect but the instrumental timbres and the voices shine with a naturalness, character and radiance that is simply captivating. And so it comes that one can be fully engrossed listening to an old LP, as a matter of course forgetting the hiss, pops and clicks. I find the same is very much true when comparing film to digital. Film is not perfect, objectively less sharp, but in some unfathomable way it has a life that cannot be captured by digital. And it becomes even more complicated when one takes into account that a part of the magic remains after scanning a negative. There is not a shade of doubt in my mind that the most impressive exhibition I saw today was devoted to individual and group portraits from the American Civil War. These were 130 year old collodion plates, scanned, restored and printed in big formats! Amazing! Such a wonderful, lively detail! Nothing digital I have seen today comes even close.

So this tells me to continue to rely on the hybrid solution. I have every possible analogue camera I’d want to use (from 24x36 up to 20x25) and there are plenty of interesting emulsions around. However, if I take the hybrid route really seriously I will need to invest in a better scanner. That market is completely stagnant. Photokina had nothing new to offer on that account. There is the Nikon LS9000 at 2500 euro or the Hasselblad X1 at around 10.000 euro and nothing in between. In terms of printing it seems options are increasing with HP and also Canon successfully challenging Epson in the large format, professional end of the spectrum. I’ve heard very good things today about the HP 3200 from Stephen Johnson who was at the Hahnemühle booth. In media, there is a profusion of papers to satisfy every taste. For me, the Ilford Baryta Gold looks like a very nice stock but other manufacturers have competitive offers. So, yes, for me there is future in film. It was a good day at Photokina today ...

Mapas

Last Sunday we went to see "Mapas Abiertos", a photo exhibition in Brussels featuring contemporary Latin-American photography. It was an excellent show, featuring a fascinating mix of styles and approaches in more than 200 photographs. A lot of it was very contemporary, but in contrast to a lot of European and American photography it felt very vibrant and alive. A refreshing change from the sterile, ultra-conceptual mess we've been forcefed for so many years now. The exhibition was developed along three lines: alternative identities, alternative scenarios and alternative histories. In other words, the show hovered around the central theme of deconstruction of self, time and place.

Latin America harbours violent societies and it shows. There is something very much "in your face", occasionally spilling over into the truly apocalyptic, about these pictures. On the other side, there is a feel for the theatrical, the mannerist, the surreal and the exquisitely aesthetic. A fascinating combination.

Shots

I was surprised to see one of my images printed in the latest issue of "Shots" magazine. I had sent in a small batch for their nr. 100 issue but none of the images were published. It was Marko who drew my attention to "Shots". Definitely one of the most interesting magazines out there. It's being edited and published quarterly by one individual (Russel Joslin), printed on cheap paper, features only B&W pictures. Pages are 90% pictures, 10% text (one or two interviews in an issue). No ads at all. The magazine is fully supported by reader subscriptions (and it's cheap: $40 for a one year subscription in Europe and that includes postage). A unique undertaking and, as one could read their nr. 100 issue, one that takes a lot of commitment of the publisher to keep going.

The current issue is devoted to the theme of "Dreams" and one of my grainy, washed out pictures has been printed on page 35. Quite a (pleasant) surprise to suddenly see one of your pictures printed when you don't expect it.

Magnum

It's a long shot but I have applied for a Magnum Workshop with Carl De Keyser, Mark Power and Donovan Wylie. It's a five day session in October, in Brighton, UK. 22 "advanced" photographers will be admitted (amateur and pro). We'll see. Below is my motivation letter. Not sure whether it is convincing at all. Maybe they find it a lot of conceptual gobbledigook. We'll see. It's not a big deal if it doesn't happen.

I am a self-taught semi-professional photographer. Mentors that have guided my photographic development are Hans Bol (Holland, large format) and Lorenzo Castore (VU).
I am represented by Millennium Images in London. Occasionally I accept commercial assignments. However, 90% of my energy and time is going to my free work.

In this work my focus has firmly gravitated towards “Europe”, which interests me as a 1) geographic datum, 2) a cultural space, 3) a canvas for the unfolding of historical processes, and 4) as a political experiment. In other words, my photographic work on Europe is guided by 4 key themes: space, power, faith and history. These themes run as threads through five different photographic projects. One of these projects is completed, two are at various stages of completion and two will be tackled in the (near) future.

A first project focused on the 27 Capitals of the European Union. This was a stylised study, in B&W panorama pictures, of the power matrix in which European society is embedded. This project is completed and has been featured in a self-published book.

A second project focuses on the eastern Mediterranean basin. In the spirit of Mimmo Jodice, I am exploring the multilayered vestiges of Europe's early history.

A third project surveys the northwestern frontier – Ireland and Iceland - of the European cultural space (working title: “Thule”). Here I am focusing particularly on the tension between the timelessness of these ancient spaces and the impact of societies leapfrogging from an agricultural to a postindustrial logic in just a few decades.

In October I will travel to Serbia to start off a fourth project that will focus on the Balkans and Turkey (working title: “U.S.E. - Uncertain States of Europe”). This will be an attempt to come to grips with the (lost) history and the faith-based fault lines running through these societies.

Finally, I am planning to travel along the 30th eastern parallel (working title: “30E”) to photograph five great metropolises (Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Odessa, Istanbul and Cairo) and three great cultural spheres (Slavic, Ottoman and Islamic) forming the eastern frontier of Europe.

I have a single, overriding goal in my photographic development and that is to be able to go to quicker and deeper to the essence. This is less about technical challenges (although there is still plenty to learn at that level as well) as about taking a riskier, a more truthful approach to my photography. I would like to be able to shift more organically, intuitively and less driven by conceptual considerations between different technical approaches and vocabularies, within a given project and when switching between projects. I believe this Magnum Masterclass will be a good opportunity to help me pushing the envelope in my craft.

Slow

It's been going very slow on the blog. I've been preoccupied with other stuff, notably music. Having spent a few days in splendid isolation in my father's music room in their house in France, I came back from holiday with a renewed appetite for music. Here, at our place, I'd gotten into the habit to listen more casually. Which is not a good thing. So, I'm instilling some new discipline into the listening (a new pair of speakers helps ...). 

On the photo side, there hasn't been happening much. Above is another portrait taken a few weeks ago with the 5D and the 35/1.4.