Friday, March 27, 2009

Shrink Wrap Building


Seldom do I find myself looking at a potential photo from 1/4 of a mile away. For me it is far more likely to discover the photographable from what is easily seen while walking. And yet here I was following the most readily observable object on the horizon while driving to San Francisco on the freeway. But then how often are hotels wrapped in white plastic. So the lesson here is don't ignore something just because it screams to be photographed. Oh and the other lesson...the best part was on the backside facing away from the freeway. So I guess having a walk around big obvious things can payoff in the end.

I have a nephew who likes to fish. And when he goes fishing it becomes obvious to those around him that he catches more fish. Inevitably these other fishermen want to know what he's doing. Some think it's the bait, some think it's the location. In reality my nephew catches more fish because he has developed the finely honed skill of knowing what kind of fish he wants and knowing what that fish wants. Some think of this as simple math, but I suspect that it has more to do with having a few easily known facts and an almost psychic ability to deploy that knowledge. Photography sometimes seems like fishing.

4 comments:

Paul Spooner said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paul Spooner said...

Hi Robert

your work is very unique and very beautiful. I just wanted to ask about your post processing if I may: How much is digital and how much, if any, is traditional darkroom technique?

Cheers....

Robert Holmgren said...

Paul,

I develop my own film and with that have a reasonable control over a decently reproducable negative. From there I leave the darkroom and enter the digital domaine. What I'm guided by in digital is my working knowledge of the darkroom and what I'm capable of doing there. All of my work is bound by those limitations.

Paul Spooner said...

Thanks for the response...It is difficult to find the right middle-ground between digital and film based photography, particularly if you learned the old fashioned way as I did, but I think you have the balance right...