Preamble

Some Unsystematic Introductory Remarks

The act of taking a photograph is almost embarrassingly simple. It is hardly surprising that, unless some special effort is made, the outcome is likely to be trite and banal. No visual medium is as slavishly bound to its subject as photography. A principal aim of most interesting art of the last 150 years has been to free itself from literal representation of its subject (if, indeed, it has any).

Photography is a ‘new’ and ‘technologically advanced’ medium. Paradoxically, photography has always tended towards a remarkably conservative approach. Styles long scorned by painters, sculptors and graphic artists continue to be widely accepted modes of photographic expression.

Objectively:
The mechanical act of taking a photograph merely involves recording what we think we see. Of course, the less carefully we look, the more we will be surprised by the resulting image. Experience of how a camera ‘sees’ is also important in assessing the likely outcome. Objects and sights that are perceived as being quite overwhelming often make disappointing photographic subjects; then again, apparently unpromising material may give rise to a convincing image.

Subjectively:
Taking a photograph involves the decision of choosing what we consider might be worth according a measure of permanence. This is where matters become more interesting. The choice we make is an indicator of the acuity of our vision in a more than one sense. Just as it is boring to say the obvious, seeing and recording what everyone already knows is never going to be particularly illuminating.

A photograph can only be a means of communication when it confronts the viewer with something unknown to him. This might happen when the subject matter is so novel or extraordinary that it arouses curiosity or astonishment. To my mind, a more intriguing possibility is the development of a means of communication in which the actual subject (to which one is inevitably tied) is so irrelevant as to be not worth knowing.

The aim and process here might be compared to those of a musical composition: each individual sound and the various sequences of these sounds are of no intrinsic value as such (just as the vowels and consonants of speech mean nothing in themselves); however, the act of composition shapes these neutral elements into a sequence capable of engaging both our mind and emotions. Quite why this is possible seems beyond explanation.

The content of my photographs might best be described as immaterial. Sometimes the subject matter is obvious, sometimes it is almost impossible to deduce. In the latter case, explanatory notes about what the picture ‘shows’ or how the picture was taken would not be helpful in any way.

The pictures have no message. If they had a meaning that could put into words, I can’t imagine a reason for making them in the first place. My excitement (this is no exaggeration) when taking these photographs embraced the feeling that others might be just as fascinated by what I was seeing.