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wanderingpurist | all galleries >> Landscapes >> Alaska > Steps...
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23-AUG-2007

Steps...

I fear not Death,

For Death is but merely the cessation of Life.

But a Life unlived...

That terrifies me.

June 2007


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wanderingpurist03-Sep-2007 15:56
Thanks for your comments; some further thoughts...

VB and EJB -

I am not that familiar with Cha-Do, but I have heard it requires (and instills) a zen level of concentration and involvement. In many ways, very similar to the art of photography - the part that is more than just a man-made (man-enabled?) recreation/capture of nature.

Thanks for your comments; it is gratifying to know this shot could be so evocative to someone other than myself, especially when the subject is so potentially abstract. Most of the time, abstract expressions, whether photographs (this one was also anchored in apparent "reality" which potentially makes it a victim of technical and intellectual pixel peeping, though the composition, framing, exposure, shallow DOF, were all chosen very deliberately) drawings or writings end up relevent to no one but the auteur, so context sensitive are they, almost to the point of self-indugence.

I am really heartened the symbolic elements came through so clearly to you; sometimes, such elements are too abstract; other times, they are too literal and actually get in the way of the meta-message (such as it is)

This was a risky shot for me, insofar as I expected that most viewing it would react "ho-hum, it is under-exposed, and what's with the focus? Man, the photographer should get some better equipment!"

for me personally (and probably exacerbated by my own personal circumstances of late) it was a shot that appeared conceptually whole in my mind when I "created" the shot, and one that continued to haunt me even as I went on to other shots.

DW, Thanks, I am honored to have the shot (and its symbolism) keep you awake until 5am!

Evocative or provocative to others besides the photographer/artist/auteur - that is a transcendent quality that is hard to achieve, at least for me.

You know, I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately, both in the abstract, and on practical terms.

My own shots lack "POP!" - I've long been aware of this, and there are many shots that immediately elicit a "WOW!"

But in many cases, after the initial "ZING" it is also almost just as quickly forgotten - out of sight, out of mind, even if the effect when in sight is like a whack over the head or a shot of pure adrenalin.

Though I am interested in eliciting "WOW!" as well, from time to time, I tend to prefer to create a shot that lingers, that continues to haunt, even after one is no longer looking at the shot directly.

I know this will garner more "huh?" than nodding agreements; thanks to you, VB, and EJB for your comments and affirmation.



DW 03-Sep-2007 15:49
The more I thought about this image the more I thought about >

this is NOT the end, but a new Beginning.
Had me awake in bed until 5am this morning.
EJB 03-Sep-2007 15:48
the rocks lead to an unkown place, and yet… it seems like there is peace out there, a clearing. The rocks are hard to walk on, they are irregular, the gaps between them are of different width and the soil might be wet. Some of the rocks are inclined as to make you misstep and fall into the gaps. There is no bush hard enough to support you if you accidentally veer towards the sides. If you lose your concentration, if you decide to go faster than you should, you might fall.

A lesson in a simple image.

I agree.
VB 03-Sep-2007 15:47
These wise lines, the photograph, they speak the same language, they have the same taste. They are true!

This row of rocks reminds me of "chadô" which is the Japanese Way of Tea. Those who know "chadô" will never forget it anymore. More than a "mere" philosophy, it's art and weltanschauung and above all difficult to describe, for it must be lived. Anyway, in "chadô" the path of these rocks leads to the tea house where everyday life is left in front of the door. In the tea house you hear the ringing sound of the kettle, maybe the sound of rain falling on the bamboo leaves. During the "tea ceremony" you live a moment in life very intensively. This anchors you and cleanse you.

I know that this is a very personal connotation with your image. But it's just to show you how intensive your image is. I find that the shallow DOF adds to the symbolism of living hear and now, every rock is now, you walk from now to now. You live your life.

With such a symbolic image it is inevitable to evoke personal reactions.
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