The tire goes flat, the tooth falls out, there will be a hundred meals without mustard. The poem gets written. I have wrestled with the angel and I am stained with light and I have no shame. Neither do I have guilt. My responsibility is not to the ordinary, or the timely. It does not include mustard, or teeth. It does not extend to the lost button, or the beans in the pot. My loyalty is to the inner vision, whenever and howsoever it may arrive.
From Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver
I am always struck by how the best photographs present themselves quietly. It’s quite frustrating to be unable to imagine a future image in advance, or to be hindered from finding a good image because I was really looking for the ghosts of prior images. The fact is that the next portfolio quality image almost always comes as a surprise! This is what distinguishes photography from painting, among other things.
For example, I’m quite happy with my recent images from the inner passage to Alaska. The fact is, however that I was transiting from Vancouver to Alaska on a cruise ship vacation and my wife called me out onto the cabin’s balcony to see the sites when suddenly the fog and clouds made everything interesting. I had no prior hint that this was where my best images would come from; I was expecting them to occur in Alaska itself. The best image of the lot was captured because I quickly pulled out my pocket Sony RX-100 to capture the leprechaun so to speak. This only goes to show that the gear is less important than the gift. We all would like to think that we can plan ahead, pre-visualize the shot and print the image that was in our minds eye precisely as it was at the time of capture, but for me this rarely happens; the gift is presented and it must be taken when it, not the photographer is ready.
This is one of the things I like best about photography. The hunt of course encourages an alert attention towards life, but like a small child images sneak up and surprise me, ironically the moment my attention lags. It occurs to me that the best things in life work that way and we must be grateful. As Mary Oliver said, “My loyalty is to the inner vision, whenever and howsoever it may arrive.”
Blog No. 74: I have wrestled with the angel and I am stained with light
The tire goes flat, the tooth falls out, there will be a hundred meals without mustard. The poem gets written. I have wrestled with the angel and I am stained with light and I have no shame. Neither do I have guilt. My responsibility is not to the ordinary, or the timely. It does not include mustard, or teeth. It does not extend to the lost button, or the beans in the pot. My loyalty is to the inner vision, whenever and howsoever it may arrive.
From Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver
I am always struck by how the best photographs present themselves quietly. It’s quite frustrating to be unable to imagine a future image in advance, or to be hindered from finding a good image because I was really looking for the ghosts of prior images. The fact is that the next portfolio quality image almost always comes as a surprise! This is what distinguishes photography from painting, among other things.
For example, I’m quite happy with my recent images from the inner passage to Alaska. The fact is, however that I was transiting from Vancouver to Alaska on a cruise ship vacation and my wife called me out onto the cabin’s balcony to see the sites when suddenly the fog and clouds made everything interesting. I had no prior hint that this was where my best images would come from; I was expecting them to occur in Alaska itself. The best image of the lot was captured because I quickly pulled out my pocket Sony RX-100 to capture the leprechaun so to speak. This only goes to show that the gear is less important than the gift. We all would like to think that we can plan ahead, pre-visualize the shot and print the image that was in our minds eye precisely as it was at the time of capture, but for me this rarely happens; the gift is presented and it must be taken when it, not the photographer is ready.
This is one of the things I like best about photography. The hunt of course encourages an alert attention towards life, but like a small child images sneak up and surprise me, ironically the moment my attention lags. It occurs to me that the best things in life work that way and we must be grateful. As Mary Oliver said, “My loyalty is to the inner vision, whenever and howsoever it may arrive.”