My view on "Art"

This is definitely not the usual you're used to seeing here, but I'm really, really happy about this photo. It's just so fucked up and cool. I see something very emotional here, and that's what I see and love about it. It speaks to me.

Taken with a Holga with slide film that's been cross-processed.






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I know a lot of people have issues with Holgas... That they're mostly for people that can't afford "quality" cameras and want to achieve unconventional results that people with professional equipment and software could putz around with and produce in photoshop.

Here's my take. Art is not always pristine. Art is not always made with expensive tools. Art is whatever the artist connects with. Art is what comes from the heart, and what s/he gets meaningful aesthetic satisfaction from. Art can easily be made with a $.05 pencil, or a point and shoot. Art is not limited to or just made by or for the aristocrats.

Photography is not seeing the truth that is, photography is seeing the truth that the artist sees. A camera is just a tool. That's why I've never adopted the rigid, puristic view that photography has to be authentic. Meaning, I don't care if you limit yourself to having the photo be exactly the way you saw it in the viewfinder. Crop it and mess around with it in photoshop within an inch of its life, for all I care. I have no more or less respect for people who do it either way. I do think there is a discipline to finding the composition you want in the viewfinder, but I think that is akin to any practice. You become better and better at finding the art you want to produce and present.

So if you want to use a cheap $25 plastic camera, then go for it. If you want to use a $50,000 digital Hasselblad, then go for it. There is no definition for what art is, except that art is subjective for every living human being.

Don't get me wrong, I truly believe that there is a mathematical correlation (called the Golden Ratio) for what is beautiful, but I'm not talking about what is beautiful. I'm talking about art.

I know some artists, art critics, art enthusiasts, and art collectors will disagree with me, and that's fine. Like I said, art is subjective.


Your views/arguments are always welcome.


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Trevor Levin. Last summer in Portland, OR.

Summer Adventures - Portland

Started out with Portland, OR. I stayed at Lucian Schmit's for most of the trip. Lucian has such a fabulous way of capturing people at their most emotive. He was gracious enough to show me a bit of his city, and show me some of the people in it. Like Trevor Levin.

Next year, Burning Man. ...Next year.






He has two darling children and a fabulous wife, who was also an artistic nude model. He showed me around Portland, and I do believe I fell in love with that city. I'll be back there again soon, I hope.






For future reference, hardly any of my posts will be in a consecutive order and will mostly just outline one photographer at a time.

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Lucian Schmit.

My Angel

Is waiting in the wings.



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Lucian Schmit.

Bagby Hot Springs

Love love love these. There will be more to come later, of course.

Love Oregon.

Love San Francisco too.



There's a lot of love. Just wish I had my love with me.



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Lucian Schmit.

India House & the Cat Hat.

After my shoot with Jaime, we were supposed to meet up with the rest of the photographers with whom I have worked with on that trip, and two photographers I was going to work with the following day. It was a fucking amazing time... especially once Lucian's Cat Hat came out.

Jaime Ibarra.

Lucian Schmit.

Trevor Levin.

Andrew (AHS Photography).

Matt Schneider.

Andrew Kaiser.

Cutsy yet curious?

Rockstars of the Double Boop High Seven (patent pending).

Poke.

Life is good. And then some.

Thanks for the flowers, Trevor!

Now its off to go to San Francisco!

The Waterfall Glow

Shot at a tier two waterfall in which we had to scale a 30+ foot rock face to get to. It was amazing, and Andrew and I had an amazing, adventurous and fun time! The scale down was a bit scary, however. But we survived.

I did, however get a noticeable scratch on my right arm sometime during the shoot. Its just a small one, like the width of a cat scratch, except its 4 inches long.



Worth it though! Art is, always.

(I imagine Dave S. Having a mild fit about not being able to see my pinky in this photo.)

I shot with Jaime Ibarra all day today. Ummm yeah. That guy is the coolest, funnest, funniest guy you'll have the pleasure of meeting and working with. He's not arrogant about his work, but he should be. You'll see tomorrow...

All 8 photographers that I have/will work with throughout this Portland trip got together tonight at the India House in Portland. What a spectacular time!! I'll have to edit this entry tomorrow and post some of the "cat hat" pictures. It will be wonderful and hilarious to see. Maybe just for me, but hopefully for some of you as well.

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Andrew Kaiser.

Flower Child

Digital snaps. I can only imagine what the film is going to look like.

This trip is going fantastically, but I expected nothing less, of course.

More to come later...


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Lucian Schmit.