The
challenge of photography is that you have to bring something to the
camera to photograph. Unlike painting, where a blank canvas can hold anything the
artist desires, a camera must be pointed at something to generate an
image. The problem, sometimes, is what.
6x12 cm film |
On
this day, I went to York Redoubt, one of the outlying forts surrounding
Halifax. I was restless and uninspired - wanting to photograph more
than wanting to make images - wanting to handle my camera and go through
the motions, but not at all sure of what I would point it at.
4"x5" film |
The
amazing thing about York Redoubt is its position on a huge hill
overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The upper fort still contains the
original RML cannons, while the lower battery, of a much later vintage,
has been stripped of its more modern weaponry. In seven years of
photographing the ruins of Fortress Halifax, I had never before made
images of the guns. This day, out of pure frustration for something to
image, I turned my camera on them.
4"x5" film |
The
results are less than ideal - the use of the super-wide 65mm super-angulon lens lead
to too much distortion for my "traditional" tastes, and the second most
successful image, to the right, gives little sense of the ranged line of
the RML guns receding. I have always struggled with landscapes, and
this day was no different. Apart from the first image, of a receding
wave on the shore line, little I produced this day was more than an
exercise in exposure, composition and technique. I feel like I was going
through the motions. There is no simple solution to what is happening
with my work...I feel like something has to change but I am at a loss as
to what, or how. I will not give up though, regardless. Photography is
too much of a challenge for me. I will prevail, eventually.
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