November 2005
- 5
Camera Ludus
A photographer once compared a film to a story, and a photo to a joke. His own images juxtaposed unexpected content, with humorous effect: for example, a willowy-thin fashion model devouring a huge bar of chocolate. Regarding a photo as a ‘joke’ is actually less obvious, and more subtle and perceptive than this might suggest. Every photograph is a ‘joke’ in the sense that it both represents reality and plays a game with the viewer…
- 9
Narrative and Thought
One of my long-term favourite photographers is Henri Cartier-Bresson, and it was a long time before I understood his intrigue. Understanding his pictures is not simply photographic perception – whatever that is or could be – it requires deeper and more subtle thinking. Cartier-Bresson was always dismissive of technology and technique, and dismissive of the appellation ‘artist’. He preferred to simply ‘take pictures’, relying on the visual power of his work to express what he…
- 24
Mountain Narrative
For many years I’d ignored the most southerly of the Lakeland valleys, known as Kentmere. You pass it on the road before you get to Windermere, which is for many people the proper beginning of Lakeland. It is certainly dramatic and obvious when you reach this biggest lake and while some of it is delightfully scenic and enticing – like the view of the Langdale Pikes from across the lake – the rest of it…