LenKowitz.com: Where's Len?

Saturday, February 02, 2013

Where's Len?

It's been too long...well, maybe not long enough.
Since the Grand Tour of the American West with Mr Vestal in October I have in fact been working.
However, it's mostly been in the darkroom. No doubt the result of two stops David and I made during the Grand Tour.
Jan Peiterzak is making some beautiful platinum prints in Santa Fe. They are contact prints from 120 negatives so they are best seen at no more than arm's length. Mark Cetrit and Sherry Hain are also doing some beautiful work with the 4x5. All of with is to say that I'm currently infatuated with the possibility of contact prints in silver.
I had started some 4x5 work a number of years ago but got sidetracked by new digital cameras among other things. I keep coming back to an old expression that I'm sure is nothing by a cynical comment..."If you can't make it good, make it big!"...I've been trying to print some old negatives with new techniques in mind. It seems to be working but it's going to be a while before I have finished prints to post on this blog. Something I learned at Rendezvous 24, show your work in it's best light.
Please be patient.

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It occurs to me...

I've been thinking about the business of making photographs and I'm going to use this forum as a place to share some of those thoughts.
I'll also post new pictures as they get to the "finished" state and provide information on how you can go about having your very own copy. Taking a cue from Duane Keiser, http://www.duanekeiser.com/ , I think marketing my own work is the best way for me to go, at least for the time being

As I think about becoming a "photographer", I've spent some time with people who have made that choice long ago and are now working very hard at it.The work they have produced is in many cases, excellent. What I have noticed is that the profession has a very low return on the time invested. It's far cry from my previous career where the return on my time was actually very high.
Great credit is due those individuals who choose to become photographers and then actually make a "living" by making pictures.

One night last week I took two "portfolios" to the Houston Center for Photogrphy to have them "reviewed". It was an interesting experience.
I was told that the landscape work had no relationship to the short set-up comments I made and that I should keep working on the blk&wht, "Ode to O'Keffee" portfolio.
It was pointed out to me that "landsape" work is highly competitive. Interesting observation, how did I fail to see that?
It occurs to me that showing my work to strangers is a productive activity, at least for me. Unfortunately, I probably gain more from the experience than those who see the pictures for the first time. Maybe it's a fault of the work, not strong enough or unusual enough? Maybe it's the "reviewers" problem?
In any case, it's all just opinion and not fact. I will continue to seek out the opinion of anyone who is willing to look at the pictures, I will also continue to make pictures that I like.