Changing It Up

     This may be a strange post to write in the height of the fall colour season. Yes, I know that the fall colour season is actually winding down, but, due to an unseasonably mild autumn, the colours locally haven't really reached their peak as of this writing.

    I love the fall colour season. Scenes that I've photographed dozens of times  seem to take on a fresh dimension simply with the advent of glorious colour. Like the brilliant foliage that surrounds me, I too, am going through some changes.

    I once complained to a good friend that ''All I do is live in a pretty little town and take pretty  pictures.'' In retrospect, that statement may be a little harsh. But, to some degree it expresses a restlessness in the content of the images that I'm creating. For me, there's kind of a disconnect. Essentially, what I'm doing is pandering to the viewers of my work. I'm giving them what they want. Pretty colour pictures of beautiful scenes are what sells in marketing prints and postcards. They garner the most "likes" and comments on social media. I'd be a liar if I said that I didn't appreciate the attention they provide.   Another friend once asked if I considered myself an artist.  I just gave her my stock, self deprecating answer. ''Nah, I'm just handy with a camera.'' However, to my mind, that's not good enough. If I'm to consider myself an artist, or, at the very least, a student of the arts, I should be able to articulate something a little more substantive than ''Look at this. It's pretty!''

      For some time, I've been fascinated by the work of photographers like Garry Winogrand,  Robert Frank, Walker Evans, Vivian Maier and a slew of others. The power of their work goes beyond basic pictorialism to a more powerful expression of each photographer's view of the world they photograph. In exchange for  ''Look at this. It's pretty!'' one gets,  ''Look at this. It's interesting!''  The latter statement describes more  the direction I want to explore photographically. It's not necessarily a "street photography" aesthetic but a more comprehensive view that goes a bit beyond the "pretty picture".

    This is not to say that I'm abandoning whatever style of photography I do now. I will always have an appreciation of beautiful light illuminating a picturesque landscape or scene. Furthermore, I see nothing wrong with sharing the beauty of a sunrise or sunset with friends on social media. I just want to take a step beyond the conventional assessment of beauty. It's a new direction, not an abandonment of the old one. Stay tuned. This could be interesting!

                ...more later

         As usual, if you like what you see here, feel free to hit ''like'' and share it to the media platform of your choice. Also, stay tuned for my ''Photographic Friends'' feature appearing here in two weeks. It's going to feature a bit of the back story and some beautiful photos from the awesome photographer, Heather Cardle.