About a month ago at a meeting with a small group of photographers, the conversation came to “what is a project” and questions related to it. Some said they started a project with a very clear idea of what they wanted to do, while others started without even thinking it was a project. Although I was involved in projects of both kinds I was not quite sure what exactly made for a project and kept thinking. (You may also want to read a related post, What Is A Commissioned Project.)
After considering the subject from various angles, I arrived at the following related to the topic:
A project is an attempt to see how an idea may work. It is an inquiry to discover the possibilities. Implicit in this is the possible failure of a project because not all ideas yield positive results.
Orchis
I photographed dried orchid blossoms because I was intrigued by their shapes. Then, I noticed that each flower looked like a person dancing and asked a friend to see if he and his significant other, a retired ballerina, agreed. She introduced me to Misha, the artistic director of Festival Ballet Providence, and after an initial meeting, the ballet Orchis emerged. There was no possible way for me to conceive the ballet as I started photographing the flowers but it remains a high point in my photographic life.
Touching The History
My Hagia Sophia experience, Touching the History was somewhat similar to this. Although I knew I would be photographing from inside the dome of the Great Church, I had no idea what I would see and how I would respond to the vistas before my eyes. It turned out to be a very powerful experience for me and that was reflected in the photographs I produced. I remember some people feeling similar powerful emotions at the opening reception as they became teary-eyed from the evocative images.
Ballet Off Stage
A very different kind of project emerged when I teamed up with Vilia Putrius of the Festival Ballet Providence to create a collection of photographs that became known as the Ballet Off Stage. The idea was to pick a particular ballet and a ballerina that was in the domain of Vilia and photograph the dancer at a location suitable for the ballet content which was my responsibility. This was a highly controlled project with costumes, locations, lighting, extra elements, etc. The result was very satisfying to me although FBP could not capitalize on the idea at a one-evening exhibit/fundraising reception. Artistically satisfying and successful, financially not.
Ordinary Places
I have some projects I have been working on like the Ordinary Places where I find “ordinary” locations to photograph with a great deal of respect and attention to detail at the location. These are places where we shop, eat, have a cup of coffee, etc., unlike the locations photographers prefer to visit like grand vistas, seashores, national parks, and so on. We’ll see how it goes. I am also fascinated by the random patterns formed on the roads when the cracks on them are repaired with patches of tar. I call them, and the project, Tar Doodles! I scout the locations and revisit them when fewer people and traffic are likely to be.
A Project Can Be Emergent
… as strange as it may sound, this is actually how we see the world most of the time
And, not all projects need to be of long duration. As I waited in the car in the parking lot of Dave’s Supermarket for Jan to complete the weekly shopping, I noticed the raindrops on the windshield creating distortions. I wondered what may emerge if I emphasized the out-of-focus nature as some people walked by. I set the manual focus on the lens at its closest setting and photographed the people who went by. I did that for a short while and I am sharing the results below.
They are called Impressions of Passers By. This phase of that project has ended, I like the results. I know some may think these look like paintings or they are painterly, to me they are photographs with de-emphasized focus and emphasized motion. By the way, as strange as it may sound, this is actually how we see the world most of the time. Only the point we are looking at is in sharp focus and the rest of the view is indeed out of focus.
Penny for your thoughts! OK, a dime? Come on! You have something to say for sure, …
Of Laces, Yachts, Streets
Binnaz Melin
Hayatımız bir projeden diğerine atlayarak geçti.ama yakınıyor değilim.
Cemal Ekin
Aynen!
Cemal
Haluk Atamal
Plannning ahead too much, you lose the focus and even the time frame.
Every minute you can really live is a project – whether planned or not..
..photographically speaking, that is.
I sincerely have trouble in reading your blurred photos. Probably I am missing a lot.
Thanks for the share, Cemal.
Cemal Ekin
Haluk, you are trying to recognize who and what in the photograph. Believe it or not, this is how we actually see the world outside the point we are looking at. Next time in the car try this: Focus on a point on the dashboard and follow what is happening outside. You will have an impression but not a full recognition of what is going on, who is walking by. This is an attempt to capture what is outside while I focus on the camera screen. An impression of people going by. Also, there is the color, color contrast, texture, shapes, etc. But again, there are things I cannot read either, even in written words!
Take care,
Cemal
James Turner
I very much like the concept that a project is an idea to see if it will work or not. As my Providence image project was to show Providence in different seasons the images just did not work, failure. Yes, with help of learned photographers the images were basically repurposed, set under an new idea, way of seeing and resulted in a very satisfying coffee table book.
I know of your tar wiggles and images from your neighborhood as well as ordinary places and am always intrigued by your sightfulness of whats in front of you fitting it all into a frame. I remember being at South County railroad station on a rainy day with you when you started photographing the raindrops on the glass on the elevated crossover. Similar to the Dave’s wet windshield images. You seem to me to be always alert to your environment and how it presents as a framed image.
Cemal Ekin
Thank you, Jim, for your encouraging and flattering words. Photographic seeing improves with increased awareness. I was very pleased to see one reader being inspired by my post on Seeing and started the experiment to see how it would work. Other readers on that site carried the idea forward. What more can a teacher want?! Here is the post I mentioned:
https://ameditativejourney.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/a-photo-study-seeing/
Cemal
Bill Clark
As you know Cemal, I am always interested in viewing the dance of how we pay attention to the world around us. It is particularity interesting to pay attention to how the eyes can focus on an object that is close, and whatever is in the background is thrown out of focus. Then we look to the background, and the foreground goes blurry. We do this without thinking and usually without attention.
Most photographs do not show this effect. Instead, we view images where the foreground and background are both in focus. In this series, you have gone in the opposite direction, by capturing everything out of focus.
While this project may be finished, I think you have many other subject to explore with this approach to capturing the world around us.
Cemal Ekin
You are right Bill, we mistakenly think we see everything in sharp focus because of our ability to instantly focus on whatever we want. This mini project lasted mere minutes but allowed me to produce a few proof of the concept photographs. I may pursue the idea, time will tell. I like the feel of these photographs.
Thanks for stopping by,
Cemal