What makes one photograph better than another? Miraculously, I think I found the answer. And, as anyone who frequents this site might suspect, the answer has absolutely nothing to do with what we've previously read, learned or intuited. Read the article to see how I applied this new definition of 'better' to create the "Masquerade" vBook, which premiered on this site a couple weeks ago.
The inevitable has occurred — ULTRAsomething is now hosting workshops. OK, it's only ONE workshop, and its being co-hosted with Quinton Gordon from Luz Studios, but it's still a workshop. And it's every bit as unique as its title: "Ferreting Mantras."
Other than one's spouse, few relationships are as important and influential as the one that exists between teacher and student. Any teacher can shovel knowledge on their pupils, but great teachers unlock their passions.
Why must fasting be limited to food? Why should our stomachs be the only organs to suffer the martyrdom of neglect? Recently I went on a five week fast of a completely different type — a photographic fast.
Linguistic economy is most definitely not the hallmark of a typical ULTRAsomething article. But every once in a while, I do manage to articulate my thoughts in a pithier than normal manner. I did this a couple years ago with an article called "Bartlett's Rejects," which simply listed 14 of my own personal quotes about photography. This article is the sequel — cleverly titled "More Bartlett's Rejects," it contains another 14 photography quotes, ripe for copying and pasting into signatures, tweets and term papers.
Another article filled with psychobabble and theoretical illustrations? Yep. It's almost as if ULTRAsomething believes that learning about oneself is, at the very least, every bit as important to one's photography as learning about the latest hip camera gear.
In this article, I offer the generous gift of a stand-alone ePub version of my 10,000 word Leica M Monochrom review, "A Fetishist's Guide to the Monochrom." In exchange, I ask only that you read my bellyaching about how annoying it is to create such a thing.
In this article, I explore the idea of a "photographer's parable," and soon realize why there are so few of them out there.
Reincarnation is a romantic notion, but no one ever bothers to consider the dark-side: What happens when your new life begins before you've achieved all the desires of your previous life? Fortunately, I'm here to tell you. Not only that, but I even manage to offer up a quasi-review of both the Leica IIIf and the Rolleicord Vb. That's a whole lotta value packed into a single article!
What does Leopold von Sacher-Masoch have to do with my celebration of ULTRAsomething's 100th post? Everything, most likely.
Once every three years, as if possessed by some inner-biological masochism clock, I'll inexplicably grab a camera on the way out the door to watch Vancouver's annual Celebration of Light fireworks competition. It's a curious act for someone who's violently allergic to fireworks photos.
We need to fit the term “photographer” with a pair of concrete shoes, and drop it in the nearest lake. Photography is no longer a unique ability — but the numerous tasks we can accomplish with photography ARE still unique. And this uniqueness is how each of us, moving forward, must define ourselves.
