Thinking Photography

 As an isolated retired photographer I'm looking for an Internet experience to show my work and to dialogue with others about the photographic experience.  Not just about technique but also the contextual effects of the photograph. A photograph can be charged with shocking provocative imagery that can inspire action.  Think of all the pix taken with our cell phones and how easily it can be weaponized just aiming for virility. We create imagery just to go viral with them, It's our personal mark in the world and that can be significant. We all crave recognition and achieve that satisfaction upon its manifestation.  

​So, do we wonder about a photograph's presence, do we believe the image, do we except its authority and if so how will we respond, do we buy the product, do we take action, do we donate? Questioning contextual effects informs our analysis and how the image may affect our emotions.  
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For me, photography is a process.  I came to understand the programs of the camera (e.g. focal length of the lenses, aperture & shutter settings, and specialty features in creating multiple-exposures) and use this understanding in creating photographs. I liken this process to playing the camera, much like playing a musical instrument. In this play I rely on the notes of photography; tonality of light and dark; textures; shapes and patterns; focus and blurs; time and motion and not to forget composition.  This is enough for me to spend hours photographing what's around me. In portfolio 2 I'm on the street in a journalistic mode documenting, processing what I see by double exposing the visual environment with the people walking through. What I 'see' are the two shots that produces the final one image. I don't limit myself in just using the camera. I also create images in my digital darkroom; when I enlarge, crop and rotate pictures to suit my needs. 
 
Cropping is an element onto itself. Within a fully captured frame lies a multitude of images. In multiple exposures where I may rotate the camera between exposures, the center is especially interesting. In any, photograph there maybe many stories that one can select by cropping to those elements.  Also pairing images next to each other can be a form of play. Pairing images lets one image inform the other as a collaboration making the whole greater than the sum of its parts.