On Instagram

As you know, Instagram images are everywhere– as is the criticism of Instagram images (or at least the users of Instagram). It seems to be the favorite thing among the hipster crowd to wax ironically (how else??) over the ridiculousness of the thousands of images of one's first cup of coffee of the day, or of one's Boston Terrier gazing into the cam...um... lens.... (after all it was just National Dog Day) or of any of the more earnest attempts of art making such as the #lonely road image or the #abandoned gas station image or the #children playing in the park image... well you get the picture....

I recently acquired one of these image making devises (an Ipod Touch I think the kids call it) and the first app I downloaded was the much loved and maligned Instagram app– and what I found was– this thing is FUN! That's right I said F-U-N! You point the cam...um... lens at the subject, capture it, apply one of a series of nifty little filters, and wham you're tumbl-ing and twitter-ing away!! Is it ridiculous?

Maybe– but so what?

Is there a saturation of mundane and mediocre images floating around the cloud? Have I been guilty of such sins against humanity?

Maybe– but so what?!

Do Instagram users think they are passing any of these images off as legitimate attempts at making art? Some critics seem to think so– but I doubt it. Is a camera phone with the ability to add filters to an image going to replace any kind of traditional image making tools? I doubt that even more. That isn't to say there aren't many very beautiful images made by Instagram users. Users who not unlike myself are more than likely using what is just another tool for making images.

Now, there's always need for conversation of how the democratization of technology has caused a proliferation of mediocrity in art and humanities, but with the over saturation of ALL things in the media– news, politics, religion, trash celebe-news, etc.,  it's really quite refreshing how the general public enmasse are making a daily attempt at creating their own aesthetic moments.

At the end of the day a beautiful picture is just what we need!

Blog Update

                                                                  © Giovanna Caccamo

Giovanna and I worked for hours this past weekend– scanning, retouching, and uploading new images to her photo blog. Please take a look! Above is a photograph she had taken a few months ago with an old Yashica Mat Twin Lens Reflex camera (see below) and 120 Kodak Tri-X film.

                                               © Giovanna Caccamo

Shameless Act of Self-Promotion Vol.27

Early this past autumn, I gassed up the old TOYO 4x5 camera and took to the hills to continue my ongoing obsession titled Project(W). The images that have been quietly waiting in my hard drive for months, have finally been uploaded for the world to see. Well– the seven or eight of you anyway. With your continued indulgence, you can see the entirety of the project as it stands today. Of course my obsession knows no bounds, and I'm sure to publish a similar post in the not too distant future. Maybe...

New Work

Here is a couple of recent-ish photographs of the daughters taken with my most recent-ish equipment purchase– a classic Mamiya c330 Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) and that other classic Kodak Tri-X 120 film.

Francesca

Gia

aforementioned camera with yours truly

photo courtesy of Giovanna Caccamo 

Shameless Act of Self-Promotion Vol.27

Just a note to say the gallery(n) annex (aka–the Tumblr blog) is actually no longer a Tumblr blog. I transferred the entire site to the Blogger platform and can now be found here. It's not that I don't like the Tumblr  platform– I do. The themes are really slick and minimal, and they are very intuitive to use. In this fast paced world of social media, a simple click of your mouse on a "like" button can create a whole world of "friends" and "followers" (good things- for the most part!) as well as open new avenues for being seen or heard. Though I found Tumblr to be a community of some really talented people, I also found it to be geared to those who find "liking" and being "liked" enough. Don't get me wrong, I rather enjoyed the fact some of my images were being "reblogged" by others (some of which were by some pretty colorful characters). That's better than "liking"– it's saying to fellow bloggers– psst, hey this is pretty cool! But there in lies the problem. It's communicating with fellow bloggers– leaving everyone else who may not be interested in creating yet another account– out of the conversation. I rather like hearing from visitors– in their own words– how they like (and I don't mean "like") a blog post or image. I like the conversation, even if it is only in a few words. It makes the forum feel more like a real community, where people of many interests and ideas, feel welcomed to participate.

So, as always, thanks for checking in! It's always nice to here from you, so please feel free to leave a comment!

Blog Update

© Gia- Self Portrait of the Artist

Gia– the artist formerly known as Giovanna (yeah– it's a new one on me too) has worked furiously downloading and retouching some new photography and has recently updated her blog. We will be working together soon on some other changes and will keep everyone posted on it's progress. Feel free to leave comments as I'm sure she'll love to answer! (Why do I feel like some two-bit peon business manager? Oh yeah...right....) 

Shameless Act of Self-Promotion Vol.19

Just a note to say the gallery(n) annex (aka– the tumblr blog) is updated regularly– almost daily in fact! This site is purely 
photographic in nature. A place to post some less "precious" images which would more or less end up festering in my iPhoto library.