Blog Overhaul, ICM, and Monsoon Season 2024: June 11th Newsletter
"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera." Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)
When I was digging around for a random quote by a known photographer, the above struck me after a short search. I realized, that even during the rare times when I’m not considering using a camera while I’m out and about, I’m always looking at the scenes cascading by me. I don’t use the word cascading lightly here; Mumbai is nothing but a series of cascading events and moments, as one would expect from a city of 20+ million people.
Even today, when the task at hand was simply to go out and get a new book to read, I found myself scrutinizing people and arranging possibilities. Mirrors always inspire such mental activities for me, as do men unloading huge panes of glass. Quick close-ups of faces gliding by my window and umbrellas dusting themselves off in anticipation of the returning rains. Today, for some reason, I was content just to watch it all go by and not worry about taking pictures. But it was as if I had a camera in my hand. The way I look at the world has completely changed over the years, and especially over the past decade as photography and art came to consume my existence.
Monsoon Season Is Here
[ICM image created at Juhu Beach at my last photo walk]
The monsoon arrived on the revised date of June 10th — yesterday. Rains and thunderstorms passed through…but we weren’t hit so hard in my little corner of Goregaon West.
I managed to rediscover the location of my camera rain gear, which as of now, consists of a homemade ziplock bag and rubber band, and a proper rain jacket that I’ve yet to use in the rain. I haven’t done the monsoon season justice with the camera yet. As in previous seasons, I’ve made the vow to get outside more, get wet, and get the shots. I’m further excited by the inspiration that ICM photography has given me and yet another way of looking at the world: through the lens of long exposure.
There’s also the urge to get out my flash units and start incorporating them into my monsoon workflow but juggling a camera in one hand, an off-camera flash in the other, and somehow holding the umbrella along with the flash doesn’t strike me as a reasonable way to navigate the rainy and sometimes treacherous streets of Mumbai.
I won’t say much more on the topic because I’ve got a lot to prove to myself for failing to do the monsoon season justice. If I make any progress, I’m hinting that my next newsletter could be full of rainy-day imagery.
And ICM Is Here to Stay
Intentional Camera Movement and long exposure, in general, have quickly become a preferred way if not one of the only ways, to create “art”. Perhaps what sets me apart in this genre is my people-centric approach and willingness to experiment and incorporate other mediums, like artificial intelligence. There are infinite ways to transcend what your camera “sees” and to push the imagery into different worlds. That’s what I like about the process: what I initially capture with my lens is merely the canvas. The rest is the pursuit of creating art from it.
I attended an interior decorators convention in Mumbai recently and I discovered a new printer that claims to be able to print on anything. I saw some of the examples and it got me thinking. It’s high time to start creating limited editions on radically different mediums apart from paper and metal. Of all the things I know how to acquire in Mumbai, one of them is where to find giant trees that have been felled somewhere in Maharashtra. When I first came across the place at a shipbreaking yard, I kind of thought the place was a bit sketchy. The trees seemed too big — and some of them were massive. Are they still allowed to cut down trees like this? The main thing though, is that I’m considering using wood as a medium for an upcoming series of limited editions. I’ll keep you posted on this because I’ll have to eventually do test prints to see how it would look before unleashing it on the world.
Blog Makeover: Social Mirror
I decided to change Stones on the Beach to Social Mirror due to my growing frustration with social media. I’m one of those guys who know that I can’t operate without it but do so begrudgingly. But apart from griping, I decided to change the way I share on social media. The basic principle is that I want people to come to my website and spend time there rather than on my Instagram and Facebook profiles. I won’t repeat myself here to save time, but here’s the blog post announcing my social media overhaul:
Introducing Social Mirror (Blog): A New Approach to Social Media
In a nutshell, it’s business as usual with all signs pointing to: www.CraigBoehman.com
Links:
Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn