From The Shadowsby
instepsComment by ubique: Henry.
It̢۪s always a pleasure to look at your photographs, and it̢۪s always a pleasure to see a foreign culture through educated and sympathetic eyes. So this is a double pleasure indeed!
The great benefit of an educated (in the sense of local familiarity) foreigner as a guide is that we get the best of both worlds: insight into the soul of the culture, and understanding of what will most comprehensibly depict that essence for a less educated foreign audience. So what we get is a more elegantly poised narrative than could be delivered by a genuine local, and also a more textural and reflective view than could be offered by a casual tourist.
Let’s talk pure photography first. These are all the flawless, visually literate B&W images for which I’ve 'known' you all these years – but that said, I still say that you’re getting better at it all the time. The photography is so clear and pure that it can come only from a deep passion for the craft of photography, and comfort in that place. The subliminal message I get is that not one technical aspect is forced, nor contrived. It’s effortless craftsmanship, and I don’t think you (Henry) could now do it any other way. So like a writer who has mastered the tool kit of language and its usage, and for whom the words no longer get in the way, for you the photography no longer gets in the way.
And that leads to the next dimension, which is artistry. The conversion of craft into art.
The choices you̢۪ve made in terms of subjects, points-of-view and composition are very satisfying for your audience. There̢۪s variation, conventional, unexpected, contrasting, refreshing; all the beautifully structured sequences and sensations that one would experience in one of those fabulous Asian meals composed of many tiny courses.
So I say there̢۪s two levels of artistry in this essay. The obvious one is the artistry of the photographs individually. The less obvious but ultimately more appreciated one is the effect of your having orchestrated a feast of many tiny courses, all connected, directly and indirectly; all dependent on the others for the proper appreciation of their full flavor and texture.
The fact that you know all this, and that you intended the effect, is evident especially in your final course of a fish in a water glass. That's the very kind of surprise exclamation point that a great Asian chef is likely to present to his guests as his final course.
It̢۪s a beautiful essay Henry. Enjoyable on every level from the superficial to the considered to the theatrical. And I suppose I must now say to the gastronomic too. It̢۪s professional standard stuff; actually quite a bit better than the usual professional photo essay in this cultural/sociological vein.
A wonderful start to our month of essays. Thank you.
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