2008_366090 - Brandenburg Tribute

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366 Day 90: Today is a landmark in that we are one quarter (in round terms) through the 366 project for 2008.

I thought it would be appropriate today to pay tribute to what I believe to be the father of all such projects, though it lasted just 90 days, just as far as we have come. Nature photographer Jim Brandenburg took himself off to the North Woods of Minnesota for 90 days. He writes:

"I had set myself a challenge: that for ninety days between the autumnal equinoxe and winter solstice I would make only one photograph a day. There would be no second exposure, no second chance. My work would be stripped to the bones, bringing together whatever photographic and woods skills I have. My quest would be both arbitrary and rigid. Arbitrary in that no one had compelled me, or even asked me, to do it. Rigid in that, once engaged, the constraints I had chosen would force me to examine my art, and the wild and isolated place in which I live in a manner I'd never before attempted. [I knew that] success would depend not upon any single and magnificent image, but on a tapestry woven of furtive glances." (My emphasis)

The result was a book "Chased by the Light" and all 90 images published in National Geographic in November 1997.

I was incredibly moved by the piece and the book, as I was taken on a daily journey through quiet woods and wilderness lakes, observing life (and death), hearing the crack of undergrowth beneath the feet and the call of loons, and feeling the creeping chill of the onset of winter. As a journey of photographic (and personal) self-discovery I have encountered no equal.

When first invited to join 366, I wondered if I would be able to do the same - make just one exposure per day - but I realised that it would take an immersion in my surroundings of a kind that is not possible in daily life.

So 366 is where I am. 90 days in and moving on, weaving in a different way my own "tapestry of furtive glances". I hope you'll be inspired to look out the article and the book. Jim Brandenburg remains in my top ten of all-time photography influences ...

References:
Brandenburg J. (1997), Chased by the Light, NorthWord Press, Minnesota
National Geographic (1997), North Woods Journal, Vol 192 No.5, pp 94-111
www.jimbrandenburg.com/
flickr.com/photos/thegreatsunra/149296884/

Comments

	Dragon Weaver says: Thanks for sharing this story. interesting. that takes a lot of discipline not to take more than one exposure or composition; it also takes a lot of talent to get it right the first time. Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	agrinberg says: I'm probably going to offend someone, but anyway... I believe that no matter how good a photographer is, he or she can not predict the best light or the best moment of the day. To arbitrarily limit oneself to 1 photo a day is an experience in self restraint (and perhaps a bit self-indulgent), and will not yield the most powerful story of a 90 day sojourn. Why not take 2 photos a day, or 10, or 100? The photo essay could have been stronger with that approach, as the photos could have been edited to impart his feelings and experience. Can you imagine what must have gone through Jim's mind when he was considering the shot? Should I or shouldn't I? What an unnecessary conundrum! What an interference with good photography and an enjoyment of the adventure! Did he feel the disappointment later in the day when better light presented itself? So thank you Ken for posting this. I see your are not so uptight about the limits, and that is a relief. Keep up the good work! Rebuttals encouraged... Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	Rugby Mad Girl says: I could not be that disciplined - just one a day. It would drive me mad. There have been very few days so far this year where I have only taken one image, and that was due to constraints out of my control, rather than factors within it! Needless to say, the single image days haven't been very inspired... -- Seen next to a fellow photo of 366 2008. (?) Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	Erasmus T says: Yes. As I've noted previously - unlike Ken, who generally uses the first photo he takes, I tend to find mine improve as I find better angles and I more often use the last one of a sequence. Taking only one wouldn't really suit me. Nevertheless, I have to admire the skill and judgement of the man who can get it right first time! Looks like a book well worth getting. -- Seen next to a fellow photo of 366 2008. (?) Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	sarahb365 says: Just one a day? There is no way I could do that, I admire someone that can, but I also agree with agrinberg that "Should I or shouldn't I?seems an unnecessary conundrum! (in the digital age anyway)" It reminds me of the days when I had a film camera and I had just one roll of film on a dive, then I would stop before taking a photo as there would be no changing the film whilst underwater. There were often times when I wouldn't take the shot to conserve film only to see less towards the end of the dive and wish I have taken the photo before. Although on many occasions I ran out of film before the end of the dive too! Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	touchingthelight says: Very interesting thoughts, everybody, thank you for taking the time to consider this so carefully. There certainly have been times when I have been shooting in the mountains, when wave after wave of light has passed through, and I have been thrilled by the flow experience of making picture after picture. Burdened with being able to make just one picture I'd have cried. And I agree, Alan, that it would neither have represented the day, nor been the best image I could have got, at least by normal reckoning. Sarah I recall being in a similar situation on a mountain summit with a magnificent inversion. I realised I had left all my spare film in the car, and had to make do with one roll of 20; it certainly sharpened my awareness. And like Erasmus, I too find in exploring one subject that things often improve the more I play. On 366 I have often used the first picture I made, but I have only been discovering that on the project, and it does also begin to explain to me what Jim's approach is all about. It all becomes clearer on reading Jim's writing: he was disillusioned with shooting 300 rolls for a Geographic assignment; He had studied in Japan and was interested in Zen and some aspects of self-suffering. This was a deliberate experiment, a retreat, to see what happened, "to examine his art" but also to reconnect with nature in the present moment. I understand that. Listening to feelings, trusting intuitions, delaying gratification, recognising and grasping THE moment, not regretting missed opportunities, being aware of frustrations: all human challenges to be overcome on such a task; hence my reading of it as a personal discovery perhaps more than a photographic one. And that is where it would have remained for me - purely an intra-personal exercise - had the quality of the photographs not been so superb. Each and every one is full of soul and vitality. If there were better images to be made on each day then only Jim would know. But it obviously worked for him, because he went back to repeat it through a summer. It remains an approach I might try for a short time ... just to see what happens. Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	Michael448 says: I agree, a self imposed precept or rule is more of a personal exercise and not meant to please the mainstream, and I give him kudos for that. -- Seen in my contacts' photos. (?) Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	touchingthelight says: Certainly Michael, as these comments suggest, such a method is not for everyone. But I always hope that images transcend the photographer's technique or philosophy, and Jim Brandenburg's images definitely would please the mainstream I think. Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	ivyknoll says: Interesting discussion. What I'd like to contribute is probably going to come out very garbled, but I hope some of it might make sense. I suppose I would agree with many of the views here -- that limiting myself to a single photograph in a day would be a hard rule for me to keep -- and in fact, I'm not sure how helpful I would find it either. However, since I became seriously interested in photography nine months ago, I have become aware that the process and effort of capturing the picture very often interferes with my ability to simply enjoy the moment. Having a camera in my hands makes me an observer, rather than a participant, even if just for the short moment it takes to press the shutter. And it never is just a moment, is it? We take time to look, to frame the picture, to consider the rules of good composition, to make sure the exposure is set properly, etc, etc. All of these processes interfere with our ability to just be in the moment. Some might say that having the photograph enables you to enjoy the moment -- or rather, the memory of it -- over and over again. However, the memory is not the same as the experience would have been if you had been in the midst of it. So, I can understand and appreciate what Jim Brandenburg was trying to do. If you want to use your photographs to communicate something about life, or your experience, or the way you felt when you saw something -- it doesn't matter much whether you miss the perfect light and wonderful shot from this morning in favour of waiting to take a shot later in the day, because life carries on. And you can try to communicate that bit of life or that feeling by capturing something else later. A photograph which is full of life and feeling is very different to me than one which is perfectly composed, perfectly exposed, perfectly processed, but which is merely an exercise in technique. Beauty is all around us. If we don't capture it in the morning, we can capture it in another way in the afternoon. Oh dear, I think I've lost the thread of where I was going with that. But just wanted to say that, yes, I think I can understand something of what Brandenburg was attempting to do, and my own decision not to take lots and lots of shots of the same subject in a single session, at different angles, and different focal lengths, so that I can go home and pick the best one to post on flickr -- that decision is, in some small way, about not allowing myself to go through life as an observer. (Having said that, I do sometimes take two or three shots of a subject in a session, and of course, I always pick the best one to post on flickr!) Hmm. Sorry for this long message, Ken. I think I'll stop there. :-) Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	touchingthelight says: Thanks Dawn. I don't think your contribution is garbled at all, in fact it makes a lot of sense and I think gets to the heart of what Jim Brandenburg was exploring ... Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )
	NaturalLight says: I did a variation on this. I went to a local prairie restoration park and tried to get at least one shot of something I'd never photographed before every time I went for a walk there. It definitely was a tool to make me look closely at everything. I finally failed to find something new only when it was almost winter. Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken with a Pentax K10D.
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Taken on March 30, 2008

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2008_366090 - Brandenburg Tribute

Comments

Dragon Weaver says:

agrinberg says:

Rugby Mad Girl says:

Erasmus T says:

sarahb365 says:

touchingthelight says:

Michael448 says:

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ivyknoll says:

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