What My Left Hand is Doing
Last September I found myself at a crisis point, a crossroads. I was hitting a wave of artistic burnout, something I experience from time to time, and I was fighting my age-old frustration with social media, specifically the way that sharing photos, even really strong ones that I'm proud of, never seems to lead to much response when I share them online. This swirl of emotion brought me to a point where I was forced to step back and reevaluate how I present myself and my work, and after some deliberation I came up with this current project to help me work through these issues. Inspired by the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus tells us to "not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing," I chose to stop sharing my work for an unspecified amount of time, focusing on what makes me happy and fulfilled as an artist instead of chasing likes on social media. A year later I am now ready to reflect on my time away, and this second phase of the project is in the form of blog posts I am writing about my experiences and my photos. My time offline helped me regain confidence in my work and in my vision of the Ordered World, and I am excited to share What My Left Hand is Doing in its current state!
“I love finding scenes that are bursting with detail, and this one was exceptional in that way, the displays full of memorabilia and lighted signs, jerseys and stained glass. It took me a moment to compose my shot, adjusting my tripod in the cramped entryway, but I think my photo conveys the jumble of kitsch properly, the colorful neon lights and assortment of shapes beckoning the viewer to take it all in at a glance.”
“…Overall I get a very calm feeling from the photo, a spiritual presence emanating from the natural surroundings, despite its location in an industrial area. I believe this spiritual presence is what I responded to when I chose to take this photo, and it was an ideal way to end our lunch shoot, a refreshing moment before we headed back and tackled the end of the work week.”
“In the very back I discovered a beautiful scene where vivid red vines draped gracefully above the brick, while blue smokestacks clustered in a corner of the frame, balancing out the composition nicely. Little patches of color echo the dominant tones of the photo—the pale blue door is just a few shades lighter than the building in the background, and a tiny red sticker on the left-hand door matches the plants perfectly. I enjoy finding scenes like this; it's always a thrill to stumble across something perfectly ordered and calm!”
“…I composed the photo this way to good effect; the Key Bank building gives a sense of scale and solidity to the scene, contrasting with Nick, apparently in motion, on his motorcycle in the bottom left-hand corner. As I constantly say, I seek order in my photos above all, and here everything falls into place, although with more art direction from me than normal.”
“In the Extraction, I focused on a green-painted window, my reflection barely visible in the background while flowing sections of white bounce between straight lines that mimic the edge of the frame. This is one of my favorite photos of the day; like the photo of the antique shop the week before, it feels different than the other Extractions I have made in the past, opening up new territory for me to explore!”
“I was shooting intuitively, not unlike Eggleston, and these subjects spoke to me the most that afternoon. Everything was calm and peaceful, and I felt a spiritual Presence once again, blessing me with the vision to see what needed to be seen there. This moment formed a beautiful coda to the previous week of shooting, slowing me down and helping me appreciate the small things once more…”
“I absolutely felt something spiritual in that moment—the world still and calm around me, silent except for the voices of those who had opened the trailer door, just around the corner but not intruding on the scene. This moment was a good reminder that I may have changed since those college days, but my sense of who I am and what my purpose is hasn't!”
“I walked to the East Race Liquors store next, where I knew that their faded Coca-Cola sign would make an interesting subject on such a cloudy day. Once again I employed the stoplight and power lines to sub-frame different parts of the photo, organizing it into an orderly grid and emphasizing the sign in the middle. I shot a few more photos and finished the roll afterwards, but this shot is my crowning achievement from the roll, perfectly capturing the street corner the way I wanted.”
“…Lights behind caused the fabric to glow beautifully, and I knew that there was a perfect photo in there somewhere… I crafted my most perfect abstract photo yet, a flat plane dominated by pink and white, with blurred reflections of the street in front and distorted tree branches hazily poking through from behind. If I didn't just describe the content of this photo it would be difficult for the viewer to know what it is; I have therefore achieved a level of abstraction that I had not reached until taking this shot.”
“…This photo has a particularly Eggleston vibe to me; perhaps it's the style of the Nehi Beverages sign that is reminiscent of the subjects he often chose in his shots of the the South. I don't remember if I consciously made that connection as I took this photo, but I always enjoy seeing the different ways my influences spill out as I photograph!”
“In that moment I looked over to one side of the stream, seeing a pattern of leaves, sand, and tree roots on the bank, and for a second time that evening I heard the Voice say ‘take this photo.’ I know that in that moment, as before, I became a vessel for something beyond myself, something almost beyond my understanding.”
“…To this arrangement I added splashes of red in every direction, with a red house to the left, red car in the center, and some red mulch at the bottom matching the red signs and wall. Despite the straight-on angle I chose, the road and the power lines contribute a sense of motion to the photo, as if there are things entering and leaving the frame at any given moment.”
“But this image is elevated by the implied political questions raised by the signage—is America the place of No Admittance, or does it stand opposed to that idea? Should we perceive different elements of our society as forming a broader picture of our culture, or can we separate the good from the bad? Even if we can separate these ideas, won't one always overshadow the other?… I am able to occasionally make a statement that means something, that gets me thinking.”