Feb 17, 2009

changing of the guard...

"new beginnings"

My work has always been semi-autobiographical. Semi only because a few images are exagerrated to how I remember things or how things might have been if things went differently. My work is a diary or journal for me. Photography just happens to be the tool I use best to express these things. If I was a good writer, I'd probably be working on a few books or screenplays. If I knew the technology behind cinema, I might have tried shooting a film or two. I can't complain about my tool of choice, but I also don't, can't or want to be pigeonholed as a photographer either.

I've stated before on this blog that I get more out of the act (literally) of shooting and processing than seeing the final image. It would be the same as writing a book. I would write it, enjoy it and put it away and move on. I wouldn't hang every page of the book on my wall to look at.

So with that all said, I've moved into a new area for my autobiographical narratives. Specifically that of female encounters and the lives I shared with many of them. Whether they be the short visits to my mother, the multiple young girlfriends my father and I lived with growing up, women I have lived with or just women I have known. They have been a part of my life for better or worse.

I've already been asked by several others that I've shared this concept with..."why do you need to play the female character?". My response is pretty much given in the above paragraphs. For me, it is all about the act of shooting. Not prearranging shots, no sketches, notes, or outlines of what I am going to shoot. Just a location and as Bob Dylan says "a headfull of ideas that are driving me insane". As good a director I might be able to be, I would never be able to do the same thing as I'm doing now.

Without needing to know the background of how I work, who I am or what this new series is all about, my goal is for the images to still be open to narrative by anyone. Very immediate to get into and still have a feeling of familiarity to our culture and to perhaps even the viewers life as well. This first image may or may not be a part of the final edit, but I needed to shoot it as it symbolizes a changing of the guard. Cowboy exits stage right, girl takes center stage for a new beginning...

6 comments:

jimmieknuckles said...

somehow, i dont think this is the last we'll see of the cowboy

Aaron said...

@ knuckles... you're probably right, but he will be away for a while.

Andy Frazer said...

I'm afraid the most important line of the blog (""why do need to play the female character?".) may have a typo that obscures the point you're trying to make (or... I could be totally wrong, here).

Did you mean to say, "why do YOU need..."?.

Aaron said...

@ Andy... you see why I'm not a writer now? I fixed it. Thanks!

said...

Hi Aaron !
nice beginning i'm impatient to discover the future images ...

For good, your images are so narrative ... for me it's like many pieces of different movies ... like a trailer sumarized in one picture !
Thank you to share ;-)

Steven said...

Hmmmmm, well, if you haven't heard of The Cows, now would be a great time to read up on Shannon Selberg.

Can't wait to see where this creative sojourn takes us.