Friday, September 03, 2021

Forging One's Own Path


About 6-1/2 years ago, I blogged about my youngest son's (Josh's) joyous "discovery" of the magic of photography. Having (back then, newly and quickly) acquired a few "old" Polaroids, including the venerable SX-70, and moving on for a time to Canon's AE-1 Program (a model I learned from in the late 1970s!) before settling on a more modern Fuji XT-2 that he never leaves the house without, Josh's honeymoon with photography has never ended. I had no way of knowing any of this would come to pass when I wrote (back in march, 2015): "Of course, I have no idea how long Josh's enthusiasm will last. It may die out, it may intensify, or it may transform into some other related art form. But if these early indications are a valid data source, he has clearly been very deeply bitten by his creative muse. May they forever more remain inseparable." Prescient musings, indeed!

What a sincere joy it is - as a photographer and loving father - to witness Josh's continued - accelerating - maturation as a bona fide artist. He and I (Josh, somewhat reluctantly at first, humbly unsure of his pictures' aesthetic "worth") finally put together an on-line gallery to show off some of his best work. Speaking just as a father, it melts my heart to see this flowering of Josh's artistic passion. But speaking as a photographer, I am simply awed by his prodigious talent. To go from effectively never having "clicked a shutter" before 2015 (and ignoring Josh's very early foray into photography, when he was 5, and played with a Casio QV-10 for a few days before relegating it to his closet, and never touching it again), to the technically and aesthetically superlative images - any of which I would be proud to call my own, but alas, cannot, since they're all unmistakably Josh's! (Josh does all of his own editing, and has never taken a course on photography) - that you will find on his new website, is astoundingly rare. 

Whatever irreducible bias I may have as a father aside, Josh's images are infused with a palpable artistry. While his and my aesthetic spaces do overlap in places (we both love epic" landscapes and run toward magic light without cost to life or limb), the pattern-of-patterns of his images is uniquely his (this, despite, or possibly because of, being exposed to his dad's photography for so many years). To forge one's own aesthetic path is far from easy, but is a clear sign that something special is brewing. Although he is most passionate about taking - and expressing his photographic vision through - macros, his well honed eye for light, geometry, and composition in general is seen in all of his photographs. But enough gushing by an unreservedly - and unabashedly - enthused dad/photographer. Go take a look at Josh's work on his new website. You won't regret it!

3 comments:

Mike Nelson Pedde said...

Congratulations, Josh! You have a wonderful eye; everything technical can be learned. I started photography...let's just say a FEW years ago, in a previous millennium. My first real camera was my dad's Argus. It had (IIRC) four f/stops, five shutter speeds, guess focusing and no lightmeter, although I did have an external lightmeter. Most of the time I couldn't afford film anyway, but I took that camera out, composed, calculated exposure and clicked the shutter. That was several cameras ago, but I remember it still.

Enjoy the journey!!

Mike.

Mike Nelson Pedde said...

P.S. No need to approve this one, but Josh might want to consider submitting to here:
https://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit/exhibitions/wildlife-photographer-of-the-year.html One stop on the tour every year is the Royal BC Museum here in Victoria, BC and we always enjoy it. There's a special category for younger age groups.

Mike.

Nina Rahima said...

Hi Andy, I have earlier signed up as a follower, but i don't get your blogposts - todays I got from Love Is A Place - please tell me how to receive your marvelous stuff