photo of the day – caged
This one is for my friend Julie Yan, Magnum cohort and partner-in-crime–a nod to our projects from the workshop last May. In my last post I referred to the image I shared as a sketch and Deborah Howard asked me to expand on the concept of making sketches for a series.
Last year I attended The Passionate Photographer workshop with Steve Simon. Prior to this workshop I had never heard a detailed first-hand account of how a photographer goes about creating work for a long-term project. I found it revealing and there were a couple of key points that stuck with me, one of which is the idea of sketches. I don’t believe Steve Simon used that term but I’ve hi-jacked it from somewhere to label images that won’t make it into the final cut of my dog project. (I think David duChemin uses the same word but to describe a different concept). Steve’s point was that as we photograph for long-term projects, average images are replaced by better ones and by the end of the project you should have strong images to showcase. By strong, I mean not only compositional but also images that match your intent for the project.
Photographing dogs for a project is a cliché and the standard set by photographers like Elliott Erwitt and Tim Flach is something to which I can only hope to aspire. What I can do is try to find my own vision and use my own voice to create images for this project. That’s why sketching is important for me. I’ll make images that I won’t even share here but once in a while I will post something that isn’t strong enough but contains an idea of my intent. The images so far are coalescing around the idea of what it’s like to be a dog living in the city but from the dog’s point of view. The Urban Dog.
Keeping in mind images that are included now can be replaced by stronger images that emerge, do you think today’s image is a sketch?
I have been so busy sketching ideas for my long term projects I have little photographic effort to show for it. I’m stuck in a cycle of procrastination fearful of what I know not. Love to hear about your project is evolving. I like that shot. Also, thought of you as I stepped over a massive dog Newfoundland I think, lying prostrate outside a bar in Wellington patiently waiting for it’s owner who was enjoying a drink inside. It would have made a great urban dog photograph.
I am not sure this is a sketch, I find it quite strong. I like the angle you chose, the jaunty tilt of the bike and all the accompanying lines juxtaposing with the confined state of the dog. There are enough hints of things outside the photograph too, the waist of a person in the background out of focus, the chair and table legs implying a place to sit and rest and possibly the impermanence of the dog’s situation. So does the ramshackle nature of the bike and wooden kennel/cage on top of it. Are there two cages is there? It seems to be a possibility if you look closer. Is it your photo though? That’s harder to tell for me, especially without the rest of this body of work. I think that is what will determine whether it is a sketch or not.
I puzzle with this question and the concept of sketching. I’m not sure anyone but you can decide if this image is a sketch. I think it meets your intention as you describe it. I especially love the expression on the dog’s face. Sitting in a cage on a bike seems a very urban experience for a dog and I agree with Ed about the composition and the decisions you made. What would make it a sketch? As we work on long-term projects we can hope that stronger images will emerge, but we can’t know what will come our way. You saw this moment and captured it very well. Perhaps you tried a few different things and this one is your favorite? It may well turn out that you don’t include this image in the final project, but can you know that now? It looks like a contender to me.
And if you do think of it as a sketch, I hope you’ll let us know why. I guess the term sounds dismissive to me and I would not dismiss this image.
They are all sketches except for the ones that belong or work
Robert Frank shot 768 rolls of film for The Americans and only used about 80 frames. I guess in that sense the rest were sketches? I think to an extent the idea of sketches allows us to not raise expectations when we try something or are not sure if it belongs yet or to keep our distance from a work in progress.
I tend to just make stuff with all of it pointed at my project point, when there are enough the selection process decides which images matter or belong in the series and which were apparently sketches in the process. So the decision as to what an image is -sketch or not- isn’t made until the very end. Publish or not it is all just stuff I see and feel and find a reason to make an image of.
I agree with Ed on this image and also know some of the other work that is going into this project and still don’t know if this is part of the final cut yet, only you can make that final determination. I think the decision as to if this is sketch or not is still in the future.
Thanks for the explanation, Sabrina. Then if we continue to ‘sketch’ until we decide to publish, then we need to know when we have enough to say ‘the end’.
That is also difficult. how many images make a series??? How long is a piece of string?
I think this one could make the cut – the inquiring look in the dogs eyes, his mode of transport, the city around all work to tell the story.
There are several photographers who sketch ideas, Joe McNally and Jerod Foster quickly come to mind. Notice I did not include my name in the list as I tend to procrastinate along with Julie. I like the idea that “average images are replaced by better ones” as we move along. So we use whatever sketches works for us, whether in our moleskins or the hundreds of images that did not work.
I like this image, whether it’s a sketch or keeper, because of the eye contact with the dog. Even when I roam around the scene the dogs eyes always pull me back. Well done!
Sorry, one more thought. I had to go back read the post you made almost a year ago about sketches. I needed to reread that post. I suppose we can say that about writing on our blogs. Just because we already wrote one post about and idea, a concept or whatever, does not mean we should not write another one. The specific words written in that post may help someone move along.
Ha, pooor doggy. Like the shot though
I think a painter would use the word sketch to mean something that they intend up front to be an experiment, that they do not intend to be part of the final work. A sketch isn’t finished or polished to the anticipated level of the final work. I think this is different from the notion of work that doesn’t make the final selection. A reject is not a sketch, it’s just work that didn’t turn out to be as good as other work.
So what is the photographic equivalent of a sketch? I’d say it’s a shot that you know is lacking, but you want to try it anyway. Maybe the light isn’t right, or it’s the wrong season, or it’s too windy, or you don’t have your “good” camera with you, but enough of the elements are there that you want to record it, perhaps to nudge yourself to come back later for a “real” try.
That’s what I’m thinking at the moment, anyway. And by the way, I really like your photo. I don’t know the world of dog candids, so I can’t speak to its derivativeness, but if it were my shot that I was trying to evaluate, I’d be asking myself how deeply it spoke to me, how “authentic” it felt.
I think ‘sketch’ is an amusing term for photography because I relate it to drawing with pencil, charcoal, or conte. Nonetheless, I see the definition can be similar with drawing and photography. When I think “sketch”, I think of practicing drawing skills. This can also apply to image captures with a camera. Also, when laying out the frame work, foundation, or skeleton as you will, for a painting… we sketch it out. Sometimes. we use an eraser to fix mistakes. In photography, it may be the delete button. In other words, it gets edited out to make room for the stronger images on a project.
I think the above image is an interesting concept but wonder what other images of the same scene would look like from different angles, including camera height in relation to the subject.
In 70′s , the bike in the photo was considered a “Cadilac” in China. Even nowadays, it still looks so elegant. It was a famous brand manufactured in Shanghai due to its high quality and durability. In Chinese, it called “Yongjiu” — or in English, “Permanece”. Thank you, Sabrina, for your post, recalling some of my nice memory back into “old” days.
A little more reflection, if the photo was taken recently, I guess the owner of the dog can not afford to a car but a Cadilac bike. Otherwise, his dog would have a roomy cage.