Runcible Blog

The operative quote from yesterday:

Old habits die hard.

I'm not dead yet.

I bought Nudes: Developing Style in Creative Photography, a remainder from that book store in Harvard Square (not that one -- the other one). It bills itself as part fine art book and part creative technique book. It seemed intriguing when I flipped through it, but after digging deeper, I'm a little disappointed.

Most of the photos are figure studies of professional models or elaborately set-up shots illustrating an eccentric concept. Commentary by each artist (there are 21 different photographers featured) accompanies the photographs. They explain the technique used and offer tips (like using nifty props to snazz up a boring picture). I won't knock what is in the book — the text is informative without being too pretentious, and the reproductions are pretty good. But I feel like the author/editor missed a whole category of nude photography: the nude portrait as character study.

Well, I don't know what the artists might call the category, but I think one can use nude photography as another form of portrait. If a portrait can reveal something deep about the subject, then so can a nude photo; maybe more so. Stripped of their familiar clothes, people react differently to the camera's gaze. That reaction alone could be photo worthy; is the subject timid or bold? How does the subject handle himself/herself? The intriguing part is when we start to delve into identity issues and self-perception. Those areas interest me more than a well-lit macro shot of a perfect rear end.

The other sub-category of nude photography that I think people overlook is the illustrative nude. David Penprase, featured in the book, comes close to this category, but I feel like his photos don't really illustrate anything more than his hyper attention to detail in setting up the shot. I don't know. I've tried to show something substantive when I've done some self portraits, and I hope that the nudity isn't overt or unnatural. I mean, I think that clothes can be distracting if I'm trying to make some point about isolation or the human relationship to nature. In those cases, the photograph isn't about a nude person; it's about something more important but features nudity as a device to further the point.

So, I would've liked to have seen more adventurous nudes in the book than the faceless, featureless models on many of the pages. Sure, texture, form, lines, and light quality will always be topics that photographers explore using nude models. But I think the genre can be much more intellectually or sociologically fulfilling if photographers take the nude a little bit further than showing the bare skin.

I am just a new boy,
Stranger in this town.
Where are all the good times?
Who's gonna show this stranger around?

I just got back from my first drum and bass night with Eddie and Pavel. I have to admit it was fun. I'll have pictures soon, but first, sleep. Why is typing so difficult right now? hmmm... whatever.

good night!

Update: Here's the tabblo of my experience.

Last night I mentioned to my broham and sojo that I was secretly hoping to be mugged the other night on my walk home. I said that I wanted to know if my will for self-preservation outweighed whatever petty motive a thief could have for trying to rob me. I postulated that self-preservation would probably win the day, all other things being equal.

I remember strolling down the street at nearly 3 in the morning, with eyes scanning the empty streets. I expected someone to pop out of the bushes and demand my camera and my grandfather's cheap gilded watch. What would I do? I'm not sure. I'd probably say "No." and glare at the person. If he (because women don't rob people, right?) advanced toward me, then what? I don't know. I played the scene out in my mind as I enjoyed the Boston skyline. Nate relayed his experience of having to confront and contain a would-be home invader at a friend's house in New York. It seemed like an awkward and confusing situation.

But I think the situation I was waiting for was the direct confrontation — give up my stuff or face a conflict. I know the buddhist in me would say, well, what use are material possessions? Just give them up. This time, though, I don't think I would've relented. I'm not saying it'd be wise or advisable, but why let someone take something without a fight? After all, as someone smart once said, "Most demons only understand demons."

Regardless, fighting someone over a camera or money still seems like a pointless endeavor. I could imagine a different scenario where a companion of mine were instead attacked by ominous figures lurking in the bushes. What would I do, then? I think the will for preservation would be much stronger in that case because it'd be for my companion's benefit rather than mine. Oh, robbers, you'll rue the day you meet a companion and me in a darkened alley!

In the end, none of that happened. I arrived home safely, with a dearth of adrenaline and no grander perspective on life. I think it can be useful to face one's mortality in some way. Being imprisoned for a couple of days back at the RNC certainly opened my eyes, but that was more of a sustained, uncertain fear than a thrilling challenge. I could use an instinctual challenge to remind myself why I'm here. To remind myself that I should be here.