Coconut stand on the road to Hana, Maui, Hawaii.
If you've been reading this blog for very long, you will have noticed that a recurring theme is noticing things. Noticing things is the essence of the kind of photography I like, and it's the essence of Tony King's photography.
As he says in his book Closer to Home, "My life has been consumed by wanting to show people things. My photographs are responses to what I am affected by. Every chance I got I used to ramble around the countryside. I was never looking for specific subjects so I was liable to photograph anything. Ordinary places and everyday objects were good enough for me. I photographed whatever touched me.
"Most of these photographs were made as I went about my daily life. (They are) about ordinary people doing ordinary things. I've never had to travel to photograph, because I have no trouble finding interesting things close to home."
Although they never met, the great photographer Elliott Erwitt sums up Tony's life and work succinctly: “To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. All the technique in the world doesn't compensate for the inability to notice”
Tony's work has been very influential in my own approach to photography. I wish I could have known him better.
The second edition of my book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia will be released in June, 2023.
Photography and text copyright 2023 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment