eye_boogers

documenting the cracks

[martypic]

The closing moments of a tea festival in Gwangju, South Korea coincided with that perfect late afternoon sun. Situated near the bottom of the Korean peninsula, Gwangju City sits unburdoned from the industrial smog farther north. Therefore, the evening light is often hard, and fades fast, offering only a few brief moments to catch up with it 

[Photos taken with a Rolleiflex 2.8D and a Ricoh GR1 both shooting Kodak Tri-x 400.]

[martypic]

A local recycling yard in all its monochromatic glory.

(Nikon FE2 with 50mm f1.4, and a Bronica Sq-ai with 80mm f2.8)

[martypic]

A weekend of meditation in the Kwan-um school of Zen in the hills north of Seoul, South Korea yielded the photos above. While asked to take sporadic images of the proceedings, it became apparent that the photo-taking process was indeed an act of meditation in and of itself. Surely, Minor White, John Daido Loori, and others would affirm such an approach to photographing. Their writings on the process of photographing as spiritual/creative practice continue to influence my day-to-day experience of the medium. I only hope that the above images could do them proud.

“A very receptive state of mind… not unlike a sheet of film itself – seemingly inert, yet so sensitive that a fraction of a second’s exposure conceives a life in it.” – Minor White

 (Photos taken with a Ricohmattic 225 shooting Delta 400.)

[martypic]

Images from an earthen brickworks in rural Bangladesh. These people, the long, still days create a atmosphere both obvious yet unfathomable.

(Images taken with a Rolleiflex 2.8D shooting mostly Ilford Pan F.)

[martypic]

Pictures of meat in a Japanese supermarket. That’s about all we need to make it through till morning.

(Images taken with a Nikon d600 along with the stock 24-85mm VR.)

[martypic]

Over the past couple of years I have been interested in the medical imagery and its connection to my sense of body-self. These pics were taken by doctors, nurses, and visitors as part of the process. They are alarmingly impersonal-intimate.

[martypic]

Places in South Korea I’ve hung the past few months while being in residence at Gyeongi Creation Center and Yeonsuksan Museum. Both rural, yet close enough to see the large urban glow. For whatever reason, these spots made be glad to be alone, or at the very least unnoticed.

(All pics taken with a Hasselblad 503cxi with an 80mm f2.8, shooting Tri-x for the most part.)

[martypic]

Heart-shapes, boxed. Scavenged from the vault, these images taken over the past few years show that the old axiom may indeed be true,

"when a thief walks down the street, all he sees are pockets."

 (Taken with a variety of cameras, such as a Nikon FE2, Nikon d90, Nikon d600, an IPhone 5, etc.)

[martypic]

More than a few engravings remain at Borobudur outside Yogjakarta, Indonesia. The slowly thawing faces contained therein reveal a diversity in expressions.  In their midst, most visitors jocky for selfie locations. I could see myself in those shown above.Together, we all look on as the drama continues.

[martypic]

The images above were taken from the Eastern and Western sides of the Indian subcontinent. Upon further thought, there is not much which could be said which their faces do not already convey.

 (Photos taken with a Sigma DP3 Merrill)

[martypic]

Cheongju Walkthrough. Looking for what hides itself behind the immediately visible, I end up noticing more-so those signs at this previously unknown border.

(Photos taken with a Sigma DP3 Merrill)

[martypic]

In praise of randomness, and for that matter, ineptitude. While vacationing on the Florida Gulf Coast and Point Lobos, California, I gave the above roll of Super SFX to a local pharmacy for development and scanning. What follow you say? Surely, why waste such a roll? What did that film do to me anyway? However, as this was a crossover roll, shot partly in two locations, and that it had been zapped at Sarasota International, gambling the quality of development on a single hour's wait seemed within the spirit of the trip I was taking. Not surprisingly, the roll came back miscut, and haphazardly scanned. However, initial inner "I told you so's" were replaced by newly-found visual narratives within the files I received. Such an experience served to remind me of the latent creative energy within the relinquishing of control at different points in the photographic process. Letting the chips, or in this case, negatives fall where they may proved akin to letting nature just be what it is. As such, I was reminded of the famous quote by Lao Tzu,

"spring comes, and the grass grows by itself."

 (Photos taken with a Nikon FE2 shooting Ilford SFX 200)

[martypic]

The erotic qualities of the humble chili pepper, left to dry on the vine beckoned from outside my window the past few months. Finally, cameras in tow, and without significant other, I heeded the call.

(Shooting with Nikon FE2 and Bronica SQ-ai, both w/ Ilford Delta 400.)

[martypic]

Beach Lifeless - Several trips to an island beach off the western coast of South Korea offer unexpected finds. In the middle of winter, one is more often than not greeted with signs of what was. On these three occasions, the plants and animals above washed ashore, hinting only at the drama taking place in the depths within earshot.

(Nikon FE2, Ricoh GR1, and Ricohmattic 225 shooting Ilford FP4 and Delta 400)

[martypic]

Hiroshima Walkthrough - Four short days spent in Hiroshima over the summer holidays provided sights both stereotypical and unexpected. The spaces between nature and the city was closer than expected. Yet the spaces between the past and present seemed slightly farther apart. Even so, echos upon echos abounded within this urban area, slowly fading into visual reverberations of a city laying in wait for a longer visit.

(Ricohmattic 225 shooting Portra 400.)

[martypic]

There has been a great deal of media focus on the anti-corruption protests in Seoul the past five months. Representing the peaceful nature of those protests contrasts greatly to the energies swirling around the ultra-right-wing nationalist protest portrayed above. Much smaller in scale and known for a conspicuous use of flags and military imagry, photographing here brought to mind the following quote from the Art of War:

“If ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”

[Nikon FE2 shooting Kodak Tri-x 400.]

[martypic]

Miniscule devotees adorn an aged stone lantern at the front gate of a temple in Gangwondo, South Korea. What is their role in the creation of grace for those within the Buddha Hall beyond the frame? Are they representations of what the devotees hope to achieve, or are they themselves droplets of the divine? To me, their value comes from the the detail they give to an otherwise large and ostentatious structure. Together, they sit, seemingly forgotten. As the plants grow in and around them, they remain content. I can only hope for such an experience.

[Photos taken via Iphone 5.]