My Caravaggio

Thursday, August 11, 2011  -  11:08 a.m.

When I first launched this website, I wrote in my “About the Artist” page that I was deeply inspired by my personal discovery of an italian artist from the past named Caravaggio.

Over time I’ve noticed  .  .  .  how I have incorporated some of his perceptions and focus into my photography without full awareness of what I was actually doing.  His art always reflects the stark, realistic nature of life i.e., rotting fruit in a bowl, withered leaves and dirt under the fingernails.  He never tried to perfect what he saw but to represent it with full disclosure.

In reviewing my works during the editing process, I will notice imperfections or some area of the image I think needs to be cropped.  Sometimes I  find it even after I have produced the final product.  I was quite surprised that I actually see it in the majority of my photos.  It is what I have determined to be “MY CARAVAGGIO” influence, his stamp on my style.

I watched an interesting series on the “Halogen” channel called “Aperture.”  It features celebrities learning from artists how they go through their creative process.  Recently I listened to a photographer describe the moment before a mindful photographer snaps a shot.  He or she feels what is right and inherently knows when to do it.  I believe it has been referred to as “having an eye for photography.”  You get the image in view, move the lens around until you find that sweet spot and you just know when the time is right.

Here are 2 examples of how my images display this stamp on my style.  One is in the “Edibles” gallery.  Notice the upper right hand corner shows the edge of the cardboard box, a perceived imperfection.  But this reflects the marketplace where it was displayed and notice how it actually ties in with the vertical line and ruffled edges of the pasta.  The second one is in the “Italy” gallery.  Technically, the whole left side might be considered an oversight in the cropping process.  But in reality, it reflects the rushed, tight quarters of the rooftop setting in Florence where one was squeezing in to sit down, hence the uneven tablecloth and hastily slapped down newspaper give one a slight sense of tension just along the edge of this overall peaceful and inviting image.  “MY CARAVAGGIO” is there, but it is not the focal point.

Have fun with it  .  .  .  kind of like trying to spot Alfred Hitchcock in one of his movies.