About John Annesley and the photographic process
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"You see what you’re looking at; you have
an artist's eye. Everything you see is beautiful and that comes through in
your work." Jim
Tucker painter and
photographer
There can be a
one-minute window when the light is just right, when the mountains and sky
are transformed into visual eloquence, and knowing that those fleeting
moments are out there is my main inspiration. Often it's the ethereal beauty
of the sky at dusk or dawn that captivates me, but I also am fascinated by
the beauty of abandoned places and objects: rust and patina, old cars in
fields with grass growing in the seats, falling down barns, ghost cars and
frontier cemeteries. I sense that the man-made world is transient like a
sunset, and the things we cast off gain a spell-binding beauty in their
colors and textures as they transform gracefully back into the natural world
from which they were hewn. Archival fine art photographic prints
John
prints images 12" x 18" and smaller with archival inks and paper
using an Epson Stylus Photo 2200 ink jet printer. It uses 8 separate pigment
based inks with light fastness of seventy five years and produces images every
bit as clear and vibrant as traditional photographic processes. John
writes the title of each work and signs each mat. The matted photographs are then
packed into crystal clear, re-sealable presentation envelopes, and shipped or mailed
in a sturdy, flat box, adequately cushioned. Black is the standard color that John provides for
the mats because photographs are generally easier to see against a dark
background. NOTE: each photograph is custom printed and can take a week to
produce before shipping..
presented in a 12x16 signed mat
presented in a 16x20 signed mat Cameras, lenses, etc.
I’ve gotten some beautiful photographs with cheap cameras that nobody in their right mind would dare use professionally. A lot of people really like those early photos of mine and they sell regularly in galleries- its not the equipment that makes compelling images. For years I simply couldn’t afford the right equipment or enough film, so I used what I had. I’ve finally gotten a 4x5 field camera because I wanted prints that could be enlarged dramatically and be in sharp focus throughout the entire image and show greater detail. Art, however, can be made with anything; its all a matter of what you’re trying to achieve. Formal Training:
I have had little formal training as regards photography or any of the things I’m really any good at. I have an intuitive response to things that have the ability to capture my imagination, and no amount of arduous study can match a single minute of truly inspired creative insight. As Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” I’ve found its when I think I’m completely prepared and trained and ready to meet some challenge that I become jaded and lose my sense of wonder, and make boring photographs. When I just let go of self-direction and let inspiration guide the way, everything just flows and I lose myself and lose sense of time. Of course it sure helps to know how to use your equipment, but beyond that there’s some risk of never experiencing the joy of discovery as relates to figuring out on your own how to make images that capture your soul; that would be a shame! Its those epiphanies that have the power to transform the learning process into deeply meaningful and lasting lessons; they become part of you. If you have everything spelled out for you before you even go out into the field, all the way down to composition theory, etc. then you run the risk of emulating lessons rather than being capable of seeing and reacting with legitimate actions of your own. If you're adhering to other people's versions of composition and subject matter, do you really even have any input into what you're seeing, looking for, doing? Learning from others is great so long as it doesn't replace intuition and your own input. Art is expression, not regurgitation. If you're just trying to be a proficient technician because you're chasing a paycheck as a hired photographer, that's fine but its the creative souls in love with the subject matter who inevitably end up being the ones that produce spellbinding images of power and grace. Any craft taken to its highest expression becomes art. |
I do have to admit that there's a
feeling of copasetic corollary contained in the process of making fine art
photographs with a camera that is truly a work of art to begin with. The extra time it takes to set up and compose with a 4x5 camera isn’t too bad because I’ve always used my 35mm and digital cameras much like large format cameras anyway. I have always taken the time to precisely compose my shots using a tripod, and shoot usually in low light which means long exposures and in order to get the best results from small format cameras, shooting slow slide film or at the lowest ISO setting on my digital cameras in order to minimize grain in the resultant images. It was Galen Rowell who taught me that if you take the time to compose the shot and use a tripod and slow film, you can enlarge a 35mm image up to nearly four feet by five feet and a great many people will confuse it with a large format image. In large part, it’s the way you approach things that make for good results, not the equipment you have. It was a lesson I was eager to embrace because at the time there was no way I could justify the expense of a large format camera. Focusing on Philosophy
What is image manipulation? Using a
flash? A long exposure? These things change the nature of the image completely...
and are regularly accepted. A camera is a tool which alters images by its design,
and the dark room is where most photographers hone their skills at bringing forth
the vitality of their visions. What the camera captures is mere inspiration; it can't
capture the sky. The camera gives me a crude approximation of what was out there,
but the real magic is inside. That fantastic light and the beauty of nature and of life,
its in me and you as sense memory- not in the camera. Inspiration literally means,
"in spirit"- and that's where photography takes me, to that glowing essence of things.
The possibility that I might be able to coax those ephemeral qualities of wonder to
show up in the print, that's my inspiration, that's my goal. |
