Investing time to establish a relationship with your subject is the first critical step in photography. This activity is best described by the Sanskrit word namaste—“I bow to the divine in you”. I can sense very quickly if no relationship is developing with my potential subject—whether a person, a flower, a garden, or even a rock. Minor White, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, used the word Spirit—“No matter how slow the film, Spirit always stands still long enough for the photographer It has chosen”. This investment results in the images ceasing to be records of objects. No longer It, I can build an I–Thou dialogue with them. Once the dialogue starts, in my mind, I ask them to speak to me. The resulting images capture privileged moments, in sacred precincts. They extend the conversation; they extend time.
Chinese have always regarded mountains as sacred precincts, the closest proximity to heaven and the gods. As a souvenir of such introspective journeys, the literati frequently carried home dreamstones, thin pieces of circular white marble displaying a blackish-grey pattern, often reminiscent of clouds floating over mountains. In addition, they believed that the dreamstones, which now graced their city residences, possessed the energy of the wild mountain landscape (a Taoist concept). After searching for wild irises in the mountains of Yunnan, in southwestern China, I found dreamstones in Dali which now, positioned on the mantle of my fireplace, give energy of wild landscape to the quiet of my daily life. I now realise that my Kodachrome images, as dreamstones, give energy of people, flowers, gardens, and rocks.
Over several decades, I took the opportunity to search for endangered species, both plants and people, in far off lands (Japan, Israel, Egypt, India, China, and France). I assembled an extensive library of Kodachrome images. As the world is changing at an exponential, not linear, rate, I felt the responsibility to share these unique images and have published many of them in a series of books. Twenty books showcase more recent digital images. You can preview a book by clicking on the cover.
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hawkeye_20_20@protonmail.com
Hawkeye 