Natural Disclosures
Big Picture
Sometimes, the small screen just can't get it.
Neither is the modest size image on the wall.
Our perceptual system and our minds need a timescale to take everything in, register it and eventually record a conclusion. Possibly to retrieve it, later on, rethink again, finding more in it.
All these issues of vision processing what we see have absorbed me for decades. I was missing a lot while perceiving the world. I tried many techniques to replicate how we perceive large scenes or events. Our eyes scan what’s in front of us, and our brains record essential details and assemble a big mental picture. In fact, our still eyes register high-resolution images only in the very narrow beam of vision. Everything else is a more or less defined blur. My task was to include details within the borders of our peripheral vision with clarity of details and to minimize optical distortions.
This area of Ontario contains the world's largest remaining old-growth red pine forest. That alone kept me coming here for more than two decades.
Details of a small fragment “Wolf Lake” image.
Details of a small fragment “Wolf Lake” image.
This area of Ontario contains the world's largest remaining old-growth red pine forest. That alone kept me coming here for more than two decades.
Doing something, or not, is a subject of scrutiny for reasons. Wolf Lake was surrounded by a mining concession, which meant an ongoing tag of wars. On the other hand, I had loving memories of family outings in the red pine forest; apparently, it meant something to me. Over the decades, I accumulated many sketches photographed with small cameras while visiting this area. It is my working material before undertaking each large image project.
Morning overview of a lake in Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario.
Details of a small fragment “Treeby Lake” image.
Details of a small fragment “Treeby Lake” image.
Morning overview of a lake in Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario.
Making large, high-resolution images is complex as it requires planning and sets of right external conditions. It needs highly specialized, large and heavy equipment to get on location. Failure and multiple attempts were the calculated risk factors.
The world is far more complex than I will admit or assess at a first encounter. I need a distance to evaluate underlying connections and processes. And to envision the stage for them where a story can play itself out. Doing it on location is almost impossible.
Fall in Dundas Valley, Hamilton, Ontario.
Details.
Details
Fall in Dundas Valley, Hamilton, Ontario.
One needs a distance from daily routines to put things together that matter. It is a state of mind to see the hidden. Whatever it takes, it might be worth it.
