A secret cove, a revelatory walk....

Continuing on with the theme of sand...

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/it-was-me

"When you look back at the most difficult times in your life 

and see only one set of footprints in the sand, 

it’s because I was carrying you.

When also in the sand there’s a pretty great sand castle, 

at least for someone who isn’t a professional sand-castle builder, 

that was me, too."

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-build-the-perfect-sandcastle-according-to-science/

"Far from perfect" doesn't make it unenjoyable by any means.

The world, your life, the beach sand - all a blank canvas.

Treat all with care.

More sand - an Ocean Beach sculptor is at work

So here's this chunk of quasi-sandstone, fallen off a crumbling cliff at the beach. Someone has decided it's face is a canvas, so they carve - a palm tree.

Sand is a long time in the making, and has a long life cycle.

I remember my Mom taking us three kids to uncounted destinations in Maine north of us, and on the way back we stopped many times at 'The Rock Shop'. No music here, just rocks, of all kinds. There was always a tumbler at work. Nature has a tumbler too - it's called the ocean.

On a more serious note:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/05/29/the-world-is-running-out-of-sand

Excellent article, read it.

BTW, if you like the image at the top of the page 

(which was done in a traditional chemical darkroom and then handcolored), 

you should check out my website:

http://www.bobbennettphoto.net

After many years of making darkroom photomontage (since the late 80's), and not being able to get arrested for it except for a few appearances in competitive group shows, and some assignment illustrations in various magazines ....I am designing & publishing books I make at Blurb with 'Bookify' - two of them are on Amazon, one is at Blurb.

'California Beach Trip':

On Amazon:

www.amazon.com/dp/1364579138

'Desert Trip'

On Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1367900190

'Seeking the Vibe'

On Blurb:

http://www.blurb.com/b/6834807-seeking-the-vibe

Previews of all at:

http://www.bobbennettphoto.net/BB_Books/index.html

I haven't run out of sand images quite yet....... stop in again :-)

'Matter of time'

Another image in the 'time' series

I could also title this one 'Measure of time', either title would be fine & fitting. 

The fog recedes long enough to let sunshine throw great sharp shadows from this half man-made / half nature-made time piece. A small root from some dunes grass spins in the wind, making concentric grooves in the sand, a compliment to the two hands of a clock. A small creature of some kind leaves it's trail. All the elements here are on different measures of time - circles on sand, trails left behind, a clock that keeps ticking, ticking, ticking relentlessly on, fog that has a schedule all it's own. And sand that is the end result of who knows much rock building and then grinding 'til what was once VERY large (perhaps covering continents) and heavy becomes the consistency of table salt. In one of John McPhee's books about the geology of the US, from east to west (a marvelous series of books, ending w/ 'Assembling California') he writes: The top of the Himalayas is made of marine shale - hope you didn't miss that - marine shale, made in the ocean, now at 25,000+ft elevation. Now that takes some time doesn't it?

Desert time

The last post was long, the next few will be short, hopefully sweet.

Mottos for this one might be:

"Self-dependent power can time defy, as rocks resist the billows and the sky."

or Latin "Pulvis et umbra sumus. (We are [dust and] shadow."

The Golden Gate Park sundial now sits not on a stand, but on the broad leaf of a prickly pear cactus. What does this say about time? Perhaps that just like the cactus we have no choice but to keep hands off, unless of course we like pain. 'Leave time alone, don't mess with it. You think you won't get old? " 'Fuhgeddaboutit', as they say in New York City - it can't be changed anyway".

The gnomon (which casts the shadow) is instead a tree which will grow, casting a slightly different shadow as the years go by, slightly longer every year. But the hour, the time told, will remain the same, only the shadow gets longer, as yours will too.

(The gnomon casts a shadow; the shadow shows the time.)

There's a hand-colored version of this one:

If you like my images, check out any of my three self-published books:

'California Beach Trip':

On Amazon:

www.amazon.com/dp/1364579138

'Desert Trip'

On Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1367900190

'Seeking the Vibe'

On Blurb:

http://www.blurb.com/b/6834807-seeking-the-vibe

Previews of all at:

http://www.bobbennettphoto.net/BB_Books/index.html

Please do stop by again - every 2 weeks, somethin' new :-)

Take a seat...

Take a seat on an abandoned decrepit chair on the beach. 

In a surreally oversized driftwood shelter. Let your thoughts wander. 

Watch the fading sunset light. Did i mention your cell phone should be turned off? 

Well, now i have.

Stop. Sit. Think. Pay attention to the real world. 

The chair, the driftwood, the sunset.

After many years of making darkroom photomontage ( since the late 80's), 

and not being able to get arrested for it 

except for a few appearances in competitive group shows, 

and some assignment illustrations in various magazines 

....I am designing & publishing books I make at Blurb with 'Bookify' 

- two of them are on Amazon, one is at Blurb.

'California Beach Trip':

On Amazon:

www.amazon.com/dp/1364579138

'Desert Trip'

On Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1367900190

'Seeking the Vibe'

On Blurb:

http://www.blurb.com/b/6834807-seeking-the-vibe

Previews of all at:

http://www.bobbennettphoto.net/BB_Books/index.html

Dreamer

What is this blog about? In a nutshell, it's about black and white darkroom photomontage. Every few weeks, a new image with a few words about it, kinda poetic, philosophical. 

For more details - check out the archive, the first post, April 26, 2015.

If you like what you see here, go to: www.bobbennettphoto.net

I found this face carved in soft sandstone on Ocean Beach, San Francisco, some years ago. I will hope he is sleeping, dreaming, and not dead. 

Which ended up in this montage image:

V1

which then got amped up a bit:

V2

V3 - Hand-colored

The landscape - the horizon, the two trees - is at Sunset Crater in Arizona. The ragged rocks above it - tufa at Mono Lake in Ca. The lighthouse superimposed at the top is at Pt. Bonita in the Marin headlands, just north of SF.

What does it all mean?

Perhaps dreams foster thoughts ( = the trees, which grow) ...which then beget difficulties of whatever kind (the ragged tufa rocks)... but there is light at the end of this tunnel, the lighthouse shines on.

Perhaps this is about the power of thought, mind over matter?

I don't 'think' much about the meaning of the image as i am making the print.

I wrote a statement many years ago, that stands the test of time:

"I work in a very simple, traditional darkroom - One enlarger, four trays, and a collection of hand tools made from things you can buy at any art supply, or hardware store. I think it was Robert Rauschenberg (correct me, someone/anyone, if my attribution is wrong) who said it best - "It starts by YOU telling the picture what it will be -- in the end, THE PICTURE tells you what IT will be...".

I feel like I take that approach, not through any 'great design', or dogmatic adherence, it's just the way that 'comes naturally' and that is all I am interested in.

I collect negatives by taking myself, and simple camera, to places I love - the California coast, and desert - and start walking. 

I spend a lot of time with my proof sheets, and in a small room, under a dim red bulb. I'm obviously interested in things metaphysical - beyond that 

......it's up to the viewer to decide what's going on. If I haven't figured them out yet, (and I haven't, not really), why should I presume to explain them to anyone else? Many of the pictures just seem to 'happen', because the individual negatives are 'looking for each other'. I'm just a chaperone, and a really loose one at that...... But those were always the best kind of parties, right?

Can't think of any better way to end this post than quote the title to a great Aerosmith song:

"Dream On!"

Phoenix

What is this blog about? In a nutshell, it's about black and white darkroom photomontage. Every few weeks, a new image with a few words about it, kinda poetic, philosophical. 

For more details - check out the archive, the first post, April 26, 2015.

If you like what you see here, go to: www.bobbennettphoto.net

There is an old myth about a 'phoenix'...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix  (mythology)

So here's my 'phoenix', rising from the ashes, to be reborn.

Bob Dylan wrote:

'I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now'

Long before that, Rumi wrote:

'Only an empty vessel can be refilled'

They are both the same thought, aren't they?

I recently went back to this print... did some hand coloring:

Now it really soars, in more ways than one.

Don't fail to see the unknown!!

What is this blog about? In a nutshell, it's about black and white darkroom photomontage. Every few weeks, a new image with a few words about it, kinda poetic, philosophical. 

For more details - check out the archive, the first post, April 26, 2015.

If you like what you see here, go to: www.bobbennettphoto.net

What a command, if that's what it is.

Perhaps it's a suggestion? Or would you call it a warning?

Who can see what is unknown ..and therefore probably unseeable?!

Well, you better try, 'cause it's comin' yer way, fer sure.

Ready or not - "Batter up!" (think baseball)

(Watch out for that curve ball!)

The lower half is a photo made at the Salton Sea, a man-made (by mistake) salt water lake in So. California. People made homes when the lake's shore was at a certain level, then the lake rose, and flooded them. It has now receded, and left a salt encrusted enviroment. 

You could say they... failed to see the unknown?

Happy New year - who knows what the future will bring??

A slight interuption in the normal flow of images.

After 20+ years of making darkroom photomontage, and not being able to get arrested for it, I am publishing books i make with Blurb, getting them on Amazon.

I recently published a revised version of the 'California Beach Trip' images - marvelous and mind-bending B&W darkroom montage images - done almost 20 years ago for a multimedia company that never used them.
The first version was a 'pull out all the stops' thing, adding many new digital images, & overlaying text on the images. i asked two excellent designer friends of mine what they thought, and both answered the same - 'get back to basics, just the B&W, use very little text, & don't put it on the images'.
I took their advice. So here it is, hope you enjoy - it is also much more affordable, fewer images and no blank pages. Add a copy to your bookshelf, or buy the e-Book - now that's affordable!

On Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1364681250?keywords=California%20beach%20trip&qid=1449102160&ref_=sr_1_3&s=books&sr=1-3


http://www.blurb.com/books/6661547-california-beach-trip-photomontage-by-bob-bennett#basic

http://www.blurb.com/books/6661547-california-beach-trip-photomontage-by-bob-bennett/pages/0#basic

http://www.blurb.com/b/6661547-california-beach-trip-photomontage-by-bob-bennett

Yes, there are 3 different URL's, which seem to work differently on various browsers/systems - one of them will work for you, i sure hope!

The preview can't show all the images, but you can see them at the link below.

http://www.bobbennettphoto.net/BT_BW_Bk/index.html

There's two more books waiting in the wings, stay tuned, I'll be back!

Desert melody

What is this blog about? In a nutshell, it's about black and white darkroom photomontage. Every few weeks, a new image with a few words about it, kinda poetic, philsophical.
For more details - check out the archive, the first post, April 26, 2015.
If you like what you see here, go to: www.bobbennettphoto.net

The desert, the mountains leading down to it, outside Las Vegas NV. 2008.

There is music here, though it has no melody, no key, no time signature.
Random notes, sounds... created from nothing, becoming something, resounding in nothingness - and everything -  echoing in your head.
Enjoy the cacophony.
Dance.

Crown of Thorns

What is this blog about? In a nutshell, it's about black and white darkroom photomontage. Every few weeks, a new image with a few words about it, kinda poetic, philsophical.
For more details - check out the archive, the first post, April 26, 2015.
If you like what you see here, go to: www.bobbennettphoto.net

A throne of sorts, with a crown of thorns - what sort of place is this?

The thorns are actually a Joshua Tree, maybe not the acanthus you might have read about in ancient sources, but they are quite thorny enough.

Do you dare sit here? The chair looks comfortable enough, but the crown? I dunno about that.
I’ve been to this place. I think it's a place to make hard choices. Or maybe have deep challenging thoughts.

If you would take a seat, I could tell you just a few things about life.
Just a few. I don't know much more than that. Do you?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_thorns

Always gotta quote Ahnold, the Terminator:
"Ah'll be back"

A Flaming Portal

 What is this blog about? In a nutshell, it's about black and white darkroom photomontage. Every few weeks, a new image with a few words about it, kinda poetic, philsophical.
For more details - check out the archive, the first post, April 26, 2015.
If you like what you see here, go to: www.bobbennettphoto.net

 

A petroglyph points to a portal, a burning hole in a rock wall, a most perplexing phenomenon. When's the last time you saw a rock burning? I guess that might be called something resembling a volcano? Beside this portal is a break in the stone, a chasm between huge slabs of rock, in which a smaller rounded rock has become stuck in it's descent, trapped.

There's a small symbol at the bottom of the crack which means....?
What a contrast here - one rock is trapped, another reveals the distance.
Perhaps this is a geological version of the age old question - is the glass half empty or half full?

A Matter of Time

What is this blog about? In a nutshell, it's about black and white darkroom photomontage, 

sometimes hand colored.

Every few weeks, a new image. For more details about the blog and the blogger - 

check out the Archive, the first post, April 26, 2015.

A Matter of time

(Made shortly after arriving in Ca. in 1992.)

A root spins in the wind, on the sand, carving a circular groove. Some small creature wanders across the sand, leaving history of it's passing as a small groove.

The fog rolls in. Time marches on. To quote a brilliant songwriter: 

"Time marches on, time stands still, time on my hands, time to kill. 

We contemplate eternity 

under the vast indifference of heaven." 

Thank you, Warren Zevon.

RIP