November Featured Speaker David Samuel Robbins Monday, November 21st , at 7 PM on Zoom

We are delighted to host David Samuel Robbins as our featured speaker (via Zoom), on Monday, November 21st at 7:00 pm. Most of us now have a very capable camera with us at all times. Occasionally we might encounter a scene that we find photogenic and perhaps "capture" a good - or maybe even great - image from that moment. As a single, isolated stand-alone picture, that can be very gratifying, and we can be proud of it. But what does that image really say about us individually?

"Capture" implies the objective recording of whatever visual facts are presented to the photographer - merely their good fortune of being in the right place at the right time and with a decent camera. "Capture" does not speak to creative intention, and intention is the direct opposite of objectivity, it is the deliberate cultivation and celebration of a very personal, highly subjective bias in how we internalize the visual world. 

This is the difference between actually making pictures vs. merely taking pictures. 

Achieving clarity of intention is a very gradual and largely internal process, and the images we create along the way are the external evidence of that ongoing process. We can shift from a largely reactive mode of seeing and shooting to a much more proactive mode - where we are now mentally. Altering the random scenes around us to conform to some preexisting concepts we want to explore in our photography. This is essential to successfully executing extended projects such as portfolios, exhibits and books that require a continuity of visual style to support a concept and hold the entire project together, even when spanning hundreds (or thousands) of images created over the course of years. 

The emphasis of David's talk will be on the challenges and opportunities found in making thematic bodies of work rather than exceptional single photographs. These include image sequencing, narrative flow, and the possible synergies of paired images in book layouts. When David does discuss individual images, it will be in the context of how those images are in service of the larger project. 

David will show and discuss his images from Morocco, Jordan, the Himalaya and India, including his recent limited-edition book, India: Fragments from the Constellation. 

You may learn more about David Samuel Robbins on his two websites: www.davidsamuelrobbins.com www.photonomadtours.com 

Members already should have received their Zoom credentials via email. If not, simply contact the PPF President, Ray Bidegain. Since the meetings are open to the public, non-members may request a guest pass by contacting the President.