Guardians

I am frequently asked why I photograph what I do and how I photograph. I think that is mostly out of kindness because I am not really sure that people want to get as deeply into my photographs as I.

When you talk about photographs you are actually talking about yourself and that makes most people uneasy. I’ve told so much that I can’t take back so it really doesn’t matter to me any more. Either that or I have decided that I am not as big a reprobate as I once thought. So I am going to talk about pictures on this blog in addition to showing pictures.

At the castle I basically can group the photographs this way: exterior, grounds, interior, dogs, chapel and miscellaneous. Only one is really personal enough to talk about seriously and that is the chapel.

The exteriors are close to landscape that is not my cup of tea in any way. I did try processing a couple to elicit thoughts of castles as mysterious, haunted. Really haven’t achieved that as yet. But eventually that is what I want to do. Pictures of a castle, even in Texas doesn’t turn me on that much. Never connected with the fairy tales of knights and roundtables so there is no deep connection.

Inside I looked for a little of the same—mystery—with little success. I did several that are design, some that are still life and some that are documentary.

I did a couple of the dogs that I do like although I am not a pet person per se. Two of the dogs were very friendly and made sure you knew they were there and wanted your attention. A couple of the dog pictures come close to the mysterious castle photograph I sought even though one shows no castle. One is just, I think, a good photograph of another of the dogs.

Where I came away happy was in the chapel—back to my religious artifacts. They have the haunting and the mystery that I would like to have captured in the castle.

I am going to break this down into three or four posts using one of the genre per post.

First the dogs. The most interesting dog was the Irish Wolfhound. He forced himself on everyone—which is the only way I normally get chummy with a dog and I enjoyed it. He also made a great model. In these first photographs shot with the Lensbaby he was simply lying on the grass near the entrance to the castle and I grabbed a couple of shots. I thought the Lensbaby would come close to giving me the atmosphere I was looking for in shooting the castle and I believe personally that it works in these two photographs. Castles shouldn’t be f/64, they predate pictorialism, they are the things of King Author and Robin Hood—who wants to see a sharp photograph of a castle? I don’t. 

The dogs were digging for gophers very enthusiastically, even in the middle of the walking path which made for interesting walking after dark. This dog was very interested in stalking something at the edge of the water in the mote. I couldn't see anything but he was not to be deterred. When he looked up I shot the photograph.