Give Yr Prada to the Poor, 2012
(Click on image to see larger)
One of the podcasts I like to
listen to from time to time is Ibarionix Perello’s The Candid Frame. (How’s that for a name!) Perello
just began the eighth year of producing and hosting this wonderful series of recorded
interviews with well-known photographers. They talk about their work, how they
got started, what inspires them and how they deal with the challenges of making
a living as a photographer.
A recent guest on The Candid Frame was Vancouver-based
photographer David duChemin. Back in 2010 I wrote about my admiration for duChemin and for the pdf publishing
operation, Craft & Vision, he founded.
In this week’s conversation
Perello asked duChemin about his recovery from a nearly fatal fall off a wall
in Italy two years ago. duChemin started by outlining the expected physical limits
this accident inflicted on him. (All in all, he just happy to be walking, even
with a limp.)
But the recovery was also a
chance for introspection and comparison of his own life with his fellow therapy
patients whose prospects were not as hopeful. To start with, duChemin came away
from this experience ever more determined to appreciate the opportunity that
each day gives us, especially in view of his newfound appreciation of how rapidly
and unexpectedly life can change.
Even more interesting was
duChemin’s newfound rejection of the whole idea of competition. “I used to be
jealous of a lot of photographers and I was very aggressive when it came to competitions.
But now I’m not, and I don’t worry about competitions.” From that observation
rolled a lengthy conversation about creating art for your own sake and for the
purpose of expressing an idea rather than just to please other people.
I’ve always been jealous of any
number of other photographers. I used to be jealous when even my friends whose
photography I admire got recognized in some way. Eventually I realized how
wasteful, counterproductive and simply unkind that was. It bothered me that I had
been, however briefly, the kind of person to hold such jealousies.
Listening to duChemin talk about
his jealousies at least assured me that I wasn’t alone in having such vanities
and that the act of recognizing it may have actually freed me to do better work.
Posts
Never let being human bother you, especially after you have "recovered". We seem to be hotwired for jealousy and need to train ourselves out of it as best we can. I have never heard of this podcast. I need to look it up. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteI think creating art for your own sake is really vital. He sounds like a fascinating person. Love your snow images, and I loved your recent black and white photo with the touches of red in the berries, too!
ReplyDelete