• Can A Photograph Represent Sound?

    The sound I am wondering about is no-sound, the lack of clatter — silence, soft and ubiquitous. Could a photographic image somehow acquire that meaning? At least in my mind this one comes close. On a Las Vegas late afternoon many people shelter in their hotel rooms, having entered a video-trance or maybe gone down […]

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    June 28, 2023 By Redburnusa

  • Some Other Worlds Of Light

    Seeing a passing storm through a different set of goggles —          

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    May 31, 2023 By Redburnusa

  • Uncommon Imagery in a Turkish Storefront

    I explored every street in downtown Selçuk, Turkey. I also sampled outlying neighborhoods. This wedding photographer’s window-display represents the only public imagery bordering on the erotic I saw in that town; in fact, I saw nothing so blatant during the rest of my trip through the conservative country of Turkey, which included a week’s stay […]

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    May 31, 2023 By Redburnusa

  • Homage to Edward Hopper

    I had driven a thousand miles west stopping just once to sleep. On the high plains of Kansas I ran into sleet and bitter winds. For reasons unknown, I am without luck in these situations; again and again forced into remote towns under heavy weather, where travelers confront poor choices among accommodations. That night — […]

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    March 1, 2023 By Redburnusa

  • Considering An Unusual Aesthetic

    Occasionally a homeowner sets a new standard in front-yard decoration. You have before you such a case. This home in the American desert maintains the status quo with only one element of design: gravel raked over plastic underlayment to cover the ground — a ubiquitous practice, as common as dirt in this vicinity. With the […]

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    February 9, 2023 By Redburnusa

  • Ancient Longings

    “Theoretically, a perfect photograph is absolutely inexhaustible. In a painting you can find nothing which the artist has not seen before you; but in a perfect photograph there will be as many beauties lurking, unobserved, as there are flowers that blush unseen in forests and meadow …. Form is henceforth divorced from matter. In fact, […]

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    January 2, 2023 By Redburnusa

  • Silicon Intelligence — The Latest Outrage

    “This isn’t going to stop. Art is dead, dude. It’s over. A.I. has won. Humans lost.” Jason M. Allen — speaking to a reporter after winning $300 at a State Fair art competition, for a piece he created using text-to-image software, enabled by robots scraping images — and their text alternatives — off the worldwide […]

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    October 7, 2022 By Redburnusa

  • After the Inferno

    In late summer 2020, bolts of lightning struck near Cima Dome, a rocky promontory in the Mojave Desert. The strikes ignited both woodland and ground cover; by noon the next day 16,000 acres had burned; among the casualties: grasses, shrubs, trees and cacti all scorched and left for dead in the fire’s wake. The speedy […]

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    August 30, 2022 By Redburnusa

  • Attempting Urban Symbolism

    One sees fountains (real and simulated) all over Las Vegas, Nevada A constant irony in this arid location where rain falls sporadically. Exhortations to relax and be entertained — to indulge yourself — assail your every conscious moment. Winning is definitely not guaranteed. Here there are probably as many ways to lose your shirt (or […]

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    August 2, 2022 By Redburnusa

  • Pleasure From Low Relief

    [The photograph above simulates bas-relief; it was edited and enhanced by digital means.] Often I cannot explain when asked: Why do you like that? For example: Why do I esteem art in low-relief? It’s hard to give reasons why I like it so much. A cynical person might want to know what else captivates us […]

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    June 19, 2022 By Redburnusa
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Latest Entries

  • A Most Challenging Look
    In Cultural Anthropology, Environmental Portraiture, Street Photography
    In their frankness her eyes disconcert me. She […]
  • Why I Came Home Early
    In Autobiographical, Cultural Anthropology, Egypt, Middle East
    Assume you are a middle-aged man born and raised in […]
  • A Scene From Yesteryear
    In Americana, Cultural Anthropology, Street Photography
    In this slice of American history, relaxation — […]
  • On Visiting A Bonfire-Site
    In Art Historical, Cultural Anthropology, Pilgrimages, Reportage
     A Ruined Chapel in the California Desert   […]
  • Another Anomalous Vision
    In Americana, Cultural Anthropology, Inexplicables, Street Photography
     “If an extraterrestrial came to earth and […]

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About the Author

Redburnusa is a pseudonym used by a photographer living near Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Howerton comments on meaning in photography and his own journey from the perspective of a seeker, rather than a professional artist or credentialed intellectual. He has authored each journal entry. Mr. Howerton has created and edited every image appearing here, unless  otherwise indicated in the text. To contact him personally, write to crhowerton@gmail.com.

 

You can view his Desert Portfolio here: http://www.desertperceptions.com.

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