• Is This the Best Salesman in the World?

      The image portrays Savash, a charismatic Turkish man— master of several languages — instantly a friend to every person he meets. I do not know his job title at the hotel. In other contexts he would be called a rainmaker, a troubleshooting outside man, leading clients toward the restaurant or pushing the lodgings, helping […]

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    June 15, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • Praise for the Specimen, #2

      We were coming to the end of an automobile trip and had reached south of Payson, Arizona. It was late in the day; everyone was tired and we looked forward to sleeping at home for the first time in a week. When I saw this regal cottonwood tree lit by the sun — circled […]

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    June 11, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • In Praise of Specimens

      Images of living and and non-living specimens — like portraits of people — can seem animated or they can just recline listlessly on the page. In photography serendipity always operates, but functions most fluidly in a skilled observer; on this winter morning finding such a vigorous wind-sculpted tree felt like one of those fortunate […]

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    June 10, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • The Two Most Difficult Subjects

      The Saguaro Cactus and the Grand Canyon — each is an intimidating subject. They are emblems of the Arizona territory, represented copiously in diverse media: oil paintings, photographs, refrigerator magnets and t-shirts to mention just a few examples. The saguaro grows only here; the grandest canyon on earth by the logic of superlatives exists […]

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    June 8, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • Shaking Sand From Her Shoe

      An Egyptian girl perches on a ledge along the Coast Road and shakes sand from one of her shoes, her exposed head still wet from bathing in the Mediterranean Sea. Soon her conspicuous hair and skin will become unacceptable; casual innocent moments like this will be forbidden in public. It could signal a reputation-destroying […]

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    June 2, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • More From the Street — People In Action

             

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    June 2, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • The Force of Icons

      They are impossible to resist. You try your hand at crafting an image despite tens of thousands who have come before you — tourists and professional photographers who made their own attempts with sporadic success. One cannot take the same photograph twice. You are encouraged and motivated by that; moreover, when standing before these […]

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    June 1, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • Impersonating the Dead

    It is not something I would do myself unless cajoled or threatened; however, other people do it freely with commitment and enthusiasm. I am speaking of inhabiting the skins and personalities of dead human beings. You see a Confederate rifleman above — part of a doomed 19th century rebellion — embodied now by a 21st […]

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    May 31, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • Concerning Minimalism

      I take minimalism to mean art which eliminates superfluous detail, the goal being to strip away unique embellishments, ending with pure visual experience. Pure — allowing a viewer to see what is there and nothing more. It might be the opposite of Baroque, a style known for profuse and luxurious surface detail, sometimes including […]

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    May 31, 2020 By Redburnusa
  • An Especially Ebullient Man

      This species of cheerful ebullience eludes me. No matter what potent drugs were circulated through my brain, I could not reach this exalted condition of mind and body. Nevertheless: here is proof that such a state of being is possible. His vintage turquoise pickup truck just adds to the joy.    

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    May 22, 2020 By Redburnusa

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