Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“I don’t like the discussions about whether photography is an art. Even though I think that if it would be just a craft I would not have stayed with it all my life.”—Josef Sudek (1896-1976)
In Western Christianity, March 19, is known as the the Feast of Saint Joseph and is the principal feast day for Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has the rank of a solemnity in the Catholic Church.—from Wikipedia
My Photographic Influences
One of my photographic influences was Josef Sudek, who once said “…everything around us, dead or alive, in the eyes of a crazy photographer mysteriously takes on many variations, so that a seemingly dead object come to life through light or by its surroundings…. To capture some of this, I suppose that’s lyricism.”
In the Czech Republic, St. Joseph’s Day is a more subdued version of St. Patrick’s Day and is celebrated around the same time in March. Historically, Josef was one of the most common Czech male’s first names. For example, the village of Josefovice used to have at least one Josef living in every one of its houses. The name is no longer on the top of the country’s name popularity charts, having been replaced with Filip, Tomáš, Adam, Jan or Lukáš. Yet, even these days approximately 266,000 Czech men are named Josef, making it the fourth most common Czech man’s name. It is no wonder that the Josef name day is still celebrated across the Czech Republic and mentioned in news reports every year.
How I Made this Photograph:
The above image is my homage to the work of Czech photographer Josef Sudek. It’s a composite of several RAW image files. I shot all of the images using a Panasonic Lumix G5 that was converted for infrared use by LifePixel using their Standard IR (720nm) filter. The lens used was a borrowed Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 M Mount Aspherical III lens that was attached to the camera using a $23.95 Fotodiox Leica M to Micro Four-thirds adapter. You can learn more about Sudek and more details about how I made this image here.
One a personal note: I don’t consider creating a composite image like this—or this—to be cheating. I made this image to create a photograph of the caboose by itself and all the images were made at the same time with the same camera, lens and exposure. All of the RAW files were captured using a nominal exposure of 1/250 sec at f/11 and ISO 400. You may disagree with me about this technique and if you do, I respect your opinion.
If you’re not familiar with Josef Sudek’s photography, you should be. He was a reclusive individual who, from the mid-1920s until his death in 1976, photographed everything from Prague’s Gothic and Baroque architecture to its streets and objects, while typically leaving the frame completely devoid of people. A book of his photographs, simply titled Sudek, that I own and love, showcases his amazing imagery and was written by Sonja Bullaty. Copies may be purchased from Amazon at prices starting around $24, as I write this.
Here on Daisy Hill we celebrate St. Joseph’s Day all year round. And you can celebrate it too by regularly visiting this blog for photography how-to tips, tools and techniques seven days a week. As always, many thanks for your support.
If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to treat ($2.50) this particular Joseph to a cup of Earl Grey tea, click here.