Leaving Paris

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I left Paris reluctantly. There was so much to do, to see and simply not enough time to accomplish it all. I'm hoping to get back there before I return to New York. I'm in Switzerland now and the weather is lovely. I'll leave you with a view of the sunset from my flat.

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Musee d'Orsay

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

The musee d'Orsay is not to be missed on any one's trip to Paris. The museum has been converted and restored from an old railway station and retains much of it's original architecture. It is situated on the left bank just across the Seine river from the Louvre and the Jardin Des Tuileries. If you are a fan of Impressionist paintings, this museum contains one of the finest collections in the world. You will find works by Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, Pissarro, Cezanne, Corot, Degas, Gauguin, Renoir, Sisley and the list goes on and on. I was thinking of Van Gogh's life as I looked upon the painting he made of his small room in Arles, France, "La Chambre de Van Gogh a Arles", painted in 1889. I really respond to that piece, the color and energy are incredible. We've been taught that he led a tortured life and maybe that's true. But he had a passion for his work and that is tremendous reward in and of itself. Anyone looking at his work knows that this is true. 

Art is not created for recognition and success. It is created for itself. If recognition, money and success come, so much the better, but it isn't the goal. It does seem incredible that he was never recognized in his own time. His paintings have sold for some of the highest prices ever in the art market today. I wonder if he knows? Is he sitting at some cafe in the universe having a good laugh at all those who tortured him, misunderstood him and ridiculed him? I would love to think so. Many artists have all the same struggles today. Families that don't understand or support them. A market place that has no use for their work, and the difficulty of making ends meet. As an artist it's so hard to stick to your dream as practical realities present themselves endlessly. This is the usefulness of success, supporting yourself from your art, every artists dream.

L'amour

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

On my first day in Paris love was in the air. This is not an unusual event here. Everywhere couples show affection for each other without restraint. What is it about the French culture that inspires such intimacy? You find it in the young, the old and everyone in-between. There is something gentle about Paris. You can see it in the streets and hear it in their language, which is spoken gently, softly and politely.

Paris, France

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I'm leaving for Paris tomorrow. I will be attending the Paris Air Show and experiencing other wonderful things French. After Paris I will be moving on to Switzerland. I will do my best to keep up my posts and communicate my experiences while traveling abroad.

Stepping Out

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Aren't we all afraid of stepping out? Leaving behind what we know, what is familiar and what is comfortable? To genuinely take risk? As an artist-photographer or any creative soul, if you want to make progress in the fine art community, you will eventually have to step away from your studio, your computer or your routine. Most artists are sensitive, intelligent, self-questioning human beings, which often makes this process more difficult and frightening. I think our biology works against "stepping out" as well. Biologically we have survived as we are, as we've been, we are a success because we are alive. So our programming seeks stability, balance and the status quo. We all know those exceptional few who are completely confident in everything that they do. I often wonder what makes for such self confidence? Is it that they were very loved and cared for as a child or the opposite, some form of compensation for being unloved and cared for? Either way, I lack such enormous self confidence in my work. But, I have found, that when one ventures out from the habitat one has made for oneself, life has an astonishing way of taking care of you. Life carries you where it will because you have become part of it. It is no longer you taking care all by yourself, you have the powerful support of life itself.

Ordinary Life

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Ordinary life, everyday things that need to get done, can be so demanding on one's time. I have often marveled at people who thrive on routine, living with certainty about their days, weeks and months ahead. By contrast, I have friends who practically destroy their lives in an effort to avoid anything that resembles routine and boredom. Then there are the rest of us, striving to achieve a balance between what needs to get done and our photography and art. Most artistic people simply want to make their art, do their work and not be involved in the "business of art". Of course, the business of art is necessary in order to thrive and continue as an artist. So how does one strike this balance? I think with patience and diligence. People don't seem to talk about diligence anymore. Diligence may be underrated but extremely necessary for success of any kind. To keep at something, experimenting, changing, adapting, but most importantly to keep doing the work. Diligence also implies the love of something. It's hard to hang in, if you're not in love. I've often had older, wiser people then I say, "if you do the work, hang in there, then the rest will follow". They just neglected to say if they meant to hang in there for one year, ten years or twenty?!

Review Santa Fe

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Review Santa Fe is a juried portfolio review event from June 4-7, in Santa Fe New Mexico. It is a weekend conference for photographers who have created a significant project or series and are seeking wider recognition. Up to 100 photographers meet with curators, editors, art directors, publishers, gallery and agency reps, and other market professionals. See the Review Santa Fe 100, here and congratulations to all.

Love and Death

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Last night as I went to bed there was a gentle spring rain tapping against the roof. As I lie there listening to its sweet melodic sound, I thought about how rain gives one permission to stay inside and indulge in comfort as apposed to sunny days that beckon one outdoors and to activity. So, there I was comfortable in bed, listening to the rain and contemplating death. One of my children told me she had a nightmare the night before, dreaming about her own demise. It was the first time this child realized that she was going to die. I thought about the miracle of life, existence and death. What a mystery it is to be alive and then to die. Forget about the big bang, what was there before? Putting God aside, I thought, how did we all get here? How did all this happen? What is the impetus behind life? What does this all mean? This inconceivably massive Universe with all its celestial activity going on all the time and we hardly seem to notice. I like to play a trick on myself every time I have a problem that I find overwhelming. I remind myself that I am standing on a ball, spinning at 1000 miles per hour, hanging in black space, and falling. Not to mention that it looks like we have no support besides the miracle of gravity. And if we fell, where would we fall to? That just puts that little ole problem of mine in perspective. So, I told my daughter that death is with us all the time. Life and creation and death and destruction. The spring leaves are delicate, vulnerable and new every year only shortly to turn glorious colors before their death. I told her death is a natural part of life and that nature is supportive, good, and takes care of her own. So death is nothing to fear and if birth is considered good then so is death. Why would death be any different? The main point is not to get hung up on death, because then you will waste this precious gift of life which we are all sharing. So, I made a mental note to laugh a lot today and I suggested to my daughter that she might do the same.

New York Summer Season

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

The summer season has officially begun here in New York. It's a wonderful time. It's made especially so because we are surrounded by beaches and mountains aren't that far away. May is a beautiful month. Blossoms and fragrant smells abound with warm sunny days and cool breezy evenings. Nature has begun to flex her muscles and demonstrate her awesome powers of creation, birth and growth. We experienced such a cold snowy winter this year, spring is especially welcome. I'm reminded of a lovely passage in a book by Susan Hanson called Icons of Loss and Grace, Moments from the Natural World, " Listening to the song of these swimmers on a sunny afternoon, I imagine how such lightness would feel, how such a letting go might lift a heavy spirit turned without forgiveness on itself. Leaning into the curve of the tree, I imagine the mercy of the world consoling and supporting me. I imagine the river and me in it, and the water bearing me away on a current of sweet unfathomable peace."

Andy Rooney on Memorial Day

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Last night on 60 minutes Andy Rooney gave a poignant commentary on Memorial Day. I'm not sure it reads as beautifully as it was spoken, but his sentiment seemed right on target to me. You can read it here. Or if you like, watch it here. I wonder what Memorial Day means to most Americans? Certainly military families and those with children in the military, or families that have served our country, the meaning has enormous depth and purpose. But to the rest of us, is it simply the start of the summer season, summer resorts and summer fun? Do the rest of us even think about or remember all those courageous souls that fought for, or are currently fighting for, the USA? Not to mention all the Americans who gave their lives, or as Andy Rooney said, "had their lives taken." It was only after I lived abroad for several years that the American way of life and all its enormous freedoms I understood. These freedoms are worth fighting for or at least standing up for. Please do not misunderstand me, I am not advocating war. I only wish we had other ways and means of solving our international differences. But today, as we blunder along in our ignorance and continue to use war as a means of defense, protection and economic freedom, let us remember all those remarkable Americans who have done what they could, and still do what they can, to protect and keep us safe.

Why People Photograph

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I often think of something I read that Robert Adams wrote in his book Why People Photograph, "If I like many photographers, and I do, I account for this by noting a quality they share-animation. They may or may not make a living by photography, but they are alive by it." I think many photographers, if not all, can relate to this quote. I don't think that human beings consciously think about wanting to feel alive, but they do search for passion. Passion equates into a lust for life and the sheer joy of being in that state. In the act of creativity you feel something, you have an idea, something unique to you and to be able to capture that through your photography, your work, is exhilarating, inspiring and stimulating.

NYPhoto Festival 09

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

One of my photos from my meditation series was exhibited at the New York Photo Festival this past weekend.

Henri Cartier Bresson and The Mind's Eye

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I've been reading a book by Henri Cartier Bresson called The Mind's Eye. He makes the statement-"for the world is movement, and you cannot be stationary in your attitude toward something that is moving." This reminded me of something I had read by J. Krishnamurti. "Reality is a living thing and cannot be captured, and you cannot say it is always there. There is a path only to something which is stationary, to a fixed, static point. To a living thing which is constantly in movement, which has no resting place, how can there be a path to it?" Fascinating statements that make one think. So, how to join the river of life which is always flowing, endlessly moving on, exploring, and pushing forward? I think one has to be self-forgetful. To end all the daily concerns. To be free, open and vulnerable to life requires an empty mind. When the head does not dictate to the heart. In the act and process of photography I am self forgetful. Perhaps that's the beauty of the process for me. I feel as though I'm in the flow.

The New York Photo Festival

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved

Today is the start of the NYPhoto Festival in New York city.

www.newyorkphotofestival.com

Photography and Life

© 2009 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved

I started this blog as a live journal, a visual diary concerning photography and life. When one stops to think about it, we are all inextricably tied to the photographic image. Our world has become increasingly visual. What implications does this have for those dedicated to the world of image making, image buying and selling?