Necessary Wires Project Update

Well my project with electrical wires has a name 'Necessary Wires'.      As I've seen these electrical towers and wires through my 'photography eyes', I realize how much of a scar they place on the landscape.

Don't get me wrong - in our modern culture, electrical wires are as almost as necessary as water and food.  We rely on them so much, that thinking of existing without electricity is literally impossible for me to imagine.

But as you drive around, notice how much 'landscape' we dedicate to this subject.  It really is astonishing.

As I mentioned in my last web blog, I have been exploring the electrical towers and wires with a cloud texture.   Well 2 weeks ago, there was a storm that came through the area and gave us some much needed rain.   I was luckily ready to capture some of the most impressive cloud formations that I have seen recently.

As you can imagine, the clouds are really the star of these shots.   For 30 minutes, the clouds turned and swelled and creating some gorgeous formations in the sky.   Luckily as dramatic as these looked, they didn't produce any violent weather, just a nice day of steady rain that the plants really needed.

Maybe there's a metaphor between the 'power' in the skies making a textured backdrop agains the 'power' in the wires.

I'll leave this with one final thought.    As I was exploring a huge field of towers and wires, I came across this dead blue heron bird.

I can't be 100% certain that this poor bird was a victim of the electrical wires, but look at the first image in my blog post from today.   That is the field of electrical wires that the bird was found near.

We have a price to pay for our need for these 'necessary wires'.    This poor bird is my thoughts often as I see our landscapes with rolling wires.

You can view more of my Necessary Wires images on my photography web site:

Necessary Wires Project

Inspiration comes form different experiences

Some of you read my blog a week ago entitled "For Something Completely Different".  A good friend asked me what inspired me to photograph these subjects.     When I published the blog, I didn't completely know, but the evolution has become clear.

While out driving, I began to notice some patterns in telephone poles,electrical poles, patterns at electrical sub stations and the way we as a society are so dependent upon electricity.   The method of transporting this lifeblood began to fascinate me.  

I can't shoot a single image, or write this web blog if it wasn't for electricity.  Not to mention the fans, lights, radios, tv, computers, cell phones etc that are such a vital part of our society.   All of these need electrical power.

As I looked more at what I was 'feeling' in the wire and poles,  I realized there was an image in my mind made by a famous photographer.   I knew the image was at my home in one of my photography books, but couldn't recall who took the image.

The answer came to me in a most unusual way.    While I was attending a private showing of a photography collectors home a few weeks ago, we were looking at original prints by Robert Frank, Richard Avedon, Alfred Steiglitz, Gertrude Kasebier etc, I was enjoying the prints so much.   Then then owner proudly displayed 2 prints from Margaret Bourke-White from some of her early work in Cleveland.   Even though the pictures weren't of electrical towers, something told me - THIS IS THE ARTIST.   I kept thinking of her as I drove home, and sure enough, when I opened one of my books featuring Ms. Bourke-Whites images, a famous print she made of the NBC radio tower jumped out at me.   You can view the image here:

N. B. C. Radio Tower 1934 - Margaret Bourke-White

You will notice where my inspiration came from. 

Excited to discover what inspired me, I have begun in earnest to grab my own ideas on this creation of art from mechanical structures and the necessity for them in our society. 

Quite by accident, a new turn in this project has evolved.    The first set of images I've shared are a very stark contrast, very monotone black and white images.   With modern software image tools, it is a trivial task to create these types of images.     While out shooting one morning, a new twist came into my project - the introduction of clouds.

You will notice this is the same exact composition as the 2nd image posted above, but this new image has a cloud texture.   It gives the emotion of the image much more mood and a slightly darker feel.   I have kept the same composition ideas as my first impressions of the wires and towers, but added the cloud layers.

As you can see, the clouds and different lighting can add an entirely different emotion to the image.

With dramatic storm clouds, the wires and pole almost become secondary to the mood of the photograph.

The clouds can also transform a simple subject and impose a human iconic symbol to the scene.

You can view my continuing ideas of electrical wires and poles at my smugmug web site:

Electrical Wires 2012