BLOG #120

12/18/2015

Once, after working underwater with Emma Stein, a wonderful dancer, I asked her to lie, tummy down, on the deck of my pool, lean over and put her face in the water. I told her this was just about crazy fun, taking chances, being a “nut-case,” and that there was no way she could possibly do anything but make fabulous photographs.

I had a large tank of air on the deck connected to a clear hose with holes in it. I placed the hose on the bottom of the pool, held it down with weights, and had my assistant turn on the air.

I went to the bottom of the pool, my back on the hose with the bubbles coming around me and rising up toward her face at the surface. Finger on the shutter release, I looked up and this is what I saw!

Sometimes artistic exploration with a camera is less about Art than about having a good time and seeing what happens. Not that making Art isn’t fun, but every now and then that capitol “A” can get a little heavy. And there is search and discovery in both serious and playful work, so each has the potential to surprise and delight – my major reason for making photographs.