The 1000 Yard Stare

Some things reveal themselves slowly to me — almost without thought. During my down time (which is seldom), I can find myself looking out of the studio window, giving it the ‘1000 yard stare’ — not really looking at anything, and not really thinking about anything either.

Richmond Street - Misograph Series

This is usually the point at which I have just sent the latest copy of Focus Quarterly to the printers and can finally exhale after meeting another deadline. I have always been project-led, never entirely satisfied with the single-image approach of camera clubs and societies. For me, conveying a message through a series is much easier to achieve than through a single image. This is particularly true when working with more obtuse or abstract imagery.

At this point I will often change tack in my methodology, putting my alternative photographic processes to one side and returning to the more immediate nature of digital photography. The reason, I think, is twofold. It keeps both my brain and my techniques refreshed and active, while also helping with the scheduling of the journal.

The Look - Misograph Series

When producing a quarterly publication, time is always against you, and coming up with a new project every three months can be quite taxing. There is also the unknown element of the second contributor. Whilst I want the other artist to give me something that sits comfortably within the aims of the journal, this may not be their natural way of working. They may have a suitable project, but has it been completed? Or is it still a work in progress?

I generally have a list of projects — not all of them ongoing — which I keep in my ‘ideas’ notepad for future issues of the journal. It is important to keep projects moving forward, so that I don’t end up with four or five pieces of work that are only partially finished. Ideas might arrive as random thoughts or passing observations, but it is important to keep track of them somehow. These projects may also be influenced by the subject matter of my second contributor.

The Huddle - Misograph Series

For me, choosing an ‘ideas’ project is not particularly difficult. Implementing the work, however, and following a defined path all the way through to publication can be littered with obstacles — family holidays, hospital appointments, commitments to other organisations and all the other interruptions that life manages to throw into the mix. Good planning is therefore important: unpick the random thoughts, muse upon them, and then commit.

Since retiring from commercial photography, the production of Focus Quarterly has become a project in itself. It is generally interconnected with all the other smaller projects contained within it. Perhaps, in the end, the journal itself will become my legacy rather than any one of the projects within its pages.

Until then, I’ll continue with my ‘1000 yard stare’ approach. Perhaps, somewhere in that quiet moment of not really looking at anything, the next project will reveal itself.

If you have read this article and feel you could make a contribution to the journal, please read the previous ‘Submissions to Focus Quarterly’ article contained within this feed. We would be very pleased to hear from you.