Just shoot me
May 26, 2004
For many reasons, I am a big advocate of drawing in one's journal. It is a meditative practice. It helps one to deepen one's appreciation and count one's blessings. It is a good impetus to draw often. It looks beautiful. And so on.
But there are times when it's great to put photographs in one's journal too. Some moments have to be seen to be believed. Photos can capture emotion and power in ways drawings can't. And sometimes the world is moving so quickly, only a shutter can freeze it for posterity.
But I'm not interested in turning my journal into some crappy photo album. You have to be judicous and appropriate with photos or they will overwhelm everything else you've made.
For instance, generally I like my photos to have an organic feeling that goes with the spontaneous and rather rough hewn aesthetic of my journal. To that end, I recently bought a JamCam on eBay for about $25. It's a very simple and indestructible digital camera with no real controls. its memory will accommodate 8 low res pictures or 24 low low res pics and that's it (I think you can buy some sort of memory upgrade card for it but that's just too fancy). You look through the view finder, release the shutter and wait till you get home to see what you got. The pictures have a weirdness to them that I like a lot, murky and yet brittle like they were shot through a pinhole.
If that's too high-tech for you, buy a disposable camera (one with black-and-white film would be even better) then slather the lens with clear nail polish. When it dries, take misty, glowing pictures.A few years ago, Polaroid designed the iZone camera — apparently just for me. It is a groovy plastic camera with a puny flash that takes postage sized instant pictures (my current one is a Barbie model that comes with a comb and fold-out mirror).
Snap, wait, then pull out a gaudy strip of paper with your picture in the middle. Clip off the paper (all of it - I have heard rumors that doing so causes the pictures to fade but I've had many for five years and they all still look fine), peel off the plastic backing and it sticks right in your journal. You have to take bold, simple pictures but that's fine with me. Here's a page from one of my moleskine journals, about actual size.When you get ready to shoot, apply the same principles you would when making a drawing. First, make your picture obviously about something. And make it clean and clear without distracting doodads in the background and trees coming out of people's heads.
Be sure to frame your shot properly. (I live a block from a major tourist attraction, Washington Square Arch, and I am always seeing tourists posing their loved ones in front of the enormous Arch then stepping way back to get the whole monument in the picture. Mother ends up so small in the frame that she may as well be Brad Pitt or a three headed poodle by the time the pictures get back from Rite Aid. Might as well have left her at home.) Once you have your picture composed to your satisfaction, take a good-sized step closer to your subject before you shoot. It'll only improve things, regardless of Junior's acne.Once you have your pictures in hand, don't be a square. Feel free to trim your photos however you like, regardless of their original dimensions. And if they would look better with some writing on 'em, write on 'em. Grab a Sharpie® or a china marker and get to it! Throw in arrows. Blank out the background. Just make 'em better.
Look at these journals of mine. In this one the pictures are all carved up. And in this one I went wild with gel pens like some hopped-up teenage girl. Here I used just what was important about the picture. And here I used three pictures to make one. Apparently I didn't break any laws in the process or the Man has yet to show up at my house with a warrant.
Ultimately, no camera will ever replace my pens and watercolors but, used judiciously and creatively, it can still help me to seize the day.
A record of my exploration into all aspects of drawing, illustrated journaling, creativity, and the inspiring aspects of art. By the author of "Everyday Matters," "The Creative License", and "An Illustrated Life" and other books.
Comments
Damn it, but you're awesome. A million thanks for being out there, Danny. Your words and images never fail to inspire me and excite me all over again. Cheers!
Posted by: Emma | May 26, 2004 12:21 AM
Thank God for cameras. I'm so glad you wrote about taking pics and adding them to journals. I feel like a cheater because I love doing this and I'm bad at drawing. Now that I know a master like you does this I feel better! Thanks for the inspiration and I promise to try drawing even though I'm not good at it. I've cut up all kinds of polaroids and the pictures are still intact. I think the only thing one might have to worry about is archival safety if one cares about this. Thanks again.
Posted by: Jane | May 26, 2004 12:37 AM
I like to do that, too. Photos, pressed plants, bits of brochures, menus, sushi chopstick wrappers, random stuff. Anything goes. My dog, Ripley, was laughing about something I told her this week, so I took a photo of her cracking up and put it in my journal. It wasn't really all THAT funny, but I guess it is if you're a dog.
Sometimes I take photos and crop them WAY too tight so I can draw the rest of the picture the way I want it, outside the lines. I'm a color-outside-the-lines kind of woman.
Posted by: Karen Winters | May 26, 2004 12:43 AM
shouldn't photographs be seen as just one more element or material to be used for a collage in a journal? i know there is a danger that photographs may take over from the drawing or even writing, and turn a journal into a mere photoalbum - but a photo or picture can add something extra to a journal. just as found scraps or tickets can. it's nice to see someone point out that a journal doesn't need to stick to rules(shouldn't a journal be about breaking rules anyway?).
Posted by: william | May 26, 2004 01:11 AM
I like the tiny polaroids. They're a bit like b/w pictures cut out from a contact sheet, and they're easy to use, too! Very cool. Thank you for posting on this - it felt like a reminder that all possibilities are open when it comes to recording.
Posted by: anja | May 26, 2004 05:37 AM
I have kept a handwritten journal for as long as I can remember. No drawings. No photographs. No artifacts. Just words on a page with the only variety being the pen or marker used. I have stacks of them. Boring.
For many months now, you've been inspiring me to get out of this rut and give my journal entries their due. At the very least, I am entertaining possibilities. Now the I-Zone is wooing me ...
Thank you, Danny!
Posted by: Julie | May 26, 2004 06:09 AM
Danny...you crack me up!!!! What an awesome way to start the day...reading your column!!!
Thanks for the smiles,
Nancy
Posted by: Nancy Patterson | May 26, 2004 09:19 AM
Loved the links to your journals. I love the izone, too. I didn't know sharpies would write on photos -- will try that!
Posted by: nancy | May 26, 2004 12:38 PM
You totally ROCK Danny - these are so amazing! I love how you incorporate everything into your life journals - you totally inspire me.
THANK YOU!
Posted by: stef | May 26, 2004 07:58 PM
Danny, you're awesome! Just imagine what a wonderful legacy that you are creating for your son... he will have all of your collection someday and there are so many memories in these books that will take him back many years. I oftentimes wonder what my kids will think of me when I am gone (i know, a long time from now, but still...) and all they find is a baby book with a few pics in it and half done because I either forgot to keep records or didn't save every report card or picture they've made for me. Nor will they have really known me as I am not one to write down my thoughts. I think I better get busy.. you are such an inspiration and believe that this is the best thing you can do in your life, leave something worthwhile behind. You are really great!
Rose
Posted by: Rose | May 27, 2004 11:00 AM
Hi! Just thought I'd stop by and say how much I enjoy your blog. Cool line drawings!
Posted by: Mr Zip | May 27, 2004 12:02 PM
Something funny occurred. I called by again a few hours ago and lo, there was a new post with a nice watercolour of a view through a window. It was alongish post, so I left it till later. I was reminded of it by your email telling me it was there.
Yet now it isn't. Like I said, funny.
Posted by: Mr Zip | May 27, 2004 07:17 PM
I-Zone...I must have it.
Posted by: Lu | May 28, 2004 10:18 AM
I like your blog, Mr Zip!
Posted by: Amy | May 29, 2004 02:57 AM
Well, thanks, Amy, that's good to know. But why not say so over on my blog? We could talk so much more easily that way.
Sorry, Danny, not trying to steal your punters!
Posted by: Mr Zip | May 29, 2004 07:14 PM
Just did that Zip!
And don't worry, I'm not gonna ditch Gregory that quickly!
God, I'm a nerd.
Posted by: Amy | May 30, 2004 08:49 AM
Hope that wasn't taken the wrong way, Danny. I wouldn't ditch you at all..you're one of my top "mentors who I don't really know personally". You're inspired me all the way!!
Posted by: Amy | May 30, 2004 11:57 PM