Beyond the Frame 62/

A ten-minute photo challenge and a preview of Les Rencontres d’Arles photo festival.

10-minute Challenge

In Beyond the Frame 48/ I shared the New York Times’ 10-minute challenge. On the first Monday of each month, a work of art is shared and readers are invited to spend ten uninterrupted minutes studying the image. Often it’s a painting but in March the artwork was Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photograph of a “Man Leaping”.

Man Leaping by Henri Cartier-Bresson

It’s a beautifully simple idea. The average time spent looking at a photograph has shrunk to about one second with the advent of Instagram, TikTok, and endless scrolling. At the current rate of attrition, it won’t be long before the fraction of a second taken to make a photo will exceed the average time spent looking at it.

Well, we can’t have that.

Ten minutes might seem like a long time to stare at one image without interruption. Indeed, it is. And I find that after about two minutes, I think I’ve seen all there is to see. But when I persevere, after five minutes, I’m noticing more detail. And not just details but patterns too, relationships between different elements, connections between colours, subtleties of tone. At the end of ten minutes, I have a completely new and much deeper relationship with the picture.

So here’s my contribution to the fight against dwindling attention spans. Three images, pick one you like, expand it (you might need a desktop browser – an email won’t provide the detail this exercise requires), set a ten-minute timer, then just look and keep looking for as long as you can. Ten minutes is the goal but eight minutes is great, six is not bad, and even five minutes is better than nothing.

Enjoy!

Bundit Rodthanom, Public Bus Company employee, Bangkok, Thailand. 1/1000, ƒ/2, ISO 100, 85mm. © Gavin Gough

Buddhist prayers, Kathmandu, Nepal. 1/80, ƒ/8, ISO 250, 85mm. © Gavin Gough

Holi celebrations, Radha Rani Temple, Barsana, India. 1/125, ƒ/4, ISO 800, 70mm. © Gavin Gough

If you’re wondering how camera gear fares in the powdery chaos of a fully-frenzied Holi festival celebration, I can recommend the rain cover shown in this photo. I forget the brand name but will look it up before the next edition.

The author – not standing out at all

Were you able to focus your attention for ten minutes without interruption? Let me know how you got on in the comments.

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Twenty Questions Before Arles

A photographer on the edge – of something new.

Warakurna Superheroes #1, 2017 (Photography from Australia) by Tony Albert

I’ve never been to Les Rencontres d’Arles before. As I prepare to leave, I’ve been invited to answer 20 questions about my plans and expectations for the event.

• What drew you to Les Rencontres d’Arles this year?
  A chance encounter. I recently chatted with Alex Llovet at the Photo Books Switzerland event about his book And Into The Forest I Go (see Beyond the Frame 57/). Alex mentioned he would be at Arles this year, which reminded me about the event. I shouldn’t have needed a reminder – it’s a big event on the photography calendar – but sometimes things require a catalyst. There was nothing immovable in the diary this week and so…

• What do you hope to feel when you walk into your first exhibition?
  Cool. The forecast is for 35º-40ºC temperatures in Arles this week so I’m hoping the exhibitions will provide an escape from the heat. Beyond that, I’ve no doubt I’ll be excited at the prospect of meeting photography friends, old and new.

• Are there any photographers on this year’s programme you’re especially curious about?
  Yes, many. The Guardian has a useful guide highlighting some exhibitions. This year’s theme is “Disobedient Images”, which should produce some fascinating interpretations.

Green energy … An Assembly of Sceptics: Octavio Aguilar’s Tajëëw and Kontoy.

• What kind of work are you hoping to encounter – something affirming or something disruptive?
  Given the state of the world right now, I’m ready for both. Some healthy disruption is overdue and photography projects are more often affirming than not, so I think we can bank that.

• What’s in your camera bag for this trip, and what’s staying behind?
  I’m taking the train to the south of France so will be travelling light. A Leica M11 with 28mm, 50mm, and 90mm lenses, lots of spare batteries and SD cards. All my chunky Canon gear will be taking a well-earned rest.

• Do you expect to photograph in Arles – or will you focus solely on looking?
  If the Pope is Catholic then I shall be photographing in Arles. But I hope to strike a healthy balance between making photos and finding inspiration in others’ work.

• How do you approach an event with so many exhibitions – map it out or wander aimlessly?
  I do love to plan so I have a daily schedule compiled from the long list of exhibitions. But I hope there will be space for serendipity to pull me in the direction of something unexpected too.

• Are you someone who makes notes, sketches, or voice memos during festivals?
  Yes, yes, and yes. I do like a voice memo and especially now that Apple’s Voice Memo app automatically transcribes voice notes so I don’t need to listen to my own recordings.

• What kind of inspiration are you hoping to find – visual, intellectual, emotional?
  All of the above. I don’t have any specific expectations but photography festivals invariably offer visual and intellectual inspiration. Emotional stimulation is a welcome bonus.

• What’s your pre-trip reading, viewing, or listening to get in the right mindset?
  Oh, gosh, what a question. I’ve spent some time going through the list of exhibitors and registered for at least one event each day. I shall be watching the new series of The Bear on the train. Does that count?

Family Stories: Mornings with You, 2014–2024 (Father series) by Diana Markosian

• How do you prepare mentally for being in a crowd of creatives and curators?
  I just pay attention. It’s an underrated skill. Attending events like this is like swimming in a river of information and inspiration. That’s a dodgy metaphor but I can’t think of a better one. Pay attention or be swept away. I’m abandoning that metaphor now. You get the gist.

• What role does environment play in how you receive photography – do you think place affects perception?
  Hmm, that’s a good question. Yes, I do think the environment informs one’s disposition. I’m hoping that Arles will be a suitably nourishing environment. All reports suggest that it is.

• Is there a particular image, idea, or mood you’re chasing in your own work right now?
  Oh, now we’re getting serious and a full answer would require a lot more time and space. I’m in what I’m calling a chrysalis stage right now. A lot of work has been wrapped up and I’m actively pulling in ideas and inspiration that I hope will allow me to emerge into a more thoughtful, personal space.

• What’s one question you’d love to ask a fellow photographer during the festival?
  Where’s the bar?

• Do you think photography festivals shape trends, or reflect them?
  It’s probably accurate to say that festivals tend to reflect the trends that photographers shape. It’s entirely possible that a festival can be responsible for initiating a photography project but photographers draw inspiration from many sources.

Nancy Playing With a Glass, New York, 1958(The Beat Generation series) by Louis Stettner

• What’s your approach to exhibitions that leave you cold – move on quickly or linger to interrogate why?
  I don’t remember ever feeling completely unmoved at a photo exhibition. There’s always something of interest, even if it’s somebody I bump into on the periphery, a chance conversation, a random encounter. If an exhibition left me completely unmoved, it’s most likely to be because I’ve exhausted my ability to concentrate. In which case, it’s time for tea.

• Do you keep a record of work that resonates – if so, how?
  Yes, always. Most often, I’ll buy the book! Failing that, I make a lot of notes.

• What do you pack that’s not practical but somehow essential?
  Everything I pack is practical and essential. I am a judicious packer. Some people might say that 100 premium tea bags is a non-essential luxury but they would be mistaken.

• Are you hoping to connect with anyone specific, or letting chance guide the encounters?
  I have a few meetings planned but I expect there will be many chance encounters, which are often the most memorable.

• What do you hope to carry home that isn’t a book, print, or postcard?
  A hard drive containing many new images of the event. But there will definitely be books, prints, and postcards a-plenty.

The Standard, 2024 (they stray, they persist, they thunder). From a hitherto unseen collection by Agnès Geoffray – gestures of resistance, defence, uprising, flight or escape, portraits of female figures who confront the violence of confinement.

I’ll revisit these questions when I return. Until then, if any spark a thought or a question of your own, feel free to hit the comments.

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Darkroom Dodging and Burning

Finally, a very short video that I found this week featuring Pablo Inirio explaining his darkroom annotation process.

Pablo is seen printing Inge Morath’s 1957 photo of a Llama in the back seat of a car in Times Square, New York.

A Llama in Times Square, Inge Morath

It’s obviously a wonderful photo and I think the version with the printer’s annotations could be considered a work of art in its own right.

Darkroom annotations on a print of Inge Morath’s ‘A Llama in Times Square’

If you are so inclined, you can purchase a copy of the darkroom version on the Magnum website.

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Right, I have to pack.

Camera?

Check ✅

Tea bags?

Check ✅

That’s it. I’m set.

Until next time, go well.

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Directory: Beyond the Frame newsletter archive.

Resources: Recommended books, films, gear, media etc.

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