We are pleased to share the work of photographer Michael Eastmen.

Would you please tell us about yourself?

I began to photograph in 1972. I taught myself. I called Ansel Adams to ask him a question about his zone system. He was very helpful. Very kind. That was the world of photography then.

I’m proud  that I have made a living in photography for 50 years, and still trying to get better.

Who has had an influence on your creative process?

Edward Weston. I began my photography reading his Daybooks every night. Like a bible. It was my meditation. He spoke of photography as an art form.

Please tell us about a work of art, or moment that has inspired you.

I think it was Weston’s Pepper. It transformed what was ordinary to something exceptional. The photograph of a common vegetable was sensual and a stunning study of light and form. Weston saw the world differently.  When I first began, as an homage, I photographed abstract nudes and entitled the series, White Peppers.

Is there an image that you wish you would have taken and can you still see it?

Yes… Still have  regrets.  I made a photograph in 1994 in Seville of a renaissance interior. Against a 500 year old beautiful armoire was a 1950’s very old and very worn green leather golf bag with clubs. I thought it was best to remove it. I was soooo wrong. It still haunts me today. It would have made the photograph so much better.

Also, there have been moments especially early when I stood in front of a place that I knew was special. I knew at that moment I did not have the abilities to make a photograph. It was beyond me, it was a lesson, and I had to get better.

Budapest Stairwell © Michael Eastman

Deco Stairwell © Michael Eastman

How do you work through times when nothing seems to work?

These moments are the most difficult for me.

I try to wait to edit as long as possible. This delay makes it clearer what worked and what did not. I learn more from mistakes I made than from the successes. I try to empty my mind and just look. I try to feel something about anything. I will sometimes photograph things I have already photographed. I try to see something different or new. That’s when the process begins again.

What part of image-making do you find the most rewarding?

The recognition that there is something in front of me that I had not seen before. I enter a different reality. That’s the most exciting time in the entire process. I see a world that was not there a few moments ago.  I am changed. It doesn’t last.

What tools have you found essential in the making of your work?

Trying to reduce expectations. Expectations are our enemy. They can rob us of the experience of being in the moment. And it is those moments that define us and our work.

What do you do when nothing seems to work?

I do something else. Draw. Play with found objects and make sculptures. Paint on photographs. Tear up photographs and create collages. Sometimes I “play” in Photoshop and see where it leads me.

Is there something in photography that you would like to try in the future?

I think that 3d scanning and 3d printing offer a new horizon for image makers to explore. I am working on some found twig figures using new technology to create 3 foot tall bronze sculptures…pretty cool!

How does your art affect the way you see the world?

Photography is the way I see the world.  It drives my wife, family, and friends fairly crazy. While I’m talking to them, I see something visually interesting. I shut an eye and move my head slightly up, down, left, and right to explore where I would put the camera.
I am always taking pictures even when I do not have a camera in my hand.

What’s on the horizon?

My goal now is to get as many of my photographs on walls. It is not about selling more work. It’s about getting my work out in the world. My legacy I guess.

Photography is now being challenged in the digital age in ways that we’re just discovering.  AI will change photography completely. Photographs have provided  impartial evidence. The truth is important. What happens when we can’t trust video or photographs? How will we know truth?

Thank you Michael.

To learn more about the work of Michael Eastman please visit his site by clicking on his name.