“Walking the Dog”

One of the things that makes the Landmark Historic District of Savannah interesting is the eclectic mix of residential architecture, from cottages like this, having some difficulty with right angles, to large, elaborate mansions.

In last week’s post I mentioned accumulating a series of photographic vignettes from my mid day walks with the dog. I think of many of my photographs as short stories, so these might be more like blurbs–just a blip of information. What draws my attention first is some aspect of the quality of light and how it describes the subject/scene. The subject might be color, pattern, or a hint of a story you fill in with imagination.

The thing is, whatever artistic intent or motivation, and regardless of how well that might be accomplished through careful seeing and composing, the pictures also maintain a documentary character, recording a particular moment in an ever evolving landscape.

For more of Bill’s photographs, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index

A couple of years ago Barbara told me that our dog was getting older and that in addition to her morning and evening walks, she was going to need an extended mid day walk, and that I had been selected as the “walker.” What she knew but didn’t say was I also needed the mid day break/exercise.

I’ve been photographing Savannah since 1965, but having a constant repetition of time and place over a long period gives a more intimate perspective. I’ve learned something I was never very conscious of before, and that is how open the shadows are under the tree canopy that is Savannah’s urban forest, during mid day, the time budding photographers are usually told to not photograph because the overhead light is too harsh.

I almost always have my phone with me when walking the dog and have gotten an extensive series of little vignettes of my neighborhood. Playing with the phone camera feels like it used to when I was playing with Polaroid, back in my film days; you can be free to experiment with technical and aesthetic considerations because you don’t have to “be serious” since you aren’t using a “real” camera. When you are just having fun, playing, you learn so much.

With this note on how pretty the light is in Savannah, I’d like to make a shameless plug for my friend and old Nikon School teaching colleague Reed Hoffmann. Reed is continuing to lead small group photo trips (max 6 people) and a couple of years ago he added Savannah and Charleston in the spring to his catalog, with the added benefit that I come out of retirement once a year to assist him, and drive the second vehicle. The program for 2026 is March 10-15, and details can be found here, https://reedhoffmann.com/2026SavannahInfo.pdf. If you feel particularly hardy, you could stay over for a couple of days and experience Saint Patrick’s Day here.

For more of Bill’s photographs, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index

Outtake from “Go West Old Man” tour

On a barren stretch of highway on the way to Monument Valley there was a minimalist structure of poles. It looked like it was a kind of “pop up” shop for Navajo crafts when traffic warranted. Not this day. Beyond the empty stalls was a stylish amenity, and necessary since there are no bushes large enough to discreetly step behind.

For more of Bill’s photographs, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index

Last week was the annual 8 day SCAD Savannah Film Festival, an opportunity to spend hours every day sitting in a dark theater, and the reason I did not post last week. For years Barbara and I have been buying passes and seeing as much as we could manage. There are some professional panels, and other education efforts, but the main thing is films–features, shorts, documentaries, animation–morning, afternoon, and evening, in three screening rooms. It’s a perk that our home is about a five minute walk to two of the theaters.

I enjoy the feature films, and I recommend several of the ones we saw: “Eternity,” “One Battle After Another,” “Nuremberg,” “Highest 2 Lowest,” “Hamnet,” “Rental Family,” “Song Sung Blue.” What I really like is getting to the “Shorts” and “Animation” viewings.

As a still photographer, I’ve spent years learning how to tell a story in 1/250th of a second, so I’m impressed with film makers who can tell a complex, emotional story in 5-10 minutes. As an image editor, I’ve spent years in chemical and digital darkrooms in a never ending struggle to get just the right feel of tones and colors, so I am in awe of animators who can create sophisticated worlds of dimension defining tones and colors, whether realistic or fantastic, from a blank slate.

I am less drawn to documentaries; I usually watch movies to escape reality, but I did see “My Mom Jayne” by Mariska Hargitay. It was impressive, and a reminder that there is so much more to people than their public persona.

For more of Bill’s photographs, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index