My Friend: My heart aches for Ukraine. I am glued to the news and am constantly asking myself: what more can I do? Then last night I suddenly realized that I could help others appreciate what the Ukrainian people are like. In 2008 I visited my son (Cody) and soon to be daughter-in-law (Erica) who were serving in the Peace Corps in Ukraine. While there, I created a portfolio entitled “Ukrainians, with Eyes Shut.” Here’s how the project came about: Whenever I go to a new area to photograph, I make no preparations. I do not research the area, look at travel guides or other photographer’s work. I want to go with a completely open mind and hope that I’ll find something that inspires me. Well, I had been looking for something for three days and hadn’t come up with anything, and I was starting to feel some time pressure as my days were slipping away. Well, pressure never helps my creativity and so that caused even more anxiety! I found the people interesting, but I always hate photographing people in a foreign country, because they put on a “camera face” for you. You know, that big smile. |
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On this trip, I didn’t have the time…or a common language, to get to know the real person and get past the smile. And I sure didn’t want to come home with a bunch of smiling Ukrainian images. I was pondering how to resolve this problem, when an idea came into my mind: why not ask people to close their eyes? Perhaps it might remove the “camera face” and yield something interesting. |
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My first “Ukrainian, with Eyes Shut” image and my favorite |
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And so I tried it. I was at a bus stop where I saw this gentleman and asked if I could photograph him, which I did, and then asked him to close his eyes. And it worked! It removed the big smile and I liked the effect. This was my first, and favorite “Ukrainians, with Eyes Shut” image. Even now as I look at it, it makes me laugh. |
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People’s reaction to my request were usually one of surprise, but almost everyone willingly allowed me to photograph them…with their eyes shut. I remember photographing this man in an alley way, and my wife commented that it reminded her of her grandfather. |
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This young woman was a student whom my son taught in Beryslav. I’ve wondered about his students and what had become of them. Have they fled Ukraine, are they fighting, or are they dead? |
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This man scared the hell out of me! He was our taxi driver for several days, and the driving in Ukraine was crazy and dangerous. My son and I were squeezed in the front seat, and Cody told me that it would insult him if I put on my seat belt (it would insinuate that he was a bad driver, which he kinda was!) |
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This is a homeless man we met in the park. He was so very nice, and we gave him some food. |
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This young man was pretty funny! He was a comedian and told me that one day he was going to be the president of Ukraine! He was just such a character and wouldn’t close his eyes for me, so I had to settle for one eye shut. |
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This images saddens me. This is Natasha, she was my son’s Ukrainian supervisor and became a family friend. Natasha lives in Beryslav, and this was her text message to me today: “They (Russians) are in some areas of Kherson. The enemy began to mine Kherson. Eyewitnesses report that they installed “trip wires” in the city center – near the building of Scythia. But the city is holding on and so are the people.” We have asked Natasha to leave Ukraine, while she still can, but she has animals and we doubt she will leave them. I get it. |
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This old man was at a spring collecting water for his sick wife. Ukrainians believe the water from this spring has healing properties. |
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This is Lesha, I met him at a train station as he was returning home from a wrestling match. Where is Lesha today I wonder? Defending his country? Protecting his wife, his children and his parents? |
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This cocky fellow wouldn’t let me photograph him unless I paid him an American dollar! I normally wouldn’t do that simply out of principle, but I liked his boldness. |
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This is my friend Serg, whom I met in Lviv. Here is the email he sent yesterday: “Thank you for your participation in the events that are now the territory of my homeland, Ukraine. Russia dropped the first echelon of its troops. This will not be a quick war. At the expense of Lviv – now the war is not infantry and tanks, but the war of planes and missiles. So, within the reach of of the latest weapons owned by Russia, every piece of Ukraine’s territory is in sight. But we are with God. And if you are with God, then who is against you?” Serg is a new grandfather. I wonder what kind of country his granddaughter will grow up in? Will she be free or a slave of the state? |
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God bless you my friend, Serg. I admire you, your faith and courage. |
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A blind man, whose eyes are always shut. |
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This is the caretaker at a Monastery in Beryslav. In ancient times, hundreds of monks carved out alters in primitive underground caves where they worshipped. Now, there is only one monk and this solitary caretaker. |
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I met this Cossack on the streets of Kiev, where he played his instrument for money. Cossack’s were once known as fierce fighters, and perhaps this man is now engaged in the fight against the invading Russians? |
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So what are Ukrainians like? I found them to be a very generous people. The image above was taken at a picnic that was hosted for us by Cody’s Ukrainian friends. I remember that despite being poor (by our standards) they put on a big barbecue feast for us. I wanted to thank them by creating the image above. The picnic was on the Dnieper River, in Nova Kakhovka, which is now occupied territory. |
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“Ukrainians, with Eyes Shut” was a wonderful project because I got to know and make friends with the Ukrainian people. Perhaps if I had created this project today it might be entitled “Ukrainians, with Eyes Now Opened.” |
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Criticism can be devastating,
but praise can be even more dangerous
In May of 2008 I created The Ghosts of Auschwitz-Birkenau which was widely published and exhibited. In addition to the public success, I consider the work a personal success because I love and am proud of the images.
And with the success came congratulations, praise and then the advice….
The overwhelming consensus was that I needed to strike while the iron was hot and take advantage of the publicity the project was receiving. I was encouraged to create additional ” The Ghosts of… ” projects and ride the wave of success.
It was suggested:
- The Ghosts of 911
- The Ghosts of Little Big Horn
- The Ghosts of Manzanar
- The Ghosts of The Killing Fields
My initial reaction? No way! I was inspired to create the Auschwitz series and unless I was inspired to do another location, I’m not interested.
But the praise and encouragement just kept coming in: fantastic!…brilliant!…do another Ghost series… ride the wave…take advantage…you have a winning formula…this could be your ticket to the big time!
Slowly I was seduced and finally I agreed. I chose as my next Ghost project: The Ghosts of Great Britain . It was to be shot at the castles of England.
So off I went with my family in tow. My young daughter was to be my ghost and she brought her ghost costume: a white sheet with eye holes cut out. We went from castle to castle with her wearing the sheet as she spun or walked slowly for 30 second exposures.
It was a fun trip and we had some laughs as other tourists looked on, wondering what we were doing.
Old Wardour Castle
When I got home and processed the images…I absolutely hated the results and scrapped the project. I kept only one image, “Old Wardour Castle” above.
Why did I hate the project? Because it was not inspired, it was not borne from Vision and I had no Passion for the project. Instead it was a contrived marketing strategy.
In Cole-Speak: it wasn’t an honest project.
It was an expensive failure, but it provided two invaluable lessons:
First, trust your instincts. Other’s advice may be sincere and right for them, but it may not be right for you. In this instance my definition of success was quite different than how the advice-givers defined success.
Second, I was reminded of the powerful influence praise has. I was too easily seduced and set aside my standards.
Not cool.
This experience reinforced my belief that criticism can be devastating, but praise can be even more dangerous.
Georgia O’Keeffe addressed this:
“I decided to accept as true my own thinking.
I had already settled it for myself, so flattery and
criticism go down the same drain, and I am quite free.”
My goal is to be be free from the opinions of others, for good or for ill. But the truth is that praise is a seductive siren that beckons, influences and sometimes changes my actions and opinions.
Even today as I show these images, I worry that if I were to start receiving positive comments about them I would be persuaded to change my opinion of them.
If others love them…maybe they’re not so bad?
Maybe I was wrong, maybe these are good images?
Maybe that “Ghosts of…” idea wasn’t so bad?
And while I’d like to think I wouldn’t let that happen, this is exactly what did happen a few years ago with another one of my images: I traded my values for popularity.
But that’s a story for a future newsletter.
People write to me about their projects and say such things as:
I just cannot get motivated…
I’m in a slump…
My project is on hold…
I haven’t shot anything in a while…
I don’t know what’s wrong…
I need to get back to it…
I just can’t seem to finish it…
My rule of thumb is: If I am not energized and excited about my project, then it’s time for me to:
CHOOSE A NEW PROJECT
For me, a successful project must have two ingredients: Vision and Passion. If I don’t feel these I know the project is doomed, it will be a chore to work on and that lack of passion will be felt by the viewer.
Many feel that the key to a successful project is to have a unique subject, an exotic location or an interesting technique. And while those qualities may help, only Vision and Passion can ensure success.
When you have the right project, you cannot wait to get home to work on it. The right project has you getting up early and skipping meals. When you have the right project you find yourself working long hours and wishing there were more.
And most importantly; when you have a Vision and Passion for your project, that energy and conviction will be felt through your images.
After I created the Auschwitz images many people suggested I apply the ghost theme to other locations. The idea sounded logical: the Auschwitz series had been well received and so why not leverage that popularity by using the same approach at other locations?
So I started to work on “The Ghosts of Great Britain” where I created ghosts at English castles. But the project fell flat because the images were not compelling and it all felt gimmicky.
So what went wrong? The project lacked Passion.
At Auschwitz I felt inspired to create those images and I had a Vision for the project. I gave no thought as to how the series would be received and in fact I didn’t care!
But “The Ghosts of Great Britain” was completely contrived and calculated to be popular. I did not feel that same Vision or Passion for the project and it failed. I scrapped the series and only kept the one image above.
This was a great lesson for me and a mistake that I will never make again.
Many people ask where I get my ideas from and I tell them that every time that I have an idea, I write it down. And then I reveal that I’ve never once used any of those ideas! Every successful project that I’ve pursued has come to me spontaneously, unexpectedly and as a sudden burst of inspiration.
And then they ask: But what happens if you don’t have a project that excites and inspires you?
And I reply: Then I wait until I do.
Cole
P.S. I’ve mentioned “successful project” a few times now and I want to explain what I mean by that. I do not consider a project successful because it wins awards, is published, is exhibited or sells.
Success for me is creating a series that I love and am proud of, and that is the only kind of success that matters.
Do you LOVE what you’re doing? Does your current project so excite you that you spend your lunch hour working on it? Do you rush home so that you can use that last hour of sunlight to create a few more images? If not, then perhaps your current project isn’t the right one for you…at this time.
I believe that you must be completely excited about the project you’re working on or it will not be your best work. I’ve seen many pursue a subject simply because it’s “unique” or “different” with the hope that this will be enough to earn them notoriety. However my experience has been that “different for different’s sake” is not enough; there must be real passion in the project or it will fall flat.
I keep a list of potential projects and every new idea, silly or not, goes on this list for future review. With time some of these ideas look even sillier and I wonder what it was I was thinking! However some ideas are really good ones but just not right for us at that moment in time. That’s why I write down every idea, review them periodically and never remove them from the list. You just never know when these ideas and your mood will mesh and a fantastic synergy will be born.
There is such an emphasis in the world today to be different and to get noticed. There are trends that photographers sometimes feel they must follow in order to be in vogue and fit in. There is so much competition that we all feel this desire to be unique so we can rise above the fray. While each of these factors must be considered as we make our long term plans, they should not be our primary focus. What we must focus on is producing art that is uniquely ours, work that is true to our vision and producing something that reflects our passion.
Only then do we stand a chance of being “successful.”
Cole
P. S. I’ve promised several people that I’d create a blog entry on what “success” means, I’ll do that soon.
What inspires you? What gets your creative juices flowing or just gets you out the door?
I would really benefit from hearing what does it for you, because it just might work for me too. We all go through periods of stagnation, where we doubt our abilities or worry that we’ve got no more in us.
What causes this? Human nature I suppose.
Something I do is to listen to the Beatles, they were one of only a few groups that didn’t stuck in a “success” rut. They kept changing and evolving even if it meant abandoning a successful formula. They were not afraid to risk change.
How about you? Just thinking about this question will be therapeutic and posting it will help myself and others.
Cole
