In the end, it’s really just a box. YOU are the actual camera.
ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR, since we started this little small-town gazette almost fifteen years ago, I stop to thank you all for walking this path with us, whether you’re a new subscriber or a wizened veteran. I also use the occasions to re-state how TheNormal Eye happened in the first place. It may be instructive for some, and certainly serves as a mental reset for yours truly.
Photoblogs, at the time we launched, were, and remain, dominated by product reviews and technical tips, so much so that I knew that I myself had to go a different way, that is, if I were to keep the content relevant over time or maintain my own interest in the project. As it happened, I had, at about the same time, just compiled a kind of monograph of a year’s worth of images taken with a single lens, the prime glass known familiarly as the “nifty fifty” The other word for primes being “normal”, since they captured things in much the same way that we naturally see, I decided to title the book The Normal Eye. In spending a concentrated amount of time shooting with just one optic on full manual, I learned as much about my own limits, and options, as those of the lens, with the very word normal taking on an ever-more profound meaning for me.
We come into this world sensing everything on an instinctive level. Eventually, as we grow older and are socialized and hemmed in by the basic behaviors of just getting along in the world, we learn to stray from what was our original “normal”, relying on our own instincts less and measuring “reality” in much the same way that everyone else does. We learn that, to draw the sun, you always, always use a yellow crayon. We color inside the lines. We admire others’ view of basic things, often folding theirs into our own. We learn to mistrust the purity of our own vision, in music, in writing, in what we see. We “de-normal” our eyes. And our photography begins to fall into easily categorized, generalized technique. We shoot inside the lines, with a yellow crayon.
And so, re-learning the habit of seeing everything through the natural filter of our souls requires a deliberate, and dedicated exercise. We have to re-discover our normal eye. Learning to fully see is far more important than whatever gear we choose to help us record what we see. Intentionality becomes all. And so, in this forum, I wanted to be able to chronicle, as directly and simply as possible, what I encountered, daily, on that journey back to “normal”, to the natural. We try to use TNE to act like the kind of photographic diary you yourselves might keep, marking your daily progress and your evolving attitude toward the creative act of making pictures. Because Uncle Ansel was right; they are “made”, not “taken”, and that requires an ongoing sense of self-knowledge. It’s what we strive for at The Normal Eye, and it’s what I hope you and I share.
Sawyer’s mid-50’s View-Master Personal Stereo, the only consumer camera able to produce those eye-popping 3-d reels. 15 sec., f/5.6, ISO 100, 35mm.
BY MICHAEL PERKINS
THIS WEEK, THE NORMAL EYE REACHES A LITTLE BASE CAMP OF SORTS, with the welcome arrival of our 1,000th blog follower. A few thoughts before we climb to the next ledge:
I never wanted this forum to be a mere photo diary, a refrigerator on which to tack up my pet pic of the day, because, despite the fact that my photography illustrates the blog, it’s not really about,”look what I did”, so much as it’s about “look at one thing you can try”. It also was never supposed to be a purely technical tutorial, although we do offer a few simple step-by-steps on emerging methods. My thought, then as now, is that there are many, many master technicians in the trade whose command of the pure science is so much stronger than mine, that I’d be better off talking about the part we all understand….the millions of little miracle moments and motivations that shape our visual decisions in the making of images.
Accordingly, your most typical responses to The Normal Eye have been along the lines of “I’ve been there”, or “I came to the same conclusion” or “I never thought of it that way before.” That has sparked dialogue, which was my principal aim in creating TNE in the first place. I use my images to illustrate my ideas because they’re the closest visual equivalent of what’s rattling around in my skull, but not because they’re the ne plus ultra of anything.
From my years as an illustrator, I also love the idea of designing a page, and I try to vary the visual arrangement of the blog to incorporate useful links, historical figures, and, as we go forward, gifs and other tools. I liken it to the front of a newspaper, which, other than the masthead and the familiar type faces, has to be completely new every day. It’s more interesting to make, and, I hope, more fun to read, but it’s still in its infancy.
The most amazing part of this venture has been seeing the numbers change, to realize, day by day, that many of you have chosen, on-purpose, to bring these conversations into your day on a regular basis. I truly appreciate that choice, and am gratified if any of these chicken scratchings have a positive impact, for anyone. Sometimes, online writing is like throwing a pebble down a dark well and listening for at least a splash. Sometimes it’s like waking up to a roomful of birthday presents. So, to everyone who has kept faith or at least sampled The Normal Eye thus far, my sincere thanks. As I’ve stressed before, although solo sermons are often inspiring, this forum only works as a conversation.
NOW, THE REASON I ASKED YOU ALL HERE…..
By MICHAEL PERKINS
In the end, it’s really just a box. YOU are the actual camera.
ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR, since we started this little small-town gazette almost fifteen years ago, I stop to thank you all for walking this path with us, whether you’re a new subscriber or a wizened veteran. I also use the occasions to re-state how The Normal Eye happened in the first place. It may be instructive for some, and certainly serves as a mental reset for yours truly.
Photoblogs, at the time we launched, were, and remain, dominated by product reviews and technical tips, so much so that I knew that I myself had to go a different way, that is, if I were to keep the content relevant over time or maintain my own interest in the project. As it happened, I had, at about the same time, just compiled a kind of monograph of a year’s worth of images taken with a single lens, the prime glass known familiarly as the “nifty fifty” The other word for primes being “normal”, since they captured things in much the same way that we naturally see, I decided to title the book The Normal Eye. In spending a concentrated amount of time shooting with just one optic on full manual, I learned as much about my own limits, and options, as those of the lens, with the very word normal taking on an ever-more profound meaning for me.
We come into this world sensing everything on an instinctive level. Eventually, as we grow older and are socialized and hemmed in by the basic behaviors of just getting along in the world, we learn to stray from what was our original “normal”, relying on our own instincts less and measuring “reality” in much the same way that everyone else does. We learn that, to draw the sun, you always, always use a yellow crayon. We color inside the lines. We admire others’ view of basic things, often folding theirs into our own. We learn to mistrust the purity of our own vision, in music, in writing, in what we see. We “de-normal” our eyes. And our photography begins to fall into easily categorized, generalized technique. We shoot inside the lines, with a yellow crayon.
And so, re-learning the habit of seeing everything through the natural filter of our souls requires a deliberate, and dedicated exercise. We have to re-discover our normal eye. Learning to fully see is far more important than whatever gear we choose to help us record what we see. Intentionality becomes all. And so, in this forum, I wanted to be able to chronicle, as directly and simply as possible, what I encountered, daily, on that journey back to “normal”, to the natural. We try to use TNE to act like the kind of photographic diary you yourselves might keep, marking your daily progress and your evolving attitude toward the creative act of making pictures. Because Uncle Ansel was right; they are “made”, not “taken”, and that requires an ongoing sense of self-knowledge. It’s what we strive for at The Normal Eye, and it’s what I hope you and I share.
Thanks for being here.
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September 30, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Commentary, Photoblog, Technique | Leave a comment