Perched  digital photographic print  22.25 x 12.25″  $200

Photographs capture a moment in time, one that can never be experienced again. Similar moments, almost-the-same moments, nearly identical moments will occur but that exact moment has come and gone. “You can never step into the same river twice,” as the mystic would say. Some of those captured moments are found and some are created. Or maybe they’re all created if you subscribe to a certain version of reality. Either way, the job of the photographer is to stop time with the image, then show it to others. “Here, this is what I saw, this is what was happening at this exact time in this exact place. It is now a part of your reality, too.”

This photograph, “Perched,” is clearly a created moment. The lighting, the pose, the composition was all thought out before the shutter was tripped, capturing this exact moment for your consideration. What does it say to you, about your life experience, the life experience of the model, of the photographer?

I have been making photographs using a variety of media (film, instant, photogram, digital) for more than 40 years. Everyone I make leads me to an idea for another one. Most recently I’ve been making photographs as parts of conceptual projects, thematic groups that support a narrative either expressed or implied. Though the photos capture static moments in time, neither time itself nor the life we live within it are static. Thus, a group of still photographs, stopping just short of becoming a film, presents a richer narrative, a more complete picture, of my intent. And that is all I can do. The rest is up to you.

Don Parsisson