The world has been waiting and I know things have become tense with the high level of anticipation.  But can the world truly be ready to know who is my Number 1 Favorite Black and White Analog Photographer? That’s right … it is happening … Numero Uno baby!

Yes, yes, it’s about time! So let the drums roll and dim the lights. Are you ready? My choice of my Favorite Black and White Analog Photographer is the one and only Paul Strand!!!

How could it be otherwise? For those of you that have followed my writings all of these years, you might have noticed more than a passing interest of mine in the genius of all things Paul Strand. I’m pretty sure I remember reading somewhere a long time ago that at some point in Strand’s career he decided he wanted to create his work with the idea that it would appear in books. And if I were to count, I probably have more of Strand’s books in my library then anyone else’s. Hmm, let me pause for a moment and take a count.  Okay, I’m back … so I have ten (I need to pick up a few more!). Two more than that of my number two favorite, Ansel Adams.

As great as all the photographers are that I have included in my top 10, Strands stands alone at the top of my photographic mountain. Why?  One reason is because of the universal greatness of all his work, across the range of photographic genres. But perhaps more than that, when I gaze at a Strand book … any Strand book … I am transported to a different time and place. It seems like I’m a visitor to some kind of alternative universe … a simpler and more pure one, free of all that ails us in this universe. Just pick up Tir a’ Mhurain, Un Paese, Time in New England, The Garden at Orgeval – I could go on!

I know the times are different.  The lifestyles were much simpler then, the work much harder, the manmade structures and landscapes more spare. It often makes me wonder which world and time is better – Strand’s or ours.

Because of Strand’s work I have had a long-time obsession to travel to the Outer Hebrides and Gaspe Peninsula to make my own photographs. Perhaps things will be so different that I will be disappointed. Maybe they won’t be the special places where Strand made his iconic images before I was born, or very young. I guess I’ll have to find out for myself some day. But even, if I were never to visit these mystical places, Strand has provided me with enough inspiration to continue my work for years (hopefully!) to come.

Two of the greatest exhibits I’ve ever been fortunate to see were of Strand’s work, at the National Museum of Art in Washington, DC, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Not everyone gets an opportunity like that. If you haven’t seen Strands work in the flesh or are simply not familiar with it, do yourself a big favor and pick up a few of his books. Trust me, you have a lot to look forward to! The ones I mentioned above are a good place to start, but all of them are simply marvelous!

Oh, and speaking of things simply marvelous, the day of this writing happens to be National Macaroni and Cheese Day. Think about it … what could be better … savoring some Mac and Cheese and Paul Strand!

Stay well,

Michael