Square America

John points the way over to Square America.

I’m very interested in this concept: how photography allows people to make great art by accident. Whenever people show me their snapshots, I always pick out the ones that work the best photographically. These usually turn out do be the worst ones on the depictive level. For example, someone at work went to the festival at Hiraizumi, where the actor from this year’s NHK drama about Yoshitsune was taking part. There was one picture of him riding a horse: he was turned away from the camera, leaning over, with the crowd swelling around him. People were bursting out of the windows in the buildings behind him, all with their cameras. This particular photo was stuck in the back of the album because it didn’t show the actor, but it just worked so well. I’m kind of sorry I didn’t snatch it.

From Square America, this landscape taken from a highway absolutely astounds me.