A sense of the place, a natural place, in which we find ourselves can be a gateway to feelings and emotions not otherwise so easily accessible; think of a hushed redwood forest, a shady rest in a desert encircled by profound silence, an early morning wetland where the only sound is that of geese, calling, as they pass unseen in clear air above the fog. Those places and others are represented here and hopefully the photos capture some sense of them.
I recently ran across a concept that filled in some gaps in my thinking about just why I am drawn to the type of photography I do. In his book, the Memory of Place, author Dylan Trigg suggests (as do others) there are Places which are fundamental to our sense of self and Non-Places which are not. Places are those with meaning, shaped by our individual history, and could include our home, our parents’ home, church, possibly our workplace and importantly, places we go for inspiration and happiness. Non places are the opposite and don't have meaning. They tend to the homogeneous and are interchangeable like airports, supermarkets and the DMV.
The "New Topographic" Photographers of the 1970's such as Stephen Shore, Lewis Baltz and Robert Adams among others were inspired by non-places. Although to my knowledge they didn't describe their subjects that way, their meaningful and sensitive images suggest as much to the viewer. It is in their images and vision where the meaning is found though, not the locations themselves.
It's true, the place vs non-place distinction is a construct of imagination. It feels, however, useful. Some photographers are informed by non-place, (Robert Adams in his New Topographic work) others by place (Ansel Adams). I'm a place guy, and natural places on Earth seem to be the engines of my image making. They are the why in the question, why bother? In my photography work, Place becomes purpose.
Every place offers up its own character and feeling which frames our sense of it and that sense presents an opportunity to make aesthetic statements through creative photography. The statements I attempt are suggestions of stillness, quiet, reverence for the place. These are, of course, natural places unmanicured and uninsulated by pavement but they are not always remote. Some, in fact, are very close to home.
Charlie Judson
Sebastopol, California
April 2025
Sebastopol, California
April 2025
Right: Robert Adams from the New Topographic exhibit. The photo is from Colorado Springs I believe but it is exactly what my family home looked like when we spent a year in a Denver suburb about 1962. It was a non-place for me.
