The Name Game...

   I've always puzzled about what to call my photographs; whether, in fact, to call them anything at all!  At first I thought of titles as merely a way to reference specific photographs and used names like "Loch Bee #1".  But the more I embraced contemplative photography the more I felt the need to communicate, at least partially, my response to the image in the name I gave the photograph.

   This photograph was made in 2005 and I labeled it "Walking the Dog - Grimsay".  Later, much later actually, as I looked at the image I saw more than mere "dog walking"...I saw people taking advantage of the low tide to venture into a place that is, for 1/2 the day, unavailable to them.  That led to a lot more reflection and I renamed it "The Ebb and Flow".  Which is better? You be the judge but I think the two names represent two different ways of looking at the world.  The first is the pragmatic approach - call it what it is...no nonsense, "just the facts, mam."   The second embraces the metaphoric capabilities of the landscape.  Since I feel that that is the very essence of contemplative photography, I guess I've answered my own question.  I'll rephrase Minor White's famous quote in way of a conclusion...

   "Name your photographs not for what they are but for what else they are."